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Elaine Ho, PhD student in Waterloo’s School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, has always had an affinity for water. As a child, Elaine was fascinated at the world beneath the surface that is so different from our own.

Facilitating and promoting interdisciplinary water research and education is a primary role of the Water Institute at the University of Waterloo. On a regular basis, the Water Institute brings an RBC Visiting Fellow to campus to stimulate discussion and the exploration of collaborative research opportunities with Water Institute faculty and students.

Partners for Action director Shawna Peddle spoke to the CBC on the flood survey Windsor residents are being asked to take part in. In partnership with University of Waterloo researchers and the Red Cross, residents who have suffered the onslaught of floods in the area in recent years will be surveyed. The results will inform a national FloodSmart Canada campaign and provide insight into how to protect other Canadian communities from incurring similar damage.

One of Canada’s greatest natural resources doesn’t need mining or refining, it just needs researchers to help us leave it alone.

Maria Strack
The true north strong and free. It’s a well-worn phrase evoking soaring mountains, verdant forests, rocky coasts and golden plains. But Canada also has a massive wet, marshy, boggy, ignored landscape known as peatlands. They may not have made it into our national anthem, but according to Water Institute member and professor in Waterloo's Department of Geography and Environmental Management, Maria Strack, they could be one of Canada’s secret weapon to fight climate change.  

Glaciers can warn us about the looming dangers of climate change, but it takes a multidisciplinary scientist (with a warm jacket) to interpret the message.

Christine making Maria LaughGlaciers may have the reputation of moving slowly, but deep below them, unseen by humans, things are moving more quickly every day. Global warming is melting our glaciers, creating streams of icy water and slush below the surface. If this water spreads out, it can lubricate the ice above it and cause the glaciers to flow faster. While this melt and the resulting glacier flow tells scientists how fast our climate is changing, it’s up to a new breed of scientist to tell us how fast we need to act. 

Friday, February 2, marked the Ecohydrology Research Group’s sixth annual World Wetlands Day (WWD) celebration at the University of Waterloo. This year’s program featured research presentations, three-minute student presentations, a student poster competition, and an evening public lecture. The symposium had over 90 registrants and was attended by researchers from various universities across southwestern Ontario as well as members of the general public. The MP of Waterloo, Bardish Chagger, even Tweeted about the event:

A fear of dying plays a role in people buying bottled water, even though they know it may not be good for them or the planet, a study from the University of Waterloo has found.

The study suggests that most bottled-water advertising campaigns target a deep psychological vulnerability in humans, compelling them to buy and consume particular products. Bottled water ads specifically trigger our most subconscious fear — driving Canadians to buy billions of litres of water annually.