From the humble beginnings of researchers working out of dilapidated trailers, using plywood and tarps to keep the rain off, to the emergence of a modest but highly sophisticated research facility; the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) has transformed our knowledge of freshwater ecosystems, and produced an impressive body of research; the depth and completeness of which cannot be found elsewhere in the world. Since its creation in 1968 the ELA has faced funding cuts 3 times, previous to the government's most recent cut in the now infamous omnibus bill C-38. The ELAs research has contributed substantially to our understanding of managing algal blooms, acid rain, climate change, mercury pollution, greenhouse gas fluxes from hydroelectric reservoirs, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Dr. Schindler , a renowned scientist in his field was on campus recently, speaking to the importance of preserving this essential research body. Disruptions to funding and research, he argued, compr...

And I blame humans. We started this war and Mother Nature is finishing it; playing dirty to get even with us. I like to believe I am a healthy individual. I eat properly, exercise daily and generally speaking take care of myself. It does not matter how many vegetables I eat or how many kilometers I run a day because dearest Mother Nature has launched a vendetta against me and my fellow humans. She’s hitting below the belt, attacking where it hurts most and frankly, I’m sick of it. Literally. Today, I realized that many of the things that are physically wrong with me have some sort of link to my environment. Sure, maybe I was simply reflecting fondly on my environmental epidemiological paper I wrote last semester for Health Geography, but still. From Kawasaki Syndrome to my sucky kidneys that I have been struggling with since having E coli last summer- I can attribute most anything to my environment (thanks presumably to heavy cleaning chemicals and barn animal feces in my drinking wate...