Author: UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA via EurekAlert

  • Future fisheries can expect $10 billion revenue loss due to climate change

    Global fisheries stand to lose approximately $10 billion of their annual revenue by 2050 if climate change continues unchecked, and countries that are most dependent on fisheries for food will be the hardest hit, finds new UBC research.Climate change impacts such as rising temperatures and changes in ocean salinity, acidity and oxygen levels are expected…

  • Montreal households the greenest in Canada: UBC study

    Montreal homes are the most sustainable in the country, and Edmonton's the least, according to a new University of British Columbia study that compares average household greenhouse gas emissions in major cities across Canada.Using census data over a 12-year span, researchers ranked cities on how much carbon dioxide the average Canadian family (two to three…

  • Hummingbird vision wired to avoid high-speed collisions

    Hummingbirds are among nature's most agile fliers. They can travel faster than 50 kilometres per hour and stop on a dime to navigate through dense vegetation.Now researchers have discovered that the tiny birds process visual information differently from other animals, perhaps to handle the demands of their extreme aerial acrobatics."Birds fly faster than insects and…

  • Researchers find better way to 'herd' electrons in solar fuel devices

    Researchers at the University of British Columbia and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have discovered a new way to optimize electron transfer in semi-conductors used in solar fuel solutions.The finding, published today in Nature Chemistry, could have a big impact on devices that convert sunlight into electricity and fuel.

  • Bad air quality is deadly

    New research shows that more than 5.5 million people die prematurely every year due to household and outdoor air pollution. More than half of deaths occur in two of the world's fastest growing economies, China and India.Power plants, industrial manufacturing, vehicle exhaust and burning coal and wood all release small particles into the air that…