Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 22, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba Read the Winter issue at: winnipegfreepress.com/fp-features Available in your Free Press (subscribers) on March 29 and at Manitoba Liquor Marts - while supplies last! SPRING 2025 ISSUE OF DON’T MISS THE COMING SOON! A8 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEWS I CANADA WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2025 Parts of tundra releasing more carbon than they absorb: study P ARTS of the Arctic tundra are now releasing more planet-warming gases than they absorb, an inter- national study published Tuesday sug- gests, upending a millennia-old trend and raising concerns about a climate change feedback loop. The study, published in the peer-re- viewed journal Nature Climate Change, said the change appeared to have taken place in “many tundra regions” and called it a “noteworthy shift in carbon dynamics.” Large swaths of the fast-warming Arctic are covered in continuously fro- zen ground, called permafrost, that in some cases has remained below 0 C for hundreds of thousands of years. Once it thaws, scientists warn long-dead plant matter can decompose and release massive amounts of planet-warming carbon dioxide and methane, generat- ing a feedback loop that further con- tributes to global warming. The authors suggest one of the main drivers of the tundra’s shift from CO2 absorber to emitter could be thawing permafrost, which covers almost half of Canada’s land mass. “This is not something we can or should ignore,” said Sue Natali, a co-au- thor of the study and senior scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, a Massachusetts-based non-profit. The study says the region comprised of the boreal forest and the Arctic in- creased how much carbon it can hold in its plants and soils from 2001 to 2020. The uptake appeared to take place at lower latitudes of the boreal forest, where warmer temperatures extended the growing season, Natali said. Still, about one-third of that area had become a net source of carbon di- oxide, mostly in northern permafrost regions. When emissions from wild- fires were accounted for, the authors suggested the Arctic-boreal zone, taken as a whole, no longer absorbed a sta- tistically significant amount of carbon emissions. Of the regions releasing more carbon than they absorb, the study suggests about 20 per cent are in Canada. While scientists have expected hu- man-caused climate change to thaw permafrost and release CO2, Natali said it’s surprising to already see signa- tures of that change. “I think to be able to see it over such a large area – to detect it, to monitor it – is quite surprising, and it represents a shift in how this system is functioning,” she said in an interview. “And how this system is functioning is important, both for folks who live on permafrost, but also because these greenhouse gas emissions have global implications.” The study notes the timing of the shift, from a carbon sink to source, is uncertain and may have started prior to 1990. Human-caused climate change has already increased global temperatures, but that warming is happening sever- al times faster in the Arctic, in part due to another feedback loop: melting sea ice. As sea ice melts, the exposed darker ocean water can absorb more heat, which causes more ice to melt and warms the planet. As the Arctic warms, permafrost thaws. A 2021 report by an inter- national group of scientists suggested that on humanity’s current emissions trajectory, thawing permafrost could release emissions by the end of the cen- tury on par with some of the biggest greenhouse-gas emitting nations, such as the United States and China. Yet those emissions often go un- accounted for, Natali said. It could mean countries are underestimating how quickly they need to cut their dir- ect emissions, such as from burning fossil fuels, in order to meet warm- ing targets and avert some of climate change’s most serious effects. “If you’re not doing the math prop- erly … and you’re ignoring permafrost emissions essentially the size of an- other nation, then you’re not going to be able to stay well below two degrees Cel- sius or 1.5 degrees Celsius,” she said. Research has found that thawing permafrost poses major direct risks to Arctic communities, including in Can- ada. Houses, roads, airstrips, communi- cation towers and other infrastructure built on permafrost are at risk of col- lapse or erosion-related damage, a sep- arate study published last week in Com- munications Earth and Environment says. Accelerating erosion rates in Tuk- toyaktuk, N.W.T., have already con- tributed to the need for planned home relocation, the study notes. Other risks identified by that study include a decrease in water quality, food insecurity, supply chain disrup- tions and exposure to infectious dis- eases and contaminants trapped in permafrost, including large amounts of mercury. The findings outlined in Tuesday’s study underscored the importance of monitoring CO2 changes in the far north, where observation stations are limited, Natali said. “This is an amazing study because of the amount of data that went into it, but there’s still so many gaps in our obser- vation network for the North,” she said. — The Canadian Press JORDAN OMSTEAD SEAN KILPATRICK / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Large swaths of the Arctic are covered in continuously frozen ground, called permafrost. More than a third of Canadians seek online info due to lack of doctor access: poll A new poll suggests more than a third of Canadians say they have no choice but to seek health information online because they don’t have access to a doctor, further highlighting challenges posed by an ongoing physician short- age. The online survey by the Canadian Medical Association and Abacus Data conducted last November found that 37 per cent of respondents used medical advice they found online because they couldn’t access a doctor or a medical professional for help. Twenty-three per cent of those sur- veyed said following health advice they found online resulted in a bad reac- tion or had a negative impact on their health. The survey of 3,727 adult Canadians can’t be assigned a margin of error because online surveys are not con- sidered truly random samples. The CMA says the number of Can- adians turning to online sources for medical help emphasizes the lack of ac- cessible health care across the country, as an estimated 6.5 million people – one in five Canadians – do not have a family doctor or nurse practitioner they see regularly. CMA president Dr. Joss Reimer called the survey results “extremely concerning.” “There is no other generation that’s been exposed to so much misinforma- tion, but also had to face the hardship of a health-care system that is overtaxed and not meeting their needs,” Reimer said in a phone interview. Employment and Social Development Canada says the country currently has fewer doctors per capita than most countries that are part of the Organiz- ation for Economic Co-Operation and Development. It says that from 2022 to 2031, the number of job openings for general practitioners and family physicians are expected to total 48,900, while the number of job seekers in this group is expected to total 29,400 – creating a shortage of almost 20,000 doctors. The CMA says the shortage can be attributed to several factors. Many family doctors are retiring, and fewer new doctors are choosing family medi- cine. The association also says more family doctors are focusing on niche services rather than general care. Reimer also pointed to doctor burn- out as a major challenge facing the health-care system. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen it quite as bad as it is right now when it comes to both access to care, but also burnout that we’re seeing amongst our phys- ician colleagues,” said Reimer. “I know we can get things going in a better way for Canadians and for the people who work in the health system, but it’s hard not to feel discouraged.” The CMA survey also found that 42 per cent of respondents have tried medical advice they found online, and 31 per cent had taken online medical advice instead of advice received from a doctor or other medical professional. Reimer added that the survey’s find- ings are especially concerning given how easily health misinformation can spread online. “I know that our physicians feel passionate about being able to provide information to their patients, so I do want people to feel comfortable asking questions to their doctor,” said Reimer. “That is absolutely what we’re here for and what we want to be there for.” But for Canadians who don’t have access to a doctor or can’t see one in a timely way, Reimer said if they are seeking information online they should look to trusted sources such as the Pub- lic Health Agency of Canada or other organizations led by health profession- als. Reimer said the issue could be ad- dressed with a more integrated health- care system that’s accessible to every- one. This could mean pharmacists, nurses, doctors and social workers working together to share informa- tion with patients and make accessing health care easier, she said. “When people don’t have access to those trusted relationships with health- care providers, they’re going to go on- line to get that information,” she said. — The Canadian Press RIANNA LIM ;