La mobilisation des rivières et du fleuve pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale : Québec et l’hydroélectricité, 1939-1945

Pendant la Deuxième Guerre mondiale, les fleuves et les rivières canadiennes furent mobilisés pour fournir de l’énergie pour la production militaire. Au Québec plus que dans toute autre province, on assista à l’intégration de réseaux hydroélectriques, à la construction de barrages, et à l’introduction de nouvelles méthodes de planification de la conservation énergétique. Ces actions eurent pour effet d’augmenter substantiellement l’énergie électrique disponible pour la production des matériaux de guerre nécessaires à l’effort militaire des Alliés. Peu d’attention fut portée aux effets environnementaux de la production énergétique, mais comme les réseaux connurent une forte croissance d’échelle, leurs effets se ressentirent sur de grandes distances, et des programmes de production et de conservation énergétique contribuèrent à coordonner les pratiques des rivières et des fleuves éloignées. Les grands réseaux techniques devinrent ainsi des éco-réseaux.During the Second World War, Canadian rivers were mobilized to provide energy for military production. In Quebec, more than any other province, existing power systems were interconnected, dam projects were launched, and new means of planning power conservation were introduced. The sum effect was a substantial increase in available electricity for materials production which was fundamental to the allied war effort. Little attention focused on the environmental effects of power production but as systems increased in scale, their effects were felt over greater distances and separate rivers became practically coordinated in power generation and conservation programs. Large technological systems became enviro-technical systems

A View from the Bush: Space, Environment and the Historiography of Science

Cet article étudie les rapports interdisciplinaires entre l’histoire de la science, la géographie historique et l’histoire environnementale. Quatre approches ont influencé les récentes études : une approche spatiale élaborée essentiellement, mais pas exclusivement, dans le domaine de la géographie qui met l’accent sur les problèmes d’espace, de lieu, de localisation et de circulation; deuxièmement, une approche disciplinaire qui se consacre à l’historique des disciplines environnementales; troisièmement, une approche axée sur la science et le changement comportant des ouvrages qui mettent l’accent sur le rôle de la science dans les changements environnementaux; et, quatrièmement, une approche écospatiale qui comprend des études cherchant à prendre part aux historiographies de la science, de l’environnement et de la spatialité, ainsi qu’à établir des liens entre elles. Je soutiens que ces approches ont créé de nouveaux rapports entre des domaines que l’on devrait promouvoir et approfondir.This paper examines the interdisciplinary connections among the history of science, historical geography and environmental history. Four approaches have shaped recent scholarship: a spatial approach developed primarily but not exclusively within the discipline of geography that emphasizes problems of space, place, location and circulation; second, a disciplinary approach which pursues histories of environmental disciplines; third, a science and change approach containing works which emphasize the role of science in environmental change; and fourth an eco-spatial approach which includes studies that seek to engage with and link historiographies of science, environment and spatiality. I argue that these approaches have created new connections between fields that should be fostered and extended

The Sparrow Question: Social and Scientific Accord in Britain, 1850-1900.

During the latter-half of the nineteenth century, the utility of the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) to humankind was a contentious topic. In Britain, numerous actors from various backgrounds including natural history, acclimatisation, agriculture and economic ornithology converged on the bird, as contemporaries sought to calculate its economic cost and benefit to growers. Periodicals and newspapers provided an accessible and anonymous means of expression, through which the debate raged for over 50 years. By the end of the century, sparrows had been cast as detrimental to agriculture. Yet consensus was not achieved through new scientific methods, instruments, or changes in practice. This study instead argues that the rise and fall of scientific disciplines and movements paved the way for consensus on "the sparrow question." The decline of natural history and acclimatisation stifled a raging debate, while the rising science of economic ornithology sought to align itself with agricultural interests: the latter overwhelmingly hostile to sparrows

Multiorgan MRI findings after hospitalisation with COVID-19 in the UK (C-MORE): a prospective, multicentre, observational cohort study

Introduction: The multiorgan impact of moderate to severe coronavirus infections in the post-acute phase is still poorly understood. We aimed to evaluate the excess burden of multiorgan abnormalities after hospitalisation with COVID-19, evaluate their determinants, and explore associations with patient-related outcome measures. Methods: In a prospective, UK-wide, multicentre MRI follow-up study (C-MORE), adults (aged ≥18 years) discharged from hospital following COVID-19 who were included in Tier 2 of the Post-hospitalisation COVID-19 study (PHOSP-COVID) and contemporary controls with no evidence of previous COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antibody negative) underwent multiorgan MRI (lungs, heart, brain, liver, and kidneys) with quantitative and qualitative assessment of images and clinical adjudication when relevant. Individuals with end-stage renal failure or contraindications to MRI were excluded. Participants also underwent detailed recording of symptoms, and physiological and biochemical tests. The primary outcome was the excess burden of multiorgan abnormalities (two or more organs) relative to controls, with further adjustments for potential confounders. The C-MORE study is ongoing and is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04510025. Findings: Of 2710 participants in Tier 2 of PHOSP-COVID, 531 were recruited across 13 UK-wide C-MORE sites. After exclusions, 259 C-MORE patients (mean age 57 years [SD 12]; 158 [61%] male and 101 [39%] female) who were discharged from hospital with PCR-confirmed or clinically diagnosed COVID-19 between March 1, 2020, and Nov 1, 2021, and 52 non-COVID-19 controls from the community (mean age 49 years [SD 14]; 30 [58%] male and 22 [42%] female) were included in the analysis. Patients were assessed at a median of 5·0 months (IQR 4·2–6·3) after hospital discharge. Compared with non-COVID-19 controls, patients were older, living with more obesity, and had more comorbidities. Multiorgan abnormalities on MRI were more frequent in patients than in controls (157 [61%] of 259 vs 14 [27%] of 52; p<0·0001) and independently associated with COVID-19 status (odds ratio [OR] 2·9 [95% CI 1·5–5·8]; padjusted=0·0023) after adjusting for relevant confounders. Compared with controls, patients were more likely to have MRI evidence of lung abnormalities (p=0·0001; parenchymal abnormalities), brain abnormalities (p<0·0001; more white matter hyperintensities and regional brain volume reduction), and kidney abnormalities (p=0·014; lower medullary T1 and loss of corticomedullary differentiation), whereas cardiac and liver MRI abnormalities were similar between patients and controls. Patients with multiorgan abnormalities were older (difference in mean age 7 years [95% CI 4–10]; mean age of 59·8 years [SD 11·7] with multiorgan abnormalities vs mean age of 52·8 years [11·9] without multiorgan abnormalities; p<0·0001), more likely to have three or more comorbidities (OR 2·47 [1·32–4·82]; padjusted=0·0059), and more likely to have a more severe acute infection (acute CRP >5mg/L, OR 3·55 [1·23–11·88]; padjusted=0·025) than those without multiorgan abnormalities. Presence of lung MRI abnormalities was associated with a two-fold higher risk of chest tightness, and multiorgan MRI abnormalities were associated with severe and very severe persistent physical and mental health impairment (PHOSP-COVID symptom clusters) after hospitalisation. Interpretation: After hospitalisation for COVID-19, people are at risk of multiorgan abnormalities in the medium term. Our findings emphasise the need for proactive multidisciplinary care pathways, with the potential for imaging to guide surveillance frequency and therapeutic stratification

Lights Out: Conserving Electricity for War in the Canadian City, 1939-1945

Economic mobilization in Canada during the Second World War drove a major expansion in power demand in cities of the industrial heartland. To meet the needs of wartime industry, the federal government imposed power conservation measures, and utilities sought to inspire voluntary conservation among urban and primarily female consumers. These measures produced conflicts over their proper application and broader meanings. Conservation came to be understood not as an environmental measure, but as a planning policy to restrict uses in some sectors of society to allow for unfettered use in others. Wartime conservation did not ultimately reduce power demand in Canada, but it did lay down conditions that would support massive postwar growth.La mobilisation économique au Canada pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale a fait croître de façon importante la demande en électricité du secteur industriel. Afin de suffire aux besoins de l’industrie en temps de guerre, le gouvernement fédéral a imposé des mesures de conservation de l’électricité. De plus, on cherchait à inspirer, par la conception des appareils électriques, une attitude de conservation volontaire parmi les consommateurs urbains, en particulier parmi les consommatrices. Ces mesures ont entraîné des conflits à propos de leur application adéquate et de leur signification étendue. On en est venu à comprendre la conservation non pas comme une mesure environnementale, mais comme une politique de planification visant à réduire l’utilisation dans certains secteurs de la société et, en contrepartie, à permettre une utilisation sans entraves dans d’autres. La conservation en temps de guerre n’a finalement pas réduit la demande d’électricité au Canada, mais a mis en place les conditions favorables à la croissance massive d’après-guerre

La mobilisation des rivières et du fleuve pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale : Québec et l’hydroélectricité, 1939-1945

Pendant la Deuxième Guerre mondiale, les fleuves et les rivières canadiennes furent mobilisés pour fournir de l’énergie pour la production militaire. Au Québec plus que dans toute autre province, on assista à l’intégration de réseaux hydroélectriques, à la construction de barrages, et à l’introduction de nouvelles méthodes de planification de la conservation énergétique. Ces actions eurent pour effet d’augmenter substantiellement l’énergie électrique disponible pour la production des matériaux de guerre nécessaires à l’effort militaire des Alliés. Peu d’attention fut portée aux effets environnementaux de la production énergétique, mais comme les réseaux connurent une forte croissance d’échelle, leurs effets se ressentirent sur de grandes distances, et des programmes de production et de conservation énergétique contribuèrent à coordonner les pratiques des rivières et des fleuves éloignées. Les grands réseaux techniques devinrent ainsi des éco-réseaux.During the Second World War, Canadian rivers were mobilized to provide energy for military production. In Quebec, more than any other province, existing power systems were interconnected, dam projects were launched, and new means of planning power conservation were introduced. The sum effect was a substantial increase in available electricity for materials production which was fundamental to the allied war effort. Little attention focused on the environmental effects of power production but as systems increased in scale, their effects were felt over greater distances and separate rivers became practically coordinated in power generation and conservation programs. Large technological systems became enviro-technical systems