Empowering Churchill: Exploring energy security in northern Manitoba

To those living in Churchill, Manitoba, having power means much more than being able to turn on the lights. Using Churchill as a case study, we examine how local context can improve the suitability of energy security definitions for communities in northern Canada. Churchill is an isolated northern municipality with no road access but is connected to the electrical grid. Energy consumption data were collected from utility providers and organized into a community energy profile. Semi-structured interviews (n = 23) and a community workshop (n = 12) identified challenges, opportunities, and a vision for Churchill’s energy system. High per capita energy consumption, especially of transportation (jet fuel) and heat (electricity and propane) sources dominate Churchill’s energy profile. The reliance on air travel and need for heating are realities that define energy systems in the North. Participants expressed desire for increased use of renewables and improved energy efficiency. Churchill is reliant on external sources of power and there is a need for agency and local decision making. Jurisdictional realities and the community’s desire for consideration of local context mean energy security definitions should take a regional approach. Recognizing these findings, we propose a new definition of energy security that fits the circumstances and desires of Churchill and the North."This research was supported by the University of Winnipeg, the Northern Research Fund, the Northern Scientific Training Program, the Geography and Environmental Students’ Association, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada through the CASES partnership grant, and the Manitoba Public Interest Law Centre."https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/7505

Empowering Churchill: Exploring Energy Security in Northern Manitoba

To those living in Churchill, Manitoba, having power means much more than being able to turn on the lights. Using Churchill as a case study, we examine how local context can improve the suitability of energy security definitions for communities in northern Canada. Churchill is an isolated northern municipality with no road access but is connected to the electrical grid. Energy consumption data were collected from utility providers and organized into a community energy profile. Semi-structured interviews (n = 23) and a community workshop (n = 12) identified challenges, opportunities, and a vision for Churchill’s energy system. High per capita energy consumption, especially of transportation (jet fuel) and heat (electricity and propane) sources dominate Churchill’s energy profile. The reliance on air travel and need for heating are realities that define energy systems in the North. Participants expressed desire for increased use of renewables and improved energy efficiency. Churchill is reliant on external sources of power and there is a need for agency and local decision making. Jurisdictional realities and the community’s desire for consideration of local context mean energy security definitions should take a regional approach. Recognizing these findings, we propose a new definition of energy security that fits the circumstances and desires of Churchill and the North.Pour les gens de Churchill, au Manitoba, avoir de l’énergie ne signifie pas seulement être capable d’allumer les lumières. En nous appuyant sur une étude de cas au sujet de Churchill, nous examinons en quoi le contexte local peut permettre d’améliorer le caractère approprié des définitions de la sécurité énergétique pour les communautés du Nord canadien. Churchill est une municipalité nordique isolée sans accès routier, mais elle est reliée au réseau électrique. Des données sur la consommation d’énergie ont été recueillies auprès de fournisseurs de ce service public et organisées en un profil énergétique communautaire. Des entrevues semi-structurées (n = 23) et un atelier communautaire (n = 12) ont permis de cerner les défis, les possibilités et une vision pour le système énergétique de Churchill. La consommation d’énergie par habitant est élevée, surtout en ce qui a trait aux sources énergétiques destinées au transport (carburéacteur) et à la chaleur (électricité et propane) qui dominent le profil énergétique de Churchill. Le recours prononcé au transport aérien et les besoins en chauffage sont des réalités qui définissent les systèmes énergétiques du Nord. Les participants ont exprimé le désir d’une utilisation accrue d’énergies renouvelables et d’une meilleure efficacité énergétique. Churchill dépend de sources d’énergie externes, et il faudrait que les décisions soient prises à l’échelle locale, par une agence. Les réalités juridictionnelles et le désir de cette municipalité de prendre le contexte local en considération signifient que les définitions de la sécurité énergétique devraient prendre une approche régionale. À la lumière de ces constatations, nous proposons une nouvelle définition de la sécurité énergétique, définition qui cadre avec les circonstances et les désirs de Churchill et du Nord

Climate-induced changes in nutrient transformations across landscape units in a thermokarst subarctic peatland

Across the circumpolar north, the degradation of permafrost has resulted in an increase in the extent of thermokarst landforms. Within thermally disturbed ecosystems, climatically driven changes to hydrology and temperature regimes have the potential to modify nutrient cycling processes. To assess the impacts of changing moisture and thermal conditions on the mineralization of nutrients in the Hudson Bay Lowlands, subarctic Canada, soil cores were extracted along gradients of moisture and topographic position (peat plateaus, sedge lawns, channel fens, and thermokarst collapse scars). Soil subsamples were then subjected to a factorial design of temperature (4°C, 12°C, and 20°C) and moisture treatments (saturated, field moist, and air dried) in oxic conditions for three weeks. Nitrogen transformation rates were highly variable across landscape units (ranging from −1 to 96 μg N-NO3− and from −53 to 73 μg N-NH4+ g−1 dry soil for the incubation period). Shoreline collapse scar material showed the greatest potential for nitrification, with rates two orders of magnitude higher than other landscape positions, under warm (20°C) and saturated conditions. This work shows the potential of increased plant-available nitrate for rapid vegetative colonization of thermokarst collapse scars, and provides novel insight into nutrient cycling processes in permafrost peatland landscapes

A role for nature-based citizen science in promoting individual and collective climate change action? A systematic review of learning outcomes

As a model of communication and engagement, citizen science has the potential to promote individual and collective climate change action. This article systematically reviewed literature that jointly addressed climate change and nature-based citizen science and identified 23 reported learning outcomes. Overall, evidence related to learning outcomes was limited across reviewed studies, but documentation of outcomes that are directly relevant to collective climate action was particularly scarce. Findings suggest more research examining citizen science from a collective climate action perspective is needed. To support future research efforts, results link the 23 revealed learning outcomes to two potential evaluation frameworks

The SPLASH Action Group – Towards standardized sampling strategies in permafrost science

The Action Group called ‘Standardized methods across Permafrost Landscapes: from Arctic Soils to Hydrosystems’ (SPLASH) is a community-driven effort aiming to provide a suite of standardized field strategies for sampling mineral and organic components in soils, sediments, and water across permafrost landscapes. This unified approach will allow data from different landscape interfaces, field locations and seasons to be shared and compared, thus improving our understanding of the processes occurring during lateral transport in circumpolar Arctic watersheds