Weekly Quiz: Transboundary Beef, Coastal Climate Creep, and Separatist Sentiment

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const title = "Weekly Quiz: Transboundary Beef, Coastal Climate Creep, and Separatist Sentiment"; const date = "March 14, 2026"; const data = [ { image: "https://walrus-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/img/WEB_Cocaine-Atlantic-Canada_Mar26-1536x1024.jpg", title: "How Cocaine Became the Leading Overdose Killer in Newfoundland", url: "https://thewalrus.ca/cocaine-is-atlantic-canadas-silent-killer/", question: "Drug toxicity deaths often involve more than one substance, making them harder to prevent and treat. Mixing stimulants, like cocaine, with other drugs significantly increases risk. What percentage of stimulant toxicity deaths reported in 2022 also involved an opioid?", options: [ "About 40 percent", "About 52 percent", "About 65 percent", "About 78 percent", ], answer: "About 78 percent", correct: "In 2024, more than 75 percent of toxicity deaths in Canada involved more than one substance. Polysubstance use—where users knowingly or unknowingly consume two or more substances together within a short period—can increase the risk for an apparent stimulant toxicity death. In 2022, over three-quarters (78 percent) of ASTDs also involved an opioid. Because opioids and stimulants impact the body differently—opioids depress the nervous system and slow breathing, while stimulants increase heart rate and blood pressure—this particular combination can sometimes be lethal.", incorrect: "In 2024, more than 75 percent of toxicity deaths in Canada involved more than one substance. Polysubstance use—where users knowingly or unknowingly consume two or more substances together within a short period—can increase the risk for an apparent stimulant toxicity death. In 2022, over three-quarters (78 percent) of ASTDs also involved an opioid. Because opioids and stimulants impact the body differently—opioids depress the nervous system and slow breathing, while stimulants increase heart rate and blood pressure—this particular combination can sometimes be lethal.", }, { title: "Mega Barns Along the US Border Cause a Big Stink in Manitoba", url: "https://thewalrus.ca/mega-barns-along-the-us-border-cause-a-big-stink-in-manitoba/", question: "A proposed North Dakotan industrial livestock project is raising environmental concerns in Manitoba over the health of the Red River watershed. Disputes over transboundary waters shared by Canada and the United States can be mediated by a binational advisory body. What is the name of this organization?", options: [ "The North American Water Commission", "The Great Lakes Environmental Council", "The International Joint Commission", "The Midwestern Watershed Authority", ], answer: "The International Joint Commission", correct: "Standing between the federal, provincial/state, and local governments that manage the thirteen US–Canadian transboundary waters is the International Joint Commission (IJC), a kind of binational referee with advisory but no regulatory power. After pressure from groups, including the MbEN and the North Dakota–based nonprofit Dakota Resource Council (DRC), the Manitoba government referred the case to the IJC, which is currently reviewing the potential effects of the Riverview barns. According to Mike Moyes, the provincial minister of environment and climate change, the IJC report is expected to be released in April. “I hope that they recognize just how important our watershed is—and the potential impacts [the barns] could have on Lake Winnipeg,” says Moye.", incorrect: "Standing between the federal, provincial/state, and local governments that manage the thirteen US–Canadian transboundary waters is the International Joint Commission (IJC), a kind of binational referee with advisory but no regulatory power. After pressure from groups, including the MbEN and the North Dakota–based nonprofit Dakota Resource Council (DRC), the Manitoba government referred the case to the IJC, which is currently reviewing the potential effects of the Riverview barns. According to Mike Moyes, the provincial minister of environment and climate change, the IJC report is expected to be released in April. “I hope that they recognize just how important our watershed is—and the potential impacts [the barns] could have on Lake Winnipeg,” says Moye.", }, { image: "https://walrus-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/img/ART_Kidd_01-1536x1024.jpg", title: "A BC Coastal Village Embraced Natural Gas. Can It Outrace the Consequences?", url: "https://thewalrus.ca/lng-pipeline-canada/", question: "Climate change is reshaping coastlines the world over. The populations most at risk are those living in what researchers call low-elevation coastal zones. What criteria does a region have to meet to be defined as a low-elevation coastal zone?", options: [ "It is below five metres elevation and within ten kilometres of a coast", "It is near a coast and less than ten metres above sea level", "It has flood-prone deltas and river mouths below sea level", "Climate scientists project that it will be fully submerged by 2100", ], answer: "It is near a coast and less than ten metres above sea level", correct: "High tides and storms, even tsunamis, are nothing new to coastal communities globally. What is new is the triple threat of these superimposed on sea-level rise for as many as 1 billion people globally who live in what’s known as low-elevation coastal zones, or areas near a coast and less than ten metres above sea level. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts a global mean sea-level rise of up to one metre by the end of the century; with continued high greenhouse gas emissions, two metres is not impossible. This is combined with predictions of heavier precipitation and more intense storms.", incorrect: "High tides and storms, even tsunamis, are nothing new to coastal communities globally. What is new is the triple threat of these superimposed on sea-level rise for as many as 1 billion people globally who live in what’s known as low-elevation coastal zones, or areas near a coast and less than ten metres above sea level. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts a global mean sea-level rise of up to one metre by the end of the century; with continued high greenhouse gas emissions, two metres is not impossible. This is combined with predictions of heavier precipitation and more intense storms.", }, { title: "Is Danielle Smith the Most Powerful Politician in Canada?", url: "https://thewalrus.ca/is-danielle-smith-the-most-powerful-politician-in-canada/", question: "The perception that most Albertans are sympathetic to separatism is likely shaped, in part, by stereotypes about who the typical Albertan is—but census data tells a more interesting story. As of 2021, how many Albertans identified as visible minorities?", options: [ "Almost 500,000 people", "Roughly 800,000 people", "More than 1 million people", "Just under 1.4 million people", ], answer: "More than 1 million people", correct: "The idea of the average Albertan as a soft separatist is probably partially due to the cultural projection of who the typical Albertan is. University of Alberta professor Jared Wesley lists off the qualities: white, middle-aged, blue collar, male. In reality, the majority of Albertans are not all of these things. As of 2021, almost 1 million Albertans identified as immigrants, and over a million Albertans identified as visible minorities. When it comes to people living in Edmonton specifically, 43 percent are racial minorities, making it the second-most diverse provincial capital in Canada. But that reality might not matter if enough Albertans imagine themselves—thanks to media, federal political dynamics, and politicians like Danielle Smith—as the home of rural living, hard work, white blue-collar men, and good old-fashioned conservatism.", incorrect: "The idea of the average Albertan as a soft separatist is probably partially due to the cultural projection of who the typical Albertan is. University of Alberta professor Jared Wesley lists off the qualities: white, middle-aged, blue collar, male. In reality, the majority of Albertans are not all of these things. As of 2021, almost 1 million Albertans identified as immigrants, and over a million Albertans identified as visible minorities. When it comes to people living in Edmonton specifically, 43 percent are racial minorities, making it the second-most diverse provincial capital in Canada. But that reality might not matter if enough Albertans imagine themselves—thanks to media, federal political dynamics, and politicians like Danielle Smith—as the home of rural living, hard work, white blue-collar men, and good old-fashioned conservatism.", }, ];