Decontaminate your water with... chicken feathers

No matter how you do it, producing energy affects water.

In Alberta, the most visible sign of this reality can be found in the tailings ponds being produced around oil sands production facilities, but less obvious types of contamination are also possible. Recent years have seen questions raised about the leaching of cadmium telluride into groundwater from low-cost solar panels. Researchers also continue to raise concerns that hydroelectric projects like Newfoundland and Labrador's Muskrat Falls might increase downstream levels of methylmercury. Renewable energy technologies promise to eliminate carbon emissions, but their impacts on water still need to be understood and -- if necessary -- mitigated.