Lydia Dotto: Difference between revisions

Canadian journalist, author and photographer (1949–2022)

Lydia Dotto (1949–2022) was a Canadian science journalist and author, a wildlife photographer, and an educator on science communication.^[1][2] Dotto’s best known book is Storm Warning, a 1999 non-fiction work on climate change and its predicted effects. Dotto worked as an arctic diver and trained in zero gravity flight prior to her writing career.^[3]

Dotto was a journalist with the Edmonton Journal in 1969 and with the Toronto Star between 1970 and 1971.^[2] She graduated with an Honours degree from Carleton University School of Journalism in 1971.^[1][2] Her articles were published in The Globe and Mail, Canadian Business and en Route among others.^[4] Dotto was staff science writer for The Globe and Mail from 1972–1978.^[2] Her writing on nuclear terrorism, high-energy physics, global warming and other topics earned awards from the Canadian Science Writers’ Association.^[1][5][6]

She completed two dives under the Arctic ice for an article on cold-water diving.^[1][7] She covered space missions including Skylab, Apollo, the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station.^[1][6] She was the first female member of the press corps permitted aboard the USS Ticonderoga aircraft carrier to cover the splashdown of Skylab 4 astronauts.^[1][8]

Dotto’s association with NASA and the Canadian Space Agency continued even after leaving The Globe and Mail, in part through her rapport with astronauts Chris Hadfield and Marc Garneau.^[6] She held interviews with Canadian astronauts and participated in a zero-gravity training flight at the Johnson Space Centre.^[1] Through her skills and sources, Dotto published books and articles on space and the environment to become a leading freelance science writer and environmental journalist (see Bibliography).^[6]

Dotto was President of the Canadian Science Writers’ Association from 1979–1980^[9] and executive editor of Canadian Science News Service from 1982–1992.^[6] For her accomplishments, she was awarded the Sandford Fleming Medal for science communication by the Royal Canadian Institute in 1983.^[1][10] She was chosen to give a talk on “Planet Earth as a Life Support System” for the 1990 Royal Astronomical Society of Canada General Assembly.^[11]

The year she turned 65, Dotto shifted her focus to wildlife photography.^[1][12] Wildlife magazines published her pictures from Canada, Costa Rica, Tanzania and elsewhere.^[2] Starting in 2005, Dotto taught environmental communication at Trent University close to her home in Peterborough, Ontario and led science writing and communication workshops.^[1][2][6]

Lydia Dotto was born to August and Assunta Dotto in Cadomin, Alberta, moving to Edmonton when she was a few years old. She has a younger sister, Terry.^[1]

Dotto attended the first Beatles concert in Canada at Empire Stadium in Vancouver and was a lifelong Beatles fan.^[6]

Lydia graduated from Austin O’Brien Catholic High School in 1968.^[6]

In her online art store, Dotto stated “I enjoy merging diverse artistic paths, never knowing where they will take me but always enjoying the journey”.^[12]

Lydia Dotto died in 2022 in Peterborough with her family by her side.^[1] Her archives are held by and available for research in Special Collections & Archives at the University of Waterloo.^[13]

• Dotto, Lydia; Schiff, Harold (1978). The Ozone War. Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-38512-927-5.
• Dotto, Lydia (1986). Planet Earth in jeopardy: environmental consequences of nuclear war. Wiley. ISBN 978-0-47199-836-5.
• Dotto, Lydia (1987). Canada in Space. Irwin Pub. ISBN 978-0-77251-559-9.
• Conference Report: Dotto, Lydia (1988). Thinking the unthinkable: civilization and rapid climate change. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0-88920-968-8.
• Dotto, Lydia (1990). Asleep in the fast lane: the impact of sleep on work. Stoddart Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-77372-286-6.
• Dotto, Lydia (1990). Losing sleep: how your sleeping habits affect your life. Quill/William Morrow. ISBN 978-0-68811-275-2.
• Dotto, Lydia (1991). Blue planet: a portrait of Earth. Smithsonian Institution and Lockheed Corporation. ISBN 978-0-81092-472-7.
• Dotto, Lydia (1993). The astronauts: Canada’s voyageurs in space. Stoddart. ISBN 978-0-77372-707-6.
• Dotto, Lydia (1999). Storm warning: gambling with the climate of our planet. Doubleday Canada. ISBN 978-0-38525-790-9.
  • French Translation: Le ciel nous tombe sur la tête: sommes-nous entrain de risquer le climat de notre planète? (2001)
• Encyclopedia Article: Canadian Space Agency ^[14]