DARYN CAISTER: The final Draft for a recovery strategy of the “Right” Whales designated critical protected habitat in Canadian waters. The protected areas are just off the Bay of Fundy and the Roseway basin, both off the south-eastern coast of Nova Scotia. Not only does the designation of critical habitat by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans for the whales protect vital feeding grounds but also opens up the possibility for other legal protections of the whales there. The whales where named “right” whales because of their slow speed and tendency to float after being killed and were named so as being the “right” whales to hunt. There are currently estimated to number less than 400 and hunting them has been banned since 1935. Since hunting of the animals has stopped the population of whales has been slow to increase, however the last couple years have shown a definite strengthening of their numbers. Many premature deaths for the animals after hunting was banned was due to ship collisions and commercial fishing equipment accidents, but recently both industries have agreed to voluntary adopted measure, including shipping route changes and equipment being moved which has apparently helped mortality. Scientific analysis has shown that as much as 75% of living animals have scarring from ship collisions or fishing gear. Because no data is available for pre-hunting population, and the birth rate of these animals is so slow, it is difficult to estimate what a stable population of right whales is, but so far some conservation specialists have estimated that a good number to consider de-listing the animal would be a population of about 1000 whales.  [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: As the spring melt continues in Canada’s Arctic, shipping lanes are becoming increasingly crowded. Just a few years ago, most of the ships in the area were research vessels or from the Canadian Coast Guard. Now, with the passage expected to be ice-free for the third year in a row, commercial ships vastly outnumber all other forms of traffic. A lot of the increase in traffic comes from the growing Inuit population in the Arctic. Since the creation of Nunavut 10 years ago, Canada has greatly increased its spending on Northern infrastructure, relying on the newly ice-free lanes to carry goods from further south. However, European shipping companies are beginning to eye the passage as a way to shave several thousand kilometres off the journey to ports in Asia. Canada considers the North-West passage to be part of Canadian international waters, and as recently as last fall Stephen Harper declared that all ships entering the waterway would be required to report to the coast guard. However, this declaration has yet to be enforced by legislation. More tellingly, last week the Canadian Press reported that a plan to purchase six ice-capable vessels for the Canadian Navy to patrol northern regions has been delayed. In the current economic environment, it’s likely that the high cost of purchasing and maintaining the vessels is causing the Harper administration to re-think its plans. The effects of the additional human presence in the north have yet to be measured, but with Russia and the U.S. also claiming arctic waters and with sea ice decreasing at a rate of 34,000 square kilometres per year on average, the pressure is only likely to increase. [ index ]

DARYN CAISTER: The plastics industry has raised questions over the legality of the 5 cent plastic bag levee in Toronto. As of June 1st Toronto shopkeepers have been required to charge customers 5 cents for each plastic bag they used. While overall consumer response seems to be accepting overall on the issue, representatives of the industry that produces the taxed product have said that they are evaluating the possibility of legal action over the fee. Their argument centres on an alleged grey area within the City of Toronto Act surrounding the ability for Toronto to impose product specific taxes or price regulations, and they have apparently cited a city staff report from last year saying that the city couldn’t do that. However over the last several years courts have greatly expanded the ability of municipalities to enact policy with the public good in mind, particularly concerning economic, social and environmental issues. City officials, particularly Toronto City Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker, Chairman of the public works committee outright dismissed the claims saying “We already dictate a lot of things to protect the public”. Mr. De Baeremaeker insinuated that the claims were only part of a threatened industry trying to protect its product, comparing the issue to tobacco companies when health officials started banning smoking 30 years ago. So far no official challenges to the policy have been issued, but plastics industry representatives have confirmed they are exploring their options with their lawyers. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: On Wednesday, Natural Resources minister Lisa Raitt announced plans to give Canadian pulp mills a $1-billion subsidy. The aid package was welcomed by industry officials, who had warned that the industry would collapse without immediate assistance.The cause of the trouble is a substance called “black liquor,” a carbon-rich mix of wood fibres and chemicals produced as a by-product of the pulping process. Rather than discharge it to the environment, virtually all mills recover their black liquor and use it as fuel to power their internal processes. However, in late 2008, US companies discovered that by adding a small amount of diesel to the black liquor, they could qualify for a federal subsidy designed to encourage the use of renewable biofuels. At 50 cents per gallon, the subsidy amounted to an $8-billlion windfall for US pulp producers, who quickly began to lower prices and undercut Canadian firms. The Canadian aid package is designed to level the playing field by offering Canadian producers 16 cents per litre of black liquor recycled. However, the money comes with strings attached; it must be used to invest in capital upgrades that improve energy efficiency, such as co-generation plants that produce both heat and electricity. The subsidy is a one-time investment, as the loophole that enabled the American windfall will likely be closed by the end of the year. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: Last Friday, US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Lawrence Cannon commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Boundary Waters Treaty, one of the oldest pieces of environmental legislation in North America. The ceremony took place on the Rainbow Bridge connecting Niagara Falls, Ontario to Niagara Falls, New York, and was Clinton’s first visit to Canada since being appointed Secretary of State. The Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 states that waters shared by the two countries “shall not be polluted on either side to the injury of health or property on the other.” However, the details of what this means were not spelled out until 1972, when the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement was signed by both countries. The WQA, as it is known, identified specific pollutants and called for the development of remedial action plans to clean up the worst areas of the Great Lakes. While there have been some successes, such as international bans on pollutants like polychlorinated biphenyls and high-phosphate detergents, many of the worst areas have not improved in over 30 years. As well, the lakes are under threat from new emerging contaminants, invasive species, and the effects of climate change. During their meeting Saturday, both Cannon and Clinton pledged to renew the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, which was last amended in 1987. Environmental groups will be watching closely to ensure that the process results in a stronger and more effective agreement. [ index ]

DARYN CAISTER: Ontario wines may not be as local as they seem according to the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance. The group, which includes Dr. Rick Smith the Executive Director of Environmental Defence, are warning Ontarian’s that under current Ontario law Ontario wines can contain up to 70% foreign grapes. The group has been highlighting the issue because it feels that there is a quote “tremendous” increase in support for local farmers and food, as well as the popularization of local diet programs such as the popular 100 mile diet book. Under the Wine content and Labelling Act, Ontario wineries can purchase off-shore product to mix in with only 30% Canadian grapes to acquire a “Cellared in Canada” sticker. The minimum Canadian content for this designation was initially set at 85%, but has been lowered several times before arriving at its current 30% level. Other than public awareness the group is also concerned with Ontario grape growers that had to contend with 30,000 tonnes of imported grapes last year, while some Ontario farmers offering the same varieties were left with rotting fields and eventually required $4 million dollars in bailout. The Ontario Greenbelt Alliance reports that a bottle of 100% Ontario VQA grape wine creates economic spin-off for Ontario equal to $11.50, compared to $7.72 for “Cellared in Canada” wines and only $0.67 for foreign wines. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: Amid the excitement over Raitt-gate last week, we nearly overlooked an important announcement by finance minister Jim Prentice regarding the eventual establishment of a Canada-wide carbon market. In a luncheon speech on Wednesday June 10, Prentice announced the release of two draft documents outlining some of the rules for Canada’s carbon offset system. The offset system works by issuing credits to companies and individuals that undertake projects to reduce their carbon footprint, and by allowing these credits to be sold to other emitters. The documents released last week describe the type of projects that would qualify for the program, and how carbon reductions would be measured. Examples include the creation of wind farms or the case of farmers using reduced soil tilling methods, which stores carbon in the soil. Critics accuse the federal government of being far behind on this file. Many Canadian provinces and US states have already announced or implemented their own carbon-trading markets, and the new federal plan will have to be harmonized with these systems. Environmentalists also point out that the rules will not encourage innovation, as many companies will earn credits for actions that they are already taking. Lastly, the documents released last week do not specify size of the eventual cap that will be placed on carbon emissions. During previous election campaigns, the Conservative government has promised to lower carbon emissions to 20% below 2006 levels by 2020, and to work with Mexico and the US to have a continent-wide trading scheme in place by 2012 to 2015. The public has 60 days to comment on the proposed rules. [ index ]

DARYN CAISTER: Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Toronto Mayor David Miller are about to announce the fate of Toronto’s $1.2 billion streetcar bid. The deal has seemed to have been back and forth since some questionable comments by federal Transport Minister John Baird about giving Toronto the third of the $1.2 billion they had been asking for, however government sources indicate that the deal is likely to proceed. The Toronto streetcar fleet is mostly more than 30 years old and the Toronto Transit Commission is predicting that as early as this summer it may need to start replacing some of its routes with buses. While the news will likely be a relief too many at city hall, there has been some controversy about only asking or receiving federal stimulus money for only this one project for Toronto with so much federal money being spent. We will update the details of the announcement next week. [ index ]

KATHERINE BROWN: A new study has found that wind seems to be dying down across the United States. And surprise, surprise, climate change is thought to be the main culprit. The idea that winds are slowing is still largely speculative within the scientific community, but this newest study has found a very large effect—making it the first study to confirm the idea. Alarmingly, the report found around a 10 percent drop or more in the strength of winds over the past decade. But there are many questions left unanswered– so even the authors of the study say it’s too early to know if it is a real trend or not. If it is real though, the findings will be problematic for many reasons. One, which is especially concerning investors, is that as we feel more of the impacts of climate change, wind power will become less of a feasible alternative energy source. A ten percent decline in peak winds could translate into a 30 percent loss in the amount of energy which may be harvested. Given the uncertainty of the findings however, the authors of the study say that it’s far too early to modify wind energy development plans. But regardless, this study opens the door to a variable of climate change which has largely been left unexplored. [ index ]

KATHERINE BROWN: This summer, water off the coast of Louisiana and Texas in the Gulf of Mexico may become one of the largest “dead zones” ever recorded. A “dead zone” is an area in water where oxygen levels drop so low that species that used to thrive can no longer survive. Regions of ‘dead’ water are mainly caused by nutrient runoff from agricultural activity. The new prediction for the Gulf of Mexico’s alarmingly large dead zone came from research released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Scientists are predicting that the area could grow to be as large as anywhere from 7,450 to 8,456 square miles this summer. But additional flooding of the Mississippi River since May might result in an even larger dead zone. This dead zone is of serious economic concern because it destroys critical habitat, and therefore threatens valuable commercial and recreational Gulf fisheries. [ index ]

KATHERINE BROWN: What’s being called a “people-powered” store opened in Europe this past Wednesday. The design for the store relies on a form of technology based around kinetic energy. When vehicles pass over ‘kinetic road plates’ located outside the store, the plates move to create enough kinetic energy to power a generator. These plates are expected to produce 30 kWh of green energy. This energy will be used to power the store’s checkouts, with some energy left to spare. The system does not affect the cars passing by, and drivers feel no difference as they pass over the plates. The store, called Sainsbury’s, also includes other energy-saving measures. For one, it harvests rainwater to flush the store’s toilets. It also uses thermal panels to heat the water, and sun pipes designed to increase the use of natural light. It also has set in place energy management systems to ensure that energy efficiency is constantly at its best. The store spokeswoman has said that if this model does prove to be effective, the design will be set in place in chain stores across Europe in years to come. [ index ]

KATHERINE BROWN: America is already feeling the detrimental effects of climate change and a new federal report has suggested that these effects are only going to get worse. The report is titled “Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States”. It was released this past Tuesday by thy U.S. Global Change Research Program. The report includes the most up to date findings. For one, the nation’s average temperature has already risen about 0.83 degrees Celsius over the past 50 years. The report also makes predictions about future impacts of climate change. It expects that transportation infrastructure will be compromised in low lying coastal areas of the U.S. Along the Gulf Coast alone, more than 3,860 kilometres of major roadways may be submerged under water as sea levels rise. The report stresses that every part of America will feel the consequences of climate change. Water scarcity will become a huge issue in some regions, while others will see ecosystems collapse, and episodes of violent weather. The federal report speaks to the urgency of the situation at hand. As one author of the report noted “[Climate change] isn’t just happening in the Arctic regions, but it’s beginning to show up in our own backyards.”. [ index ]