TYLER IRVING: Speculation that the federal Conservative Government is about to release a two-tiered climate change plan has worried the premiers of both Ontario and Quebec. Dalton McGuinty and Jean Charest met over dinner last night in advance of a joint Ontario-Quebec cabinet meeting to be held today. Both premiers have also met recently with federal Environment minister Jim Prentice, and although the meetings were private, sources have told the Toronto star that they focused on a new federal climate change plan. The plan, which would be the eighth released by the federal conservative government, is said to allow for different industries to be subject to different types of emissions targets. Those for the oil and gas sector would be intensity-based; that is, lowering the amount of carbon produced per barrel of oil, but allowing overall emissions to increase. Other industries would receive absolute targets. Such a system would disproportionately benefit Alberta and Saskatchewan, while dealing yet another blow to the already-struggling manufacturing sectors in Ontario and Quebec. On the record, Jim Prentice denies that any such plan is in the works. On Thursday, he said, “there’s never been any suggestion on my part that the oil sands or any industry would receive special treatment in any of my consultations.” Still the central Canadian premiers were worried enough to hold a joint press conference Thursday night to air their concerns. Premier McGuinty said “They have obviously not nailed down the final details, but our intention is to ensure that Ontario is not the subject of discrimination.” [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: On Tuesday, federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May announced that she will be seeking the Green Party nomination in the riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands. During the last election May ran in the riding of Central Nova and garnered 32% of the vote. However, it was not enough to defeat her incumbent opponent, Defense Minister Peter McKay. The coast-hopping move came after the party made it clear that getting Ms. May a seat in parliament was an absolute priority for an anticipated fall election. Her campaign manager John Fryer says that party polls indicate the west-coast riding has some of the strongest Green support in the country. Despite this, May will by no means have an easy run. The current MP for Sannich-Gulf Islands, which includes suburbs north of Victoria, is another high-profile conservative, Minister of Sport Gary Lunn. Lunn has held for over a decade, starting with his first victory as a Reform candidate in 1997. On top of that, the Green nomination is also contested by Stuart Hertzog, an activist with Greenpeace. Hertzog is protesting what he sees as a shift from in the party from a grassroots to a top-down organization. However, May’s campaign manager insists that the fact that the nomination will be contested rather than simply appointed points to the strong democratic nature of the party. Despite the tough battles ahead, Elizabeth May is optimistic. She says, “Saanich-Gulf Islands has a tremendous appetite for change.” [ index ]

DARYN CAISTER: Toronto will soon be the home of Canada’s largest hospital solar system. Sunnybrook hospital in Toronto celebrated the completion of a 140 panel solar array over two stories of its parking complex this week. The system is expected to generate 27,000 kilowatt hours annually and are mounted to face the entrance and street according to hospital representatives to remind hospital visitors and passers-by of the need for these technologies. The parking complex panels will be followed by another system on the roof of the U-Wing of the hospital, which will be twice the size of the current 140 panel parking garage system. The solar systems are part of a larger plan by the hospital to reduce its energy use and environmental impact by including a high-tech automation energy management system for the hospital, as well as new optimized ventilations and heating and cooling equipment, new high-efficiency lighting systems, and new chillers and cooling towers. Total the project will cost the hospital $28 million dollars which will be paid for in part by a total $1 million dollars in government subsidies and grants, and the rest will be paid for from the savings to the hospital in energy costs which is expected to be approximately $2.7 million dollars a year for at least the next 15 years. The company which has designed and is installing the upgrades, an American company called Honeywell, assured the hospital and the public that all possible old materials and equipment that is demolished and removed from the hospital will be disposed of in a sustainable manner. The panels on the parking structure will also provide real time energy generation and carbon savings information in real time to visitors and staff at the hospital. The remainder of the projects are expected to be completed by the end of 2009. [ index ]

DARYN CAISTER: Gutted federal science programs may prevent detailed answers in the Pacific Salmon collapse. Fisheries and scientists were shocked earlier this year when one of the largest expected salmon runs in the Fraser River inexplicably turned into the smallest on record. The salmon run this year was expected to be as high as 10.5 million fish, but ended up with only about 1.3 million. The salmon run on the Fraser River is not only a critical part of the local ecology and natural system, but also an important part of the local economy in British Colombia. In response to the salmon collapse the federal government is pulling together a variety of scientists and researchers to try to shed some light on the drastic loss of fish stock, but some scientists have already indicated some scepticism as to how effective such investigations may be. The Watershed Watch Salmon Society for instance, along with many BC aquatic scientists say that significant cuts have been made to scientific research over the two last decades. In many cases, data needed for a solid analysis of salmon systems just isn’t there according to Scott Hinch of the University of British Columbia. Mr. Hinch also said that Canada used to be studying almost every aspect of the pacific salmon systems, and now are doing almost nothing. Once the fish leave spawning and before they return almost everything is a black box. The rest of the 8.5 million salmon may have succumbed to temperature changes, invasive species competition, or impacts from the controversial fish farms the salmon must pass by when entering and leaving the Frasier River. The most likely situation being that there is a combination of all these factors. Not only are the fish important to BC but knowledge of the die off may provide important information about changes in the ocean ecosystem that could continue to impact humans and the environment at large. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: This morning, Ottawa city councillors are attending an emergency meeting at city hall. They are trying to decide whether or not to approve a $36.7 million settlement to a consortium of companies that are suing the city over its 2006 decision to cancel a transit plan that was already partly underway. The cancelled plan was based on a north-south light rail line, and would have cost approximately $800 million. However, critics said the plan would not do enough to address downtown congestion, and the issue was a major factor in the 2006 election of mayor Larry O’Brien, who promised to scrap the plan. Six months later, the city was sued for $215 million by a consortium of companies led by Siemens Canada, who had been contracted to build the new system. Despite the high cost of the settlement, many councillors are expected to vote for it, as the costs of a full-blown trial could be much higher. However, a number of details need to be worked out, such as whether the payments are made in a lump-sum or spread over several years, and what councillors can legally say about the deal. The $36.7 million dollars is in addition to a further $60 million the city had already spent on the first stages of the cancelled plan. Ottawa’s new transit plan, approved last November, is much more ambitious than the previous one. Among other things, it calls for the construction of a tunnel through the downtown core. It is expected to cost over $4 billion and to be completed by 2031, making it the single biggest construction project in the city’s history. [ index ]

DARYN CAISTER: A British Columbia NGO has confronted the provincial government on its new transportation policies. The group Western Canada Wilderness Committee critiqued the BC government’s current proposal they accuse further exacerbates a transit crisis by failing to provide additional funding, while simultaneously paying out $1.5 billion for new roads. The WCW Committee proposes that the $1.5 billion dollar South Fraser Perimeter Road project be scrapped and the money should all be invested in public transportation. The money for the SFP road is part of the newly announced September 2009 budget for BC which includes a 20% increase in spending on highway expansion. Meanwhile public transit has been considering shutting down proposed rapid transit extensions, and potentially cutting back bus services. The WCW Committee also says that the proposed “1950’s style freeway” endangers farmland, Burns Bog and some designated at-risk species habitat. A spokesperson for the group accused the government of having “one foot on the brakes, and one on the gas”, by committing to reduce green house gas emissions in the province by 33% by 2020, and simultaneously diverting funds away from sustainable transportations infrastructure into its less sustainable counterpart. The BC provincial government has promoted in the past that doubling transit ridership as one of the key steps in reaching its carbon emissions targets. Part of the reason for BC’s reduced budget for September is due to falling natural gas prices which constitute an important portion of the provinces industrial sector income. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: First-nations groups, ecotourism guides and conservationists in BC have raised the alarm over what they say are dramatically fewer bear sightings across the province. On Tuesday, a coalition including the conservation group Pacific Wild released a statement calling on the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Premier Gordon Campbell to call off the fall bear hunt. The group blames the disappearance of bears on last year’s unusually long and cold winter, combined with the below-average returns of chum salmon, a large and fatty fish that the bears depend on to gain weight for their winter hibernation. Like the sockeye salmon further south, the return runs of chum have been low for several years running. However, at least one expert described the calls to cancel the bear hunt as alarmist. Steve Miller, a senior biologist with the U.S. National Wildlife Federation, told the Canadian Press on Wednesday that “the likelihood that you have adult bears starving to death as a consequence of a decline in a single food source is very small.” B.C.’s environment minister Barry Penner agrees, but has asked wildlife officials to update their bear counts, particularly in the region of the Kimsquit river, north of Bella Coola. In the meantime, there are no plans to call off the fall bear hunt; as of Sept. 10 bear season officially began across the province. [ index ]

KATHERINE BROWN: China has made plans for the world’s biggest solar plant—a 2,000 megawatt solar photovoltaic farm is to be built in the Mongolian Desert. The Chinese government is partnering with the U.S-based company First Solar to make it happen. The plant will be 16,000 acres, and construction will begin on the first phase next year. Over the next decade, the plant should grow to power around 3 million Chinese homes. The project is set to be completed by 2019. China aims to have 20 percent of its energy come from renewable energy sources by 2020—this project will be a large component of reaching that goal. This is also a very significant project because of its size—if it does succeed, it will demonstrate that solar power on a large scale really can work as an economically feasible option. [ index ]

KATHERINE BROWN: Toxins found in crude oil may be broken down through using microbes. It’s been found that very toxic acidic compounds, which ordinarily take up to 10 years to decompose, can be degraded or neutralized in just a few days if digested by a mixture of bacteria. These were the findings of research conducted by microbiologists at the University of Essex, published this past Monday. This research is especially significant as we begin to depend on crude oil more and more. The process of extracting and refining the crude oil is very harmful to the environment as many threatening toxins are produced as by-products. According to this research, the use of microbes may be one solution to lessen the harm done by extracting the oil. It’s also apparently quite a feasible solution– the bacteria are naturally occurring, cheap, and the process of removing toxins is relatively simple. [ index ]

KATHERINE BROWN: New evidence has surfaced which possibly links natural gas drilling to groundwater contamination. Federal officials in the United States have found at least three water wells containing chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing—a natural gas drilling process. These contaminated wells were found in Wyoming. The results came from a study conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency, or the EPA. In the past, groundwater contamination from the natural gas industry has been a difficult area to investigate because the exact chemicals used by the gas industry are protected as trade secrets. This makes it difficult for scientists to even know what contaminants they’re looking for. The EPA has more access to the list of chemicals, making it have a critical role in the investigation. So far, the EPA has only conducted preliminary investigations—but they will continue to do research in this area as officials are alarmed by the findings as of yet. [ index ]

KATHERINE BROWN: Half of the fish consumed globally is now raised on fish farms. This was the finding of a new report released by an international team of researchers. While the industry is more efficient than ever—it’s also still putting a huge strain on environmental and marine resources. This is because it consumes large amounts of feed made from wild fish harvested from the sea. Aquaculture farms use large quantities of fishmeal and fish oil of less expensive varieties of wild fish for feed. Species like anchoveta and sardine are used to maximize growth of farmed fish, and to enhance their flavour. In 2006, aquaculture production sat at around 52.7 million metric tonnes— about 20 million tonnes of wild fish were harvested for the production of fish meal. The real problem is that fish farming is rapidly depleting the ocean of smaller species of fish. The authors of the study conclude that unless anchoveta, sardine and other wild fisheries are carefully regulated, they may see collapse, putting the future of aquaculture in danger. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: A tragic incident in Toronto on Monday night has left a bicycle courier dead and has precipitated a national dialogue about the dangers of urban cycling. Around 9:45 PM on August 31, 33-year-old bicycle courier Darcy Allan Sheppard, was struck by a Saab convertible driven by Michael Bryant, Ontario’s former attorney-general. Witnesses say that Sheppard then dropped his bike and grabbed on to the side of the vehicle while Bryant drove off. The car swerved across the road, occasionally veering into oncoming traffic, apparently in an attempt to shake Sheppard lose. Sheppard eventually lost his grip and was run over. He died a few hours later at St. Michael’s hospital. Details about the case are continuing to emerge as police interview witnesses and examine surveillance tapes. It is known that Sheppard had been in police custody earlier that night, and had been drinking although his level of intoxication when he was released remains unknown. Meanwhile, Bryant has stepped down from his post as CEO of Invest Toronto and has been charged with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death. On Tuesday night, about a hundred cyclists lay their bicycles across Bloor street in the vicinity of the accident. On Wednesday, a much larger memorial ride was held, including five minutes of silence followed by shouts, screams and the ring of bicycle bells. A lamp-post and mailbox near the corner of Bloor and Avenue Road have become a shrine, covered with flowers, candles, notes of condolence, and a “ghost bike”, a white bicycle frame stripped of its wheels, gears and handlebars. Michael Bryant has expressed his condolences to the family of the victim, but maintains his innocence. He will appear in court on October 19. [ index ]

DARYN CAISTER: Following up with last week’s story about the newly proposed Toronto Island Airport pedestrian tunnel, Mayor Miller now has a Canadian WWI hero to contend with. The Toronto Port Authority announced late this week that the Toronto airport would be renamed after Canadian World War 1 flying ace Billy Bishop. Renaming the airport after the late veteran hero apparently came as a surprise to much of the Port Authority board as well; however the Bishop family has apparently been notified of the change. The surprise name change has been received by Toronto media as an attempt to further impede criticism by Mayor Miller and others in Toronto which have been trying for years to stop the development of the Island Airport and would like to see it removed altogether. Much of the criticism recently over the Porter Airlines Airport on the Toronto Island is focused mainly around disputes over the use of public money for private interests and the issue of air and noise pollution less than 300 meters away from the airport for the densely populated Toronto city core. Councillor Adam Vaughan, who represents the area, said that the port authority is putting on a “feel-good story” around the renaming of the port to try to discourage criticism or prevent people from asking tough questions about the site. In addition to being a large recipient of public funding and allowances so far, the port authority and porter airlines would like to see current restrictions on the types of aircraft that can use the site altered to allow the use of larger jet air traffic. As well, the renaming will also potentially cause confusion as the regional airport of Owen Sound, the hometown of Billy Bishop is already named after the famous Canadian. Already several groups opposed to the airport, including CommunityAir which would like to see the land turned into a public park is promoting a general boycott of the new name. The groups say they see even using the name as helping the port authority and porter airlines promote what they call propaganda to promote policies the airline and its supporters wish to see. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: Northern Alberta’s oil sands projects are continuing to expand, thanks to foreign investment. On Monday, PetroChina, an investment company whose majority shareholder is the Chinese government, spent $1.9 billion to acquire a 60% stake in that Athabasca Oil Sands Corporation. That company is raising capital to develop the oil sands deposits it owns at MacKay River and Dover, which together are estimated to contain about 5 billion barrels of bitumen. China’s large and growing appetite for energy is well-known. It is the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, and consumes oil at an estimated rate of 8.1 million barrels per day. At this rate, the latest project would supply less than two year’s worth of oil. Given this, some analysts had been puzzled that China had so far not invested more heavily in the oil sands, which are second only to Saudi Arabia’s oil fields in terms of reserve size. However, others point to the higher cost of extracting oil from tar sands, as well as regulatory restrictions on foreign governments owning Canadian resources outright. They suggest that the current pattern of governments partnering with smaller Canadian companies will become the standard route. The deal seemed to increase momentum in the oil sands sector, with stocks in most Canadian companies rising shortly afterward. On Wednesday, the Conference Board of Canada issued a report projecting that by 2013, the oil sands will be producing 2.4 million barrels a day, more than double the current output. [ index ]

DARYN CAISTER: A Native band in British Columbia has announced that it will fight a tar sands pipeline running through its territory. The Haisla First Nation expressed its objections to the planned pipeline in an official letter to the Canadian Federal Environmental Assessment Agency concerning the plans potential risks to the environment and its people’s livelihoods. The pipeline, which is currently under federal review, would connect a tanker port in British Columbia via Kitimat, with the Alberta tar sands projects via a depot north of Edmonton. The pipeline itself was jointly pitched to the federal government by Enbridge Incorporated and Enbridge Northern Gateway Project. The system would involve a double pipeline that would run tar sands oil out from Alberta for export and import condensate to the tar sands projects. Condensate for oil production refers to the lighter elements of petroleum which are recovered mainly from gas reservoirs and are used as feedstock into oil refining factories. The Haisla First Nation letter to the Canadian federal review agency and Enbridge which was released this week says that the potential impacts of oil spills associated with such projects are concerning and warrant careful examination to protect the environment and the Haisla people. The Haisla chief councillor, Delores Pollard said that the Haisla people have not been meaningfully involved in the process and that their concerns so far have not been reasonably addressed. Ms. Pollard however promised that their organization would do everything within its power, including taking the issue to court to protect the environmental and the rights of its people. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: September usually marks the end of forest fire season in British Columbia, but this year hot and dry conditions have extended the risk later into the year. As of Monday, 400 fires were still raging across the province. Some, like the Pritchard Fire near Martin Mountain, and the Kelly Creek fire, have resulted in evacuation orders for residents. Many other areas remain on evacuation alert. Fortunately, so far damage to property has been minimal. This summer, BC has seen approximately 2,900 forest fires, about 1000 more than normal. The province’s fire fighting budget has ballooned from $62 to $409 million. 3000 fire fighters are employed by the province, working in shifts up to 14 days long. However, schedules are being altered as exhaustion begins to set in amongst the worker, with shifts being shortened to 10 days. Although lightning has contributed to the number of blazes, many fire can be traced to human activity. Public officials are reminding residents that the risk remains high even as the traditional forest fires season comes to an end. Campfire bans remain in place in areas covered by the Kamloops and Caribou fire centres. Enforcement officers will be out in force this weekend. A ticket for ignoring the fire ban can be up to $345. [ index ]

DARYN CAISTER: The decision on a proposed gas-fired generator in the greater Toronto area has been pushed back. The proposed facility was solicited by the Ontario power authority to help make up a GTA power deficit. The deficit is due to the continued expansion of the Greater Toronto Area and the shutting down of a now demolished coal fired power plant at Lakeview in 2005. The province has now said it will wait until the end of September before selecting which of the 4 contractor bids it will select for the project due to public concerns about air quality from the plant. The 4 bidding contractors are Invenergy Canada, Northland Power Inc., and Sithe Global Power which have all proposed sites in a primarily industrial part of Mississauga, and TransCanada which has proposed a site in Oakville next to the Ford assembly plant. Public concern has centred on air quality so in addition to asking the bidding companies to review possible changes to their proposals the province is also looking at options for cleaning up other local industrial air polluters as well. Chief executive of the power authority Colin Andersen said this week that there is much more that can be done beyond current plans to improve the air quality for local residents, however many residents are understandably wondering why they had to complain to have this done in the first place. The proposed new plant will be a gas-fired 850-megawatt plant and will likely end up in either Mississauga or Oakville. The plant is expected to be operational by the end of 2013 and will run about 40% of the time to help top up capacity during peak load hours. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: This week, the city of Swift Current, Saskatchewan stepped up effort to control a major rat infestation. The moves came after over 400 of the town’s 15,000 residents showed up at two public meetings last week demanding action. Common brown rats, also known as Norway rats despite the fact that they did not originate in Norway, are commonly found in most major towns and cities. Swift Current, however, has clearly seen more than its share in recent weeks. In a news release issued August 18th, the local health authority said it has received reports of rats wandering the streets in broad daylight, as well as people being bitten by rats while they slept. The news has worried residents and officials in nearby Alberta, who have long prided themselves on being residents of a rat-free province. Nobody knows where the rats came from, although some speculate that they were dislodged from the local landfill after a fire there earlier this summer. City officials are taking no chances. They’ve hired nine additional pest control officers from the province to augment their usual complement of two, and are encouraging people to clean up their yards. Rat traps are being distributed to low-income families, and over 100 kg of rat poison is being deployed at the landfill every day; the rats, it seems, are just gobbling it up. [ index ]

DARYN CAISTER: Greyhound Canada is threatening to stop service to small town stops across Canada. The Scottish owned company Greyhound has been operating in Canada for 80 years and provides, partially by federal mandate, service to hundreds of small towns across Canada. The company is demanding that the federal and provincial governments cough up somewhere between 15 and 20 million dollars over the next 18 months to help fund the small town service or risk the company cutting at least 150 of those stops across the country. It is unclear at this time on what grounds Greyhound would be able to stop the service, as the stops are largely mandated as part of its licence to operate. The company insists that these rural stops are always money-losing additions to their service, however during these tougher economic times they claim that they cannot continue to operate them and remain profitable. Transportation minister John Baird however took a strong stance against the demand from Greyhound. After meeting with Greyhound representatives he said that the company was clearly just looking to shakedown of the government for public money, and that the provinces would be on their own in dealing with Greyhounds demands. While many of the cuts to service that have been announced so far are in rural Manitoba and Ontario, other cuts are being explored across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. [ index ]

KATHERINE BROWN: The climate is changing in the Arctic more rapidly than anyone had anticipated. This was revealed in a new report released by the World Wildlife Fund. The conclusion reached in the peer-reviewed report is that scientists see much more severe evidence of climate change than was expected just two years ago. The biggest concern of researchers is “methane hydrates”. These are a form of methane frozen in ice particles in permafrost. If the permafrost melts—as is predicted– methane hydrates may become the single greatest driver of climate change anywhere in the world. Just recently, this underground methane was found bubbling up for the first time in Arctic Russia. Researchers also now know that Greenland is losing enough ice each year to supply water to 280 cities the size of Los Angeles. The rate of water loss is only increasing. Such alarming findings have made scientists suggest that the North has already reached its “tipping point”. This report was written by some of the world’s top researchers. It was intended to make the latest information on climate change easily accessible for the climate talks that will take place in Copenhagen this December. [ index ]

KATHERINE BROWN: New research has indicated that a classic backyard staple—the watermelon—could become a very useful biofuel additive. Watermelons are a unique fruit because between 20 and 40 percent of watermelon crops are left rot in farmer’s fields—simply because they’re ugly. Misshapen or blemished watermelons don’t sell at the grocery stores so many farmers opt to just leave them on their fields. This means that leftover watermelons could be converted into up to 9.4 million liters of ethanol fuel every year. Watermelons are also an ideal candidate because their juice contains seven to ten percent ‘easy ethanol’—or directly fermentable sugars. The watermelon juice may turn out to be a perfect way to optimize industrial-scale production of ethanol from corn, molasses, and sugar cane. The team of researchers who found these results suggests that watermelons could dramatically reduce water usage for fermentation. It would also supply the nitrogen need for fermentation, and add some sugar, cutting the amount of corn or molasses needed by up to 15 percent. The study may be found in the journal Biotechnology for Biofuels. [ index ]

KATHERINE BROWN: Crops of bananas are threatened by two diseases that are running rampant in Africa. The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research has raised a red flag with concern to the banana bunchy top virus. Already, this disease has infected 45,000 hectares of bananas in Malawi alone. It has also been found in 11 other countries. Another study earlier this year by the same research group has found banana bacterial wilt disease in a number of countries in Africa. This disease has been found in Uganda, which is the continent’s leading banana grower and consumer. It has seen bacterial wilt since 2001 and it has led to losses between $70 million and $200 million annually as a result. Commercial crops of bananas lack to genetic diversity to have tolerance to these diseases—scientists are looking into research on traditional varieties of the banana for a solution. Scientists from the affected countries are meeting to discuss the disease in Tanzania this week. [ index ]

KATHERINE BROWN: The Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzengger, has requested that President Barack Obama’s cabinet reconsider their plan to divert water from farmers and cities in California. The recent decision to divert water was made to help threatened fish populations recover. Scwarzengger feels that after three years of drought, California is already strapped enough for water. In his view, the federal plan to save fish will worsen the water crisis that has already cost farmers more than $700 million and caused mandatory rationing in cities. Environmentalists who advocate for the dwindling fish populations argue that the federally planned diversions could easily be made with more strict conservation efforts. Schwarznegger has yet to hear a response from the white house on the issue. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: A tragic incident in Toronto on Monday night has left a bicycle courier dead and has precipitated a national dialogue about the dangers of urban cycling. Around 9:45 PM on August 31, 33-year-old bicycle courier Darcy Allan Sheppard, was struck by a Saab convertible driven by Michael Bryant, Ontario’s former attorney-general. Witnesses say that Sheppard then dropped his bike and grabbed on to the side of the vehicle while Bryant drove off. The car swerved across the road, occasionally veering into oncoming traffic, apparently in an attempt to shake Sheppard lose. Sheppard eventually lost his grip and was run over. He died a few hours later at St. Michael’s hospital. Details about the case are continuing to emerge as police interview witnesses and examine surveillance tapes. It is known that Sheppard had been in police custody earlier that night, and had been drinking although his level of intoxication when he was released remains unknown. Meanwhile, Bryant has stepped down from his post as CEO of Invest Toronto and has been charged with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death. On Tuesday night, about a hundred cyclists lay their bicycles across Bloor street in the vicinity of the accident. On Wednesday, a much larger memorial ride was held, including five minutes of silence followed by shouts, screams and the ring of bicycle bells. A lamp-post and mailbox near the corner of Bloor and Avenue Road have become a shrine, covered with flowers, candles, notes of condolence, and a “ghost bike”, a white bicycle frame stripped of its wheels, gears and handlebars. Michael Bryant has expressed his condolences to the family of the victim, but maintains his innocence. He will appear in court on October 19. [ index ]

DARYN CAISTER: Following up with last week’s story about the newly proposed Toronto Island Airport pedestrian tunnel, Mayor Miller now has a Canadian WWI hero to contend with. The Toronto Port Authority announced late this week that the Toronto airport would be renamed after Canadian World War 1 flying ace Billy Bishop. Renaming the airport after the late veteran hero apparently came as a surprise to much of the Port Authority board as well; however the Bishop family has apparently been notified of the change. The surprise name change has been received by Toronto media as an attempt to further impede criticism by Mayor Miller and others in Toronto which have been trying for years to stop the development of the Island Airport and would like to see it removed altogether. Much of the criticism recently over the Porter Airlines Airport on the Toronto Island is focused mainly around disputes over the use of public money for private interests and the issue of air and noise pollution less than 300 meters away from the airport for the densely populated Toronto city core. Councillor Adam Vaughan, who represents the area, said that the port authority is putting on a “feel-good story” around the renaming of the port to try to discourage criticism or prevent people from asking tough questions about the site. In addition to being a large recipient of public funding and allowances so far, the port authority and porter airlines would like to see current restrictions on the types of aircraft that can use the site altered to allow the use of larger jet air traffic. As well, the renaming will also potentially cause confusion as the regional airport of Owen Sound, the hometown of Billy Bishop is already named after the famous Canadian. Already several groups opposed to the airport, including CommunityAir which would like to see the land turned into a public park is promoting a general boycott of the new name. The groups say they see even using the name as helping the port authority and porter airlines promote what they call propaganda to promote policies the airline and its supporters wish to see. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: Northern Alberta’s oil sands projects are continuing to expand, thanks to foreign investment. On Monday, PetroChina, an investment company whose majority shareholder is the Chinese government, spent $1.9 billion to acquire a 60% stake in that Athabasca Oil Sands Corporation. That company is raising capital to develop the oil sands deposits it owns at MacKay River and Dover, which together are estimated to contain about 5 billion barrels of bitumen. China’s large and growing appetite for energy is well-known. It is the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, and consumes oil at an estimated rate of 8.1 million barrels per day. At this rate, the latest project would supply less than two year’s worth of oil. Given this, some analysts had been puzzled that China had so far not invested more heavily in the oil sands, which are second only to Saudi Arabia’s oil fields in terms of reserve size. However, others point to the higher cost of extracting oil from tar sands, as well as regulatory restrictions on foreign governments owning Canadian resources outright. They suggest that the current pattern of governments partnering with smaller Canadian companies will become the standard route. The deal seemed to increase momentum in the oil sands sector, with stocks in most Canadian companies rising shortly afterward. On Wednesday, the Conference Board of Canada issued a report projecting that by 2013, the oil sands will be producing 2.4 million barrels a day, more than double the current output. [ index ]

DARYN CAISTER: A Native band in British Columbia has announced that it will fight a tar sands pipeline running through its territory. The Haisla First Nation expressed its objections to the planned pipeline in an official letter to the Canadian Federal Environmental Assessment Agency concerning the plans potential risks to the environment and its people’s livelihoods. The pipeline, which is currently under federal review, would connect a tanker port in British Columbia via Kitimat, with the Alberta tar sands projects via a depot north of Edmonton. The pipeline itself was jointly pitched to the federal government by Enbridge Incorporated and Enbridge Northern Gateway Project. The system would involve a double pipeline that would run tar sands oil out from Alberta for export and import condensate to the tar sands projects. Condensate for oil production refers to the lighter elements of petroleum which are recovered mainly from gas reservoirs and are used as feedstock into oil refining factories. The Haisla First Nation letter to the Canadian federal review agency and Enbridge which was released this week says that the potential impacts of oil spills associated with such projects are concerning and warrant careful examination to protect the environment and the Haisla people. The Haisla chief councillor, Delores Pollard said that the Haisla people have not been meaningfully involved in the process and that their concerns so far have not been reasonably addressed. Ms. Pollard however promised that their organization would do everything within its power, including taking the issue to court to protect the environmental and the rights of its people. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: September usually marks the end of forest fire season in British Columbia, but this year hot and dry conditions have extended the risk later into the year. As of Monday, 400 fires were still raging across the province. Some, like the Pritchard Fire near Martin Mountain, and the Kelly Creek fire, have
resulted in evacuation orders for residents. Many other areas remain on evacuation alert. Fortunately, so far damage to property has been minimal. This summer, BC has seen approximately 2,900 forest fires, about 1000 more than normal. The province’s fire fighting budget has ballooned from $62 to $409 million. 3000 fire fighters are employed by the province, working in shifts up to 14 days long. However, schedules are being altered as exhaustion begins to set in amongst the worker, with shifts being shortened to 10 days. Although lightning has contributed to the number of blazes, many fire can be traced to human activity. Public officials are reminding residents that the risk remains high even as the traditional forest fires season comes to an end. Campfire bans remain in place in areas covered by the Kamloops and Caribou fire centres. Enforcement officers will be out in force this weekend. A ticket for ignoring the fire ban can be up to $345. [ index ]

DARYN CAISTER: The decision on a proposed gas-fired generator in the greater Toronto area has been pushed back. The proposed facility was solicited by the Ontario power authority to help make up a GTA power deficit. The deficit is due to the continued expansion of the Greater Toronto Area and the shutting down of a now demolished coal fired power plant at Lakeview in 2005. The province has now said it will wait until the end of September before selecting which of the 4 contractor bids it will select for the project due to public concerns about air quality from the plant. The 4 bidding contractors are Invenergy Canada, Northland Power Inc., and Sithe Global Power which have all proposed sites in a primarily industrial part of Mississauga, and TransCanada which has proposed a site in Oakville next to the Ford assembly plant. Public concern has centred on air quality so in addition to asking the bidding companies to review possible changes to their proposals the province is also looking at options for cleaning up other local industrial air polluters as well. Chief executive of the power authority Colin Andersen said this week that there is much more that can be done beyond current plans to improve the air quality for local residents, however many residents are understandably wondering why they had to complain to have this done in the first place. The proposed new plant will be a gas-fired 850-megawatt plant and will likely end up in either Mississauga or Oakville. The plant is expected to be operational by the end of 2013 and will run about 40% of the time to help top up capacity during peak load hours. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: This week, the city of Swift Current, Saskatchewan stepped up effort to control a major rat infestation. The moves came after over 400 of the town’s 15,000 residents showed up at two public meetings last week demanding action. Common brown rats, also known as Norway rats despite the fact that they did not originate in Norway, are commonly found in most major towns and cities. Swift Current, however, has clearly seen more than its share in recent weeks. In a news release issued August 18th, the local health authority said it has received reports of rats wandering the streets in broad daylight, as well as people being bitten by rats while they slept. The news has worried residents and officials in nearby Alberta, who have long prided themselves on being residents of a rat-free province. Nobody knows where the rats came from, although some speculate that they were dislodged from the local landfill after a fire there earlier this summer. City officials are taking no chances. They’ve hired nine additional pest control officers from the province to augment their usual complement of two, and are encouraging people to clean up their yards. Rat traps are being distributed to low-income families, and over 100 kg of rat poison is being deployed at the landfill every day; the rats, it seems, are just gobbling it up. [ index ]

DARYN CAISTER: Greyhound Canada is threatening to stop service to small town stops across Canada. The Scottish owned company Greyhound has been operating in Canada for 80 years and provides, partially by federal mandate, service to hundreds of small towns across Canada. The company is demanding that the federal and provincial governments cough up somewhere between 15 and 20 million dollars over the next 18 months to help fund the small town service or risk the company cutting at least 150 of those stops across the country. It is unclear at this time on what grounds Greyhound would be able to stop the service, as the stops are largely mandated as part of its licence to operate. The company insists that these rural stops are always money-losing additions to their service, however during these tougher economic times they claim that they cannot continue to operate them and remain profitable. Transportation minister John Baird however took a strong stance against the demand from Greyhound. After meeting with Greyhound representatives he said that the company was clearly just looking to shakedown of the government for public money, and that the provinces would be on their own in dealing with Greyhounds demands. While many of the cuts to service that have been announced so far are in rural Manitoba and Ontario, other cuts are being explored across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. [ index ]

JORDAN POPPENK: The climate is changing in the Arctic more rapidly than anyone had anticipated. This was revealed in a new report released by the World Wildlife Fund. The conclusion reached in the peer-reviewed report is that scientists see much more severe evidence of climate change than was expected just two years ago. The biggest concern of researchers is “methane hydrates”. These are a form of methane frozen in ice particles in permafrost. If the permafrost melts—as is predicted– methane hydrates may become the single greatest driver of climate change anywhere in the world. Just recently, this underground methane was found bubbling up for the first time in Arctic Russia. Researchers also now know that Greenland is losing enough ice each year to supply water to 280 cities the size of Los Angeles. The rate of water loss is only increasing. Such alarming findings have made scientists suggest that the North has already reached its “tipping point”. This report was written by some of the world’s top researchers. It was intended to make the latest information on climate change easily accessible for the climate talks that will take place in Copenhagen this December. [ index ]

JORDAN POPPENK: New research has indicated that a classic backyard staple—the watermelon—could become a very useful biofuel additive. Watermelons are a unique fruit because between 20 and 40 percent of watermelon crops are left rot in farmer’s fields—simply because they’re ugly. Misshapen or blemished watermelons don’t sell at the grocery stores so many farmers opt to just leave them on their fields. This means that leftover watermelons could be converted into up to 9.4 million liters of ethanol fuel every year. Watermelons are also an ideal candidate because their juice contains seven to ten percent ‘easy ethanol’—or directly fermentable sugars. The watermelon juice may turn out to be a perfect way to optimize industrial-scale production of ethanol from corn, molasses, and sugar cane. The team of researchers who found these results suggests that watermelons could dramatically reduce water usage for fermentation. It would also supply the nitrogen need for fermentation, and add some sugar, cutting the amount of corn or molasses needed by up to 15 percent. The study may be found in the journal Biotechnology for Biofuels. [ index ]

JORDAN POPPENK: Crops of bananas are threatened by two diseases that are running rampant in Africa. The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research has raised a red flag with concern to the banana bunchy top virus. Already, this disease has infected 45,000 hectares of bananas in Malawi alone. It has also been found in 11 other countries. Another study earlier this year by the same research group has found banana bacterial wilt disease in a number of countries in Africa. This disease has been found in Uganda, which is the continent’s leading banana grower and consumer. It has seen bacterial wilt since 2001 and it has led to losses between $70 million and $200 million annually as a result. Commercial crops of bananas lack to genetic diversity to have tolerance to these diseases—scientists are looking into research on traditional varieties of the banana for a solution. Scientists from the affected countries are meeting to discuss the disease in Tanzania this week. [ index ]

JORDAN POPPENK: The Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzengger, has requested that President Barack Obama’s cabinet reconsider their plan to divert water from farmers and cities in California. The recent decision to divert water was made to help threatened fish populations recover. Scwarzengger feels that after three years of drought, California is already strapped enough for water. In his view, the federal plan to save fish will worsen the water crisis that has already cost farmers more than $700 million and caused mandatory rationing in cities. Environmentalists who advocate for the dwindling fish populations argue that the federally planned diversions could easily be made with more strict conservation efforts. Schwarznegger has yet to hear a response from the white house on the issue. [ index ]