DARYN CAISTER: The long awaited Mackenzie gas pipeline review has finally been returned, with an approval. The natural gas pipeline that was proposed to run through the Mackenzie valley has been under a state of a review for more than 5 years, and has been in planning for decades. The project is expected to cost around $16.2 billion dollars and would ship natural gas on behalf of Imperial Oil Company and other natural gas companies from the arctic down to connect with Alberta’s existing natural gas transportations infrastructure. The finished pipeline will be 1197 kilometres and will transport 1.2 billion cubic feet a day of natural gas at capacity. The project was and is feared to interrupt large swaths of previously untouched natural land along the permafrost, as well an animal habitat, and Inuit lands. While the project was ultimately approved, it comes with 176 recommendations from the finished report intended to minimize the environmental and cultural impact of the pipeline, as well as recommendations for staggering the development of associated infrastructure to service the pipeline to avoid what he report calls cumulative effects from the future vast swaths of development. Despite the recommendations, many environmental groups, and locals are frustrated at the news, and some northerners are excited as the prospect of what they see as opportunities for increased prosperity in their communities. Despite the passing of a major checkpoint, the final decision on construction of the project has not been made. The National Energy Board will have to make the final decision, and the companies themselves still may scrap the plan due to changing energy markets and a dispute between the federal government and the energy companies concerning their insistence that the federal government pitch in on the massive project. Alternative transition options have also presented themselves since the submission of the proposal and may also impact the possibility of a final project go-ahead. [ index ]

SHAK HAQ: A pesticide that is toxic to honeybees and was recently declared illegal in the United States, has not been officially banned in Canada. The pesticide, spirotetramat, impairs the bees’ ability to reproduce. Health Canada fast tracked the approval for the pesticide in 2008 for use on fruits and vegetables without public consultations. John Bennett, Executive Director of Sierra Club Canada stated, “we are asking the government to follow through with its strategy of taking its policy cues from the United States and rescind the registration of this pesticide in Canada. There is a crisis in bee populations around the world and pesticide use is considered to be one of the key contributing factors.” According to the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists (CAPA), the losses in Canadian commercial beekeeping operations incurred during the winter of 2008-2009 were more than twice the normal rate of mortality. This issue will be on the agenda at the annual beekeepers convention this week as the monetary value of pollination by honeybees is measured in the billions of dollars. [ index ]

DARYN CAISTER: Porter Island Airport in downtown Toronto predicts further expansions throughout 2010. The contentious Toronto Island airport is nearing the end of construction of a $45 million dollar expansion to its terminal and the port authority is already clamouring for further capital expenditures. On top of the already quickly growing terminal the port authority now anticipates to facilitate a further increase of 92 daily flights at the airport by the end of 2010. Porter airlines is currently the sole carrier at the recently renamed Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport which already carries 120 daily slots for flights. Previous estimates for Porters daily traffic was around 25,000 annual passengers which is expected to exceed 750,000 annually by the end of this year. The airport has been a sore issue in some parts of the city, particularly in recent months over its expansion due to fears or rapidly increasing noise and air pollution to the densely populated Toronto downtown core, as well as frustration over the large amounts of public funding that is being funnelled into a private monopoly that serves to benefit on a small portion of the population of Toronto. Fuelling the expansion comes from a very sympathetic Toronto Port Authority and interest from other airlines looking to move in to the new home including Air Canada Jazz which was previously booted from the Island airport, and Continental Airlines. Apparently the only reason the plans for further expansions were released was due to a necessary publicly accessible noise impact study and a capacity assessment, which the port authority decided to release on Christmas Eve The port authority has also purchased a new ferry to shuttle passengers to the airport after plans for a under-water tunnel connecting it to the south end of the city seem to have collapsed. [ index ]

SHAK HAQ: The rabbit population at the University of Victoria is out of control. The British Columbia university has given a local wildlife damage-control company named Common Ground a $12,000 contract to humanely remove the rabbits within two months. After that, Richard Piskor, director of occupational health, safety and environment for the university argues, “we would then consider alternatives…[that] may include lethal means.” The rabbit problem began approximately 15 years ago when a species of European rabbit, not native to the area, was set loose and eventually multiplied. With few natural predators, the rabbit population has increased to approximately 2,000 occupying the 150-hectare campus. Although the rabbits do not pose a risk to physical safety, they have become a nuisance. Piskor reports they dig warrens people have tripped over, eat the plants and grass on campus, and occasionally bite humans trying to feed them and yet they are desensitized to human presence as they do not react to passersby. Sara Dubois, manager of wildlife services for the British Columbia SPCA, supports the university’s approach and understands lethal measures may be necessary, but would need to ensure it is done humanely. She notes that part of the problem is that often students find baby rabbits, raise them, and will release them at the end of the school year when they are leaving, which only adds to the problem. Common Ground will test tactics with a sample population of 150 rabbits from the school’s athletic fields, which accounts for about 20 hectares of the campus. According to the Common Ground website, they promise to relocate them to “rabbit sanctuaries” and ensure all rabbits will be spayed or neutered before they are moved. After examining the success of the first batch of rabbit rescues, the strategy for the remaining population will be determined. [ index ]

DARYN CAISTER:  Ontario filed its contribution to a multi-state lawsuit in the US to protect the great lakes. Ontario joined Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Michigan in a US Supreme Court lawsuit to force the state of Illinois to shut down its shipping locks in Chicago to protect invasive species. The Asian carp has been detected outside the Chicago aqua-system and threatens to invade into the great lakes. The invasive Asian carp has been estimated to be a multi-billion dollar threat to the great lakes fishing industry as well as a public health hazard. The Asian carp is an extremely hungry predator which will eat so much plankton as to starve out other species and collapse the great lake ecosystem. The fish can weigh up to 45 kilograms and up to half their own body weight in plankton per day. They also pose public health hazards to boaters as they have been known to commonly jump out of the water when startled or scared and have injured boaters in several cases. Michigan claims that the invasion of the fish would cause $7 billion dollars in damage to its state, and Ontario would be particularly hard hit as it borders 4 of the 5 great lakes. Lake Erie is a particularly exposed lake to the carp as it houses one of the world’s largest freshwater perch and bass fisheries. The Asian carp was first introduced into the US intentionally for fish farming, but escaped from the Mississippi river during flooding in the 1990’s and since moved north. [ index ]

DARYN CAISTER:  A new poll suggests that the majority of Canadians were unhappy with the Prime Ministers Copenhagen effort. The Angus-Reid poll of more than a thousand Canadians showed that public support for the federal government’s climate change performance is not satisfactory. Just 28 percent of the polled said that they were satisfied with Mr. Harpers leadership at the international climate change talks, while 48 percent said they were dissatisfied. 56 percent of Canadians said they were frustrated with the fact that the final agreement that was reached in Copenhagen was not legally binding. Nearly half of Canadians said that they approved of the idea of creating a global fund to help poor nations adapt to climate change that would eventually grow to $100 billion US dollars, and more than half also liked the idea of reducing vehicle emissions by 50% over 1990 levels by 2020. Respondents were also asked about their feelings about climate change itself, and predictably the results were very similar to many of the other issues. Only 52% reported that they believe that climate change is a fact and mostly caused by industrial factors ie. man-made, 17% said that they believe that climate change is a real phenomenon but that it was mostly caused by natural causes, another 17% said that climate change was a theory and has not been proven, and 13% were not sure. [ index ]

SHAK HAQ: This month, the province of Quebec will be adopting California’s strict auto-emission standards in an effort to tackle the province’s polluting transport sector, according to the CBC. Quebec will be the first province in Canada to adopt these standards set to take effect January 14. The standards impose limits on the maximum greenhouse gas emissions for light vehicles manufactured from 2010 to 2016 whereby 2016 vehicles may produce no more than 127 grams of greenhouse gas per kilometre. The system in California penalizes vehicles that do not meet the standards, but rewards vehicles that surpass them. This aspect caught the attention of Line Beauchamp, the province’s environment minister who has been observing and adapting the California program for the past two years. The emission caps apply to a manufacturer’s total vehicle fleet so companies coming in below their limit can bank their credits or sell them to others. In Quebec, 40 per cent of the province’s greenhouse gases is generated by the transport sector, half of which is produced by light vehicles. The light vehicle category includes passenger cars and light trucks. California first introduced the standards in 2004 and was met by many challenges from the auto industry and pegged by critics as “controversial.” Since then, however, several states have adopted the standards many of them neighbours to Quebec including Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Connecticut. The Obama administration proclaimed the intent for all states to adopt the standards by 2012. The Canadian government has yet to make a statement on whether these standards will be adopted nation-wide. [ index ]

SHAK HAQ: It has been more than seven months since Torontonians began paying the five-cent plastic bag fee. Since the by-law came into effect on June 1, 2009, there has been a significant reduction in plastic bag usage, reports say. Officials from the Canadian plastics industry estimate plastic bag profits to be approximately $15 million thus far, which may leave consumers wondering where the money is going. Vince Sferrazza, director of policy and planning for Toronto’s waste management services said, “The money doesn’t come to us, it goes directly to retailers and the city doesn’t have the authority to tell retailers how to spend their money.” Vice-president of environment for the Canadian Plastics Industry Association, Cathy Cirko, stated, “at five cents a bag, a lot of money is being collected and at the end of the day, it’s really the retailer who is benefiting.” Some larger chain retailers have made their figures public. Loblaws implemented the fee last January, before it was mandatory and pledged to give the World Wildlife Fund Canada $1 million a year for the next three years. Sobeys has partnered with Earth Day Canada and gives grants to schools and grassroots organizations for local environmental initiatives giving about $400,000 to 22 different organizations. Metro founded the Green Apple Grants, a charity that will make $2 million available to elementary and secondary schools in Ontario and Quebec. However, these larger corporations are stressing that only part of the plastic bag fees are going to charitable causes. They emphasize that the goal is to reduce the usage of plastic bags and promoting the donation aspect may encourage it. Regardless of where they are allocating their fee money, most major retailers reported a 70 per cent reduction in plastic bag use, which indicates the fee clearly served its purpose. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE: A confrontation between a Japanese whaling fleet and the anti-whaling activist group Sea Shepherd has resulted in the destruction of an activist boat. The incident occurred earlier this week in the Southern Ocean off Antarctica when the Japanese security ship Shonan Maru No.2 collided with the Sea Shepherd boat Ady Gil. The collision sheared off the bow of the Ady Gil leaving it dead in the water. The six-member crew was rescued by another Sea Shepherd ship, the Bob Barker, shortly after. A video of the incident released by Sea Shepherd appears to show the Japanese ship veer into a stationary Ady Gil before colliding with the front of the boat and then steering away. Sea Shepherd has claimed the attack on its boat was unprovoked. The Japanese fleet contends that the Ady Gil was attempting to tangle their ship’s propeller with rope. Confrontations between the two groups have escalated in the last few years as Sea Shepherd has tried to interfere with what they call illegal whaling by the Japanese fleet. The Japanese contend that their whaling expeditions are purely for scientific and not commercial purposes. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE: A new report published this week in the journal Science by Margaret Palmer and colleagues highlights the negative environmental and health effects of a common form of coal extraction known as mountaintop mining. Using this method, coal is extracted by removing the vegetation and topsoil from a mountain and then using explosives to remove the mountaintop itself. Broken rock and debris from the explosions are then pushed into adjacent valleys to expose the coal seams underneath. This method is currently being used in West Virginia and Kentucky. The report states that current mitigation techniques fail to adequately restore surface vegetation. Furthermore, it says that the dumping of fill into valleys destroys streambeds and results in toxic compounds leeching downstream and into local groundwater, which may negatively impact human health. The report calls the current situation a failure of policy and enforcement of the U.S. Clean Water Act and recommends that permits for MTM mining should not be granted until effective mitigation methods can be found to restore the damage done by mountaintop mining. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE: Greenpeace has released its 14th quarterly “Guide to Greener Electronics” which ranks tech and electronics companies based on their environmental impact. The ratings take into account the amount of waste produced by each company, as well as its efforts at recycling and improving efficiency. This new report has added a new criterion, which takes into account whether a company lobbies for industry-wide changes that would have a positive effect on the environment. The newest ranking places Nokia and Sony Ericsson at the top as the greenest corporations, with Lenovo, Microsoft, and Nintendo ranked near the bottom as the least environmentally-friendly firms. The “Guide to Greener Electronics” aims to put pressure on tech companies to improve their environmental performance by allowing green-conscious consumers to select companies which do the most to reduce their impact on the environment. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE: The British Government has revealed its new “Food 2030” plan. The plan aims increase the amount of food produced within the country to reduce emissions associated with importing food and to improve domestic food security. The plan also aims to provide land for people to grow their own food, reduce emissions from agriculture, and to encourage people to purchase foods that are seasonal and sustainably farmed. The plan was introduced by Environment Secretary Hilary Benn who stated that a changing climate and a rising population meant that food should not be taken for granted. [ index ]