DARYN CAISTER: Opposition parties along with various environmental groups have increased pressure on the federal government to raise the liability limits for oil spills at offshore drilling sites in the Canadian Arctic and Atlantic oceans. The current laws state a company is not liable for more than 40 million dollars in clean up costs, an amount that would easily fail to reach the required funds for a major spill. A study by the University of Ottawa-Ecojustice Environmental Law clinic states the low liability cap actually increases the possibility of an environmental disaster because companies are willing to make more economically risky decisions. The risk is then deflected to the taxpayers, who would foot the bill once the cap has been exceeded. With liability being increased almost tenfold in the nuclear energy sector, many are wondering why similar steps are not being taken for oil companies. The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum board requires oil companies to have 100 million dollars available for clean up, hoping that raising the liability limit by legislation will lead to more environmentally conscience drilling practices. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: On Tuesday, the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Petroleum Board announced a call for bids to do exploratory offshore drilling in two parcels of land known as the Flemish Pass. The call for bids will open up over 330,000 hectares of the sea floor north of the Grand Banks. Waters in the region range from 1000 to 2000 m deep. The move follows the approval of Chevron’s Lona O-55 well, also off the Grand Banks, which began drilling in June. Provincial opposition MPs are calling the move “disturbing” given the number of unknowns still surrounding the massive blowout of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. They also point to the difficulty that British Petroleum has had in trying to plug the leak due to the deep-water conditions. The Lona O-55 well is the deepest in Canada, at 2.6 km. Newfoundland and Labrador’s Minister of Natural Resources, Kathy Dunderdale, counters that the province has a strong regulatory regime, and that the new exploration will bring economic growth for Newfoundland and Labrador. The call for bids will be open until November of this year. [ index ]

DARYN CAISTER: Newfoundland and Labrador Conservative Premier Danny Williams has announced the founding of the Centre for Fisheries Ecosystem Research at Memorial University’s Marine Institute in St. John’s. The program will allow the province to research independently of the federal Department of Fisheries, which has consistently decreased funding for fishery ecosystem research for the last 20 years. This has lead to gradual decline in the health of the fishing industry, something the province could not stand by and watch any longer. The centre will cost the province 14 million dollars to create. The leader of the Liberal Party, Yvvone Jones, applauds the move. Ultimately, jurisdiction lies with the federal government, but Ottawa has endorsed the new centre, and has stated it is looking forward to seeing both the research and the proposals for new projects. Williams is hoping the Department of Fisheries takes the centre’s research into account when discussing fishing policy in the future. First on the agenda is to conduct a desperately needed study on the north Atlantic cod, the historical back bone of the Canadian fishing industry. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: As of July 1, it just got easier for Ontarians to properly dispose of hazardous waste items. That’s because Stewardship Ontario expanded the list of items that are now collected under its “Orange Drop” program. The program began life as the “Municipal Hazardous or Special Waste” program in 2008. By law, companies that manufacture or sell products containing hazardous materials are required to pay a fee for each product they sell to a non-profit organization called Stewardship Ontario. That organization uses the money to collect the products at the end of their life and to either distribute them to registered recycling companies, or ensure that they are disposed of safely. On July 1, the program expanded to include thirteen new categories of items, from batteries to pharmaceuticals, moth balls and spot removers. The program has been criticized by conservative commentators, who say that manufacturers will pass the cost of the new fees onto consumers, creating what they called a hidden tax, or eco fee. The government has also been criticized for not widely publicizing the program prior to its launch. For its part, Stewardship Ontario has launched a publicity campaign called “Make the Drop,” now that the legislation is fully in effect. [ index ]

DARYN CAISTER: Taseko Mines, a British Columbia based mining company, is waiting for the federal government to decide whether a proposed copper-gold mine should be given permission to move forward. The proposed site of the mine is one of the largest untapped deposits of copper-gold in Canada, translating to hundreds of jobs and billions of stimulus money for a province in need. Harper is weighing these benefits against the planned demolition of two lakes adjacent to the mining site. The current lakes will be replaced by an artificial lake that will be used to store waste from the mining process. The proposed artificial lake would only support twenty percent of the current population of rainbow trout in the two lakes, and would grossly affect protected wildlife in the area. The B.C. environmental assessment has already ruled to move forward with the mine citing the need for economic stimulus. The federal environmental review has ruled the mine will have “significant adverse environmental affects” after it conducted 30 days of public hearings. The final decision from Ottawa is expected in 10 weeks. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: According to a report released on Tuesday by Environmental Defence, residents of the Great Lakes Basin are wasting 580 billion litres of water annually. That’s enough water to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool that would stretch all the way across Canada, and back. The report arrived at the number by calculating the water savings from various household devices, then multiplying that number by the residents in the area. For example, over half of Canadians still use inefficient, old-style toilets. If all the residents of the Great Lakes basin switched to more modern designs that use less water, the savings would amount to 218 billion litres of water per year. This is roughly equivalent to the total water use of the city of Toronto. Other tips for saving water provided by the report include switching to high-efficiency shower heads and washing machines, as well as reducing outdoor water use. The report estimates that water conservation can save municipalities millions of dollars by reducing the need for pumping, treatment, and new infrastructure. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has hit the Monsanto Corporation with a $2.5 million fine for improperly labelling and selling seeds of genetically-modified cotton. The fine is over the sale of Bollgard cotton seeds, which have been engineered to kill pest insects. Because of this, the seeds are regulated as pesticides and were illegal for use in parts of the U.S. where pesticides are banned. From 2002 to 2007, however, these seeds were sold and planted in banned areas. Monsanto attributed the breach of regulation to improper labelling of seeds, which should have specified their restrictions. Monsanto discovered its mistake in 2006 and reported it to the EPA. Monsanto has adjusted its labels, and the ban on pesticides in many of the areas in question have since been lifted. [ index ]

SHAK HAQ: Authorities in China have dispatched a fleet of almost 70 ships to combat an overwhelming algal bloom approaching the coast of Qingdao. Above-average ocean temperatures, in addition to nitrogen runoff from agriculture, are being blamed for the mass of algae spanning almost 400 square kilometres. The seaweed must be removed before it begins to decompose and create oxygen-depleted ‘dead zones.’ Nets, forklifts, trucks, and hundreds of people have been deployed to remove almost 4,000 tons of seaweed that once collected will be processed for use as fertilizer or food for livestock. The situation is expected to worsen as Northern China experiences its hottest week of the year, which is expected to accelerates algal growth. A similar algal bloom struck Qingdao in 2008 prior to the Beijing Olympics. Scientists then warned the problem would reoccur unless fertilizer usage and water treatment were addressed. Since the 1970s, green tides have become more common around the world in densely populated areas where there is large-scale runoff of agricultural chemicals. [ index ]

SHAK HAQ: 25 percent of all flowering plants face extinction due to human activity, according to a recent report published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society. The researchers began by estimating the number of flowering plants in the world. This number included plants yet to be discovered, which was calculated by looking at the rate of discovery of new specimens. The report suggests that there are just over 350,000 flowering plants documented with another 10-20 percent yet to be discovered. Researchers then assessed the level of habitat loss due to deforestation, urbanization, and pollution to conclude that a quarter of species are highly threatened. The authors warn that such a high loss of flowering plants would have a huge impact on the food chain and flood protection. [ index ]