TYLER IRVING: A plan to ship decommissioned nuclear steam turbines across the great lakes has raised concerns for several municipalities along the route.

Bruce Power, operator of Canada’s largest nuclear generating complex, applied last April for a permit to ship 16 decommissioned steam turbines across the Great Lakes to Sweden, where they will be decontaminated and recycled. Each turbine is made of steel, about the size of a school bus and weighs 110 tonnes. Although the turbines will not carry nuclear fuel or waste, they are contaminated on the inside after 30 years of use.

Some residents along the proposed shipping route are upset about the lack of public consultation on the project. A petition to stop the shipment has obtained the signatures of two American state officials and the mayor of Sarnia. For its part, Bruce Power says that the radiation risk posed by the turbines is extremely low. A company spokesperson, Murray Elston, says that the radiation dose one would receive from spending two hours next to the turbines is approximately equivalent to a chest x-ray. [ index ]

SHAK HAQ: Seven Lake Ontario beaches in the Greater Toronto Area recently received world class honours. The prestigious Blue Flag is awarded to beaches around the world that meet strict environmental and safety standards. Ontario currently boasts the strictest recreational water quality standards in North America. In Ontario, a beach with more than 100 parts E. coli per 100 millilitres of water is classified as unsafe. Comparatively, Canadian national standards are set at 200 and in the U.S. the standard is 235. Levels are posted daily for each beach both online and by the shore. Blue Flags are designated to beaches that are safe for swimming at least 80 percent of the time. Toronto’s Blue Flag beaches are safe 90 percent of the time. Safety levels drop when heavy rains cause sewage facilities to overflow into swimming areas, but improved sewage maintenance and treatment of overflow has minimized the number of unsafe days. Despite these high accolades local residents still remain skeptical of plunging in. Nonetheless, Toronto plans to continue bringing more beaches up to blue flag standards including Scarborough’s Bluffer’s Beach Park, Marie Curtis Park East Beach, Sunnyside and Rouge. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: It may sound incredible to environmentalists, but BC’s Fraser River salmon fishery is certified as sustainable. That’s according to the ruling of an independent adjudicator, who on Monday upheld the London-based Marine Stewardship Council’s assessment of the fishery, fishery despite objections from environmental groups.

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) grants its sustainable ecolabel to fisheries based on how they are managed. It first bestowed the label on the Fraser River salmon back in January. However, that ruling was challenged in February by three environmental groups: the David Suzuki Foundation, the Skeena Wild Conservation Trust and Watershed Watch Salmon Society. They argue that last year’s astonishing collapse of the salmon stocks is proof that they are being mismanaged.

For its part, the Marine Stewardship Council notes that while last year’s salmon runs were dramatically lower than predicted, it’s not likely due to overfishing, as plenty of young fish returned to the ocean four years ago. The mystery of the low returns is currently being probed by the federal Cohen commission, which starts evidentiary hearings in September. Meanwhile, the MSC has certified three more salmon fisheries in BC over the last month. [ index ]

SHAK HAQ: It has been under a month since Nala, the Vancouver Aquarium’s youngest whale, died. The one-year old died from rocks blocking her airway, causing her lungs to fill with fluid. In response, Green Party parks commissioner Stuart Mackinnon is polling Vancouverites to support a motion to ban all marine mammals from the facility on July 19. If passed, there would be a plebiscite at the next municipal election in 2011. The aquarium’s lease with Stanley Park is up in 2015 and the banning of cetaceans could be a condition of its renewal. The parks board chair, Aaron Jasper, feels the motion is fiscally irresponsible as it was agreed upon in 2006 that cetaceans could be kept at the facility and the issue would not be reviewed until 2015. Mackinnon claims he already has the support of two of the other six board members and only needs the support of one more to pass the motion. Currently, the aquarium is home to five beluga whales and three dolphins, which are the most popular attractions, however if Vancouverites vote to ban the cetaceans, the exhibits would be slowly phased out. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: Commercial shipping in the St. Lawrence Seaway was suspended for nearly three days this week due to a spill of diesel fuel from a disabled freighter. The Canada Steamship Lines vessel Richlieu ran aground on Monday night, just upstream of the Côte-Sainte-Catherine lock near Montreal.

While the spill was initially estimated to be up to 200 tonnes of fuel, it was quickly contained by the ships vents, an emergency boom, and the lock itself. In all, only 20 tonnes of fuel was estimated to have leaked into the river. That was still enough to cause a backlog of at least 17 ships in the canal, leading to thousands of dollars in late fines for shipping companies.

Environment Canada has characterized the damage as “minimal.” Nevertheless, some oil has stuck to the riverbanks, and 11 oil-soaked birds were taken to an emergency veterinary clinic in nearby St.-Hyacinthe. Some dead fish and muskrats were also found, but they may have been the victims of a recent spate of hot weather rather than the oil spill. Shipping in the channel has now resumed, but boats are travelling at reduced speeds in order to avoid spreading any residual oil. [ index ]

SHAK HAQ: Giant hogweed, a severely toxic plant, is invading Toronto’s Don Valley. The weed originates from Central Asia, but arrived in North America via England more than a century ago. Growing three to six metres in height it has a thick hollow reddish or purplish stalk with clusters of cream-coloured flowers at the top. It is commonly confused with the harmless cow parsnip. Experts caution to beware the sap of the plant. A chemical in the sap, furanocoumarins, makes human skin hypersensitive to sunlight and contact with eyes causes temporary blindness. The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority found approximately 20 plants this week and is working to remove them. According to the conservation authority there are unconfirmed reports of giant hogweed dating back to 2007. At the moment giant hogweed is not listed as a noxious weed at the provincial level, but the counties of Wellington, Huron, and Grey and the city of Waterloo have declared it noxious and are in the process of eradication. If you suspect there is hogweed on your property the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture has requested going to weedinfo.ca where you can submit photos for verification. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: For the first time since April 20, British Petroleum has managed to stop the leaking oil from the derelict Deepwater Horizon drilling site in the Gulf of Mexico. However, officials are quick to point out that it’s “too soon to celebrate,” as the well could start leaking again at any time.

The leak was stopped by a 75-ton metal cap that was lowered to the hole by undersea robots earlier this week. The cap contained three pressure valves which were then slowly closed to stop the leak. This solution was made possible by earlier repair work that removed and replaced a ruptured section of the line.

Pressure on the cap is being monitored 24-hours a day, but as of Friday morning, no further leaks had been detected. While residents of the Gulf area are relieved, President Obama has cautioned that the solution is still “in the testing phases”. There is also the matter of cleaning up the 700 million litres of oil that has spilled since the leak began almost three months ago. [ index ]

CHRIS HANNAY: The world is reaching a ‘tipping point’ in getting energy from renewable sources, according to two studies released this week.
The twin reports were released by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century.
They found that 2009 was the second year in a row that the United States and Europe added more capacity for renewable energy sources than conventional sources, such as coal, gas or nuclear.
Renewable sources supplied 18 per cent of the global electricity supply, according to one study.
Germany, China and the United States were the top three countries in adding new renewable capacity.
The last two years haven’t been without their challenges, however.
The UN report notes that $162-billion was invested in new sustainable energy projects in 2009.
That makes it the second highest year on record, but down 7 per cent from 2008′s $173-billiont.
The report blames the drop on the global recession.
Government spending on research and development went up 49 per cent to $9.7-billion, while corporate R&D dropped 16 per cent to $14.9-billion. [ index ]

CHRIS HANNAY: The European Union plans to loosen its control of genetically modified crops, instead passing the responsibility to its 27 member countries.
The proposal from the European Commission was announced this week.
It would allow countries to decide at the national level whether to grow or ban genetically modified crops.
This would replace the current EU system, where GM crops need to be authorized at the higher level of the European Union.
Some countries oppose GM crops on scientific grounds, saying that there isn’t enough data on long-term effects to human health and the environment.
Supporters of genetically modified crops argue that they can be designed to give higher yields and better resist pests.
This proposal would allow member countries to also control GM crops for cultural or socio-economic reasons.
One reason for the change is to loosen up a perceived slowdown by the EU in evaluating the safety of GM crops, where only a handful have been cleared for use.
The EU would keep its authorization system to continue studying health effects from GM crops.
Some changes will come into effect immediately, but the larger overhaul could take up to two years to clear the EU’s legislative process. [ index ]

CHRIS HANNAY: Oil giant ExxonMobil has opened a greenhouse facility to research turning algae into biofuel.
This week’s announcement came exactly one year after ExxonMobil said it would invest $600-million over five or six years to develop biofuel from algae.
The facility sits near San Diego, close to the headquarters of Synthetic Genomics, which is a start-up partnering with ExxonMobil.
The researchers are looking at strains of algae found in the Pacific Ocean, so they can grow from saltwater and not take up valuable freshwater resources.
Because the algae is photosynthetic, it creates its own food. Scientists only need to supply carbon dioxide, water and sunlight to keep the algae growing.
This makes algae an attractive candidate for producing biofuels, as it doesn’t take up valuable cropland.
As with most similar research, the scientists say one of their biggest obstacles may be scaling the production to meet the massive fuel demands that oil currently fills.
ExxonMobil’s $600-million investment is a relatively small drop in the bucket for the company.
ExxonMobil’s total spending on all its various projects could reach $30-billion. [ index ]