JESSE ROGERSON: Suncor is publicly celebrating its reclamation of a tailings pond created in 1967. Tailings ponds are designed to catch the residual contaminants left over from mining the tar sands. These pollutants are deposited in the tailings pond and left to leach into the soil and surrounding ecosystems. The pond has been filled in with earth, and the 220 hectare region has been planted with thousands of shrubs and trees.

While Suncor has dubbed itself the first in the industry to complete a reclamation project, the Pembina Institute has said that Suncor has not yet finished the job. Pembina says the true impact of the tailings pond has not yet been fully realized. Continued monitoring and further reclamation are still required in the area before the region can declared fully reclaimed. Suncor officials stated they will monitor the land over the next 10 years.

Pembina applauded Suncor for its leadership and initiative in reclaiming mined land, and call for other companies to follow in Suncors footsteps. [ index ]

CHRIS HANNAY: Ontario’s environmental watchdog says the province is all bark and no bite. Gord Miller, the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, released his annual report this week. In it, he says the provincial government has come up with ideas and plans for the environment and renewable energy. But, he says the province has been disappointing in the implementation. He says: “This government rightly prides itself on the progress it has made in passing legislation to protect the environment, but actions on the ground often undermine it.” The commissioner criticizes the province’s inability to improve poor air and water quality. Of special concern, is pollution in the Great Lakes. However, he singles out Guelph, Ont., as a city that sets an example by investing in better optimized sewage treatment facilities. The environmental commissioner makes 15 recommendations, and most of them are aimed at conservation. Among the other recommendations are a target of planting one billion more trees in southern Ontario, making caribou a priority in the north of the province and urging the environment ministry to ensure information about industrial air emissions are readily available for the public. The full, 228-page report is available on the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario’s website. [ index ]

JESSE ROGERSON: A lack of laws to protect endangered species in B.C. puts protected species in Alberta and the United States at risk. Many species protected outside B.C. routinely travel across the border leaving them open for hunting. In a study released by the David Suzuki Foundation, Ecojustice and Conservation Northwest, over 1900 species are at risk of extinction because of the lack of B.C. protection. The report says of the species that cross the border into B.C., only 9% have some type of protection.

The study urges B.C. to improve its laws and cross-border coordination with its neighbours. It also states that B.C. should plan for future changes in the location of wildlife habitats due to global warming. [ index ]

CHRIS HANNAY: A prominent water expert is urging Canadians to think more about conserving energy – when they conserve water. John Carey is a former senior executive at Environment Canada. He says we’re in a water-rich nation, and we’re unlikely to run out. But we should be conserving water, by thinking more about the massive energy costs involved in cleaning, heating and storing it. He recommends water meters in home, and says that water-conservation campaigns would be more effective by reminding consumers of the money they could save. Carey spoke at an international water conference in Montreal this week. His speech was reported on by The Canadian Press. [ index ]

JESSE ROGERSON: Containment vessels docking at the Port of Prince Rupert in British Columbia will soon be given a green alternative. When docked, ships are forced to run their diesel engines in order to maintain a power supply. Minister of the Asia-Pacific Gateway, Stockwell Day, announced Thursday that the Canadian government will be funding a shore power alternative, connecting docked ships to shore power so they may turn off their engines. The initiative will remove an estimated 4000 metric tonnes of greenhouse gases from the air every year. CN, Transport Canada, and the B.C. provincial government are also partners in the project, helping to cover the costs including the 69-kilovolt distribution line to be supplied by B.C. hydro. Although the shipping companies will save costs on fuel in port, they will be charged for use of the shore power. Construction of the 3.6 million dollar project, the first of its kind in Canada, will be completed in 2011. [ index ]

CHRIS HANNAY: From the mind of Leonardo da Vinci to the fields of rural Ontario. A University of Toronto student has built what’s believed to be the first human-powered aircraft propelled by flapping wings that can fly continuously. Todd Reichert, who’s pursuing his Ph.D. in engineering, led a team that built the ornithopter. He piloted the vehicle this week for a representative from an international aviation association. The ornithopter has a wingspan of about 32 metres, which is comparable to that of a Boeing 737. It sustained flight for 19 seconds, with an average speed of almost 26 kilometres per hour. Reichert admits the wing-flapping, human-powered plane is not particularly practical, but he hopes it will inspire further inventions. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE: The blown-out oil well that for three months spewed crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico has been permanently sealed. Crews finished drilling a relief well last week and on Sunday successfully pumped cement into the damaged well, plugging it for good. The magnitude of the spill, previously estimated at 4.1million barrels, is pegged at 4.4 million barrels, based on a new estimate by scientists at Columbia University. Remaining now is the cleanup of oil that washed into beaches and wetlands on the Gulf Coast, as well as an assessment of the lasting damage done by oil that remains suspended in the ocean. The companies involved in the disaster are nervously awaiting the results of an ongoing investigation by the U.S. government that will assign criminal responsibility, if it finds any. At issue are potentially billions of dollars in liabilities owed by any guilty parties. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE: There are increasing calls for Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, the head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, to resign. The panel, also known as the IPCC, is a United Nations body of climate scientists responsible for putting together periodic reports to advise world governments on climate policy. The pressure for Dr. Pachauri to resign stems from errors in the IPCC’s 2007 report. These errors included improper sourcing of data as well as a now-disputed calculation that the Himalayan glaciers would disappear by 2035. As the head of the IPCC during the 2007 report, Dr. Pachauri is criticized for failing to maintain the panel’s scientific integrity. A growing group of environmentalists and politicians are calling for him to step aside so that the IPCC can move ahead and rebuild its reputation. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE: An experimental lighting project in Massachusetts harnesses the power of dog poo to power a street light. The project, called “The Park Spark” project, is the idea of Matthew Mazzotta, a conceptual artist who describes the project as “transforming dog waste into energy to power public art.” The lamp, located in the city of Cambridge, is connected to two large tanks. People walking their dogs nearby are encouraged to clean up after their pets with bio-degradable bags and then deposit the waste into one of the tanks. Methane produced in the tanks is then used to fuel the light which burns at night. Anyone interested in learning more can visit the project’s website at ‘parksparkproject.com’ [ index ]

JESSE ROGERSON: In B.C.’s Okanagan Valley, officials are about to introduce garbage and waste trucks with built in camera systems so they may monitor what people are tossing away. A rising problem in the region is waste contamination. A growing number of people are mixing recyclables and yard waste with regular trash. It costs an estimated $300 000 a year to sort and dispose of the improperly thrown out items. The cameras on the trucks will provide evidence of contamination. The penalty for being caught could result in a $100 fine or even cancellation of curb side waste pick up. Manager of Waste Reduction Peter Rotheisler warns that the items thrown out incorrectly take more space in the landfills than needed. He believes this will provide the motivation for proper disposal. A few cities in the region already employ the use of trucks with surveillance systems. [ index ]

CHRIS HANNAY: Japan is challenging Ontario’s green energy program, calling it a violation of international trade. The Japanese government is launching a dispute with the World Trade Organization over Ontario’s feed-in-tariff, or FIT, program. The country says Ontario’s policies are inconsistent with Canada’s obligations under the WTO. The provincial program provides long-term financial incentives for renewable energy projects – but the catch is that a certain amount of the production costs must be spent within Ontario. Japan is said to have been considering such a challenge since June. The country says Ontario’s FIT program unjustly supports domestic producers of renewable-energy technology over international ones. In a public statement, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said: “Solar panels or other equipments exported by Japanese companies to Ontario are less favorably treated than those locally produced.” Japan says it will conduct a formal bilateral consultation with Canada under the WTO.[ index ]

JESSE ROGERSON: The World Wildlife Fund is reporting that cod stocks are showing signs of recovery, growing 69% in the last 3 years. While this is good news, this increase puts the current cod population at just 10% the cod stocks in the 1960s, proving there is still a long way to go before the cod has fully recovered.

The North Atlantic Fisheries Organization, or NAFO, is conducting its annual meeting in Halifax next week, and WWF-Canada’s vice-president Robert Rangeley is urging for a cod recovery plan. Rangeley also is pressing for NAFO to reduce bycatch, or cod caught by accident, from other countries fishing in the area. While Canada has maintained very low bycatch, the European Union is continually recording high levels of accidentally fished cod. WWF-Canada believes this is a serious detriment to the recovery of the North Atlantic Cod. [ index ]

CHRIS HANNAY: U.S. lawmakers are not impressed with Enbridge’s pipeline safety nor with industry regulators. Members of the United States Congress met in a hearing this week meant to examine an oil leakage in one of Enbridge’s pipelines in Michigan in July. Unfortunately, while they met, Enbridge was wrapping up repairs of a leaking pipeline in Illinois. As we reported last week, the oil spilled from a pipeline in northern Illinois, near Lake Michigan. Enbridge says that, as of Friday morning, the pipeline has been repaired and is back in service. The Canadian company also says most of the oil has now been cleaned up. The Michigan leakage reportedly spilled about 20,000 barrels of oil, and U.S. investigators say they haven’t yet determined the exact cause of the leak. [ index ]

JESSE ROGERSON: The Pembina Institute is warning in a report published this week that the Albertan government is not collecting enough money from oil companies to clean up land used for oil sand mining. The government mandates that all companies mining oil in the sands in northern Alberta pay a deposit to the Environmental Protection Security Funds. The companies are then also required to hedge the impact of their mining by providing clean up services concurrent with the mining operations. The report warns that the environmental impacts of oil sand mining is still unknown, and the clean up costs could potentially be much higher than anticipated. Pembina estimates it could cost upwards of $15 billion dollars to clean up the disturbed land, of which the Environmental Protection Security Fund has raised $820 million. The vast short coming of the fund could be footed by the taxpayers of Alberta. The report suggests among other things, the government increase transparency on how the land will be cleaned up, and require higher security deposits from oil companies. [ index ]

CHRIS HANNAY: For the third time in four years, walruses in Alaska are being forced ashore by a lack of Arctic sea ice. U.S. scientists say record lows in the amount of sea ice are due to unusual warming. This has forced tens of thousands of walruses to crowd on to a tiny spot of land at Point Lay, Alaska. Scientists say they are worried about stampeding among the crowded group of walruses, as the large, tusked animals may accidentally trample the youngsters – something that has happened last year. It’s highly unusual for this much sea ice to melt and force walruses ashore. But according to the scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey, projections show less and less Arctic sea ice could endanger the walruses. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE: The U.S. government has announced that it will order thousands of unused oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico to be permanently sealed. The announcement this week by the department of the interior will require companies to permanently seal all undersea wells once they have been used up. The government will also require companies to dismantle and remove unused oil rigs and pipelines. The new regulation is expected to affect 3,500 wells and 650 platforms that currently sit idle in the Gulf of Mexico. These measures should ensure that idle infrastructure does not leak oil into the water as it breaks down. The new rules were prompted by this year’s disastrous Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the largest in U.S. history. The leaking well from that disaster was finally stopped with a temporary cap in July, and authorities say that the well should be permanently sealed this Sunday. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE: The State of California has approved the construction of a massive new solar power facility which, when completed, will produce 3 times as much electricity as the current largest solar plant. The power plant will be constructed near Blythe, California, and will generate 1,000 megawatts of electricity, making it by far the largest solar power plant in the world. The amount of electricity produced by this plant will be more than double the 481 megawatts of solar power installed in the entire U.S. in all of 2009. The project is estimated to cost over $6 billion and should be completed by 2013. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE: The extent to which Arctic ice melts in the summer is used frequently by climate scientists as a measure of global climate change. Now, data compiled from the 2010 summer season in the Arctic now shows that this year’s summer melt was not as drastic as expected. Arctic ice retreated to 4.76 million sq km this summer, which was more ice than in 2007 and 2008. Though the ice did not retreat as much as in the last 3 three years, scientists note that the current summer minimum is still far below the average for 1979-2000. Scientists have produced a number of climate models to predict if, or when, the Arctic will experience an ice-free summer. This year’s data casts doubt on some of the more extreme predictions that the Arctic could be ice-free as early as 2013. [ index ]