CHRIS HANNAY: The oil industry is vastly underestimating the number of birds killed every year by tailings ponds from the Alberta oil sands, according to a new study. The industry says only 65 birds die every year from contact with tailings ponds, while the researchers found it more likely that an average of nearly 2,000 birds died every year. The study was published this week in the Wilson Journal of Ornithology. A tailings pond contains toxic byproducts from the extraction of fuel from the oil sands. The study notes that estimates from the Alberta government were also quite low, and lacked information about location and dates for the bird deaths. The report also suggests that as the oil sands continue to be developed and more area for tailings are needed, there will be an increasing danger to Alberta waterfowl. [ index ]

JESSE ROGERSON: The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, has travelled to Parliament Hill to discuss the oil sands industry in Alberta. In various meetings held wednesday and thursday this week, Pelosi heard from those that both strongly defend and strongly condemn mining of the oil sands. Amongst the attendees was Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach, who environmentalists believe has not been entirely honest about the environmental impact of the oil sands.

Currently the US State Department is deciding whether or not to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, which will transport crude bitumen from the oil sands across the border. The growing concern in the US over the environmental impact of the process of mining the oil sands may lead to this project not being approved. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: A new Canadian study published this week shows a connection between changing climate and the pollination rates of plants.

Dr. James Thompson of the University of Toronto has spent the last 17 years studying wild lilies in a remote part of Colorado. He compared the fruiting rates of wild flowers with those of a control group that he pollinated by hand. Since 1999, he has noted a consistent decline in the pollination of wild flowers. While some suspect declining world bee populations, Dr. Thompson has another theory. He believes that the flowers are blooming earlier in the year, when the bees that pollinate them are still hibernating.

This type of seasonal mismatch between interacting species has been predicted as one of the consequences of climate change. While some researchers think that bees could eventually adapt to the new circumstances, others worry that lower pollination rates could threaten the survival of certain plant species. The research is published in this week’s edition of the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. [ index ]

JESSE ROGERSON: Nova Scotia Power Inc. and NewPage Port Hawkesbry Corp. have proposed to construct a new power plant that would burn biomass to generate electricity. By burning 650 000 tonnes of wood a year, the plant would be able to power 50 000 homes in Nova Scotia. The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board has resumed hearings on the proposal, after a hiatus to study other options of power generation.

The fuel for the plant will come partly from left overs from saw mills, and partly from cutting trees from Crown land and treelots. Both companies believe this project will create many jobs in both the plant and logging, as well as help the province reach its green energy goals.

Skeptics of the project argue the plant would promote clear cutting of forests, and that it is not a sustainable form of energy generation. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: The White House announced this week it would appoint John Goss, former head of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, as the head of an $80 million effort to prevent the Asian carp from invading the Great Lakes.

The voracious fish has already outcompeted native species in several American waterways, including the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. These rivers are artificially connected with the great lakes through the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. An electronic barrier erected in 2004 is designed to keep the fish out of Lake Michigan, but last June a bighead carp was caught in Lake Calumet, on the other side of the barrier.

If the carp reaches the Great Lakes, many worry it will crowd out native fish and destroy the $7 billion fishery on both sides of the border. Five U.S. states have filed a lawsuit demanding that the federal government stop the invasion by permanently closing the canals and separating the Great Lakes from the Mississippi wastershed. So far, the newly-appointed Goss has declined to state whether or not he supports this solution. [ index ]

JESSE ROGERSON: The Canadian company Enbridge was forced to shut down another major oil pipeline due to a leak found in an portion of the line running through Illinois. The state Environmental Protection Agency says the leaking does not appear to have contaminated the close by DuPage river, but the amount of oil spilt has not yet been released.

The leak comes on the heels of another spill from an Endbridge pipeline running through Michigan. In July the spill released thousands of barrels of crude oil into the Kalamazoo river. A second leak in such a short time has some groups calling into question the ability of Enbridge to properly maintain their pipelines. Pipeline maintenance was one of the key topics of the 2006 International Joint Commission report on oil spills in the Great Lakes.

Endbridge has begun integrity testing on the now repaired pipeline in Michigan and is looking to have its use reinstated by the government. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE: British Petroleum has released the results of its own internal report on the cause of the Deepwater Horizon explosion which led to a catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Though the report does fault BP for not noticing pressure readings that indicated a blowout was likely imminent, the report mostly blames the two other companies operating on the rig. The BP report blames Transocean Ltd for not performing key safety tests and Halliburton for flaws in the cement casing of the well. Transocean and Halliburton dispute BP’s findings, pointing out that prior to the explosion they warned BP about potential safety risks involved in their operations. All three companies are currently working to deflect the blame for the disaster pending a federal government report which could assign billions of dollars of liabilities to the parties that it finds responsible. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE: Enbridge, the Albertan Oil and Pipeline company, has been forced to shut down another one of its oil pipelines, this time in Illinois. The company shut down the flow through its 6A pipeline this week after a leak was discovered in the town of Romeoville. Though the leak appears small and was abruptly shut down, it is bad news for the company which has already had to deal with a major leak earlier this year. Enbridge is still cleaning up from a pipeline leak in Michigan which released thousands of barrels of oil into the Kalamazoo River. This latest leak will further hurt the company’s efforts to convince U.S. authorities to allow it to reopen its Michigan pipeline. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE: The Toyota Motor Corporation has announced it is investing $285 million to build a new factory in Australia. The plant will focus on building fuel-efficient hybrid engines. Part of the new funding for the factory is coming from the Australian Government’s ‘Green Car Fund’, which aims to stimulate green transportation technology and manufacturing. Though the automotive industry has been hit by the global recession, the Australian government says the commitment by Toyota speaks towards the companies’ confidence in the future of fuel efficient technologies. [ index ]