JESSE ROGERSON: London-Fanshawe MP and New Democrat, Irene Mathyesson, has sponsored a private member’s bill to amend the Hazardous Products Act to prohibit the manufacture and use of plastic bags. The idea for the amendment comes from a high school contest where students were challenged to come up with ideas to improve Canada. The winning entry called for the abolishment of single-use plastic bags. Leaf Rapids in Manitoba banned plastic bags in 2007 while Fort McMurray in Alberta banned their use just last month. Toronto has also recently imposed a bylaw forcing all stores to charge 5 cents per plastic bag used.

The vice-president of environment at the Canadian Council of Grocery Distribution Allan Langdon believes the bill, if passed, would do little to help the environment. He noted plastic bags contribute to only one percent of trash in landfills, and they are typically reused for pet waste and garbage bags. Programs run through the CCGD across Canada are working to reduce the use of plastic bags by 50% in the next five years. [ index ]

CHRIS HANNAY: You can’t put a price on nature…or maybe you can. A novel study by the David Suzuki Foundation and Pacific Parklands Foundation tried to put an economic value on nature’s benefits to people. According to the study, B.C.’s Lower Mainland provides the local population with $5.4-billion worth of natural benefits, or about $2,462 per person. This includes everything from filtering air and water, to holding back floods and regulating the climate through absorbing carbon. For example, the study estimates that the water supply from local land is worth about $1.6-billion in services to local residents. The ecosystems found to be most economically valuable were wetlands and forests. The study’s authors assigned monetary values by looking at market values for services or resources, and extrapolating those values for resources without direct market values. The researchers say their evaluations should be instrumental for policy making concerning ecosystems. [ index ]

JESSE ROGERSON: Syncrude Canada Ltd., has announced that 350 birds have now died from contact with Mildred Lake tailings pond, a lake used by Syncrude to deposit left over chemicals from the tar sand mining process. Although bird deterrent systems like sound cannons and radar were installed and in-use, they failed to prevent the ducks from landing on the toxic pond. Shell and Suncor are also citing bird deaths on their tailings ponds; all three companies are blaming freezing rain, which makes it difficult for birds to fly, thus forcing them to land on the tailings pond even with bird deterrents in place. Syncrude plans to launch a full investigation, with the help of independent scientists.

The news comes on the heels of the announcement that Syncrude has been fined over $3 million as punishment for the death of another 1600 ducks on one of its tailings pond in 2008. Prosecutors in St. Albert provincial court argued that Syncrude did not reasonably attempt to deter the ducks from landing on the tailings pond. Syncrude has accepted responsibility for the deaths. [ index ]

JESSE ROGERSON: Environment Canada announced yesterday funding will be made available for the Habitat Stewardship Program for species at risk in the Yukon. Three Yukon government conservation programs will be receiving the funding: a wood bison conservation project, a Peregrin Falcon nesting habitat project, and a Beaver River bison, western toad, and woodland caribou habitat identification and protection program. These projects will be working in cooperation with both local land stewards and First Nation peoples in the area.

Other programs that will be receiving funding will be targeting plant species conservation and water quality programs designed to help protect the north Atlantic right whale, the Stellar sea lion, swift fox, and small white leek. [ index ]

CHRIS HANNAY: The long-awaited Cohen Commission into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River began this week. The federal inquiry is looking into the collapse of the sockeye salmon fisheries in British Columbia, along the Fraser River. Other than this year’s surprise bounty, the number of salmon caught has been in steep decline in recent years. The panellists on the inquiry are examining topics such as the proper level of biodiversity within the salmon populations, and the effect of nearby fish farms. Some activists have said diseases incubated within fish farms have spread into the wild salmon population, and that that is one cause for the overall decline. The commission will continue hearing evidence into December. [ index ]

CHRIS HANNAY: But as we’ve said, 2010′s sockeye catch was 35 million fish – much more than expected. What could have caused 2010′s explosive sockeye boom? According to one scientist, it may have been a volcano. Distinguished scientist Timothy Parsons of the Institute of Ocean Sciences says a volcanic eruption in Alaska in 2008 seeded the nearby ocean with extra nutrients. This led to a one-off bloom of phytoplankton that fed a lot of young sockeye. Professor Parsons says the bounty of sockeye salmon caught on the Fraser River this year would have been growing up in the Gulf of Alaska during that phytoplankton bloom. His submission to the Cohen Commission builds off research into the volcanic eruption done by a professor at the University of Victoria. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE: The World Bank is embarking on a new partnership to help nations determine the economic value of their natural ecosystems. The partnership is part of the UN’s ‘Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity’ project. Under the partnership, World Bank officials will work with national governments to calculate the financial value of their ecosystems. Ecosystems provide value through such things as water filtration, pollination, and tourism. By determining the value of nature, the project hopes to provide governments with financial incentives for conservation. India and Colombia have already signed up for the pilot project, with a number of other countries already expressing interest. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE: The U.S. Navy has successfully powered a gunboat using a mixture of diesel and biofuel. The gunboat ran on a fuel that was 50% derived from algae. The test is part of a larger drive by the U.S. Navy to get 50% of its energy from non-fossil fuels by 2020. Currently, the Navy only gets 16% of its energy from non-fossil fuels, most of it from nuclear. Though the Navy’s pursuit of renewable energy is primarily for strategic reasons, the Navy’s investments in renewable technologies are still a boon to the green tech industry overall. The Navy’s move to renewables is mirrored by the U.S. Army, which is also trying to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. The Army recently tested the use of solar panels to power field camps in Afghanistan. [ index ]

DARYN CAISTER: A massive international report published in the journal science shows that about one-fifth, or 20% of all vertebrate species on earth are currently in danger of extinction. The report has been identified as the most comprehensive analysis of global vertebrate health ever performed looked at 26,000 species. The final tally left resulted in data showing that one in eight birds and one in four mammals are at risk of disappearing forever. The report also gives a good idea of the direction of species and ecosystem health by showing that the number of species becoming at risk is increasing faster than species recovering seeming to indicate a worsening situation for global vertebrate health. The report also seems to point blame for much of the trouble at humans. Responsible for much of the anthropogenic influence on ecosystem health are agricultural expansion, logging, overhunting and invasive species, as well as amphibian killing fungi and other likely results of shifting climatic and hydrological systems. [ index ]

JESSE ROGERSON: Millions of tiny plastic pellets have been begun collecting along the south eastern shore of Lake Huron. The phenomenon has occurred before in 2007 and three times before that, but no origin of the plastic pellets was ever discovered. The newest threat in this ongoing environmental problem stretches roughly 170km up the south east coast. A new study by Dr. Patricia Corcoran from Western Ontario suggests the plastic pellets may be coming from the industrial region near Sarnia known as Chemical Valley. The study finds that the concentration of the plastic pellets drops the further north you move up the coast. Geoff Peach, coastal resource manager with the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation, disagrees because currents in Lake Huron travel south, and therefore would not allow the pellets to travel so far up the coast. There have also been no matches of the northern most pellets with any of the materials used from Chemical Valley. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: A report released this week by the David Suzuki Foundation states that 80% of beauty products contains at least one toxic ingredient.

The study relied on more than 6,200 volunteers, who over the course of three months examined the labels of over 12,500 products. They were looking for the presence of 12 chemical substances, which the foundation called the “dirty dozen.” Examples of these toxic compounds include the preservatives BHA and BHT, which are suspected endocrine disruptors, and certain coal tar dyes, which can be contaminated with heavy metals and are suspected carcinogens.

At least one of the “dirty dozen” chemicals was found in 80% of cases, while more than one was found in 57% of cases. The most common chemical was parfum, which is really a catch-all term for frangrances, and could refer to any combination of unknown ingredients. Under Canadian law, manufacturers are not required to disclose specific fragrance ingredients in order to protect trade secrets. The report’s author, Lisa Gue, states that the findings underline the importance of strengthening Canada’s labelling laws. [ index ]

JESSE ROGERSON: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says she is ‘inclined’ to back the construction of a cross-border pipeline that would transport crude oil from the tar sands in northern Alberta south to Texas. The pipeline named Keystone XL was proposed by TransCanada, but has been the subject of some controversy. Mining oil from the tar sands can have a terrible impact on the environment, leading to the crude being nicknamed ‘dirty oil.’ But the energy-hungry U.S. will require the stable and consistent flow of crude in order to keep the refining industry alive in Texas. TransCanada is expected to complete the environmental impact assessment of the pipeline later this year or early next year, at which point the U.S. will either approve or cancel the project. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: A new report released this week by environmental groups calls on Canada to live up to its obligations with respect to regulating oil sands development. Representatives from the Pembina Institute, Environmental Defence and Équiterre were all present at the report’s release in Ottawa.

The environmentalists made efforts to point out that their goal is not to shut down the industry, but rather to see its expansion proceed in a more orderly manner. Oils sands production is currently about 1.8 million barrels per day, but projects that have already been approved will increase that number to 4 million barrels. This rate of expansion means that the oil industry will come nowhere close to meeting its carbon emission targets, even if the unproven techniques of carbon capture and storage are taken into account. It also points out issues such as habitat destruction and water pollution. Recently, the federal government created a panel to review pollution in the Athabasca.

The report’s authors pointed out that Canada already has plenty of avenues to regulate oil sands development, including Fisheries Act, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, and the Species at Risk Act. They also point out that all federal party leaders, including the Prime Minister, have stated that Canada’s government needs to play a greater role in oil sands development. [ index ]

JESSE ROGERSON: Quebec is looking to become the sole owner of a large oil bed that straddles the border between it and Newfoundland and Labrador. The bed contains a potential 2 billion barrels of oil and a large deposit of natural gas as well. Two thirds of the underwater oil bed is in Quebec territory, but the other half is on the Newfoundland side; but Quebec’s natural resource minister will submit a proposal to the federal government that, if approved, would give Quebec sole rights to the oil. Prime Minister Stephen Harper is interested in setting up an offshore resource agreement with Quebec, where the federal government would own the seabed, but Quebec would reap the profits of the oil. This is similar to a deal Ottawa already has with Newfoundland. The oil bed, nick named Old Harry, is currently undergoing environmental impact studies that will be completed in 2012. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: New Brunswick is looking to find ways to strengthen its environmental assessment rules as the controversial project of hydraulic fractioning comes to the province.

Hydraulic fractioning, or “fracking” as it’s sometimes called, is a method of extracting natural gas that is trapped in shale rock formations. It consists of pumping a mixture of water, sand and chemical solvents into the ground to form cracks to release the gas. The technique is being used increasingly in eastern North America, which contains shale gas deposits that could rival Alberta’s oil sands, but which can only be mined through destructive processes like fracking. However, local residents in areas where fracking has been used complain of tainted groundwater and other health concerns.

Since fracking is such a new process, regulations are still evolving. The New Brunswick government plans to work with oil companies to develop new regulations. Apache Canada and Corridor Resources have agreed to act as test subjects for a new environmental assessment process that would require government approval at nearly every step of the process. Both companies are actively prospecting for shale gas deposits in New Brunswick. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE: Wind energy is heralded as a reliable and environmentally-friendly source of power for the future, but wind turbines have a notably environmentally-unfriendly side effect; their spinning blades kill large numbers of birds and bats every year. A new study from researchers in the UK suggests that painting wind turbines different colours may help reduce wildlife fatalities. Some scientists believe that many birds and bats get too close to wind turbines while hunting insects. The researchers tested to see which colours attracted the most insects. What they found was that white and light grey, the two most common colour for wind turbines, attracts more insects than any colour except for yellow. The study suggests that painting turbines colours that don’t attract insects, such as purple, might help reduce the numbers of animals that are killed. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has agreed to implement recommendations made by an independent investigation following errors in the panel’s 2007 report. The panel, also known as the IPCC, is a United Nations body of climate scientists responsible for putting together reports to advise world governments on climate policy. The IPCC’s 2007 report included errors such as the improper sourcing of data as well as an erroneous calculation that the Himalayan glaciers would disappear by 2035. The panel has agreed to increase scrutiny of the science that it uses to make its reports, and to reduce the use of scientific data that has not been published in peer-reviewed journals. The panel will not change its leadership, however. Though there are mounting calls for Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, the head of the IPCC, to resign, he has stated that he intends to stay and see that the reforms are put into place. [ index ]