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 ]