JESSE ROGERSON (read by MARTIN WALDMAN): Alberta’s Bill 24 on carbon capture is currently in its second reading, but is already causing controversy. The bill was proposed by Energy Minister Ron Liepert and is expected to help kick start cleaner energy.

Carbon capture aims to catch an industry’s produced carbon before it is released into the atmosphere. The carbon is liquefied and then forced into porous rock deep underground. While advocates of the process believe this is the quickest way to curb greenhouse gases, critics say the technology has not been shown to be safe for use. The stored carbon may leak into ground water supplies or escape to the surface and become noxious. The proposed Bill 24 says that the private companies will be responsible for any possible environmental or physical hazard, and the government will only take liability if the private sector is able to show that the carbon they have stored is safe.

Alberta has already committed $2 billion over four projects to begin carbon capture, but none are expected to begin operations for another four years. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING (read by VANESSA PURDY): Taseko Mines CEO Russell Hallbauer is not giving up on the Prosperity Mine project, despite strong environmental objections.

The proposed copper-and-gold mine near Williams Lake, British Columbia would have provided 700 jobs to the economically troubled region. However, last week it was rejected by the federal Conservative government due to the impact it would have on the environment. An environmental assessment completed last summer stated that the project would have significant adverse environmental effects on fish, fish habitat, navigation, and cultural heritage in the region. The mine would have drained nearby Fish Lake for use as a tailings pond.

In an open letter published in many Canadian newspapers, Hallbauer said that Taseko plans to submit a new proposal after carefully studying the reasons Ottawa rejected its original plan. He also stated that the company agrees the project should be done with the highest regard to the environment, and will do everything it can to address the federal government’s concerns. [ index ]

JESSE ROGERSON (read by MARTIN WALDMAN): A recent study in the Public Library of Science is suggesting that there are tough times ahead for the polar bear. The diet of the polar bear consists entirely of seals, a species endangered by the current global warming. If the current trends of warming continue, the number of seal will not support the polar bear, and they will be forced to find food elsewhere. A further complication is that as the Earth warms, the brown bear will advance further northward. The brown bear is equipped naturally with the ability to eat many different kinds of animals and also eat vegetation. The added competition with a new bear species in the area, coupled with the possible depletion of the main food supply, will put large amounts of stress on the polar bear population. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING (read by VANESSA PURDY): A new study released this week provided further evidence of the link between fish farms off the coast of British Columbia and sea lice infection among wild salmon.

The study was conducted by researchers from Simon Fraser University, the University of Victoria, and the Salmon Coast Field Station in the Broughton Archipelago. The authors sampled juvenile salmon from British Colombia and found that those which passed by open net fish farms had sea lice infection rates of up to 40%. By contrast, those that did not pass by fish farms had much lower infection rates of only 5%.

Lead author John Reynolds of Simon Fraser University stated that the study points to the importance of moving open net fish farms away from wild salmon migration routes, ideally onto land-based containment systems. The study was published in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. [ index ]

JESSE ROGERSON (read by MARTIN WALDMAN): In June approximately 400 litres of oil used for heating leaked out from a tank behind a music store in Charlottetown, PEI. In the process of cleaning up the spill, the Environmental Department found that there would be possible damage of neighboring property. Some were upset that the clean up would damage their property, so they refused to allow the workers to clean up. On Wednesday, Justice Benjamin Taylor ordered the contamination to be removed, citing the environmental concern is more important than property concerns. Clean up will begin as early as the end of the week. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING (read by VANESSA PURDY): The government of Newfoundland and Labrador is taking strong measures to curb caribou hunting, after a recent census shows that the herd’s population has been decimated in recent years.

As recently as 1993, there were over 770,000 caribou in Labrador’s Grand River herd. Today, the population is less than a tenth of that; about 74,000 animals. In response, the provincial government has cancelled the commercial hunt, as well as preventing non-residents from going on guided hunting expeditions. Licensed hunters will be restricted from the usual two animals per season to just one. The restrictions do not apply to aboriginal hunters, whose hunting rights are protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Both the Northwest Territories and the Yukon have imposed emergency hunting bans on caribou this year. At an international conference held in Winnipeg in October, aboriginal leaders raised concerns about the impact that shrinking caribou numbers will have on those people who rely on the herds for food. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE: Some of Great Britain’s top chefs from the nation’s most expensive restaurants are throwing their support behind the ‘Sustainable Livestock Bill’ which is now before the British Parliament. A large part of livestock feed in Britain comes from South American soybeans, and the growing of soybeans involves the destruction of rainforest to make way for soy fields. The bill would encourage the British agriculture industry to feed their livestock with locally grown feed to reduce rainforest depletion and to cut down on the fossil fuels costs of importing feed from far away. Other proposals include adding additional information to food packaging to give consumers with a green conscience greater choice. The bill is opposed by the National Famer’s Union who feel that such changes should be led by the industry, and that legislation, though well-meaning, would not be pragmatic. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE: American company General Electric has announced that it will buy 25,000 electric vehicles by 2015. GE will use the vehicles in its corporate fleet, beginning with the purchase of 12,000 Chevrolet Volts over the next few years. Given the success of Toyota’s gas-electric hybrid cars, a number of car companies are trying to move into electric cars to tap into the growing number of consumers concerned about fossil fuels. However, one initial hurdle in the wider adoption of electric vehicles is their high cost. GE hopes that by purchasing such a large number of electric vehicles, it will drive down manufacturing costs and promote the adoption of electric cars by others. GE’s motives for pushing the electric car aren’t totally altruistic, however, as the company manufactures electric charging stations and hopes to profit from the proliferation of electric cars. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE: Like humans, whales suffer from sunburn, according to researchers at the University of London. They studied whales in the Gulf of California by analyzing images of whales’ skin and by taking skin samples. They found that whales developed sunburn-like blisters on their skin, and that blisters were more severe on whales with paler skin colours. Since whales have no fur to protect their skin, and since they need to surface in order to breathe and nurse, they are especially vulnerable to the sun’s rays. Worryingly, the team found that incidences of sunburn on whales in the area seems to be increasing. They propose that this could be due to ozone depletion or to decreased cloud cover in the area during summer months. The scientists also warn that increases in UV radiation could have negative effects on other wildlife with exposed skin such as amphibians. [ index ]