TYLER IRVING (read by PETER STOCK): A study published this week suggests that sea lice from fish farms are not a major cause of the deaths of returning wild salmon in British Columbia. This finding adds further fuel to the debate over the proper way to manage both the stocks.

The latest study was published by a trio of Canadian and U.S. researchers in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It was based on data from fish farms in the Broughton Archipelago. The analysis shows that high rates of sea lice on farms did not necessarily correspond to low returns of wild salmon. However, it did acknowledge that lice migrate between wild and farmed salmon stocks.

Other scientists dispute the finding. On her blog, biologist Alexandra Morton of the Salmon Coast Field Station called the findings “flawed” for the way they lumped together stocks with different levels of fish farm exposure. She also stated that the paper runs contrary to a body international research which shows that lice are in fact harmful to salmon. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: A new study claims that, if action to make significant reductions to green house gas emissions happens quickly, polar bears can be saved from extinction.

Contrary to most research, stating that temperatures in the Arctic are already too high to stop ice loss. If the current rate of emissions continues, two-thirds of the polar bear population will disappear by 2050. But this study, published in the journal Nature, gives new hope. Apparently, the irreversible and rapid ice decline is unlikely, if measures are taken to slash emissions. The team of researchers discovered a linear relationship between sea ice and temperature: as temperatures rise, the decline in sea ice will make a smooth descent.

All that would be necessary is strict emissions cuts of 70% by 2100. This would minimize habitat loss to be only 20%, and thus saving the species. Now, it’s up to policymakers to put this plan into action. Interesting to note is that ice loss is not the only threat faced by the bears, however. As habitat space diminishes, species that have not encountered each other for millennia many interbreed, generating hybrid species that push rare species further towards extinction. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING (read by PETER STOCK): It’s not just your imagination; boreal forest fires have gotten worse in recent years.  New research from the University of Guelph shows that the trend is linked to climate change via a vicious cycle.

Dr. Merritt Turetsky and her team have studied forest fire data from Alaska and B.C. stretching back 60 years.  In the last decade, the annual burn area has been double what it was in previous decades.  Not only are there more and larger fires, they’re also burning more intensely, destroying not only trees, but the moss, litter, and peat layers that make up the forest floor.  This is significant because these layers are where carbon gets permanently sequestered by the forest, and the loss of them is changing boreal forests from net carbon sinks to carbon sources.  Extra carbon contributes to climate change, which in turn leads to even more burning, perpetuating the cycle.

If the pattern keeps up, Dr. Turetsky believes there’s a chance that boreal forests could disappear and be replaced by more deciduous forest types.  That would be bad news for caribou and other species that depend on the boreal habitat.  Dr. Turetsky’s latest paper is published in the journal Nature Geoscience. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: A Royal Society of Canada report spanning 437 pages has recently found no convincing evidence for a connection between oil sands development and cancer in northern Alberta.

The study took has concluded that higher cancer rates experienced among northern Alberta’s First Nations population are not directly correlated to the oildsands. This does not mean, however, that Alberta’s government gets off scot-free. Alberta’s environmental review process was criticized as “seriously deficient” in its assessment process for observing the health and socio-economic impacts of oilsands projects.

The study panel also noted that Canada’s governments must work harder in enforcing checks and balances in the oil industry, especially in water and air quality monitoring. The report bemoans Ottawa’s lack of responsibility in regards to the oil sands, and notes that both governments’ efforts haven’t been matching the strides made with development. As a result, they have both appointed scientists panels to examine water monitoring.

Interesting timing for the report, which comes out just as oil sands production begins to take off again, post-recession lull. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING (read by PETER STOCK): One of Canada’s most ambitious carbon capture and storage projects has been delayed. Saskatchewan’s power authority announced late last week that it will wait until it gets clear signals on carbon regulation from the federal government.

The project is question is a retrofit of SaskPower’s Boundary Dam 3 coal-fired power plant near Estevan, Saskatchewan. As proposed, the retrofit would add carbon capture and enhanced oil recovery capability, to the tune of $1.2 billion. However, the crown corporation doesn’t want to move on the project until it knows exactly how the federal government plans to regulate carbon emissions. For now, it will content itself with a $345 million refurbishment of one section of the plant, known as Unit 3, which SaskPower says will make it “carbon capture ready.”

If built, the full project is estimated to be capable of removing 1 million tones of carbon per year. Still, there are many uncertainties about the project, not the least of which is the question of where the $1.2 billion will come from. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: After a decade of Imperial Oil and other Canadian companies attempting to gain approval for the 1,196-kilometre MacKenzie Valley pipeline, the National Energy Board of Canada has given a conditional agreement to the $16.2-billion natural gas pipeline.

This Thursday, the board stated that they feel that developing the pipeline is in the interest of the public. Their consent is awaiting signatures from the federal Cabinet, but it seems factors will continue to align in its favour. If the project reaches completion, it will be the largest private investment in Canada, and provide a much needed boost to the economy and industrialization of Canada’s north.

The conditions of this approval number at 264, one of which is the clause that Imperial must decide by the end of 2013 if the pipeline will or will not actually be built. There is opposition from environmental groups as well as the Dehcho First Nations people, who claim land ownership of 44% of the proposed pipeline route, continue to oppose it. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE (read by NAOMI JEHLICKA): The U.S. federal government has filed a lawsuit against British Petroleum this week, seeking damages over the disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spill earlier this year. The lawsuit names BP, along with 8 other, as having violated safety regulations prior to the April 20th explosion that started the leak. If the government can prove criminal negligence on the part of the companies, they could be required to pay $4,300 dollars per barrel of oil spilled, which could amount to $21 billion in total. Eight other companies which either serviced the well or owned minority stakes are also being sued. Notably, contracting company Halliburton, which produced the concrete well casing and which was criticized by BP for playing a role in the accident, is not being named in the lawsuit. In preparation for its financial liability, BP has been selling off assets worldwide in order to raise $20 billion for damage payments. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE (read by NAOMI JEHLICKA): General Motors sold its first Chevrolet Volt this week, its highly publicized electric car. The Volt is GM’s first electric vehicle, and its first big unveiling since emerging from bankruptcy last year. GM, like other American car companies, had failed to anticipate the growing market for fuel efficient vehicles and suffered financial losses while Asian rivals such as Toyota sold millions of hybrid-electric vehicles. The Volt marks GM’s first serious entry into the fuel-efficient vehicle market and seeks to compete against Toyota’s’ Prius’ hybrid, and Nissan’s ‘Leaf’ electric car. The first Volt was sold on Wednesday to Jeffrey Kaffee, a retired airline pilot living in New Jersey, who traded in his old Toyota Prius to buy the Volt. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE (read by NAOMI JEHLICKA): You’ve maybe heard of cities with public bike-sharing programs, but now the city of Paris is looking to start a public car-sharing program. Paris started a highly successful bike-sharing program in 2007 which allows people to pay a yearly $33 fee for access to 20,000 bicycles at 1,500 stations across the city. The program encourages physical activity and no-emissions transportation. With the success of its ‘Velib’ bike program, Paris announced on Thursday a private partnership that will see 3,000 electric cars spread out across the city for public use. The project is called ‘Autolib’, and is an extension of the ‘Velib’ bike program to promote green transportation in the French capital. [ index ]