MARTIN VALDMAN: A report from the Quebec ministry of natural resources has shown that more than half of the shale gas wells inspected in recent months have been found to contain leaks. Quebec has granted dozens of oil and gas companies permits to drill in the lowlands along the St. Lawrence River, and 19 of 31 wells showed quote “natural gas emissions,” according a report released last month.

The nature and the extent of the emissions are not clear and nobody at the ministry was able to comment. The president of the Quebec Association Against Atmospheric Pollution, says the emissions most likely involve methane gas, and show that more scientific evaluation is needed to assess the environmental impact of shale gas exploration.

Shale gas extraction has become a growing issue in a number of jurisdictions in Canada as well as the United States. Prince Edward Island’s Union of Public Sector Employees has called for a moratorium on extraction over concerns that the province’s water supply could be threatened by “hydrofracking”, while New Brunswick’s new Conservative government has announced a review of all provincial oil and gas exploration laws. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: The lack of sea ice in Canada’s Arctic is having a unique effect on Nunavut. Nunavut has been experiencing it’s warmest year on record, being 10-12 degrees above it’s normal temperatures for this time of year.

The US National Snow and Ice Data Centre reports that at this time, almost half of Hudson’s Bay should be frozen over, but right now it stands at a mere 17%. Mark Serreze, the director of Data Centre, says a high pressure system over the eastern arctic might be the cause of the lack of ice. More importantly though, this lack of ice is creating what he calls a “feedback cycle”. Since there is more open water, it is pumping heat into the air, thus contributing to the warming of the atmosphere and perpetuating the lack of ice. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like this cycle will be letting up any time soon. [ index ]

MARTIN VALDMAN: Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced a 278-million-dollar investment yesterday to help Canada’s pulp and paper industry become more environmentally friendly. The government’s Pulp and Paper Green Transformation Program aims to help mills reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and produce renewable energy from forest biomass. In addition to a 25 million dollar investment for Quebec-based company Domtar, the funding would go to plants in New Brunswick, Alberta and British Columbia.

The pulp and paper industry in Canada has often been criticized for using chlorine-based bleaches and toxic emissions into the air, water and soil. At a press conference in Quebec, Prime Minister Harper said Domtar would be able to upgrade it’s biomass boiler, expand its use of alternative fuels to generate renewable energy and use less steam to produce more paper with recycled content. The Prime minister also stated that despite heavy criticism, his government has been the first to take realistic and concrete measure such as those announced yesterday. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: As of the new year, BC is implementing new standards for energy-efficient lightbulbs. The old 75 and 100W incandescent lightbulbs will continue to be allowed until retailers supply runs out. After that, however, they will not be restocked. Now, there will be a greater variety of options in stores, including energy efficient and newer incandescent bulbs.

British Columbia and its residents have been leaders in this initiative for several years now. It’s population has been voluntarily shifting away from incandescents and towards compact fluorescent lights, which can be found in over 78% of BC homes. As well, FortisBC’s PowerSense and BC Hydro’s PowerSmart have invested about $40 million towards guaranteeing the availability of efficient products.

BC’s decision to uphold these standards anticipates the federal governments upcoming lightbulb efficiency standards, that will come into effect in 2012 and apply to most wattage levels sold in Canada. In both cases, some speciality bulbs will be exempted from the requirements. [ index ]

MARTIN VALDMAN: Canada’s newly installed environment minister Peter Kent is defending the current government’s environmental record, and has pledged to strengthen regulations on greenhouse gas emissions. The federal government has been criticized domestically and abroad over a lack of action on key issues such as reducing emissions and addressing environmental damage in the Alberta oilsands. Kent said Canadians can expect new emission rules for heavy trucks, as well as new regulations for carbon-fired power stations, but he stopped short of committing Canada to the same regulations as those recently outlined by the Obama administration in the United States.

Previous environment ministers had been reluctant to set up environmental regulations in the absence of concrete plans south of the border. Kent also defended the Alberta oilsands, calling them quote ” absolutely ethical” and said the Conservatives’ plan for continuing to monitor the sector are progressing quickly. Kent was chosen as environment minister by Stephen Harper in a minor cabinet shuffle last week. John Baird had temporarily help the post since December, after Jim Prentice resigned from politics to become vice president of CIBC. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: Recently, an advisory panel to the Ontario government put forth recommendations that the government protect it’s citizens from strategic lawsuits against public participation, known as SLAPPs. These lawsuits are designed to silence public dissent and discussion on issues that are significant to the public (such as health and the environment). SLAPPs are said to threaten to undermine participation rights and Canada’s judicial system. They work to scare activist citizens, who, fearing serious legal consequences or high costs as a result of taking action. The panel is calling on the McGuinty government to expediently propose an Anti-SLAPP Act.

The recommendation pleases many environmental groups in Canada. Over 60 organizations signed a letter to Premier McGuinty calling for protection, groups such as Ecojustice, Environmental Defence, and the Canadian Environmental Law Association among them. Over 65 Ontario municipalities have already passed their own motions asking the province for this law, and if the province listens, Ontario will be joining Quebec in having an Anti-SLAPP Act. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE: Nearly all of the methane gas released during the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill was consumed by bacteria before it could reach the atmosphere, according to a new paper in the journal Science. Though the oil spill released as much as 4.9million barrels of oil, it also released up to 200,000 tons of methane gas. The methane released from the leaking well dissolved into the water, where scientists figured it would slowly rise through the ocean and be released into the atmosphere. But, by tracking the concentration of dissolved methane around the well, the scientists concluded that most of the methane was consumed by oceanic bacteria and that only a tiny fraction of a percent made it into the atmosphere.

The result was surprising, as many scientists did not think that the bacteria, which exist naturally at the bottom of the ocean, would be able to consume such large amounts of methane so quickly. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, and the fact that it did not make it into the atmosphere is of relief to environmentalists. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE: The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill was caused by a series of blunders and shortcuts, and could have been prevented by following proper procedures. These are some of the conclusions reached by the Presidential Panel investigation into the cause of the BP Oil spill that released almost 5million barrels of oil.

The Panel was convened by President Obama in May, and released its findings this week into the cause of the disaster. The Panel found that the contractors working on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, including Halliburton and Transocean, took shortcuts to save time and money in constructing the well. The investigation also concluded that government regulators failed to properly monitor the well’s construction or to ensure that safe procedures were being followed. These conclusions come as the U.S. Justice Department is suing BP and seven other companies for their roles in the oil spill. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE: The Southern U.S. has seen two mass deaths of birds in the last week. In the town of Beebe in Arkansas, about 3,000 blackbirds were found dead on New Year’s morning. It is believed that a large flock was spooked by fireworks and, in a panic, flew into buildings and other hard objects in a frenzied attempt to flee. Three days later, about 500 birds were found 300 miles away in Point Coupee, Louisiana. The cause of death of the Lousiana birds is still unknown, but carcasses have been sent to the National Wildlife Health Center to try and solve the mystery. [ index ]