MARTIN WALDMAN: In the face of domestic and international criticism over the development of oilsands, Alberta’s government has named a 12-member panel to develop an environmental monitoring, evaluation and reporting system. The panel includes board members from a federal advisory panel, and will be co-chaired by a former president and CEO of TransCanada Corporation.

The decision to include a former head of an energy company has already drawn criticism from environmental groups who doubt that the panel will have any influence. Other groups have criticised the government’s decision not to incluce an members of the aboriginal community on the panel.

Recent studies by the Regional Aquatics Monitoring Program, and other academic studies are have suggested that the oilsands industry is steadily pollutin the Athabasca River and several of its tributaries. For its part the Alberta government says their science does not support that conclusion. A report from the Royal Society of Canada released in December said more monitoring focused on human exposure is needed to address the concerns of First Nations and other communities in Alberta. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: A diseased lobster from Canada was found off the coast of Southern England this week, and the discovery has prompted a warning. A British fisheries agency is concerned that the lobster could destroy their $50-million-annual lobster industry.

It is suspected that the lobster was dropped overboard from a yacht, or escaped alive while being shipped overseas.

The concern with the crustacean is gaffkemia, a bacterial infection often found among North American lobster, but that has yet to affect Britain’s population. The illness does not affect consumers, but can seriously reduce the productivity of fisheries.

Over the past year, there have been five other known cases of Canadian lobsters displaced in British waters, and each carries the risk of passing along the infection. These incidents have resulted in several agencies issuing warnings about the necessity of keeping European waters free from North American lobsters. [ index ]

MARTIN WALDMAN: Environment minister Peter Kent has brushed off advice of a government advisory panel, urging him to moved ahead with domestic climate change policies, despite uncertainty about measures and regulations in the United States. A report from the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy says Canada’s plan to harmonize its climate change policies with the U.S. is “sensible and realistic.” It also recommended transitional measures, such as the introduction of a national cap-and-trade system, in which large polluters would be required to buy credits from greener companies.

Following a set of meetings with his counterparts in Washington, Kent said that his government is not interested in setting up a Canadian cap-and-trade system on its own. He went on to say that Canada has already worked with the U.S. on regulations to limit tailpipe emissions in vehicles, while it is ahead in terms of cracking down on coal emissions.

Coal electricity draft regulations are expected to be introduced in the spring.The round table report also recommended the creation of a technology fund to promote new investments in sectors such as clean energy. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: The Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area, a National Wildlife Area north of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, will once again be hosting it’s annual “Canadian Wingbee.”

Approximately 20 scientists from Canadian Wildlife Service will meet with additional national waterfowl specialists and sift through over 11,000 goose tail feathers and duck wings. The specimins are sent in to the Wingbee from sports hunters all throughout the Canada; and they are to be analyzed in hopes of determining the sex and age of the fowl. The results of this initiative is key to managing the game bird hunt in additional to the yearly regulatory review of hunting regulations.

The most common species inventorized include the Mallard, Green-winged Teal, Canada Goose and Snow Goose.The results of this difficult task will be published in spring 2011. [ index ]

MARTIN WALDMAN: One of Canada’s top experts on polar bears believes ice conditions in the eastern Arctic this year could have a devastating impact. Andrew Derocher, of the University of Alberta, says thin and late-forming ice as a result of unusually high temperatures will keep polar bears from finding mates as well as seals. Derocher also expressed concern over potential ice conditions in early spring, when bears put on most of their body weight. Just one year of bad ice can have a big impact on bears, especially nursing mothers and bears without much hunting experience, he said.

Local Inuit communities have also noticed the change, and have had very few opportunities to hunt on sea ice. Hunters are a key aspect in monitoring how the ice is affecting wildlife, since they see the habitat first-hand.

Estimates say that only about one-third of the world’s polar bear population will survive by 2050 if the decline in Arctic sea ice continues. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: Since 2002, the value of Alaskan salmon has tripled. This is due in large part to a San Francisco-based company, the Packard foundation.

This charity, has been implementing a Market Intervention strategy since 1999. A vital part of this program is the strategy known as “Seafood Choices”. Essentially, this involves three components, the most relevant of which is the Certification by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). This council was created in 1997 by the World Wildlife Fund, and Unilever, a global processed food giant.

Between 2000 and 2010, Packard gave $17-million towards “reforming” the fishery industry by “demarketing” farmed fish. Their main demarketization target seems to have been salmon farmed in BC.

In 2006, Wal-Mart announced it’s loyalty to only MSC certified fisheries, 95% of these sources are Alaskan. Despite their sustainability certification, endangered whales are still killed as by-catch from these fisheries, according to the Alaska Fisheries Office.

Unfortunately, the discerning consumer is left relatively helpless as they cannot ascertain whether an uncertified product is actually unsustainable, or remains uncertified because it is not eligible under the biased certification program. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE: When you think about urban landscapes in China, your first thoughts might be of traffic jams and hazy skies. But, what about award-winning public transportation? That might be your first thought after visiting Guangzhou in Southern China. That’s because the Institute for Transportation and Development policy has named Guangzhou the winner of its 2011 Sustainable Transport Award.

The institute praised Guangzhou’s extensive new bus system, which it says links up “seamlessly” with the city’s rail network. As well, the city boasts tree-lined bicycle paths where cyclists don’t need to fear being run over. Officials hope that Guangzhou can serve as a model for other cities such as Beijing, which made headlines last year for a 100km-long traffic jam that lasted over a week. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE: The Brazilian government approved the construction of a controversial new hydroelectric dam which, when completed, would be the third largest in the world. The Belo Monte dam, on the Xingu river in Northern Brazil, will be 6km long and produce 11GW of electricity. The project was initially proposed in the 1990s, but was scrapped because of widespread opposition.

The government’s final go-ahead comes amid protests from indigenous groups who say the project will endanger the livelihoods of local tribes and force up to 50,000 people to move from land that will be flooded.

Brazil estimates that the dam will be able to power 23 million homes and that it will be a valuable source of renewable energy. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE: Certain species of Japanese corals might be slowly migrating North to escape warming oceans according to a new study from the Japanese Institute for Environmental Studies.

Corals, the tiny animals which create reefs, are sensitive to temperature and die if the water around them gets too hot. Climate change and warmer oceans are believed to be the cause of dying reefs around the world.

The researchers compiled maps of 9 key coral species around Japan from 1930 to the present, and found that 4 of them had spread northward into more temperate waters. Their findings suggest that corals are moving North to find colder water in order to survive. [ index ]