CHRIS GUSEN (read by Ariel Rabinovitch): Federal environment minister Peter Kent said, this week, that he has the power to stop hydro-fracking in New Brunswick. It is unclear, however, if he will intervene. Kent has asked the Council of Canadian Academies, a non-profit science agency, to review the environmental effects that hydro-fracking could have if the process is used in New Brunswick. Hydro-fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a controversial method of extracting natural gas from shale by injecting water, sand, and chemicals into the ground. The natural gas industry has been exploring for shale gas in New Brunswick and plans to begin extraction if it finds enough. Peter Kent stressed that the he has the authority to take action if the Council of Canadian Academies demonstrates that hydro-fracking poses as significant environmental risk. At the same time, he reiterated that the responsibility for shale gas rests with the provinces and said the main value of the federally-requested study is to inform the public. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY (read by Lia Mazzolini): B.C. Premier Christy Clark’s plan to build three giant liquefied natural gas plants (LNGs) in Northern B.C. in order to create jobs puts the province’s carbon dioxide reduction goals at serious risk. The operation of the plants, including the extraction of shale gas, is set to release enough gases that would essentially nullify B.C.’s other attempts at emissions reduction.

Their Liberal government is commited to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 33% by 2020, and by 80% by 2050—admirable goals, but not ones that will be attainable with the implementation of Clark’s job-creation LNG strategy, critics say. This sort of resource extraction could take B.C. the way of the oilsands, especially given that the extraction of LNG product, is a comparatively dirty process with high greenhouse gas emissions and the potential to harm local ecosystems. It appers as though b.C. must now choose between maintaining long term environmental commitments, or modifying them for short term economic goals. [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN (read by Ariel Rabinovitch): Canada named polar bears a “species of special concern” this week in recognition of the threat posed by their steadily diminishing habitat. Two thirds of the world’s polar bear population is based in Canada. The global population is between 20 and 25 thousand bears. Polar bears hunt on the Arctic sea ice – an environment that is declining as global temperatures increase. The Species at Risk designation means the federal government must create a detailed polar bear management plan within three years. The plan will lay out strategies for maintaining a stable population of bears. While the decision was welcomed throughout Canada, many northern communities are concerned that the move will further limit hunting quotas and decrease public safety. As their hunting grounds shrink, more and more polar bears have been entering nearby towns and causing problems for residents. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY (read by Lia Mazzolini): Parks Canada is enacting a plan to create more park land in P.E.I’s Cavendish region. They will be demolishing six buildings, a maintenance lot, as well as some underground fuel tanks and sewer lines, in order to make room for a tree planting project.

The plan was announced this past Thursday, and is set to cost up to $300,000. The goal is to create a natural Acadian mixed forest, with both hard and softwood trees on the newly recovered park land. Parks Canada is still seeking out demolition companies, with demolition work to be complete by late December, and tree-plating to begin in the spring. [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN (read by Ariel Rabinovitch): The environmental advocacy group Ecojustice released its drinking water management report card this week. The report, which is called Waterproof, rates source water protection in each of Canada’s provinces and territories to highlight whether or not governments are keeping drinking water free from contaminants. Ecojustice gave Alberta’s water management the lowest grade of all the provinces. The report cited the impacts of oil and gas extraction, agriculture, and logging on water in the province. Randy Christensen, the report’s author, emphasized that they are not calling for an end to these activities, but they want the province to identify its specific water sources and address the problems. The Alberta government objected to the report’s findings on Tuesday, insisting that the province has some of the safest drinking water in North America. A spokesman from Environment and Water Alberta explained that the province’s planning process, which gives local councils the responsibility to deliver source water management plans, is unique but no less effective than the models used elsewhere. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY (read by Lia Mazzolini): A report done by the United Nations university Institute for Water, Environment and Health, whose headquarters are located in Hamilton, Ontario, released a report this past Wednesday calling for increased regulation on Persian Gulf developments, in the name of environmental protection.

Eight countries bordering on the gulf—Kuwait, Iran, Iraw, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE—all rely one hundred percent on fossil fuels, and some have carbon emissions rates three times the global average. This dependency, along with continued overfishing, booming coastal development to cope with a rapidly expanding population, and the creation of manmade islands, is killing the Persian Gulf. Increased growth has strained these countries’ ability to adequately dispose of waste and provide fresh water, as the regions desalination plants add toxic brine to the Gulf.

The study compiled data from UNU scientists as well as outside researchers, and warns that, with 70% of the original reefs surrounding he gulf now gone, they will disappear entirely unless aggressive steps are taken to reduce developmental impact. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: Many world leaders rounded up at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation or APEC, which was held in Honolulu on November 12 to 13. The US says they want Asia Pacific leaders to take “significant steps” to make trading easier for environmentally friendly goods and services.

The American government has been pushing APEC countries to commit to capping these tariffs to 5 percent. This includes solar panels, wind and hydraulic turbines, air pollution filters and sewage treatment pumps.China had criticized the convention for asking too much of developing countries, such as itself, that have higher tariffs than the United States.

Both China and the US are the world’s two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases and are to blame for climate change. US officials say that APEC economies make up about 60 percent of the current trade in environmental goods and services, making it a natural area to look for growth. [ index ]

$100 billion green climate fund discussed at Dhaka’s climate vulnerable forum: Dhaka, Bangladesh took over the chairmanship of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, on Monday November 14. Representatives of about 30 nations met for two days in Bangladesh’s capital to brainstorm fiscal solutions to target the affects of global warming.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged world leaders to finalize the financing the $100 billion fund to fight climate change called the Green Climate Fund or GCF. It was created last December to help countries cope with global warming.

The government of Bangladesh also stressed the need for allocating 50 per cent of the proposed GCF for adaptation purpose. This includes reducing the current emission level by 85 per cent by 2050 and limiting the global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Leaders will meet again at the climate change conference in Durban, South Africa, on November 28. They will discuss ways to raise $100 billion a year for the GCF. The Durban conference will also seek to reach a new international climate agreement as the Kyoto Protocol expires next year.
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LIA MAZZOLINI: The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, claims they are “virtually certain” that global temperatures are rising. In a draft summary, the report says that warm daily temperature extremes will increase in this century. The panel says when they are “virtually certain” they mean they are 99 to 100 percent sure.

This forecast includes extreme daily minimum and maximum temperatures across the globe and more instances of heavy rainfall. The report also finds the average maximum wind speed of hurricanes is likely to increase, but storm frequency is likely to drop or remain the same.

Human influence on climate change is pegged at ‘likely’ or at 66 to 100 percent certainty. The IPCC says that to find “unequivocal attribution” to the causes of climate change is impossible. It would require a controlled experiment and there’s only one Earth to study from. The final draft is released Friday, November 18. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: Canada’s plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions are lagging behind. According to a study by the International Institute for Sustainable Development, the country won’t even reach 50 percent of the reduction targets set by the Copenhagen Accord. Under the accord, Canada committed to reduce emissions by 17 per cent, from 2005 by 2020. The environmental think-tank suggests that the lack of regulations for most Canadian industrial emitters is to blame.

Director of the institute, Dave Sawyer says the gap is equal to 120 megatonnes of CO2. He adds that the government has shifted their focus to the struggling economy, leaving the reduction targets on the back burner.With no North American system to cap and trade emissions, Ottawa is going ahead with domestic regulations to put more efficient passenger vehicles on the road and to have companies build cleaner power plants. But according to Sawyer’s economic modeling, those two strategies will only reduce 39 megatonnes of emissions by the end date. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: Canada will not renew its Kyoto commitment at the upcoming UN Climate Change talks scheduled at the end of the month. A speech made by Environment Minister Peter Kent at a lunch hosted by the Economic Club of Canada revealed the Canadian government will only support climate change agreements that are ratified by all major emitters.

The Kyoto protocol adopted in 1997 and put into action in 2005 sets firm targets for industrialized nations, including Canada to reduce greenhouse gas emissions linked to climate change. In 2009, international climate change talks led to the development of the Copenhagen accord, a non-binding agreement by developing and industrialized nations to set new targets for the reduction of greenhouse gases.

Canada has deliberately harmonized its new commitments with those of the US which Kent says, “…makes sense given the integrated nature of our respective economies and environments.” [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: Brock University is setting its sights on the Niagara region, to conduct a pair of climate change studies. The projects will have several researchers on board to study the impacts of climate change and water quality in Niagara. Economics professor and principal investigator, Diane Dupont says, the goal of the studies is to help planners chart a more environmentally sustainable course. She explains that the team will be looking at who’s using water, how they use the water and even how it affects Niagara’s economy.

The projects’ grants of $110,000 will be funded through Niagara Region’s WaterSmart Incentive plan. A specialist in agri-environmental policy planning, Julia Baird, says that it’s very important to have people from different academics and various disciplines to conduct the projects. She says the impact of climate change affects more areas of research then what people tend to think. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: Nebraska lawmakers have proposed a bill that would reroute TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline around environmentally sensitive areas. The proposed bill would create exclusions zones where pipes larger than 8 inches in diameter could not run. These exclusions zones would include the Nebraska Sandhills, some cold water streams, and other areas where groundwater is near the surface.

Opponents of project are worried that a leak in the pipeline could contaminate the Ogallala aquifer which runs under eight states and supplies drinking and irrigation water. TransCanada’s vice president, Robert Jones said the measures are unfair and if initiated could jeopardize the project. If built, the Keystone XL pipeline will transport oil from the Alberta oil sands through six states to Texas refineries. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: Ottawa residents can add a few more items in their green bins. Composting company Orgaworld Cananda Ltd. won an appeal to handle used diapers, plastic bags and dog feces, on Monday, November 7. Green bins first hit the nation’s capital in the fall of 2009, but there was always feuding between Orgaworld and the city over composting items. Before, the company wanted to accept the new items but the city said no because of the strong odours they would create.

However, the city’s green bin program still does not accept diapers or dog feces, so residents are not to dispose of them in the bins. Ottawa remains dead against the plans even though the articles are allowed at Orgaworld plants in places such as Toronto. The city is currently reviewing the recent tribunal decision. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: Environment minister Peter Kent has announced a new environmental review for a proposed 1.5 billion dollar gold and copper mine in BC’s interior. Last year, the Taseko Mine Limited proposal was rejected by the Environmental Assessment Agency because it was decided the mine would adversely affect the environment and Native land claims in the area. Taseko’s previous proposal included draining trout-rich Fish Lake to use as a tailings pond but the new plan includes the building of a tailings facility two kilometers upstream from the lake.

The provincial and federal NDP has criticized the new review saying it is a waste of time and tax dollars because the previous assessment clearly indicated the mining project would have major impacts on the environment and First Nations communities. Kent says the revised proposal is under review because, “…[the] government always balances environmental concerns with Canadian’s top priority – jobs and the economy.” [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN (read by Ariel Rabinovitch): This week was Asia-Pacific Forestry Week, and the United Nations kicked off the occasion with some good news. The Asia-Pacific region has not only halted the drastic deforestation it experienced in the 1990s, it has seen an annual net gain of 1.5 million hectares of tree cover over the past decade. The findings were detailed in a report released by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization earlier this week. The report says a key factor in reversing deforestation in the region has been the active involvement of local communities.

The most successful method has been one called “assisted natural regeneration” or ANR. ANR is a cheap and straightforward reforestation technique that converts grasslands back into productive forests through selective planting and protection. The local people involved in these projects have benefitted from reforestation in numerous ways, including increased diversity of harvestable crops, cost-effective land-management, sustainable hunting grounds, and ecological improvement. While the trend in the Asia-Pacific region is very positive, global deforestation remains a serious concern, with 13 million hectares of forest lost each year over last decade. 
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CHRIS GUSEN (read by Ariel Rabinovitch): A French court has fined EDF, a global energy giant, 1.5 million euros and sent two of its staff to jail for spying on Greenpeace campaigners. Among its many operations, the company runs nuclear reactors in France and is hoping to build new ones there and in the UK. EDF hired a security firm called Kargus to spy on Greenpeace staff while the organization was campaigning against new reactors in France. Kargus employees put together a report on Greenpeace’s activities by hacking into a computer belonging to the head of its anti-nuclear campaign.

In court, EDF claimed that it had not asked Kargus to do anything illegal and that they were not aware that Kargus had stepped beyond its bounds. This didn’t convince the judge, who fined EDF and sentenced the head and deputy-head of the company’s nuclear security operation to three years in jail. Greenpeace welcomed the decision, calling it “a strong signal to the nuclear industry [that] no-one is above the law”. [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN (read by Ariel Rabinovitch): Yesterday, the U.S. state department announced that it will delay approval of the Keystone XL pipeline until at least the first quarter of 2013. The decision was previously expected by the end of this year, but the government says it needs more time to evaluate the proposed rerouting around the Nebraska Sandhills. The announcement was seen as a victory for environmental activists who have been protesting against the pipeline in Washington for months. Until recently, the oil industry and the Canadian government expected the pipeline to be approved quickly. Industry analysts have said that a delay like this could derail the pipeline plan completely.

The delay means the Obama administration can avoid the highly contentious issue until after the 2012 election. The state department was quick to deny that the White House influenced their decision. Meanwhile, Republicans accused Obama of sacrificing potential jobs for political expediency. TransCanada, the company behind the pipeline, says it remains confident that the project will eventually be approved. [ index ]