LIA MAZZOLINI: Environment minister Peter Kent is in the hot seat again, by comparing some environmental charities as money laundering operations. In a CBC interview, Kent explains that the Tories are investigating green organizations that take donations, under the suspicion that some are holding onto offshore foreign funds.

The interview, which was on Tuesday, May 1, was held to clarify a statement the environment minister made on Saturday, April 28 on the same network. In both interviews he clearly states that he believes some charitable environmental groups in Canada are “laundering” funds.

When asked what charities are guilty of the crime, Kent declined to comment. However, Tides CEO, Ross McMillan says that his group is being singled out for receiving foreign donations. He adds that Kent’s comment is to attempt to distract Canadians from the budget cuts to the environmental sector, including legislation.

Canadian charities are allowed spend up to 10 per cent of their total resources on political ventures. The government’s 2012 budget included spending $8 million to rewrite the tax questionnaire on charities’ political activities, and to look into any organization that might be exceeding the limit. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: A Vancouver company is complaining that aboriginal prayer ceremonies disrupted a federal environment review for the Prosperity Mine in British Columbia. A complaint letter from Taseko Mines Ltd. was given to the Conservative government suggesting that certain interferences, including a children’s play, tampered with the review’s outcome.

In the complaint, Taseko president Russell Hallbauer says that allowing the panel hearings to start with native prayer ceremonies and a play where children acted as dying fish swayed the participants in the discussion.

The mining company’s initial proposal was for the extraction of $1 billion worth of copper and gold from the central Interior region of the province. The mining process involved draining Fish Lake and using it for a tailings pond also known as a mine dump were unwanted residue is left.

At the Canadian Council of Chief Executives in Calgary, on Tuesday, May 1, First Nations’ Chief Joe Alphonse says his community hopes the government will reject the complaints. He explains that “the actions of the company are completely outrageous” and that most companies understand that they must be respectful of aboriginal culture and land, in order to build trusting relationships. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: When Canadians are asked if there is such thing as green oil, most say yes. According to a new study by Ipsos Reid, two-thirds of Canadians think the country can increase its oil and gas production without creating further environmental devastation. A whopping four out of five Albertans believe that the benefits from the tar sands outweigh the negative environmental effects.

As far as the rest of Canada, 57% have a positive outlook on the development of the oil sands. Canadians also want to see the country seek markets outside the United States for their natural resources. Also, about 75% of respondents, want the country to be less dependant on the US’s fuel industry.

Over 2,000 Canadians participated in the poll, which was conducted online between April 23 and 26. Ipsos Reid produced the poll on behalf of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: Buzz is surrounding a new environmental event, aimed to make the nation’s capital advance in sustainability. For the first time in Ottawa, leaders and agents from many different sectors are coming together to collaborate green ideas for the city. The conference is called the 3i Summit on Sustainability: Collaborating for Action. The three i’s stand for innovate, interact and initiate.

Organizers say this groundbreaking event will improve the local resource base, talent pool, leadership and social marketing capacity. More than 30 potential projects will be at the spotlight for discussion. 3i Summit’s co-convener, Christopher Henderson says it will also promote people to engage and network with others, to produce a solid foundation for this effort and “building on Ottawa’s many ‘green’ attributes.”

The event is being held on Friday, May 4 and Saturday May 5 at Lago (Dow’s Lake Pavilion). [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY (read by Ryan Knight): According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, forty-five areas across the country are failing to meet the most recent government standards for ground-level smog. The 2008 measures called for 75 parts per billion measured over eight hours, as compared to the former standard from 1997 of 80 parts per billion.

Almost all of the forty-five areas in question have already implemented programs designed to improve air quality. Three of the areas are first time failures, located in Wyoming and California. The EPA expects most of the identified zones will be able to attain the standards as a result of recently developed legislation, including the Clean Air Act.

The EPA is now exploring the science informing the next five year review, and is expected to propose action on smog standards in 2013. Smog reduction is a shared federal, state, local and tribal responsibility.

 [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY (read by Ryan Knight): Vietnam’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment is proposing banning free plastic bags in Ho Chi MInh; again. The city’s population of nine million people throw out approximately 60 metric tonnes of plastic bags daily.

While most of the bags make their way to landfills, only a negligible percentage are recycled. The proposal was first introduced in 2008. Now in a stronger form, it calls not only for increased recycling and implementing biodegradable bags; but also a bag tax for local retailers.

The tax will be between $1.43-2.39 U.S. per kilogram on plastic bags, according to the report by Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, released on April 30th. The only exception to the tax will be bags that are environmentally friendly. Interesting to note is that many of Vietnam’s plastic bag recycling plants have been relocated or shut down because of violating emissions standards.

The city’s target is a reduction of 40 percent of plastic bags by 2015. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY (read by Ryan Knight): Two British university researchers have received a $324,000 grant from the Leverhulme Trust, to find an eco-friendly robot. Over the next two years, Dr. Jonathan Rossiter and Dr. Ioannis Ieropoulos are embarking on a two-year mission to find, “A robot that decomposes: towards biodegradable robotic organisms.”

Robots already take one much of the mundane tasks involved with manufacturing, but are primarily composed of plastics and metals harmful to the environment. As we become more reliant of robot workers, their overall environmental impact could be very detrimental. This is especially of note in the process needed to track and recover robots that do dangerous jobs such as environmental cleanup. The goal with this project is d to develop a robot that, once its mission is complete, can decompose into harmless material. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: The Federal government is now keeping a watchful eye on what Environment Canada says to reporters. The Tories sent media staffers to Montreal to attend the International Polar Year 2012 Conference this week, to monitor government scientists during interviews. Now, Environment Canada’s media office plans to intervene when the media approaches the researchers.

Environment Canada’s scientists were sent emails saying, if the media asks any questions, to just give their contacts to set up interviews. These interviews will have to be monitored with their corresponding media office. It’s only then, that Environment Canada’s media office will decide to go with an interview. This process can take days to confirm.

Many leading researchers are concerned that the government may sabotage Canada’s scientific reputation on a global scale. University of Victoria’s Climatologist Andrew Weaver says the excessive monitoring reminds him of the Soviet era. Many critics are calling the move an extreme example of information control led by Harper. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is pushing the eradication of Canada’s climate change accountability, as an addition to the 2012 budget.

The proposal was added in the new legislation of more than 400 pages, including a focus to “streamlining” the environmental oversight of industrial development. It also suggests weakening several federal environmental laws, including legislation protecting water and species at risk. By combining the specific measures to budget implementation legislation, the process would allow the Conservative government to adopt these changes without comprehensive analysis, hearings or debate by members of Parliament.

NDP environment critic Megan Leslie says the legislation is putting Canada at the brink of an “environmental disaster.” She notes that it will also give cabinet minister the ability to make decisions about major development projects. The budget has also proposed to invest about $50 million over two years to improve marine and pipeline safety, including more inspections of oil and gas pipelines. However, there will be new penalties of only $400,000 or less, for any company that doesn’t respect conditions created by designated regulators. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: While Earth Day celebrated its 42nd anniversary, huge crowds of people gathered in Montreal to protest against Harper’s environmental policies. Politicians and activists saw the day as an opportunity to scrutinize the Conservative government’s record on green issues, on Sunday, April 22.

NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair joined tens of thousands in the Earth Day march and condemned the federal government’s environmental policies.

In Montreal, an estimated 100,000 people marched through the streets in a day of peaceful protest. It stood in contrast to the student movement over tuition fees that lead to several arrests, which stretched throughout the week.

Parti Québécois Leader Pauline Marois says the growing importance of public transit in urban settings is a big issue. She adds that electric transit, and transportation that uses renewable resources should be largely invested in. [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN (read by Lia Mazzolini): The National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy is calling for serious action to protect Canada’s water. In a new report, called Moving to Action, the Round Table recommends a new charter to guide collaborative water governance. It also stresses the need for better research into water use and an improved water pricing system. The report will be one of the last produced by the Round Table, which lost its government funding in the recent federal budget and will shut down in a matter of months.

With financial constraints in mind, the report’s authors expressed hope that strides can still be made on water protection. The reports states that “in the current fiscal situation, it will be impossible for any one government or organization to move all these recommendations forward, but through new collaborations and partnerships, we can make real progress on sustaining Canada’s most valuable resource – our water.” [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN (read by Lia Mazzolini): According to federal records made public this week, Environment Canada weakened a draft version of coal power plant regulations after it was pressured by the industry. The newly-released briefing notes reveal that Environment Canada added an 18-month deferral on enforcement of the regulations due to “interventions made by ATCO,” an energy company based in Alberta. The notes also suggest that ATCO was pushing for Environment Canada to extend the grace period on existing coal plants from 45 to 50 years.

This was already more than the 40 year grace period proposed earlier by another coal industry lobby group. Tim Weis, director of renewable energy and efficiency at the Pembina Institute called the news frustrating, adding that any further efforts to weaken regulations would be putting profits ahead of public health. [ index ]

GRAHAM CAREY: Federal Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver announced proposed legislation that will drastically overhaul the environmental assessment procedures across Canada. Among the changes proposed are: shifting final decision-making power from regulators to the federal cabinet, exempting smaller projects from the assessment procedure entirely, moving larger projects under provincial jurisdiction, and introducing measures to reduce the time and capacity of assessment hearings open to the public.

While these changes have been warmly welcomed by the Western provinces including Alberta and British Columbia, as well as Canadian industry leaders, environmentalists and aboriginal leaders indicate they believe the federal government is sacrificing environmental protection in order to expedite major resource projects such as the Northern Gateway pipeline without full review and approval. [ index ]

GRAHAM CAREY: Opponents of the controversial shale gas extraction technique hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, won a key victory in Nova Scotia on Tuesday. Provincial Energy Minister Charlie Parker and Environment Minister Sterling Belliveau announced an extension to the provincial review process on the technique, postponing a final decision until mid-2014.

The extension is intended to allow several important reviews underway in Canada and the United States to reach conclusions before making an informed decision on allowing fracking in Nova Scotia. No fracking permits will be issued until the province has completed its review. [ index ]

GRAHAM CAREY: Danielle Smith, leader of the front-running Alberta provincial Wildrose party, told journalists Monday that while her party’s approach to climate change “is always going to be science-based”, she believes there is significant uncertainty in the scientific community about the impacts of human activity on global climate trends. The statement worries environmental groups, who point to assertions by top climate scientists that human activity is having an undeniable impact on global climate.

The Wildrose party, shown in a recent CBC poll to be leading the current Progressive Conservative government in popular opinion leading up to Monday’s provincial election, has also vowed to scrap the current government’s $2 billion carbon capture program, replacing it with individual incentives for energy efficiency and natural gas transportation. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI (read by Graham Carey): A leading Canadian environmental group is dropping part of its charitable status to challenge the Conservative party’s charity policies. Eco-organization, ForestEthics is now split into ForestEthics Advocacy and ForestEthics Solutions. ForestEthics Advocacy will now focus on environmental support and monitoring projects that may be potentially environmentally destructive. Also, they will be looking into laws that need to be reevaluated in order to favour environmental causes. ForestEthics Solutions will remain a charity and work on environmental conservation initiatives.

The group’s senior campaigner, Nikki Skruce says that the government’s “gutting” of environmental protection agencies is the motivator for the group’s move. In the latest federal budget, Ottawa committed $8 million to the Canada Revenue Agency, as part of a crackdown on advocacy work by charities. ForestEthics has also worked to get people to sign up to address a National Energy Board review currently underway into Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway oil pipeline between Alberta and Kitimat, BC. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW (read by Vanessa Purdy): Firefighters in Kuwait put out a massive tire fire Thursday that began in junkyard on Tuesday. Million of tires fuelled the blaze, sending thick, black smoke into the atmosphere, which was photographed by NASA’s Terra satellite.

Fortunately, winds blew most of the smoke out to sea. Tire fires are hazardous because the tires break down into toxic compounds which include gases, heavy metals, and oil. The average passenger car tire can produce over two gallons of oil when burned. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW (read by Vanessa Purdy): Fishermen, scientists, and seafood processors in the Gulf of Mexico have found an alarming number seafood deformities that may be linked to BP’s 2010 oil spill. In addition to reports of collapsing fisheries, local fishers have noticed large numbers of mutated shrimp lacking eyes, fish with lesions and tumors, and blue crabs lacking claws.

Scientists attribute these deformities to BP’s use of 1.9 million gallons of chemical dispersants used to sink some of the 4.9 million barrels of oil that was released into the Gulf when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in April 2010. The dispersents used contain toxic solvents that dissolve oil, grease, and rubber and are known to be toxic to human health and mutagenic. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW (read by Vanessa Purdy): 100 000 people who live around China’s Three Gorges Dam may be forced to relocate because of landslides and collapsing river banks. The number of geological disasters has increased dramatically since the dam on the Yangtze reached its maximum level in 2010. The water level in the reservoir rises and falls depending on the season, making the banks unstable. The Three Gorges Dam is the world’s largest and has displaced 1.4 million people after submerging 13 cities, 140 towns, and 1350 villages. [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN: The U.S. overtook China as the biggest investor in green energy last year, according to a report released by the Pew Founation this week. China was at the top of the list for 2010, investing 45 billion dollars in the clean energy sector that year. However, China’s investment only increased slightly in 2011, while the U.S. shot up from 34 to 48 billion. The report, which is called “Who is Winning the Clean Energy Race,” shows that the green energy sector is growing rapidly all over the world.

According to the study, the power generation capacity of renewable energy installations around the world is 47% greater than worldwide nuclear capacity. The report predicts that the U.S. will not be able to sustain last year’s pace of investment. A number of U.S. policies aimed at promoting green energy expired at the end of 2011. This policy uncertainty is expected to cause a drop-off in U.S. clean energy investment in coming years. [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN: British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg delivered a speech this week arguing that environmental progress and economic growth can go hand in hand. He used the speech to respond to “naysayers” who have been critical of the UK government’s new home energy efficiency program.

The program will invest 1.3 billion pounds a year in helping households becoming more energy efficient, with a particular focus on lower-income families. But some members of the press have been critical of the plan, calling it a waste of money. In his speech, Clegg dismissed the criticism as a “ludicrous myth,” arguing that the cost savings of environmental efficiency are indisputable. He went on to say the “dilemma is not choosing between green and growth; it’s marrying the two,” adding that “lean times can be green times too.” [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN: This week Lloyd’s of London became the first major business organization to publically raise concerns about the massive environmental damage that could result from drilling for oil in the Arctic. In a report entitled Arctic Opening: Opportunity and Risk in the High North, the insurance giant estimates that 100 billion dollars in new investment will flow into the Arctic over the next decade. Oil companies are already planning to build wells off the coasts of countries like Canada and Greenland as Arctic ice recedes. But the report warns that cleaning up any oil spill in the Arctic will be costly and unpredictable.

Aside from the risk of oil spills, the report says that future economic activity in the Arctic will seriously disturb ecosystems that are already fragile due to climate change. Commenting on the report, Richard Ward, the chief executive of Lloyd’s, urged companies not to rush in to the Arctic, but to think carefully about the consequences of their actions. The report recommends extensive scientific research and the establishment of strict safety measures before Arctic drilling takes place. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: Nunavit’s director of wildlife, Drikus Gissing has announced the country’s polar bear population is not in crisis. A recent aerial survey conducted along the western shore of Hudson Bay reveals a bear population around 1000 which is 60 percent more than researchers predicted. Researchers believed the warming temperatures would melt the ice faster and ruin the bears’ ability to hunt.

Andrew Derocher, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Alberta has been studying polar bear populations for years and is concerned over the study’s conclusions. The survey identified 50 cubs less than 10 months old and 22 yearlings around 22 months old which is nearly one third the number needed to sustain a healthy population. Many Inuit communities say the researchers are wrong because they see an increase in numbers with hunters reporting more sightings. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: The release of the 2012 federal budget has many environmental and social justice groups concerned over the future of climate research and regulation in the country. Green Party leader Elizabeth May says the budget is the worst in Canada’s history. This years budget includes 88 million dollars in cuts to Environment Canada, 79 million in cuts to Fisheries and Oceans, and 29 million in cuts to Parks Canada over three years.

The budget for the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency was slashed by 40 percent and time lines are set to speed up approval for industrial projects. The budget also dismantles the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, which provided policy analysis and advice to government. No money is directed toward renewable energy or energy efficiency while 1.4 billion dollars in subsidies to the oil sands industry remain untouched. Critics warn the government’s position may fuel civil disobedience, public protest activity, and legal action against controversial resource developments. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: Newfoundland and Labrador’s oil and gas regulator has charged energy giant, Suncor with spilling more than 26 000 liters of drilling mud into the Atlantic Ocean from an offshore oil platform a year ago. The energy company which is also involved in the Alberta oils sands faces three charges for the March 28, 2011 spill which happened in the Jeanne d’Arc Basin from the Henry Goodrich rig.

Suncor is charged with causing or permitting a spill into the offshore area, failure to ensure that drilling fluids were stored and handled in a manner that would have prevented pollution, and failure to ensure that drilling fluids were handled in a way that did not create a hazard to safety or the environment. A Suncor spokesperson says the synthetic drilling mud is non-toxic to human, animal, and marine life and is approved for use in discharge under provincial guidelines. The case is now before provincial courts. [ index ]