VANESSA PURDY (read by Ariel Rabinovitch): The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, CAPP, unveiled a new set of operating practices on Monday. The new rules would apply to all of the members of the organization. The new practises are said to improve the environmental consequences and transparency of fracking, according to CAPP representatives.

The new rules include the public disclosure of chemical ingredients in the fracking fluids, and developing domestic well-water sampling programs. As well, CAPP is aiming to identify and mitigate potential risks associated with the transportation, storing and disposing of fracking fluids.

This set of practises accompanies the “guiding principles” CAPP released this September. However, there is no specific guideline for rule and regulation enforcement to accompany this new report. [ index ]

HARLAND TUFFORD (read by Vanessa Purdy): Stewardship Ontario, the province’s quasi-governmental recycling agency, announced on Tuesday a controversial new pricing plan for hazardous waste recycling. Two waste removal agencies have ceased collection of hazardous waste in response to the new fees, arguing that, under the new guidelines, hazardous waste collection is financially unsound. Previously, municipalities had tendered private contracts with recycling-service providers, and had been reimbursed by Stewardship Ontario. The new scheme, however, provides incentive payments directly to waste management firms.

While waste removal firms are outraged by the changes, municipalities are anxious to ensure that their own flow of hazardous waste, such as household paint, will be safely disposed of. Stewardship Ontario came under attack in 2010 after instituting unpopular “eco-fees” on certain products, including fire extinguishers and rechargeable batteries. Although overseen by the government-controlled Waste Division Ontario, Stewardship Ontario is a private, not-for-profit organization, and does not officially report to the government. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY (read by Ariel Rabinovitch): Parks Canada has been entertaining a proposal put forth by Brewster Travel Canada–a U.S. Company–to privatize sections of Jasper National Park for tourism purposes. They were supposed to have reached a decision on the Glacier Discovery Walk project on Tuesday. According to Parks Canada’s website, they are taking more time to complete an environmental assessment of the project.

Brewster’s proposal is a 400-metre-long trail and glass-floored platform that would be situated above a valley. They claim it could triple Jasper’s visitors. However, Parks Canada has received over 2,000 letters about the project, many from people opposed to it. The plan would charge travelers to use the walkway, and could also set a dangerous precedent in terms of privatizing natural heritage sites. As well, an online petition calling for the freezing-out of the Brewster project has gathered over 179,000 signatures. Parks Canada expects to have a final decision in the coming weeks. [ index ]

HARLAND TUFFORD (read by Vanessa Purdy): Scientists on Baffin Island have uncovered persuasive evidence regarding the cause of the Little Ice Age, a climate change event which began during the Middle Ages. In accordance with known principles, their discovery was made possible by contemporary climate change. As icefields continue to melt on Baffin Island, plants which have been encased in ice since the 13th century are now within reach of arctic scientists. Thanks to insight gleaned from contemporary plant specimens, the research team believe that the Little Ice Age was the result of volcanic eruptions which occurred between 1275 and 1300 AD. This initial cooling process was likely exacerbated by a second series of eruptions circa 1450 AD. The discovery, published in the latest Geophysical Research Letters, suggests that a climate system may undergo a cumulative cooling process if hit repeatedly by relatively short-term reductions in temperature. However, the research team has not wholly discounted the possibility that the solar radiation cycle may also have played a part in the Little Ice Age. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY (read by Ariel Rabinovitch): The federal government’s decision to end the EcoEnergy retro-fitting program two months early comes as a shock–and perhaps at a cost. The program began in 2007, and was cancelled in 2010. It was renewed this past June, and set to be completed by March 31, 2012. On January 29th, however, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver announced the sudden closure of the successful program. Having reached it goal of 250,000 participants, it has been capped at that. According to the Save ecoEnergy Coalition, the program was promised a budget of $400 million. By capping it at the current participant quantity, the government’s actual investment amounts to less than half of the original promise. [ index ]

HARLAND TUFFORD (read by Vanessa Purdy): In response to invasive fish hailing from foreign waters, two agencies have called for the erection of a massive physical barrier. The barrier would aim to halt the migration of Asian Carp into the Great Lakes. Although a barrier between the Great Lakes and Mississippi river watersheds already exists, the Great Lakes Commission and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative believes it has not been entirely effective. The new proposal would require either a single down-river barrier between the two drainage basins, or barriers in five locations near Lake Michigan, or a “mid-system” option to restore a natural divide between the watersheds. Although the agencies are adamant in their support, high costs may deter governments. Initial construction of the barrier could cost between $100 and $150 million dollars, while long term costs could reach between $3 and $9 billion over fifty years. However, the report also stated that preventing an invading species of fish from entering the lakes could save as much as $5 billion over 30 years. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: More than 100 countries back France’s proposal to create a World Environment Agency to deal with the world’s worsening environmental crisis. The proposed agency would help implement international environmental standards with the help of grassroots groups and business and would have a wider scope than the current United Nations Environment Program.

Supporters include more than 30 European countries, 54 members of the African Union, as well as Thailand, Malaysia, Nepal, Chile and Uruguay. While the United States has not yet backed the proposal citing sovereignty issues, the agency would aim to be more inclusive, including all stakeholders rather than just governments. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: The European Commission has added 15 chemicals to a list of hazardous substances to be regulated by the EU’s water framework law. Eight of the chemicals have been newly identified as priority substances to be eliminated from European waterways in the next 20 years. These hazardous chemicals include Dicofol which is similar to the pesticide DDT, Quinoxyfen which is a fungicide, dioxins that are a by product of thermal combustion, and industrial chemicals used in hydraulic aviation fluid, photography, and textiles.

The chemicals on the list will be subject to controls and regulation with the aim of monitoring and eliminating emissions. Members from the European Environmental Bureau, Europe’s largest federation of environmental organizations claim the proposal is too weak to protect human health and European waters. In addition, too few chemicals have been selected, from 2000 potentially harmful chemicals to 15. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: South American Authorities have sentenced three Mozambique men to 25 years in jail for poaching rhino horns. The men were caught illegally hunting in the Kruger National Park in July 2010 and were apprehended with two freshly chopped rhino horns, rifles, and an axe. 450 rhinos were killed in 2011 where the animals are left to bleed to death after their horns have been chopped off.

South Africa has been a hotbed for rhino poaching because it has the largest population of rhinos in the world with almost 2000 black rhinos and 19 000 white rhinos. Last year, 232 suspected poachers were arrested and 26 were killed in fights with authorities. Authorities are trying to fight poaching with harsher sentences and looking into the possibility of legalizing the rhino horn trade. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: Aboriginal groups, environmentalists, and the media are considered to be adversaries to Canada’s oilsands industry. The news, revealed in a newly released Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade document was released to Canada’s Climate Action Network through access to information legislation.

The document outlines key goals for diplomats to promote the industry as well as lobbying against foreign climate change policies. Listed allies include energy companies, industry associations, and various government departments, like Natural Resources Canada, Environment Canada and the Privy Council Office. Also listed as an ally is the National Energy Board, which is supposed to be an independent federal regulator that monitors and regulates industry activity. [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN (read by Ariel Rabinovitch): A former employee of ForestEthics, a Canadian environmental group, is accusing the Prime Minister’s Office of threatening Tides Canada, the charitable organization that gives ForestEthics its funding. The claims come from Andrew Frank, who worked as the senior communications manager at ForestEthics until he was dismissed earlier this week over his plans to go public with his allegations. According to a sworn statement by Frank, the Prime Minister’s Office told Ross McMillan, CEO of Tides Canada, that it considered ForestEthics to be an “enemy of the state”.

ForestEthics is one of several groups campaigning against the Northern Gateway pipeline project. Frank claims that the PMO threatened to withdraw funding from all of Tides Canada’s projects if the organization did not stop funding ForestEthics. The Prime Minister’s Office denied making any of the statements referenced in Andrew Frank’s report. Tides Canada also responded to the claims, writing that Frank’s “account of our conversations with government is inaccurate.” [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: Environment Minister Peter Kent has again refused to issue an emergency order to protect the woodland caribou. The species faces extirpation from large parts of their range especially in Alberta’s oilsands regions. Kent originally decided the woodland caribou did not face an imminent threat but Federal Court Justice Peter Crampton ordered him to revisit the decision because it seemed to counter scientific evidence.

This week, after six months of silence, environmental lawyers representing affected aboriginal bands filed a request with the court to force the minister to comply with the judge’s ruling. Unknown to the lawyers, Kent had made a decision on the matter two weeks ago on January 13 but did not publicize the information. Kent’s formal reasons for rejecting emergency protection will be posted soon but he believes the caribou are in sustainable population groups in vast areas of the country. Allowing herds to die out in some places damages the entire population warns caribou biologist Simon Dyer of the Pembina Institute. [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN (read by Ariel Rabinovitch): This week the federal government moved one step further with plans to bury nuclear waste at two sites in Ontario. The Department of Natural Resources is seeking an independent scientific review of Atomic Energy Canada’s proposal to bury low- and intermediate-level atomic waste in a repository two miles north of Ottawa. Meanwhile, Environment Canada and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission have announced a joint review of a proposal to bury nuclear waste deep under the Bruce Nuclear Generation Station close to Lake Huron.

The buried waste would range from industrial garbage contaminated with low levels of radiation to the medium-level atomic byproducts of research and reactor operations. The burial of spent reactor fuel, which is extremely radioactive, would not be allowed. At the moment, most of the radioactive rubbish is stored aboveground at Ontario’s nuclear plants. If the plan passes the scientific assessment the waste will be buried 500 to 1,000 metres deep in tectonically stable bedrock. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: Local developers are trying to stop the National Capital Commission’s plan to increase Ottawa’s Greenbelt. Over the next 50 years, the commission wants to expand the Greenbelt by 10% or 2400 hectares by protecting nearby natural areas. The plan would also discourage new developments along routes that cut through the Greenbelt.

John Herbert, executive director of the Ottawa Builders’ Association, criticized the decision, saying there is a shortage of development land but no shortage of green space. Critics also fear if the plan is approved, it will put more pressure to intensify Ottawa’s urban areas. [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN (read by Ariel Rabinovitch): Environment Minister Peter Kent announced today that Parks Canada will move forward with a plan to reintroduce wild bison into Banff National Park. The bison population has made a comeback since they were hunted to near extinction in the 19th century but they are still not widely distributed in the wild. There is a herd of bison at Banff, but they are contained in a “buffalo paddock” that is fenced off from the National Park.

Last year, an organization called the Eleanor Luxton Historical Foundation presented a proposal to reintroduce the bison into the wild. Now that Parks Canada is onboard, the plan will officially move forward. The first step will be a public consultation process to determine the logistics and implications of releasing the herd. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: A recent report commissioned by Chris Huhne, the Secretary of Energy and Climate in the UK reveals that moving to a tougher target on greenhouse gasses across Europe would actually not be as difficult as people think. Business thinktanks and lobbyists have been naysaying the potential for a cross-European target; but the report shows that , if Europe were to set tougher goals, it would save money in the long run.

The hope is to raise the goal to a 25% cut; which could save 20 billion euros annually. It would cost approximately 0.5% of the GDP of countries across Europe to meet a 30% target by 2020, which is much less than what was previously forecast; and does not take into account potential benefits like the development of a green economy. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: On Tuesday, President Obama’s State of the Union speech confirmed the United States has plans to impose new regulations on frakking. Frakking, the shale gas drilling method, is as common as it is controversial. In his speech, Obama talked about expanding domestic natural gas production through safer development and tougher regulations on frakking operations taking place on public lands. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: This week, Germany’s solar subsidy program will be in development. Lawmakers have been debating the support for developers in the solar energy market. Germany’s Environment Minister, Norbert Roettgen, is seeking to increase the frequency of subsidy cuts; whereas their Economy Minister, Phillip Roesler, has proposed a cap on clean energy support to curb costs. If his cut goes through, it could bring solar and other renewable energy source development to a standstill. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: Four Hamilton companies have landed huge contracts in a $1.5-billion wind-energy project. The project–offshore on the Wolfe Island Shoals near Kingston—is set to produce 300-megawatts, says Windstream Energy. It is expected that most of the 1,900 manufacturing jobs associated with it will end up in Hamilton.

The companies involved are Walters Group, McKeil Marine, the Hamilton Port authority, and Bermingham Foundation Solutions. They also form a manufacturing consortium known as the Lake Ontario Offshore Network, and lobby governments about the economic benefits of wind energy. A figure for the dollar value of the local contracts has yet to be released. As well, the project does not currently have a timeline given the Ontario government’s decision about a year ago to place a moratorium on new wind energy projects.

So far, feedback from the city seems largely positive, with councilors citing the project as revitalizing the manufacturing sector, and perhaps marking Hamilton as a future hub for offshore wind farms– the market for which is growing considerably in the United States. An economic impact study done by Windstream, which is a privately-owned Ontario-based company backed by American investors, says approximately $700 million of the total investment in the project would remain in Ontario. Windstream holds the only approved offshore wind energy generation feed-in tariff contract in Ontario, but the province has not yet given the okay to start construction. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: In a new, national ad campaign launched last week, Environmental Defence Canada aims to inform Canadians of the potentially harmful substances in personal care products, used every day by many Canadians.

The 60-second ad, entitled “How To Look Pretty Without Poisoning Yourself,” calls on the federal government to ban harmful ingredients, often undisclosed, that are found in cosmetics. Environmental Defense hopes the campaign will spur Canada into following Europe’s lead in improving labeling and restricting toxic substances. Whether or not the government will give its cosmetic industry a legislation-based makeover remains to be seen. For more information on the chemicals and cosmetics in question, you can visit the campaign’s site www.justbeautiful.ca. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, CAPP, is facing controversy after hiring Angie Leonard. Leonard is the sister of Energy Minister Craig Leonard and, until recently, a member of the New Brunswick government’s shale gas working group of civil servants focused on creating regulatory framework for the shale gas industry. Now, she is a senior natural as advisor for the CAPP, one of the oil-and-gas industry’s biggest lobby groups.

Of more concern than the familial connection is the fact that Leonard is now working on the behalf of an industry that she was regulating a week ago. However, there is no law that prevents this sort of association. Last year, the PC government tried to pass a lobbyist registry law that would have made lobbyists accountable to the public and identify their clients, had it passed.

A representative of the Department of Natural resources, Steve Benteau, has clarified that Leonard will not have access to ministers or other senior officials who deal with the shale gas issue, due to the perceived conflict of interest. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: A community well in Keno City, Yukon, is undergoing closer monitoring after it was recently found to contain high levels of zinc and cadmium. The results were found during mine reclamation work, and one of the five, newly-installed monitoring wells showed levels well above those acceptable for drinking water by national standards. The well in question is not currently being used by citizens, said a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Services. However, owners of four neighboring private wells are being asked not to use their water.

Government officials will increase monitoring to once a month for the next six months, and quarter-annually thereafter. The government is also offering to cover water testing coast for any private wells in close proximity. The test were done and high levels of the potentially kidney-damaging metals were confirmed back in October, but the data is only becoming public now. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: This Thursday, a study published in the journal Environmental reviews, draws attention to the growing problem of invasive species in Canada—a problem exacerbated by climate change. Andrea Smith, a York University biologist, studied the academically- neglected correlation between global warming and the spread and increase of invasive species. Her results illuminate a veritable threat posed by non-native species such as the mountain pine beetle, and deer ticks.

Smith could find only a few dozen studies specifically addressing how invasive species are taking advantage of Canada’s environmental change. One of these estimated that at least 1,500 non-native species are already in Canada; although their arrivals cannot all be attributed to climate change. This study also noted the cost to the Canadian economy of a mere 16 of the aforementioned species could be upwards of 13.3 billion, annually.

As it stands, there is little in terms of policy work being done on the subject. Regulation in this area is divvied up between the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and Natural Resources Canada; the latter of which opened a research centre on invasive species in 2009.

Smith’s study calls for the study of common characteristics in the species and climate predictions in order to create a list of high-risk invasive species, and then direct policy accordingly. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW (read by Ariel Rabinovitch): A South Korean cargo ship carrying 120 tons of fuel has exploded earlier this week, leaving it half submerged off the country’s west coast. The ship, which usually carries refined petroleum products and chemicals, was carrying 80 tons of bunker-C oil and 40 tons of diesel fuel when it exploded.

The ship’s captain believes the explosion was caused by static electricity which ignited gasoline vapors from an onboard tank. There have been no reports of a fuel leak. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW (read by Ariel Rabinovitch): Following large street protests by environmentalists, Bulgaria has become the second European country after France to ban exploratory shale gas drilling also known as fracking. On Wednesday MP’s voted overwhelmingly for a ban and revoked a shale gas permit to U.S. based oil giant Chevron.

Critics opposed to fracking says the process of pumping water, sand, and chemicals at a high pressure to release pockets of gas from rocks contaminates ground water and causes earth tremors. Industry professionals claims correct drilling is safe. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW (read by Ariel Rabinovitch): The U.S. Fish and Wildlife service warns of a possible extinction as 5.5 million bats are estimated to have died in North America from a fungus. The fungus called the white-nose syndrome was first documented in bats hibernating in a cave in Albany in 2006. Biologists are reporting a mortality rate of 90-100% and fear the fungus will continue to spread through several species, including some that are endangered.

Although the cause remains a mystery, one theory is that humans may have introduced the fungus while exploring caves. In 2009, thousands of caves and former mines in national forests were closed up for a year as an attempt to control the spread of the fungus. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: Environment Canada is cutting 60 of its science jobs. The move is linked to last August’s decision to cut or reassign 776 people or 10 percent of its workforce. Gary Corbett, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada confirmed layoff notices were sent out this week although his department is under strict orders not reveal the exact jobs that are cut.

The positions broadly include engineers, scientists, biologists, climatologists, and chemical analysts who work in areas such as pollution, monitoring water quality, and climate research. The department has already eliminated 150 term positions as well 400 casual jobs by reducing funding to various programs. Most of these positions are filled with a new generation and Corbett argues the move is destroying the future of the public service by getting rid of the knowledge and base for future. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI (read by Vanessa Purdy): Tension is brewing at the Northern Gateway Pipeline hearings in BC this week. The province’s Kitimaat village residence was unanimous in their disapproval for the project, at the opening hearing on Tuesday, January 10.

Energy giant Enbridge revealed the $5.5 billion plan to pipe oil from the Edmonton area to the Area’s port. This is in hopes to increase jobs in Canada and business in the US and Asia.

Kitimaat is home to the first nation’s community of the Haisla people. Hereditary Chief, Ken Hall says, residences are fearful of a potential disaster that could threaten their homes, family and the environment.

The hearings then moved to Terrace, B.C. on Thursday, January 12. Some protesters have spent up to 37 days outside the Gitxsan treaty society office, to show their dedication to stop the plan.

Over 4,300 people have signed up to speak at the hearings, which are being conducted by a federal review panel. They are expected to last until 2013. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: Local area residents and environmental groups held a demonstration Wednesday to protest plans to clear cut 120 hectares of trees in the Castle Wilderness Area in Alberta. Those opposed to Spray Lake Sawmill’s plan argue Castle is an important ecological and recreational area for Albertans. They also claim the area is a key wildlife corridor and critical grizzly bear habitat.

Spray Lake Sawmills spokesperson Gord Lehn, says the company follows strict environmental guidelines set by the province which includes full reforestation. Demonstrators are calling on the province to turn the area into a wilderness park. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI (read by Vanessa Purdy): Scientists are equally puzzled and concerned by the plummeting population of Boreal ducks. Since the 1970’s, these Canadian birds have been on a decline with most experts pointing to climate change as the culprit.

Research scientist, Stuart Slattery of Ducks Unlimited Canada says that the ducks are simply running out of food.

Slattery and scientists at the University of British Columbia have been studying two of the ducks species: the scaup and the scoter. Their numbers have dropped by 40 per cent and 60 per cent, respectively in just three decades.

From the data they collected over the years, they found that spring comes on average about 11 days earlier. Slattery says that low snow cover is directly connected with the drop in the ducks’ survival.

Now that the spring is arriving nearly two weeks sooner, the ducks fly in too late to feast on the insects. He adds that as long as society depends on fossil fuels, the less ducks and other animals will thrive. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver claims environmental radical groups are trying to block trade and undermine Canada’s economy. The comments were made on Monday, a day before federal regulatory hearings for Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway pipeline were set to begin.

The proposed pipeline would transport oil sands crude from Alberta to Kitimat, B.C where it would be then shipped overseas to Asia. Over 4300 people have signed up to speak at the regulatory hearings which will span over the next 18 months. Oliver goes on to say the groups “threaten to hijack our regulatory system to achieve their radical ideological agenda.”

Environmentalist David Suzuki says he is puzzled by Oliver’s language. In a statement to the CBC, Suzuki states environmentalists want to, “live within our means, save some for tomorrow, and think about the legacy we leave for our children, which he says is a pretty conservative approach. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI (read by Vanessa Purdy): The gloves are off for fish farming activist, as he prepares to face the BC Supreme Court. BC resident, Don Staniford is in a legal battle with salmon farming company, Mainstream Canada over allegations that he defamed the business. The English-born activist has a track record for awareness campaigns that reflect poorly on various fish farming companies.

In this case Staniford, allegedly published the titles, “The Salmon Farming Kills Campaign”, the “Silent Spring of the Sea,” and “Smoke on the Water, Cancer on the Coast,” to deter people from buying fish from farms.

Mainstream Canada’s amended notice of civil claim includes published graphics that look like cigarette packages and include warnings like “Salmon Farming Kills Like Smoking.”

The documents state that the company’s lawyers demanded Staniford to abandon his comments publicly. Staniford responded with another cigarette-like-package graphic that read “Norwegian Owned” and included an image of a raised middle finger and the words “Salmon Farming.”

Mainstream Canada’s headquarters are in Oslo, Norway and is a subsidiary of the Norwegian company Cermaq.

Staniford remains headstrong, standing behind his statements and his goal of shutting down the industry, but could cost him $125,000 if he loses. [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN (read by Ariel Rabinovitch): For the first time in history, the U.S. government will impose catch limits on all of the 500 plus fish species it manages. The new legislation makes the United States the first country in the world to limit fishing on all the species in its waters. Some species, including mahi-mahi and wahoo, have never had catch limits before.

Joshua Reichert, managing director of the Pew Environment Group welcomed the move, calling it “probably the most important conservation statute ever enacted into America’s fisheries law”. Interestingly, this legislation transcends the political divisions normally at play in U.S environmental policy.

The catch limits were first suggested under President Bush and have been finalized under President Obama. The regulations were devised with the help and input of regional fisheries councils. For this reason, supporters predict the new limits are more likely to succeed. [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN (read by Ariel Rabinovitch): The three Australian anti-whaling activists detained after boarding a Japanese whaling ship early Saturday morning are set to be released without charges. The news comes after negotiations between Australia’s attorney general, Nicola Roxon, and Japanese authorities. Charges will not be laid because the activists did not cause injury to crew members or damage the whaling vessel.

The three activists boarded the ship to protest what the Japanese government calls “research whaling,” a practice that is widely believed to be a euphemism for “commercial whaling,” since the whale meat is sold for food in Japan. GPS evidence show that the Japanese ship was actually in Australian waters when the activists boarded it. In 2008 the Australian federal court banned Japanese whaling ships from entering Australian waters. This incident highlights the fact that the Australian government is unable or unwilling to enforce its ban on whaling. [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN (read by Ariel Rabinovitch): A new report published in the Journal of Biological Conservation warns that many plant species are being driven to the brink of extinction because their traditional methods of seed dispersal are under threat. The study’s authors write that while the global pollination crisis has been acknowledged as a major concern “there is also a growing crisis around the world when it comes to seed dispersal.”

Seeing that the seed dispersal crisis is not fully recognized or understood, the researchers set out to synthesize the known information in a way that is useful to scientists and land managers. They identified three main causes to the declining seed dispersal process: climate change, fragmentation of the landscape in human-modified environments, and diminishing populations of animals that would normally distribute seeds.

The researchers behind the study hope that it can improve understanding of biodiversity loss and help people develop better conservation practices. They argue that conservation targets for “key seed dispersers should be a population size that maintains their ecological function, rather than merely the minimum viable population.” [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW (read by Ariel Rabinovitch): As public hearings approach for Enbridge’s controversial Northern Gateway Pipeline, at least five major oil sands companies have come forward to support the 5.5 billion dollar project which would link Alberta oil sands to the west coast. Until recently, only Sinopec, China’s second largest energy producer has been a public supporter but Enbridge has revealed support from 10 other companies who will contribute 10 million dollars each to ensure development.

Enbridge spokesperson Paul Stanley says they have not encountered resistance from First Nations people in Alberta and have about 40 percent of community support along the proposed path. This contrasts with statements made from environmental and aboriginal groups who vow to make a human wall to stop construction of the pipeline. The first round of community meetings will take place on January 24 in Edmonton. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: The largest of British Columbia’s three proposed plans for liquefied natural gas plants (LNGs) would most likely be powered with natural gas, emitting greenhouse gasses. The proposed plan, for Kitimat, B.C., would run in direct competition of sorts with the provincial government’s environmental goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by one third by 2020.

Premier Christy Clark promised three LNG plants by 2020 last year. A major part of her job strategy is developing the natural gas industry, which, according to her plan, could provide thousands of jobs and billions in revenue from the frozen natural gas exported to Asia. Critics fear the promise of jobs so dependent on a dirty resource could threaten the livelihood of future generations, and the planet.

Energy and Mines Minister, Rich Coleman, acknowledges the potential damaging effect of the plant, and says the government would attempt to minimize its potential harm. They are also considering storing the emissions underground. Coleman says the government’s LNG strategy will be released in February, or even later this month. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW (read by Ariel Rabinovitch): Climate change and melting sea ice may have a major impact on harp seals as they are forced to adapt to changing habitats in the Gulf of St Lawrence and eastern Canada. Researchers at Duke University in the US have found the seals’ traditional breeding grounds on sea ice has been shrinking by 6% each decade for the last 30 years.

In 2007, the government of Canada released a report linking high sea pup mortality rates over the past decade to poor ice conditions. Recently, the seals have been adapting to environmental challenges by moving their breeding grounds north to the coast of Greenland where they face an increased risk of predators. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: Researchers at the University of Guelph’s Ridgetown campus have found a creative new use for cow stomachs. Using an anaerobic digester–a metallic, man-made unit devoid of oxygen–researchers are able to turn organic material into electricity. The digester mimics a cow’s stomach; using the same microorganisms the animal employs, to break down organic waste and convert it into biogas, which is in turn used to make electricity.

According to the university, the digester is “farm scale”; holding 1.5 million litres, and being “fed” 10-15 tonnes of material every day. The result of this is the generation of enough electricity to power almost 300 homes. It cost 2.5 million, but if it is connected to the power grid sometime in the spring as hoped, it would generate $280,000 in electricity sales annually, and have paid for itself in eight years. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW (read by Ariel Rabinovitch): New fears over water contamination and resurfaced government memos have put the issue of hydraulic fracturing or ‘fracking’ back in the news. It has been discovered that the largest fracking project ever undertaken occurred in northern British Columbia in 2010. The project, four times the size of any other in North America used 259 million gallons of water and 50 thousand tons of sand to frack 16 gas wells.

Last March, an internal memo was sent from the deputy minister of the environment to Environment Minister Peter Kent advising the need for assessments of risks. Top concerns include water use and contamination, greenhouse gas emissions, and the use of unknown toxic chemicals. There has also been outstanding complaints from the surrounding community of Rosebud Alberta regarding well water contamination.

Property owner Jessica Ernst has sued Encana, Alberta Environment and Water, and the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board. Ernst alleges Encana’s drilling operations were negligent and governmental agencies failed to enforce regulations. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: Things are looking good for frequently flooded Manitoba this spring. Forecasters are optimistic that the unusually warm winter and minimal precipitation this year mean the chance of floods such as those experienced last winter, is significantly decreased. Last spring, Manitobian’s experienced one of their worst floods, and some evacuees have yet to be allowed to return home.

The warmer temperatures across the Prairies as a whole this winter don’t seem to be subsiding. Just this week, it was 16 degrees C in Maple Creek, Sask.; and 13 in Calgary. In fact, Lethbridge county, Alberta, has banned open fires and canceled all active fire permits due to warm temperatures and high winds.

However, this greener winter is affecting aboriginal communities in Manitoba in negative ways. Ice roads–that trucks use to transport an estimated 2,500 shipments of necessary items every year–are nowhere close to being built. Another concern, of course, is lake safety, as all bodies of water seemingly frozen are considered unsafe. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: Scientists have made a remarkable discovery of evolution in the making. A group of 10 researchers announced they’ve found the first ever hybrid shark, which was found off the coast of Australia, on Tuesday, January 3. An unprecedented 57 hybrids were found after tracking 2,000 km of Australian coastline.

Lead researcher, Jess Morgan, from the University of Queensland says that the discovery came up as a shock to the scientific community. The hybrid shark has been tested to contain the DNA of 2 similar species: The Australian black tip and the common black tip shark.

The Aussie black tip is a tropical water dweller that averages just over five feet long and prevalent around the coast of Brisbane. While the Common black-tip shark grows to about six and a half feet and inhabits cooler water around the Sydney area.

Morgan explains that the new species may occupy larger areas of the ocean, strengthening its ability to survive through the changing climate. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: Italy’s Fiat claims a larger cut of Chrysler and will release its first green vehicle to North America. The US carmaker was given approval for a fuel-efficient car to be made in the United States. The Dodge Dart received a green makeover and made the former conventional car into a more sustainable form of transportation.

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne says the five percent gain of Chrysler has allowed the two companies to marry their strengths. The Dart includes Fiat technology with “a fuel efficiency rating of at least 40 combined miles per gallon.” Chrysler says that a pre-production version of the new Dodge Dart compact received the rating in the Environmental Protection Agency testing in late December.

Marchionne adds that he wants to commit to more sustainable types of vehicles that will appeal to those who put performance on top of their priority list. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: According to some US researchers, climate change models may be vastly underestimating the extinction of animal and plant varieties. The scientists have blamed the models for dismissing the species’ movement and competition to survive.

Animals and plants that can adjust to climate change have an upper hand to organisms with specific geographic ranges and habitat requirements. Assistant professor at the University of Connecticut Mark Urban leads the research saying that species that can’t adapt to environmental changes are likely to go extinct.

Urban explains that there is conclusive evidence that organisms are already moving in response to climate change. For an example, some animals and plants are migrating to higher altitudes. Urban with University of Washington’s Josh Tewksbury and Kimberly Sheldon, created a mathematical model, including varying rates of species migration and different rates of inter-species competition.

Urban says that with using this information, scientists may predict which species is at risk from dying out before it’s too late. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: Earlier this week, the Canadian Boreal Initiative, CBI, released a report with some postivie news for Canada’s signature forests for a change. CBI is an scientists, industry, First Nations and governments to increase sustainable development and promote protecting ecosystems. Their most recent report highlights the Top 10 major gains of 2011 for the boreal forests, largely thanks to landmark conservations agreements made this year.

The United Nations declared 2011 to be the International Year of the Forest, and, to some extent, Canada listened. First among the top ten was the Quebec government’s decision to enact the largest land conservation plan in history, Plan Nord. CBI feels Plan Nord represents a new model for sustainable development that could inspire other countries to implement similar plans internationally.

Other multi-stakeholder commitments to conserve and protect Canada’s boreal habitats such as those in B.C. and Manitoba made CBI’s list as well. Also of note is the planned “trial park” between BC and Alberta, the Environment Canada-sponsored report on Sustainable Prosperity, and the Royal Canadian Mint’s special edition boreal forest-themed tooney. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: P.E.I. musical talents geared up to raise money for ecological causes in a musical marathon. The Jammin’ for the Planet was a 12-hour concert, curated by the Eco-Change Co-operative. This is a group that works with green organizations on a mission to conserve the environment.

Their movement connects partnerships with both private and not-for-profit companies to increase the financial resources for the PEI Environment Fund.

One of the event’s organizers, David MacKay says that 50 percent of the funding goes to the environmental coalition’s Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Project. The other half is reserved to other environmental groups that have projects that reflect their causes.

The lengthy concert was held in Charlottetown from 2 pm to 2 am featuring eight artists and bands, including Al Tuck, Teresa Doyle and Bonnie LeClair on Monday, December 26.

The admission was by donation only. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: Parks Canada is commissioning a new “revenue generation study” aimed at discovering more sources of revenue from Canada’s national parks, specifically in areas like retail, royalties, rentals, public programs and internet access. Parks Canada–responsible for our 42 national parks, three marine conservation zones, and 167 national historic sites–will also be exploring the potential of increased revenue from corporate donations, fundraising and annual giving.

This move comes after Peter Kent’s November report that showed the parks to already be bringing in billions to Canada, with 80% of profits coming from the visitors themselves.

Since his announcement that most public user fees for these locations will remain stable until April 2013, Parks Canada itself is looking for new ways to increase revenue and tourists; since numbers have dropped about seven percent in the past five years. Currently, Parks Canada must cover about 30% of the overall costs of the parks.

The study is expected to cost $50, 000 and will be delivered to the federal government in late March 2012. In the meantime, Parks Canada will continue to address several commercial developments proposed on some of it’s property; while also preparing to launch it’s own clothing and accessory line prominently featuring Canada’s symbolic creature, the beaver, in 2013. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: Researchers from the University of British Columbia are trying to improve an already successful green idea. Green roofs which are roof tops made from vegetation, are abundant in Europe have been catching on, in this side of the pond. However, Engineering Professor Kasun Hewage and master’s student Fabricio Bianchini, are examining the carbon footprint of green roofs and if they can be improved.

They are known to absorb greenhouse gases, lowering temperatures directly above the gardens and reducing run-off. The green roofs also help filter dust and potentially harmful chemicals, and reduce the heating and cooling loads on buildings.

Yet, the researchers found the benefits of the roofs are lowered by the pollution created during the manufacture process of the plastics and rubber mats that provide drainage for the plants.

Hewage and Bianchini are testing green roofs made from Sedums, a flowering plant that can exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide with little sunlight, allowing the conservation of water under drought conditions.

The downfall is that it may not work in very arid climates but the researchers are finding alternatives for these types of climates. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: Last Friday, St. John’s Newfoundland urged Ottawa to push back against the supposed new seal-belt ban in Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus. The potential loss of the Russian market is of particular concern, since they are said to purchase the majority of the pelts produced by the polarizing east coast harvest every year.

This ban could have significant impact on Canada and other sealing nations, and St John’s is pressuring the federal government to fight it, through the World Trade Organization if it comes to that.

In a statement also released on Friday, the Minister of International Trade, Ed Fast, said that Ottawa is committed to protect Canada’s sealing industry, and that officials have been instructed to engage with their counterparts in the three countries in question and express Canada’s concerns.

Animal rights groups are happy to take this ban as a sign of progression against Canada’s controversial and questionably human seal hunt practice. The actuality of the ban itself, however remains in question. According to executive director of the Fur Council of Canada, Rob Cahill, this year’s traders have been exchanging furs with Russia as usual and have not heard word of the ban from them. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: Quebec has had its fair share of weather catastrophes this year and it’s worrying experts about the future. Major floods, melting permafrost, shoreline depletion and high winds have been a concern for both scientists and residents alike.

Director of climate change impacts and adaptation, Alain Bourque says that it puzzles him that Quebec hasn’t had a colder than normal season in the last 10 to 15 years. Bourque who works at Quebec’s climate change research institute Ouranos, warns that Canadian coastlines and northern communities are at risk for not being able to adapt fast enough to the warming climate.

Quebec is shown to be quickly inching closer to the 2C mark that is said to be the tipping point of climate change and the point of no return. Models indicate mean temperatures in the southern half of Quebec will be 2C to 3C higher than normal by 2020. In northern Quebec, the warming will be even higher. And at the present rate of warming as tracked since 1948, we are on track to be well over 4C by 2050 and as high as 7C to 9C by 2080. [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN (read by Vanessa Purdy): The United States continues to reject the European Union’s planned tax on carbon emissions produced by flights to and from EU countries. The legislation, which comes into force on January 1st, will subject airlines to the Emissions Trading System or ETS. The ETS is already being used for industries such as oil refining, power generation, and steel production as part of the EU’s effort to reduce emissions.

US, Canadian, and Chinese airlines oppose the tax and the extra costs it will bring. They argue that it contravenes an existing law called the Open Skies Agreement and that emissions taxes should be handled by an international aviation body. However, last Wednesday the European Court of Justice ruled that the new airline emissions tax is legal. The EU has made it clear that it will not bow to US pressure following last week’s decision. The Emissions Trading System will begin, as planned, on January 1st. [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN (read by Vanessa Purdy): On Thursday, a group of New Hampshire scientists publically urged Republican presidential candidates to accept the overwhelming scientific evidence for climate change and its causes. The joint statement by scientists from seven New Hampshire institutions and universities comes just weeks before the New Hampshire primary. The primary will be a key test for Republican White House hopefuls.

All of the major Republican candidates have expressed doubts about climate change, ranging from skepticism to total denial. Mitt Romney said he believes that climate change is taking place and that human beings contribute to it. But he has said he doesn’t know how much global warming can be attributed to human activity. Other candidates put it more bluntly. Rick Perry, for example, called global warming “one contrived phony mess”.

The group of New Hampshire scientists wants all candidates for public office to acknowledge the overwhelming evidence, arguing that “Ignoring the issue of climate change places our health, our quality of life, our economic vitality, and our children’s future at risk.” [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District, along with England-based company Oxitec, is developing a plan to release genetically-modified mosquitoes in Florida sometime in 2012. Officials in Florida wish to reduce the numbers of Aedes aegypti mosquitos–a common urban bug–as they are known carries of dengue fever. Dengue, also known as break-bone fever, is so called because of the extreme joint pain it causes in some cases.

Dengue had previously dissappeared from the States, but cases have been popping up in Florida since 2009. Between five and ten thousand of the male, lab-bred, GM mosquitoes, would be released over two weeks, within an undisclosed 36- square acre block. Their offspring would die early, hypothetically reducing the population as a whole. Similar trials in the Cayman Islands succeeded in scratching out 80% of the mosquitoes in their test area; and Florida is hoping for similar results.

Of course, an environmental group, Friends of the Earth, has publicly questioned the potential long-term environmental impact of removing the admittedly non-native species; as well as the costs of up to $400,000 annually to implement the program. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: Canada’s top Environmental watchdog criticizes the main federal department responsible for the transportation of hazardous goods, for not doing their jobs thoroughly.

In an audit of Environment Canada, Environment commissioner Scott Vaughan reports that there are “long-standing problems with the regulations, inadequate training of enforcement officers and a lack of laboratory tests to verify compliance.”

There are regulations for the transportation of hazardous or dangerous goods to protect Canadians. But Vaughan insists that the departments aren’t following up to ensure that known safety and environmental problems are fixed or that known violators have changed their policies.

Some of these products include oil, propane and other toxic chemicals that are known to cause major health problems with certain types of exposure.

Transport Canada and Environment Canada have declined to comment. [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN (read by Vanessa Purdy): Scientists at Environment Canada have perfected a process that connects oil collected from the ocean to the ships responsible for dumping the pollutant. The process is called chemical fingerprinting. It has been in development for around 20 years, so it’s not a new idea. It is only recently, however, that scientists have been able to put chemical fingerprinting into practice. A team of scientists at Environment Canada’s Atlantic Laboratory of Environment testing has refined and standardized the process so that it can be used in collaboration with police and wildlife enforcement procedures. Environment Canada has used the process to successfully convict half a dozen ships accused of dumping oil over the last two years. The agency is carrying out similar surveillance along both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. Art Cook, head of chemistry at the Atlantic Laboratory, says the method is a crucial tool in protecting Canada’s waters, birds, and marine life. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: According to Environment Canada, the wildest weather of 2011 goes to the Prairies. Senior climatologist, David Phillips revealed Canada’s 16th annual, top 10 Weather List, on Thursday, December 22.

Phillips says The Prairies story sat at number one because its extensive flooding broke all previous records.

The expansive overflow of water affected Saskatchewan, Manitoba and sections of northern Ontario.

Philip’s pegged the flood’s price tag and $1 billion dollars.

The weather anomaly was only second to the most costly natural disaster in Canada, after 1998’s Quebec ice storm.

Second on the 2011 list was Slave Lake’s massive forest fire, followed by the Richelieu Flooding, the Prairies bad farming conditions and Goderich’s F3 tornado.

A total of 138 weather events were considered for this annual meteorological list. [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN (read by Vanessa Purdy): At least three of Canada’s ozone monitoring stations will escape the budget cuts looming over the country’s atmospheric observation program. For months, concerned observers have speculated about how badly cuts to Environment Canada’s budget will affect its network of ozone monitoring stations. At a meeting last Friday, senior Environment Canada official Karen Dodds announced that the three stations in Canada’s far north will be maintained. According to Tom Duck, and atmospheric scientist at Dalhousie University, the Arctic stations are crucial to our observation and understanding of holes in the ozone layer. In fact, he says Canada’s monitoring network is spread too thin already and he would ideally like to see more stations in the far north. This is unlikely to happen, and the fate of the rest of the network remains to be seen. So far, Environment Canada has given no word about the future of the seven stations in southern Canada. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: Shoppers in downtown Vancouver were treated to a flash mob put on by Kids for Climate Action on Sunday, December 18. Near a popular shopping destination, the teens began dancing and singing songs to an environmental tune. This included a lyrical revision of “Jingle Bell Rock” as well as chanting, “climate change sucks.”

The group of students, who are too young to vote, say they will perform in flash mobs in order to call on the government to take action on climate change.

17-year old organizer, Sophie Harrison hopes that flash mob is the voice for Canadians that aren’t eligible to vote. This way they can express their concerns about Canada’s policies on environmental issues.

15-year old member of the group, Sam Harrison explains that the mob’s approach make their cause the most visible and appeals to people who might not normally care about these type of issues.

The group has taken part in other events like last Christmas and on Valentine’s Day. [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN (read by Vanessa Purdy): Just a few days after the Canadian government pulled out of the Kyoto Protocol, Quebec has announced that it will launch a carbon emissions cap-and-trade system in 2012. Starting in January, polluters in the province can buy and sell greenhouse gas allowances on a local market. The following year, Quebec will impose caps on 75 big industrial polluters. In 2015, fuel distributers and importers will also be subject to capping. With this move, Quebec joins California, the only other government in North America that has laid out a cap-and-trade plan. Quebec and California’s systems are based on regulations established by the Western Climate Initiative – a collaboration of 11 US states and Canadian provinces trying to cut regional C02 emissions. Of the 11 WCI members, only California, Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia, and Manitoba remain committed to a cap-and-trade system. For Quebec, the second phase of the project will be to reach agreements with the other provinces to integrate their various cap-and-trade systems. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: In 1974, the grey wolf was added to the federal endangered species list in the United States, and since then, their population grew to about 6,200– five times it’s initially dismal numbers. Last spring, however, Congress cancelled their endangered status in five states, and now, by the end of this year, Obama’s administration is set to decide the fate of the protections in 29 Eastern states.

As it stands in most states, it is still illegal to hunt wolves; but given their population’s increase in some pockets, those protections are at risk. Federal representatives seem anxious to declare this mission a success, and put an end to a program that has cost the feds $92.6-million since 1991. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: Months after the March disaster at a nuclear plant in Fukushima, Japan, the government has said that the reactors are in a state of cold shutdown, in preparation for a longer term phase eventually resulting in the plant’s decommission.

This Wednesday, they released the plan, which calls on the the removal of used fuel from the plant to begin in two years, and the removal of melted fuel debris to start within ten. All told, the decommission could the up to 40 years. The length of time this will take is not expected to have a direct effect on when the 80,000 evacuees from within a 20-kilometre radius of the dangerous plant will be able to return. Some may be allowed back as early as next spring.

An advisory panel has estimated the clean up project may cost up to $15 billion to complete. In addition, there is approximately 2,400 square kilometres of land surrounding the plant in need of decontamination, according to the Environment Minister. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: Federal police have recently ended their investigation into the oil spill off the Brazilian coast that took place November 7th, and it is not looking good for the oil companies involved. The investigators are are calling on prosecutors to lay charges against both Chevron and Transocean. Seventeen people could be facing prosecution for crimes against the environment for failing to provide the police with sufficient information, said an official this Thursday.

If convicted, the representatives could face up to fourteen years in jail, each. Chevron has already been fined $28 million by Brazil’s Environment Ministry; and also faces an $11 billion lawsuit from a federal prosecutor. Chevron claims the indictments are being sought without merit, and says they are confident that they responded appropriately to the incident in question. They say the spill occurred as a result of the company underestimating the pressure in a reservoir underground. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: Environment Canada is failing to enforce environmental protection regulations, warns Canada’s federal environment commissioner Scott Vaughan in his annual report to parliament.

In his report, Vaughan states the agency does not have adequate information on whom it is regulating and is not to penalizing offenders in a fair and consistent manner.

NDP environment critic Megan Leslie points to problems in leadership where there has been five different environment ministers over the past five years.

Current Environment Minister Peter Kent believes Vaughan failed to recognize that the government has made significant investments and improvements in 2007 and 2008.

The report also recommends better oversight for Transport Canada when moving dangerous goods and stronger emergency procedures for the country’s 70 000 kilometers of oil and natural gas pipelines. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: The city of Surrey BC has signed a 9 million dollar contract with BFI Canada for sustainable trash collection.

Trucks will eventually be powered by kitchen scraps, yard waste, and other organics and by next October, trash will be collected by natural gas trucks that emit 23 percent less carbon emissions and 90 percent less air particulates than traditional diesel trucks.

The city hope of diverting 70 percent of the city’s waste from the landfill by 2015 and is well on its way.

Residential garbage has been reduced by 45 percent since the city began its pilot organics program last year. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: Chiquita Brands International is joining a handful of other US companies in boycotting oil produced from Canada’s tar sands.

Working to lower its environmental footprint, Chiquita has joined with environmental group ForestEthics to find ways to stop using tar sands derived fuel to ship its produce.

Following a market trend against the tar sands, the move by Chiquita and 15 other US companies is forcing trucking companies and fuel suppliers to take action.

Extracting fuel from the tar sands is extremely energy intensive and produces toxic emissions which has been linked to higher rates of cancer in people living downwind and downstream from the operations. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: The green theme is getting a lot more attention in Hollywood, in the last year. 5 Eco-centric documentary films have made the 2012 Oscar shortlist. Among the 15 films on the list for best documentaries in the 84th annual Academy Awards, five of the films cover environmental and animal issues.

Project Nim, Jane’s Journey, Battle for Brooklyn, Semper Fi: Always Faithful and If a Tree Falls are all competing for best documentary. Project Nim reflects the life experience of a chimpanzee living in captivity. Jane’s Journey is about activist Dr. Jane Goodall’s life and work. Battle for Brooklyn takes place in the New York neighbourhood, and shows the efforts made by the community to stop overbuilding by developers. Semper Fi: Always Faithful follows an ex-marine’s journey that uncovers illegal industrial dumping sites that are contaminating the water. Lastly, If a Tree Falls investigates issues surrounding Daniel McGowan and his environmental activism.

Film critics say there has been a rise in popularity of the subject matter surrounding the environment and predict there will be more green Oscar-worthy films in the future. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: Germany has granted 20 young scientists from around the world, the chance to participate in extensive research on climate change and sustainability. The project is part of Berlin’s push to get 80 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2050.

The selected scholars will embark in a fully funded, three-month research projects in Germany costing a whopping €2 billion, announced on Thursday December 15.

There were awards called “Green Talents,” given to scientists and engineers from China, India, Brazil, South Africa, the United States and other places in Latin America and Asia.

Deputy research minister, Thomas Rachel, who handed out the awards says that their efforts will help develop and improve environmentally friendly and sustainable technologies to combat climate change for the globe.

Germany runs several cooperation agreements with many countries to support sustainability, renewable energies and environmentally friendly urban and industrial development in Asia, Latin America and Africa. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: Pictures have surfaced of Arctic polar bears turning to cannibalism because of dwindling food sources.

While cannibalism isn’t completely unheard of among polar bears, instances have been on the rise over the last few years. Climate change is causing ice to melt, trapping polar bears on land for extended periods of time. Researchers believe that as the area of sea ice declines, fewer seals are accessible to the bears leading to increased acts of cannibalism.

Environmental photojournalist, Jenny Ross shot polar bears eating their own kind including helpless cubs. Ross took pictures to show evidence of the unfortunate circumstance of what the polar bears are resorting to in order to survive. She added that even the attack method resembled the predatory nature of how seals are hunted and killed.

In 2007, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act primarily because of the decline of sea ice. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: Canada may have dropped out of the Kyoto Protocol, but the country sets its sights for 2015 for a new binding of an international climate change regime. Environment Minister, Peter Kent says Canada is pushing for a new climate deal to come into effect within four years.

Kent says that these are precautions to avoid dangerous tampering with the atmosphere. He declares he wants to move quickly toward a legally binding treaty to replace Kyoto and prevent the average world temperature from rising by 2°C or more. He adds that countries shouldn’t rush into a second chapter of Kyoto if they’re concerned in controlling global greenhouse gases.

The U.S., Japan and Russia also agree that a new binding climate plan should include countries like Brazil, South Africa, India and China, who’s emission output is growing.

About 150 developing and small states are still pushing for a second phase of the Kyoto Protocol. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: Stats Canada has released a new report confirming the decline of arctic sea ice coverage during the summer months.

Over the past four decades, the average arctic sea ice coverage has declined in all nine of Canada’s northern sea ice regions.

The largest declines are being seen in the south and east with a 17% decrease per decade in the Northern Labrador Sea, 16% in the Hudson Strait, 14% in the Davis Strait, and 11% in the Hudson’s Bay.

There has also been a decline in summer sea ice in the Northwest Passage, which links the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, and the Arctic Bridge route, which connects North America to European and Asian markets. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: Quebec announces a new legislation that will require mandatory emissions testing for older vehicles.

The Charest government presented Bill 48 at the national assembly to have the province participate in reducing harmful emissions, on Wednesday December 7.

Environment minister, Pierre Arcand says that boosting the air quality in the city is a driving factor. The law will require vehicles that are more than eight years old to go for regular testing. In the first phase of the program, 450,000 vehicles will be inspected.

A study suggests that 22 percent of vehicles between 11 and 25 years old release large amounts of harmful emissions. Currently, Canada only has British Columbia and Ontario participating in emissions testing.

According to the Canadian Medical Association, greenhouse gases aid in causing 2,000 premature deaths each year. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: A final review of Enbridge’s proposed 1200 kilometer Northern Gateway pipeline, that would ship tar sands oil from Alberta to BC, will take longer than expected.

A three member joint review panel anticipates an environmental review will be released in the fall of 2013 while a final decision will be made at the end of that year.

The controversial 5.5 billion dollar project would transport over half a million barrels of oil a day to ocean going tankers on the west coast.

Opponents of the project, including a coalition of aboriginal groups worry about the disastrous effects a tanker spill or pipeline leak would have fisheries and ecotourism in the area.

Natural resource minister Joe Oliver commented Tuesday that the project is a ‘nation-building’ attempt to link Canada’s vast oil sands resources to Asian markets.

He also said the project won’t be stopped by protesters using civil disobedience.

Environmental and aboriginal groups say they will create a human wall to prevent building of the pipeline. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: Protesters populated the Alberta Legislature demanding the federal government alter its stance on climate change.

The assembly and other demonstrations on climate change held around the world were in accordance to the Global Day of Action campaign.

The protests were parallel with world leaders are meeting in Durban, South Africa, for the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference.

Greenpeace Canada Mike Hudema, a climate and energy campaigner, helped to organize the Edmonton rally.

He says protesters are pushing for the Alberta and federal governments to make plans to radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Greenpeace activist adds that it’s important that Canada becomes a leader in battling climate change because it is a serious problem that’s impacting many people around the world.

South Africa had criticized Canada for “bullying” smaller nations about their contribution of greenhouse gases, at the Durban conference. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: New Brunswick’s NDP leader Dominic Cardy has denounced gas exploration company Windsor Energy for trying to silence him.

Cardy alleges the company broke the provinces oil and gas law in Sussex when they conducted seismic testing within the town limits on October 17 without written permission.

On Wednesday, the NDP leader reported that he received a phone call from the company’s CEO who told him if he didn’t stop, he would hear from their lawyers.

Although Windsor Energy apologized to the Sussex town council, they did not admit to breaking the law.

New Brunswick’s Natural Resources Minister confirmed that the company broke the rules and should be penalized but announced Wednesday that they will not face any charges. [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN read by Vanessa Purdy: With two days left before the UN climate talks in Durban come to an end, opinions among delegates about the prospect of an international agreement on emissions reduction range from very optimistic to totally hopeless. Yesterday ministers from rich and poor countries representing half of the world’s governments held a press conference to urge big emitters like the US and China to move a deal forward. Most of the countries at the table want to see immediate action on climate change through a meaningful continuation of the Kyoto Protocol and a new legally binding treaty to curb emissions. However, the US, China, India, and Brazil – some of the world’s heaviest emitters – have been accused of stalling the process. They want any negotiations to start in 2015 at the earliest, and not come into effect until after 2020. Negotiators officially have until the end of today to reach a deal, but the talks are generally expected to last through the night on Saturday. [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN read by Vanessa Purdy: On Tuesday the Brazilian Senate passed a set of forest regulations that observers say will actually diminish the country’s ability to reverse deforestation and meet its emissions reduction targets. The changes to the 46 year old Forest Code will reduce the size of untouched buffer zones around rivers and shrink the amount of land that owners must leave forested. In addition, deforesters who breached the code in the past will not be punished if they agree to create a plan for ecological restoration. Brazil’s former environment minister, along with national environmental groups, are calling on the president to veto the changes. The deregulation was first proposed by a powerful group of Ruralist politicians, who argued that the move will increase Brazil’s food production and make things simpler for farmers. The leader of the Brazilian branch of Conservation International commented that pitting agriculture against forest protection is a false dichotomy. He says Brazil can maintain its high level of food production while still protecting it massive forest carbon stocks and setting a good example for other forest nations. [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN read by Vanessa Purdy: In a study released earlier this week, Australian scientists are calling for a new approach to urban ecology. The paper argues that the prevailing method of modeling how cities impact the environment is based on an outdated understanding of urban growth. Historically, cities grew slowly and in a relatively compact way. Urbanization would occur in progressive rings from a central core. According to the study, environmental scientists need to update their methods because contemporary patterns of urbanization do not fit the old pattern. Cities are growing very rapidly and expanding across large distances in spider-like configurations. This is affecting the environment in severe and unpredictable ways that cannot be understood through the traditional model of urban ecology. As a way forward, the report suggests that ecologists should focus more closely on the specific area they are studying and its neighboring landscape, without relying on aggregated urbanization statistics or broad categories like urban, rural, and suburban. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: Canada’s position in the Kyoto Protocol remains unknown, after rumours suggesting the country is withdrawing its membership.

Environment Minister, Peter Kent refused to comment on whether Canada would continue its inclusion with the international environmental treaty, at the Durban Conference this past week. Kent criticizes the protocol for being unrealistic and points to countries of emerging markets like China to take on more responsibility.

China’s lead negotiator, Su Wei slams Canada for being a “bad example” for being secretive of it’s standing with the treaty.

Kent has also said that there was an urgency to addressing climate change, but there isn’t a need for a “binding convention.” Instead, he said there was a need for “action and a mandate to work on an eventual binding convention,” sometime before 2020.

However, scientists and government from around the world agree that humans are within years of reaching a tipping point of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. After exceeding the threshold, it could cause irreversible damage to the global economy and ecosystems. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: A report recently released by the Crown Land Task Force, chaired by Norm Betts, former PC Finance Minister and current University of New Brunswick professor, forecasts five years of dissatisfaction for both forestry companies and environmentalists.

The report illuminates a coming low point in the timbre harvest. It suggests that, within in next five-year regulatory cycle, the silviculture work won’t be in a place where companies could safely reap its benefits, predicting a slump in the industry until available wood catches up to its projected targets.

Betts and the others involved in this report have evaded recommending an amount for the allowable cut, leaving that controversial decision to the province. Betts also called for the involvement of an arm’s-length organization to maximize the value of New Brunswick’s forests, serving the double purpose of relieving some of the political and lobbyist pressure on representatives in the region.

Bruce Northrup, Natural Resources Minister, hopes to put a stay on the already-delayed final decision of the annual allowable cut until the report on private woodlots is released sometime in January 2012. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: An Ontario administrator blasts the government for budget cuts of ministries that are in charge of protecting the environment.

Environmental commissioner, Gord Miller made his disproval of the Conservatives’ actions in his annual report, Engaging Solutions released, Tuesday November 29.

He says that the environment ministry receives 45 per cent operation budget decline, from 1992 . He also adds that the natural resources ministry has also seen a 22 per cent loss in funding.

But Environment Minister, Jim Bradley says the commissioner’s facts are wrong. Bradley claims the Liberals increased the budget by 42 per cent in 2003, when they were in power. He sides with the opposition wanting to take the provincial portion, of the harmonized sales tax off home heating as an answer to improve funding for environmental causes.

Miller suggests putting a tax on landfills akin to what some European countries do.

Progressive Conservative environment critic, Michael Harris, says that’s too much of a burden for taxpayers, but agrees that the province needs better solutions for its waste. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: This past Tuesday, Manitoba Wildlands and the Manitoba Environmental Industries Association announced their recommendation that the province create an environmental commissioner’s office.

This announcement follows a report from Ontario’s environment commissioner Gord Miller that criticized the environmental record of an often unnoticed province. Of particular note was the amount of recyclables that are relegated to landfills and the malleability of Manitoba’s legislators to environmental critics calling for increased studies as opposed to concrete action.

The creation of an independent watchdog to hold the province accountable and probe it’s environmental problems without political motivation, is deemed necessary by the group’s report.

As it stands, Manitoba does have the Clean Environment Commission (who can only stage probes at the environmental minister’s request) as well as the Manitoba Round Table on Environment and Economy, which is an advisory panel considerably populated by government ministers and suffers from a lack of resources and transparency. [ index ]

LIA MAZZOLINI: Alberta’s tarsands have been quietly receiving support from the UK government, which has recently been brought to light. Both Brittan and Canada are fighting a European proposal that would officially tag the oil sands as 22 per cent dirtier than conventional sources.

According to a source, British Prime Minister David Cameron told Canada privately that the UK wants “to work with Canada on finding a way forward.”

Foreign Secretary William Hague offered support to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government in September in opposing the proposal.

Managing Director, Jeffrey Sundquist, for the Government of Alberta’s U.K. office, says the European proposal is discriminatory. He claims it turns a blind eye to other crudes that have high or higher greenhouse gases that enter the eurozone.

As of Sunday, November 27, Greenpeace has been running a campaign to spread the awareness of the UK, Canada tie to the oil sands. Executive Director of Greenpeace UK, John Sauven, says it’s troubling to know that huge oil industry lobbying is present without the knowledge or consent of the public. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: Days of protests in Peru this week has led to a delay in the construction of a 4.8 billion dollar gold mine in the northern part of the country. Colorado based mining company, Newmont has halted the Conga project, an expansion of Latin America’s biggest gold mine due to protests that left 10 people injured. Opponents fear the project will cause pollution and destroy water supplies because the project involves moving water from four mountain lakes into contructed reservoirs.

Newmont claims it has undergone consultations with the community and will adhere to strict environmental standards. Peru’s deputy environment minister resigned on Monday, calling official environmental impact studies on the project “weak, outdated and lacking in credibility. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: Norway is under fire for investing in Indonesian firms that profit through environmental degradation. In recent years the country has been a leading financier of tropical forest conservation but the country’s pension fund has also invested in at least 13 companies associated with Indonesian deforestation.

The UK based Environmental Investigation Agency says the 30 million dollars Norway provided last year for reforestation is a only fifth of the profits the pension fund has accumulated through unethical investments. Environmental groups suggests, better pension fund management is needed in order to align investment practices with social policy. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: Officials are testing Colorado’s South Platte River after a leak had been discovered in an oil pipeline operated by tar sands producer Suncor. A fisherman discovered petroluem in the river on Sunday which is a major source of water for Colorado and the Midwest. Levels of benzene and volatile organic compounds in the water also forced a partial closure of Denver’s wastewater pant.

Three small booms were errected Wednesday on the bank of Sand Creek which appear to be containing the spill and preventing further contamination. The extent of the contamination is still unclear and it is unknown if the spill contained hard to clean tar sands diluted bitumen. [ index ]