CHRIS GUSEN (read by Cara Chellew): Last Thursday was World Water Day and Environment Minister Peter Kent marked the occasion with a visit to Toronto’s waterfront. Kent touted the federal government’s 3.3 million dollar contribution to Great Lakes cleanup efforts, but critics called the funding announcement an insult to World Water Day. The Council of Canadians released a statement pointing out that “the government is allocating less than 0.7 percent of the amount needed to protect the Great Lakes”. The council estimates that a comprehensive plan to protect the Great Lakes would require as much as 500 million dollars. The council also highlighted the government’s hypocrisy in publicizing its commitment to the Great Lakes while planning to remove habitat protection from the Fisheries Act. 
 [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN (read by Cara Chellew): Canada’s most northerly research station will cease year-round operations at the beginning of April due to lack of funding. Located on Ellesmere Island, the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory, or PEARL, has been collecting data on arctic air quality, atmospheric chemistry, and climate change since 2005. The station costs 1.5 million dollars a year to operate, but the federal government has eliminated the research program that had been funding PEARL. With no sign of financial support in the near future, PEARL has to close its doors, at least for the time being. The shutdown will mean the end of an important stream of data that has been used by Canadian scientists and three global research projects. Jim Drummond, one of the chief atmospheric scientists at PEARL, said “its closure shows a stunning lack of interest on the part of the Canadian government in long-term Arctic issues.” Other scientists argued that continuing to fund PEARL should be no-brainer, since taxpayers have already invested 10 million dollars in the station’s construction and equipment. [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN (read by Cara Chellew): Finance Minister Jim Flaherty unveiled the new federal budget yesterday. The budget included an announcement that the government is speeding up environmental reviews of major resource extraction projects. The controversial Northern Gateway pipeline is among the projects slated for shortened environmental reviews. The government plans to impose a 24-month limit on all environmental reviews. Flaherty says the move is designed to encourage more companies to invest in Canada.

The new budget also orders the Canada Revenue Agency to increase its enforcement of the Income Tax Act to ensure charitable groups don’t spend more than 10 per cent of their revenues on political activity. The budget doesn’t single out environmental groups, but critics say it is the government’s attempt to silence environmental activists who have been critical of the oil sands. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: A new report warns major changes are needed in global agriculture and food consumption in order to feed future generations. With farming responsible for almost a third of greenhouse gas emissions, current agricultural methods must intensify sustainability, cut waste and reduce greenhouse gas emmissions if the world is to generate enough food to feed a billion impoverished people, a number that is expected to double over the next decade. The report developed by the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change and released at the Planet Under Pressure conference in London suggests different agricultural techniques are needed for different regions.

Climate change is forecasted to cut crop yields in many places, especially in southeast Asia where yields are expected to be halved in the next 50 years. The report suggests traditional methods and organic farming could work in some areas where financially viable, while grasslands could be ploughed, rainforests cut down, and GMOs used to address food security challenges in poorer areas of the world. The report also urges wealthy nations to cut down on food waste. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: Damage at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant caused by last year’s devastating earthquake and tsunami is worse than previously thought. On Tuesday workers inserted a probe into reactor number two and found radiation levels were ten times the fatal dose and the highest recorded at the plant. Water levels for cooling the melted-down nuclear fuel were also lower than expected and tsunami damage to monitoring instruments make it impossible to know what is happening inside the reactors.

Tokyo Electric Power Corporation says the finding does not change the assessment that fuel is being properly cooled but it will make decommissioning the plant harder because special equipment will have to be designed to withstand the radiation. The Japanese government has been conducting stress tests on nuclear plants to persuade people living nearby that they can withstand earthquakes but local communities have been refusing to allow reactors to be restarted after routine maintenance. Only one reactor is still in operation in the country and it is expected to be switched off in May. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: Work to fix a gas leak at a North Sea drilling platform owned by oil giant Total will have to wait until the flame burning in the flare stack is extinguished. The flare was left burning when the Elgin platform was evacuated on Sunday with hopes that it would burn itself out. Experts warn there is a risk of an explosion if the gas reaches the flame burning 90 meters above the leak.

It has been reported that a cloud of escaped gas has bubbled to the sea’s surface and is surrounding the platform and a sheen of gas condensate measuring about 6 miles in length has been spotted on the water nearby. It is not possible to put out the flame remotely and work cannot be done until the flame is extinguished. Plan B involves drilling a relief well which could take up to six months. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW (read by Vanessa Purdy): A new report suggests today’s youth are less environmentally minded than previous generations. The research is based on US students but the Canada Research Chair in Environmental Change believes the situation to be similar in Canada. The study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology looks at surveys spanning over 40 years.

One of the key findings show that only one in five Millennials, or today’s youth, believe it is important to become involved with environmental clean-up programs compared with one in three boomers and one in four gen-Xers of the same age. Experts believe the attitude may be a combination of the Millennial’s disconnect with nature, green fatigue, and lingering confusion about climate change. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW (read by Vanessa Purdy): A delegation from British Columbian first nations communities traveled to Ottawa this week to meet with opposition members and rally anti-pipeline support. Chief Jackie Thomas, of the Saik’uz First Nation and part of the Yinka Dene Alliance says her group will pursue a legal challenge if the government approves the Northern Gateway Pipeline over their objections.

Both the federal government and Enbridge claim they recognize they have a legal duty to fully consult native communities before proceeding with projects on their land but pipeline proponents say these communities do not have a veto over projects. Many of the first nations communities that are opposed to the pipeline do not have treaties and land negotiations have stalled. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW (read by Vanessa Purdy): More than 600 Canadian scientists, including some of the country’s leading experts in environmental protection and animal research, are asking the Conservative government to keep habitat protections in the federal Fisheries Act. A letter drafted to the Prime Minister warns its removal would jeopardize many important fish stocks and the lakes, streams, and rivers that support them.

The proposal to remove habitat protections from the law was revealed earlier this month by former federal scientist Otto Langer, an aquatic ecologist who worked for the federal government for 32 years. Rather than protect all fish habitats, the new act would protect fish that are of “economic, cultural or ecological value.”

The government has not denied proposed changes to the act. A spokesperson for Fisheries Minister Keith Ashfield claims fish protection policies are outdated and do not balance environmental and economic realities. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: A recent Australian study has uncovered a link between obsessive Compulsive Disorder and climate change. The survey of 50 Australians with OCD found that over a quarter of them cited climate change as a prominent part of their anxieties. A common factor in OCD actions is the need to carry our rituals, often obsessive counting or hand washing. Many of the respondents said they had incorporated checking their water, electricity and gas waste out of worry over their carbon footprint. The authors of the study noted that it is not the behaviours themselves that are unusual for those suffering from OCD, but that the rationale behind them is based on climate change. As well, the study found these climate-related anxieties to be more common among men with OCD than women. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: A study released by the Sydney- based Climate Institute earlier this week ranks how prepared the G20 countries are to compete in a low-carbon economy. Taken into account are measurements for greenhouse gas emissions, and investment in education. While Australia stands out as the only country less prepared than it was in 1995, France’s results flew high above the rest. France has consistently met the Kyoto protocol, and their clean energy sector employment has increased by 26 percent between 2006 and 2008. Japan and the U.K. followed close behind in terms of being the most prepared for the economic reality of a future low-carbon economy. The United States was somewhere in the middle.

The Climate Institute encouraged the development of a national energy savings initiative for the countries struggling to adapt. They conclude that the countries that can produce more economic output with less pollution will be the countries with the most economic advantages in the future. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: The United Nation’s Climate Technology Centre and Network was finally kickstarted in Durban, and many countries are putting forth proposals to host the site for the landmark centre. Iran’s Research Institute of Petroleum Industry has put forth a bid to host the centre, as well as Shanghai’s South-South Global Assets and Technology Exchange. However, the bid experts describe as the most likely to succeed, is from a diverse collaboration of international organizations led by the UN Environmental Programme, based in Nairobi, Kenya. The Climate Technology Centre’s goal is to enable developing nations to acquire clean energy technology, and facilitate technology transfers between industrial and developing countries. An evaluation committee will meet in Germany on April 2nd to decide on the shortlist of candidates; with a final decision expected by the end of 2012. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: A new study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences refutes claims by the oil industry that they can restore mined land in an environmentally responsible way. Researchers from the University of Alberta conclude reclaimed forests will actually add to the greenhouse gas problem created by the oil sands because the land will not be returned to its original state.

64% of the area dug up for oil sands extraction are boggy peat lands that capture and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The restored land is being replace with drained forests rather than peat land and the changes in water chemistry make it unlikely that peat-producing plants could be re-established. The wetland areas are better at capturing and storing carbon than drier replacement forests and there will be increased risks of forest fires. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: On Monday, March 12th, Quebec’s Municipal Affairs Minister, Laurent Lessard officially announced the “Plan métropolitain d’aménagement et de développement.” (PMAD). This plan, developed in December, tackles the logistics of transportation and housing for the how the population of Montreal over the next 20 years. It is expected that the city will see 530,000 residents by 2032, and PMAD aims to make the region more sustainable, denser, and competitive. Included in the Plan is the call for 40% of new housing to be developed within a kilometer of transit stations–with the goal being to increase public transit use by 35%. As well, it ensures the protection of 17% of the Montreal area as natural space.

It is estimated that $23 billion will be needed to improve the transit options and create new lines. The provincial government has already announced $12 billion in funding for this, through PMAD. A committee will be struck to find financing options for the remaining $11 billion PMAD calls for, according to Montreal Mayor Gerard Tremblay. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: The Great Lakes have been losing ice cover for the last 40 years according to a new study published in the Journal of Climate. The lakes have lost over two thirds of their ice cover in the last four decades which is more than the study’s lead author, ice climatologist Jia Wang, expected. Lake Eerie and Lake St. Clair both lost the least amount at 50% while Lake Ontario lost the most at 88%.

The study is consistent with other climate research says Adam Cornwell, an assistant professor of geography at Lakehead University. The study notes ice cover varies year to year depending on the weather systems but the overall ice decrease is attributed to climate change and can affect fish and marine plants. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: Otto Langer, an aquatic ecologist formerly employed by the federal government, has obtained internal documents revealing some fishy federal business.

Fish habitats have been protected under a section of the Canadian Fisheries Act since 1975; but Langer has come across files he claims show the government trying to worm their way out of of that regulation. The files highlight the intention to remove the requirement to protect fish habitats if deemed not of cultural, economic, or ecological value. Essentially, it would mean that bodies of water not containing fish of human value would not undergo an environmental assessment. If this is to succeed, it would clear the way for faster approval of such megaprogects as the Northern Gateway Pipeline. While Mr. Langer will not reveal his source, the Conservative government does not deny the legitimacy of the documents, and a spokesperson for Fisheries Minister Keith Ashfield said the current policies are unfocused with respect to balancing economic and environmental realities. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: A group of prominent environmental NGOs have released a new report called Dirty Oil Diplomacy which exposes the Canadian government’s strategy to internationally promote the oil sands industry. The Climate Action Network in conjunction with the National Resources Defense Council, Environmental Defense, Equiterre, Greenpeace and the Sierra Club drafted the report in hopes of providing tools to battle the Canadian government’s international lobbying efforts on behalf of the oil sands.

The report includes an introduction to the oil sands, the government’s record on battling climate change, and the de-funding of climate science. It also provides detailed information on the Canadian government’s strategy to influence policy in the U.S. and Europe obtained through access to information legislation. For example, over 110 lobby meetings were held in 2010 between Canadian diplomats and European decision makers regarding the EU’s Fuel Quality Directive. The directive would label fuel derived from Canada’s oil sands as more environmentally harmful than conventional crude. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: On Tuesday, March 13th, twenty controversial alterations to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA) were recommended by the committee charged with fulfilling the Act’s mandatory five-year review.

The recommendations focused on reducing provincial and federal overlap in making assessments of projects with an environmental impact, in hopes of expediting the process. Among their points were that the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency restrict itself to evaluating “projects of environmental significance” and no longer operate on the assumption that all projects deserve review. As well, they called for binding timelines to environmental assessment and more attention to business interests at perhaps the detriment to sustainability.

The committee claimed the recommendations will “modernize” the CEAA. The opposition, however, are calling foul. Green Party Leader Elizabeth May calls the report “death by a thousand cuts” for the CEAA. NDP Environment Critic Megan Leslie called the assessment “fiction”, noting that the Conservative MPs on the committee shut down the review after nine days. Lesile also claimed the committee did not provide adequate notice of the study. Together, these factors disabled key witnesses and stakeholders–the National Energy Board, Aboriginal groups, and the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development among them–from participating fully, if at all. [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN (read by Vanessa Purdy): At the 6th World Water Forum in Marseille this week, the European Environment Agency (EEA) warned that the continent’s water supplies are dwindling and are expected to get worse. The report called out European nations for failing to effectively implement existing water use legislation. The European Environment Agency’s executive director, Jacqueline McGlade explained that an increasing number of regions are experiencing water scarcity due to climate change. Despite this, the behavioral change necessary to conserve limited water resources has not come about.

About a quarter of Europe’s water is used in agriculture. In Southern Europe this figure is at almost 80%. McGlade said the sector has recently been making efforts to use water more efficiently because it makes economic and environmental sense. The report is the first of five that the EEA plans to put out this year. The last one will include environmental recommendations to European policymakers. [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN (read by Vanessa Purdy): This week a technology startup in the U.S. revealed a new type of super-thin solar cell that costs two times less to produce than traditional cells. The company, Twin Creeks Technologies, manufactures the cells using a hydrogen ion particle accelerator to cut silicon blocks into solar wafers that are ten times thinner than the standard ones.

The production process is also highly efficient. Normally, solar wafers are cut from a silicon block using a saw. This creates massive waste. The new process uses a stream of hydrogen gas to “exfoliate” a super-thin sheet of silicon from the block without damaging it. Almost the entire block can be used, so there is very little waste. The company says it does not plan to make solar panels itself, but will sell its system – which can be incorporated into existing solar factories – to other manufacturers. [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN (read by Vanessa Purdy): A study released this week suggests that the shrinking Greenland ice sheet may be closer to its tipping point than previously thought. The study says that if the average global temperature reaches 1.6 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels the ice sheet will reach a point of no return and irreversibly lose much of its mass. Previous studies have placed the tipping point at 3.1 degrees above preindustrial levels, but the new research depicts a much graver situation.

International climate talks have concentrated on trying to hold global warming at 2 degrees by the end of the century. The new study implies the even this goal would be too warm for winter snows to make up for the ice sheet’s summer melt. Unlike the Arctic ice sheet, which floats on the ocean, the land-topping Greenland ice sheet will significantly increase sea levels as it melts. On top of that, the loss of such a large reflective surface, which currently mitigates the sun’s heat, will further accelerate climate change. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: Poland is opposed to the European Union’s proposal to introduce deeper emissions cuts to meet goals set in the European Commission’s road map for moving to a low-carbon economy in 2050. Poland fears the targets will make electricity more expensive because the country uses coal for over 90 percent of its electric power.

In a statement to his counterparts, Poland’s environment minister says that there is no point in gambling with Europe’s energy future by introducing policies that would put industries in jeopardy. Proposed targets include a 25 percent reduction of CO2 emissions from 1990 levels by 2020, 40 percent by 2030, and 80 percent by 2050. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: Several thousand demonstrators have taken to the streets in Peru’s eastern Amazon to protest the government’s new laws against illegal gold mining. Under the new law, people found operating mines illegally or breaking environmental rules face up to 10 years in jail. The government hopes the law will encourage miners to get permits and to stop polluting the environment.

Large portions of the jungle have been destroyed and waterways have been contaminated with high levels of mercury. A spokesperson for the demonstrators says illegal miners face bureaucratic hurdles in gaining the right permits and believe the government should be helping them rather than handing over permits to large multinational corporations. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW: A UN team is in Australia investigating claims that activity from the fossil fuel industry is damaging the Great Barrier Reef. The reef, located off the coast of Queensland, holds Unesco World Heritage status and is home to 400 types of coral and 1500 species of fish.

Environmentalists are concerned increased coal mining, shipping, and exploratory drilling for oil and gas in the area will threaten the survival of the reef. They want the government to suspend all new developments until a federal review can be completed regarding the health of the reef. The Unesco team will visit the reef for a week and meet with members of the government before making recommendations to the World Heritage Committee. [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN (read by Vanessa Purdy): The Canadian government is joining a United States-led coalition that aims to reduce “short-lived” climate pollutants. Canada has committed $3 million to kick-start global talks about the problem. “Short-lived” pollutants include methane, black carbon, and hydrofluorocarbons. They account for over a third of global warming. Right now, the coalition is fairly small. It is made up of the U.S., Canada, Bangladesh, Mexico, Sweden, and Ghana. Still, Environment Minister Peter Kent called it a “critical step forward”. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said if the group does everything it has set out to do “it be will be looked back on as a real turning point”.

Participating countries will start looking for ways to reduce emissions of methane from sources like coal mines, landfills, the oil and gas industry, and agriculture. According to the UN, a global plan to reduce emissions of shortlived pollutants could curtail global warming by 0.5 degree Celsius by 2050. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW (read by Ari Rabinovitch): The European Union remains undecided as to whether oil derived from Canada’s oil sands is more polluting than conventional crude. On Thursday, commission members voted on a proposal to revise the EU’s Fuel Directive, a mandatory target for fuel producers and suppliers to lower carbon emissions by 6 percent from 2010 levels by 2020. The revision assigns a larger carbon footprint to fuel coming from Canada’s oil sands which is strongly opposed by the Canadian government.

Canadian officials have threatened to take the EU to the World Trade Organization for unfairly targeting the oil sands but the European Commission believes scientific evidence justifies the proposal. 89 members voted in favour of the revision while 128 members voted against and 128 abstained. [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN (read by Vanessa Purdy): Last Friday a panel of Canadian researchers and science journalists told their international peers about the unprecedented restrictions the Conservative government has imposed on federal scientists’ ability to share their research with the press. The discussion took place during the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which was held in Vancouver this year. Margaret Munro, a veteran science reporter who spoke at the event said “It’s pretty clear that for federal scientists, Ottawa decides now if the researchers can talk, what they can talk about and when they can say it.”

There are now numerous examples of Canadian scientists whose groundbreaking environmental research remains relatively unknown to the public despite being published in well known scientific journals. Meanwhile, a group of six media and science organizations released an open letter calling for Stephen Harper to “tear down the wall” between scientists and journalists. The letter argues that the government is preventing the public from accessing information that directly affects their health, safety, and well-being. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW (read by Ari Rabinovitch): Alberta’s Energy Resources Conservation board has announced new rules that will require companies to publicly disclose chemicals used for shale gas extraction or fracking. The energy regulator will set up a website accessible to the public that can search any provincial well and find out which chemicals have been pumped underground to free gas and oil deposits.

Disclosure has become a requirement in the US and BC after widespread concerns from landowners and environmental groups of water contamination and pollution. Don Bester, president of the Alberta Surface Rights Group, is skeptical companies will comply because a lot of the fracking chemicals are protected under patents. [ index ]

CHRIS GUSEN (read by Vanessa Purdy): On Monday a group of environmental lawyers, physicians and academics expressed concerns that the federal government will endanger public health and safety with its plans to streamline the environmental assessment process. The group, which includes organizations such as West Coast Environmental Law and the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, said it worries that the government’s eagerness to speed up approvals for resource projects will blind it to long-term impacts on people and communities. Ottawa is expected to announce changes to the environmental review process shortly. In tandem with their announcement, the group released a list of 10 principles that should be the basis for environmental assessment laws. The list includes strong and well-funded avenues for public participation; sustainability as the main goal, not economic development; and full involvement of aboriginal governments. [ index ]

CARA CHELLEW (read by Ari Rabinovitch): Under the mantra “if you build it, they will come” the City of Vancouver is investing 800 000 dollars in a new pilot project to make the city ready for the electric car. The project will install 67 new electric vehicle charging stations in public spaces throughout city by the end of next year. Changes in the city’s building code also requires stations be built into new developments.

City staff estimate the number of stations will enter the hundreds which will make the form of transport a viable option for commuters. Stations will be located in parking lots of community centres, parks, offices, and commercial sites and will cost a dollar an hour to charge. [ index ]

KEVIN DEVINE (read by Vanessa Purdy): Big business have often been regarded as an opponent to environmentalism. Christina Figueres, head of the UN climate agency, disagrees. On Tuesday, February 21st, she told the Associated Press quote “a deeper recognition of the fact that the private sector can contribute in a decisive way.” She mentioned her attempts to reach out to international corporations such as Walmart, Coca-Cola and Unilever, as they can be looked as companies who have assessed ways to reduce their carbon footprints.

The focus on companies becomes relevant when many worry that the UN “Earth Summit” climate talks from 20 years ago may not achieve their goal of keeping temperatures within 2 degrees of the preindustrial era. As well, the issue of getting different countries to agree on a common climate act is an ever-present problem.

There is increased pressure given that governments have agreed to draw up a new climate pact by 2015, one that would enter into force five years later. [ index ]

VANESSA PURDY: Predicting how ocean life will change with the growing amount of carbon dioxide being absorbed in large bodies of water has long been the game of scientists with computer models and lab tests. Dr. Jason Hall-Spencer’s undersea research, however, could change all that.

Hall-Spencer, of the school of Marine Science and Engineering at the University of Plymouth, in the United Kingdom. He has been investigating the world’s marine volcanic sites, where carbon dioxide jets naturally fizz from vents on the sea floor. These jets act as a “time machine” of sorts, allowing scientists to take a peek into the future at the acidification process that oceans could undergo–and observe multiple species and entire ecosystems at the same time.

According to Hall-Spencer, with an increase in carbon dioxide that reflect the levels predicted for this century, a 30-per-cent drop in the biodiversity of all plants and animals is observed. This research came to light at the conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which took place in Vancouver last weekend.

Carbon dioxide makes seas corrosive, and it takes only a small increase in temperature to push struggling species over the edge. Oceanographers predict that by 2030 the Antarctic ocean could become an unliveable habitat for some key organisms. [ index ]

DARYN CAISTER (read by Vanessa Purdy): Everyone knows that renewable energy, while a good idea isn’t ready to replace traditional power sources in significant way. However, according to a massive scientific study by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, everyone would be wrong. The study, which was presented at a symposium of the American Association for the Advancement of Science detailed that strategic placement of wind and solar resources with current technology as a cheaper as well as cleaner technology, could supply up to 70 percent of electricity demand in the lower 48 states by 2030. NOAA based their data on 16 billion collated pieces of independent meteorological observations along with average cost per kilowatt hour prices for tradition generation, and combined the with geographical information system models to detail the most resilient distribution of resources to supply low carbon power to the United States.

While studies of this type have been done before, this one is significantly larger, as well as having additionally considered consumption patterns both spatially and during different times of the year. The study is one of the first major studies to consider peak usage times with the variability of the resources during the year on such a large scale. At the conference, an open letter was also issued to Prime Minister Stephen Harper to stop muzzling federal researchers as they say the evidence for the economic and environmental benefits to alternative energy among other issues mounts with blind eyes and ears at the federal level both in the US and Canada. [ index ]