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Meeting the Challenge: Recommendations for Budget 2009 also highlights recommendations on energy efficiency, renewable energy, mineral exploration, migratory birds, and integrating environmental values into policy. It suggests failing to take action now will create real costs for Canadians in the future and increase environmental risks.

• Effective carbon pricing either through a cap-and-trade system or a tax. Establishing a price on carbon would make Canada a global leader and provide credibility during negotiations towards the next global climate agreement.
• Safeguarding Canada's waters and watersheds through a federal water strategy. Restoring and protecting the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence basin.
• Conserving Canada's treasured oceans and lands through partnerships and investments to establish marine protected areas, complete terrestrial protected areas.

Raised in British Columbia, Fulton was elected to the House of Commons in 1979 and served for 14 years as a Member of Parliament. He was the NDP environment critic, forestry and fisheries critic, and the party's spokesman on aboriginal affairs.

"This is a big loss for Canada. He was a great voice for the environment across Canada. He was one of the guys who was a vanguard of the environment, starting 20 years ago." said Jim Hoggan, executive director of the David Suzuki Foundation.

Fulton's passing leaves a notable hole in the environmental community. He fought hard for First Nation interests along the B.C. coast. He may be remembered for slamming a dead salmon onto the desk of then-Prime Minister Brian Mulroney during a heated debate over policies blocking spawning salmon in his riding.

Changes come into effect this January 2009 and allow government agencies to bypass a review by either the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The agency received nearly 235,000 public comments with at least 208,000 in opposition to this change. Federal agencies undertaking projects like road and power plant construction will now make their own assessment, accelerating the process.

"These midnight regulations are part of a continuing effort by the Bush administration to repeal our landmark environmental laws through the back door and weaken protections for our nation's endangered species," said Sen. Barbra Boxer (D-Calif.) in a statement.

Separately, the Interior finalized a special rule for polar bears, which were listed as threatened in May because of global warming. The rule is designed to prevent the Endangered Species Act from being used and allow oil and gas development in areas where bears live.

Dr. Steven Chu, an energy specialist and Nobel Prize winner, becomes the new Energy Secretary. Chu has strongly advocated for controlling greenhouse gas emissions and will play a central role in directing research and development of alternative energy sources.

Lisa Jackson, former head of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection will head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Nancy Sutley, current deputy mayor of Los Angeles for energy and environment, will be the head of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Carol Browner, EPA chief under Bill Clinton, will be Obama's National Energy Advisor.

Obama's new science advisor, John P. Holdren is expected to provide bold suggestions for action to address global warming. Holdren will head the Office of Science and technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President.

Researchers monitored satellite images of ice collected by the NASA GRACE satellite. Findings released December 2008 at the American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco suggest melting ice from Greenland, Antarctica and Alaska has contributed to raising global sea levels.

Warming of the climate around Greenland is believed to have accelerated ice melt and flow of landlocked glaciers migrating out into the ocean, forming floating ice shelves. Greenland has been losing glacial mass for the past 50 years.

NASA has funded an experiment that placed 90 rubber ducks into a drainage hole on the Greenland ice to test how melt waters flow along subglacial channels. No sign has been see of the bathtub toys since they were deposited September 2008.

The plan proposed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa would use a combination of residential, commercial and municipally owned photovoltaic systems to generate 1,280 megawatts of solar power.

The plan would purchase about 500 megawatts generated from private plants in the Mojave Desert, 380 megawatts would come from solar panels on residential rooftops, and another 400 megawatts from panels on city-owned buildings.

LA's 276 days of sunshine makes the sun its most abundant natural energy resource. The plan is expected to cost each Los Angeles resident an extra 2 dollars each month once complete but could create 200 to 400 jobs for every 10 megawatts of solar power.

Environmental Defence released 11 Million Litres a Day: Tar Sands' Leaking Legacy. The author, Matt Price, wants the Canadian federal government to step in since contamination is crossing jurisdictional boundaries from Alberta into Saskatchewan and Northwest Territories.

Hot water is used to separate the oil from the sand and tailings ponds hold this contaminated waste. The report says that if proposed projects move ahead by 2012 the annual leakage rate could increase to 25 billion litres a year.

Alberta's government environmental office says the report falsely gives the impression that leaks enter surface waters and said most of the waste is going into deep aquifers that are already naturally contaminated by the geology of the oilsands.

Agriculture Minister Rosann Wowchuk says it's all about helping the industry adapt to the threat of climate change. "We want to look at what kind of programs we can put in place to assist the industry to improve the environmental protection they can provide," Wowchuk says.

The first study asks for development of a cradle-to-grave analysis of Manitoba agriculture from production cycles for crops used for food, feed, forage, pharmaceuticals, bio-products and livestock.

The second tender asks for an environmental farm portrait of the effects of management practices. Both studies will focus on the sustainability of agriculture sector practices.

In a speech on the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, d'Escoto Brockman said, "We should recognize that the right to water is a human right, and water cannot therefore be treated as a commodity that is bought and sold."

"President d'Ecoto's endorsement of water as a human right is a call to action," says Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians and recently appointed Senior Advisor on Water Issues to the President of the General Assembly of the United Nations. "This is a wonderful opportunity to advance a more democratic and transparent method of policy making around water at the global level. Water is a commons, a public trust, and a human right."

Barlow stressed that the water crisis facing the world is two-dimensional: ecological and human. She pointed out that the abuse of water through pollution and displacement was among the major causes of climate change.

A resolution passed at the BC First Nations Summit held in Vancouver called on the federal government to establish an independent First Nations environmental review process of the proposed $4-billion twin pipeline.

"Gateway is a major project with significant risks. Yet the federal government is advancing a decision-making process for Gateway without any provision for addressing Aboriginal Rights and Title. This is unacceptable," says David de Wit, Natural Resources Manager at the Office of the Wet'suwet'en.

Gateway is the most complex pipeline undertaken in North America, crossing three mountain ranges and impacting 50 First Nations. It is slated to undergo a Joint Review Panel process in early 2009 but has been developed with little Aboriginal input to date.

In a unanimous decision, St. Lawrence Cement Inc. will pay damages to 2,000 people of Quebec City who complained the plant was interfering with their enjoyment. The class action was launched in 1994; the plant was closed in 1997.

"This is a massive victory," said Will Amos, a lawyer for the environmental group Ecojustice. "It is going to make it much easier for citizens to make environmental-nuisance complaints, they are not going to have to prove fault or wrongdoing. They have only to prove that an abnormal annoyance occurred. That is absolutely critical."

The decision means polluters can be successfully sued for emitting annoying odours, dust or noise even when in compliance with government regulations. The court said polluters must pay "based on the annoyances suffered by the victim being excessive, rather than on the conduct of the person who allegedly caused them."

The noticed filed by the band in Edmonton Court of Queen's Bench claims oilsands permits sold to Shell Canada and other companies are invalid. Until the band is consulted with, they are asking the court to overturn the permits and stop further developments.

The Alberta government argues that because no actual development occurs when an exploration permit is sold, consultation is not necessary. The courts have ruled many times on government's legal duty to consult with First Nations regarding actions, which may infringe Aboriginal treaty or constitutional rights.