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Spokesperson George Stroumboulopoulos, host of The Hour, launched the challenge on his daily show on CBC TV. Endorsements from personalities Canadians see each week on CBC dramas are featured on the One Million Acts of Green web site.

The website challenges and connects Canadians from coast to coast to coast. It's a virtual gathering place where people can add their green acts, view content, post photos and videos, create groups, and challenge others to act.

In the first week almost 100,000 acts of green were posted by Canadians. Social networking around acts of green, exchange of ideas, and commentaries keep the site busy and open. Environmental Defense Canada, the Suzuki Foundation and other environmental organizations are partners with CBC in this on-line environmental social network and challenge.

Barlow was appointed by Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, president of the UN general council, to achieve Water for Life program goals (2005-2015). The United Nations estimates 42,000 people die each week from diseases related to bad water and poor sanitization.

"There has been growing momentum in the international community for water justice," says Barlow. "I also plan to take this opportunity to get the Canadian government to change its shameful position, and to finally join the international community in recognizing water as a human right."

Barlow has written 16 books, is the national chairperson of the Council of Canadians, and co-founder of the Blue Planet Project. The unpaid position strengthens her campaign for Canadian legislation that would ban the commercial export of water.

Outdated economic priorities have focused on short-term exploitation of the world's resources. The plan addresses the loss of natural capital and reliance on fossil fuels as the underlying cause of the financial, fuel, and food crisis of 2008.

"We are pushing, if not pushing past, the limits of what the planet can sustain," says Achim Steiner, UN Environmental Programme's Executive Director. "If we go on as we are today's crisis will seem mild indeed compared to the crises of tomorrow".

The European Commission and the German and Norwegian governments are already funding the 'Global Green New Deal' initiative, spearheaded by the UNEP. UNEP is proposing a two-year, $4 million study of these ideas.

Dow AgroSciences filed a $2 million notice of action against the Canadian federal government in August 2008. The company argues that Quebec is basing the ban on non-scientific criteria, which breaches provisions under Chapter 11 of NAFTA.

The chemical has been used for decades in dozens of countries. Health Canada ruled this year that 2,4-D could be used safely according to label directions but studies have linked the chemical to cancer, neurological impairment and reproductive problems.

Quebec and Ontario have taken steps to introduce more stringent standards on cosmetic pesticides. In June, Ontario passed legislation to ban more than 300 pesticide products. In April of 2006 Quebec pulled more than 200 products from store shelves.

The dam's construction would flood more than 300 sq km of land, displacing over 60,000 people and destroying historical ruins from ancient Mesopotamia. So far Turkey has failed to ensure proper relocation of people, protect cultural heritage, or meet environmental standards.

Turkey has received an Environmental Failure Notice and has 60 days to prove it can implement more than 150 social and environmental prerequisites. If not met, Germany, Austria and Switzerland will oppose credit guarantees.

The Ilisu dam is part of a larger system of 22 dams and 19 hydroelectric plants to be completed within the Kurdish region in the next decade. Environmentalists all over the world have been campaigning against this project on the Tigris River.

Vancouver is a North American leader with a goal to reduce GHG emissions to 33 percent below current levels by 2020 and 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.

Calgary's Plan sets out a target to reduce the City's GHG emissions to 50 percent below the 1990 level by 2012.

Regina's Plan sets out GHG reduction by retrofitting facilities, using efficient street lighting, and converting 70 vehicles to natural gas.

Winnipeg's Plan aims to bring civic emissions down to 69,500 tonnes or a 20 percent reduction from 1998 levels by 2012.

Montreal's Plan sets specific actions for vehicles, processes, buildings, and sharing of information. They have committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2012 based on 2002 emissions.

Halifax has approved a plan to reduce GHGs from municipal operation by 20 percent from 2002 levels by 2012. Their plan focuses on energy reduction in buildings and homes and promoting alternative transportation.

Greenhouse gas emissions raise atmospheric temperatures, causing Arctic ice to melt at an alarming rate. There has been a thirty-year downward trend in Arctic ice extent and the 2008 September low was 34% less ice than the long-term average from 1979 to 2000.

"The Arctic is a bellwether for change that is coming globally and is coming much faster than any of the models suggested it should," said David Barber, an ice specialist at the University of Manitoba.

Sea ice has a natural cooling effect as solar energy is reflected off its white surface. Ice loss increases energy absorption by dark ocean waters, altering the jet stream and global circulation patterns.

The Sandy River's Marmot Dam in Oregon was decommissioned in 2007 after 100 years of operation. The dam's owner PGE plans to help improve wild salmon and steelhead habitat, permanently protecting riparian environment along rivers impacted by the project, and expand recreational opportunities in the basin.

PGE is donating water rights to Oregon, while nearly 1,500 acres of Portland General Electric's (PGE) Sandy River Basin land is being given to the Western Rivers Conservancy for a planned 9,000-acre conservation and recreation area.

In New Hampshire, removal of the Merrimack Village Dam, which dates back to 1880, is in progress. Pennichuck Corporation acquired the dam in 1964 to protect and control a source of drinking water supply for the region. Studies determined the costs of repairing and maintaining the dam did not justify the benefits of keeping it.

In Washington State planning is well underway for removal of a concrete dam on the north fork of Little Hoquiam River, which frees up water rights, so the City of Hoquiam can drill wells as a more reliable source of water. The dam was a water source until the early 1980s, but the city currently uses surface water for drinking water.

The community is 220 kilometers north of Fort McMurray, downstream from major oilsands development and forestry mills. In 2006, Dr. O'Connor called for a health review of the community after raising concerns about the number of colon, liver, blood and bile-duct cancer patients in the area.

Health Canada filed five complaints against the doctor for speaking out, charges which could have resulted in the loss of his licence. In March 2007, the Alberta Medical Association passed a motion supporting Dr. O'Connor.

In the category of best short documentary, three to five of the short-listed documentaries will be nominated for an Oscar. Awards will be handed out February 22, 2009.

Houston, America's energy capital, has released a plan to reduce carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gas emissions to 11 percent below 2005 by 2010. The plan sets targets for buying renewable power and increasing building energy efficiency.

London, England's climate action plan sets out annual CO2 emissions reductions from existing homes of 7.7 million tones by 2025. San Francisco's climate plan commits to reducing overall green house gases 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.

Chicago's goal is to reach an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2050 with the sharpest reduction occurring by 2020. The City has installed solar panels on City buildings and schools and has reduced the cost of heating hot water in more than 20 City buildings by 70 percent.

The 21-page draft report, A Federal Perspective on Water Quantity Issues, by Environment Canada from December 2007, indicates water shortages could threaten Canada's economy and security over freshwater resources.

The report identifies unsustainable industrial consumption of water in the energy and agricultural sectors. It forecasts conflicts over the allocation of water between provinces and the United States as droughts, and groundwater shortages become commonplace.

The report says Canada's federal government needs a hands-on approach in managing water. The COC and MiningWatch Canada are calling for a national water policy to protect our freshwater resources, ban bulk water exports and recognize water as a human right.

A quarter of the Earth's 5,487 known mammals are at risk of extinction and 188 are "critically endanger". Primates and marine mammals, including whales, dolphins and porpoises are the most vulnerable.

"We must now set clear targets for the future to reverse this trend to ensure that our enduring legacy is not to wipe out many of our closest relatives." Julia Marton-Lefevre, IUCN director general.

Habitat loss and degradation affects 40 percent of the world's mammals and climate change is an emerging threat. The World Conservation Union annual Red List shows that conservation biology and action backed by research can help save nearly extinct species, while preventing increased risk to others.