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IBM, Nokia, Pitney Bowes and Sony launched Eco-Patent Commons in January 2008 in partnership with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). Patents are made available to the public on a website hosted by the WBCSD and membership is open to all individuals and companies.

Free, easy to understand summaries of the patents are provided in an effort to help other companies solve their own environmental problems. Patents involve innovations directly related to the environment or innovations in manufacturing or business processes.

The addition of Bosch, DuPont and Xerox has more than doubled the total number of eco-patents available. Xerox has contributed technology which reduces the time and cost of removing toxic waste from water and soil. One of DuPont's patents uses enzymes to convert non-recyclable plastics into fertilizer and Bosch's automotive technologies lower fuel consumption and reduce emissions.

Tim Lang, a professor and advisor to cabinet office suggests an easy to understand "food flower" on packaging. Each petal represents a different impact of food sustainability. Lang suggests criteria include water use, carbon footprint, biodiversity, and social implications.

"While governments continue to let the market take its course, ill-informed consumer choices are contributing to massive crises in human health, food security and environmental degradation," said Lang.

These "omni-standards" would educate consumers and guide behavior. People are often confused over contradictory information; for example, there are strong nutritional benefits to eating fish yet over-fishing has significant ecological impacts on our oceans. Lang encourages the UK government to set up an independent body of experts to compile information and address the benefits and impacts of our food.

"Canadians are concerned and trying to do their part but we have some of the weakest laws in the industrialized world and that's why global warming pollution in Canada is projected to keep growing," said Tzeporah Berman, Executive Director of PowerUP Canada. "We're going to make sure Canadians have a place to voice their concerns and get the information they need to clarify the difference between real climate leadership and spin."

PowerUP Canada will provide Canadians with a positive new vision for Canada, provide non-partisan information about global warming and a common campaign to amplify citizens' voices, clarify federal parties' and candidates' climate positions, host public events, and build an online networking community.

PowerUP Canada also released a new national poll that clearly shows the majority of Canadians believe stronger climate laws will improve our economy.

"There is no doubt that the climate crisis will be pivotal in the upcoming federal election," said Stephen Hazell, executive director of Sierra Club Canada.

• commit to a greenhouse gas reduction target in line with what science shows is necessary
• have a sufficiently detailed plan to credibly attain the target

Jean Langlois, Sierra Club's national campaigns director, said the parties could have a chance to score better in a final report card to be released during the anticipated election by beefing up its climate commitments. Mr. Langlois added he expected the Parties to introduce more details of their policies during the election campaign that could allow them to score higher.

• Bloc Québécois: B-                  • Liberal Party: B+
• Conservative Party: F+            • New Democratic Party: B
• Green Party: A-

The Sierra Club gave the five parties a draft of its evaluation of their policies mid-August to give them a chance to respond to criticism or correct mistakes, Mr. Langlois said.

The publicly owned utility aims to build a new direct current line in order to improve retention of power as it is transmitted, while also increasing security on the province's system. Concerns about weather events means that an additional corridor would decrease risk to the transmission system.

The dates and locations are posted on Manitoba Hydro's web site and on the Manitoba Wildlands calendar.

Controversy about route options for Bi Pole III has been evident in the Manitoba Legislature and some media outlets. Manitoba's NDP government announced in 2007 that the province's intact east side boreal region would not be transected by hydro lines and corridors, and directed Manitoba Hydro to proceed with a corridor on the west side of the province.

The 336,000 ha Niginganiq (nee geen ga nik) National Wildlife Area (Isabella Bay) is a marine region on Baffin Island that is a crucial feeding area for threatened bowhead whales. The area also includes a shallow shelf at the entrance to the bay for predatory orca whales. Polar bears, ringed seals, Canada geese, snow geese, halibut, and narwhal are also found in and around the area.

The Akpait (ak pa eet) and Qaqulluit (ka koo loo eet) NWAs near Qikiqtarjuaq (kick-ih-TAR-jew-ack) (Broughton Island) are known for significant populations of seabirds including one of Canada's largest Thick-billed Murre colonies, and Canada's largest colony of Northern Fulmars.

"Inuit began negotiations for the three National Wildlife Areas plus two already established, and eight Migratory Bird Sanctuaries in Nunavut in 2001. Today's historic signing brings that work . . . to an end, and makes our years of struggles worthwhile. This is a big day for Inuit," said Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. Acting President, James Eetoolook.

Shrinking and thinning glaciers - a phenomenon linked to climate change - are a major concern; freshwater supplies for hundreds of millions of people could be at risk, authors Peter Gilruth and Wilfried Haeberli said.

According to the UNEP and WGMS study Global Glacier Changes: Fact and Figures, the average melting rate of mountain glaciers has doubled since the turn of the millennium (2000). During the period 1996-2005 glaciers also lost twice the ice loss of the previous decade (1986-95) and over four times the rate of the period 1976-85.

The report comes shortly after scientists warned that they could no longer rule out a fast-track melting of the Greenland ice sheet, which could see much of the world's coastline drowned by rising seas.

Those in favor of the fee point to dirty oceans, sewers fouled with plastic and millions of dollars in litter-cleanup costs. Opponents - mainly bag-industry and taxpayer organizations - say plastic bags draw more blame than they deserve and the fee would be a burden on consumers. About 80 percent of bags given out in the state's supermarkets are plastic.

Both sides expect a fee would drive shoppers to switch to reusable bags. After Ireland imposed a fee on plastic checkout-counter bags in 2002, their use dropped by about 90 percent.

The move to put a price on disposable bags follows the lead of more than a dozen local governments, from the city of San Francisco to Los Angeles County - that have proposed or passed plastic-bag restrictions, ranging from recycling mandates to outright bans.

He challenged America to generate 100% of its electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources that do not lead to global warming -- and to do it within 10 years.

In his address, Gore asserted that America's "dangerous over-reliance on carbon-based fuels is at the core of all three of these challenges - the economic, environmental and national security crises." Gore further argued that the answer to all three crises is to end US dependence on carbon-based fuels. He argues that meeting this ambitious goal would create millions of new jobs, lead to permanently lower energy costs for families, and help America lead the fight against global warming.

Gore's challenge to America has become an element of the current US Presidential race.

• compulsory water metering
• more water efficient homes
• greater use to be made of rainwater harvesting
• more green spaces to "cool" the city
• steps to reduce leaks from water mains through extension and improvement of the city's Victorian-era drainage system.

Green Party London Assembly member Jenny Jones said the measures contained "nothing new" and were "inadequate". "These are all good measures, we have got to do all these things," she said, "But where are the big new ideas?" Ms. Jones also added, "If the mayor ignores the contribution transport makes to climate change, he is ignoring a major part of the problem."

Global warming is expected to give London and its surrounding area longer, hotter summers as well as warmer, wetter winters with added problems of more frequent heat waves, droughts and flash floods from rising sea levels and downpours.

The release follows a 2001 draft management plan publicly reviewed that year. A report on public input was released in 2002. Neither the 2001 draft management plan nor the report on public input are available on the Manitoba Conservation website.

Manitoba Conservation indicates it conducted further discussions regarding the management plan for Atikaki and the Bloodvein Heritage River with 'selected stakeholders' in 2004 and 2005. No materials or documentation of this process are publicly available, and no public registry file was opened.

Communities affected by the Park and Heritage River have informed Manitoba Wildlands they were not notified, or given an opportunity to comment on the plan as released.

Released by the Canadian Energy Efficiency Alliance (CEEA), an energy industry based organization, the report card gives all 14 Canadian jurisdictions a passing grade. Manitoba received an A+ for increasing efficiency requirements for new homes and the Green Building Policy for government funded projects. Manitoba also reported the highest per capita spending on energy efficiency in the country.

"It is good to see this kind of acknowledgement of Manitoba's programs for energy efficiency. The lack of transparency and detail as to the assessment for each criteria to show how grades are arrived at weakens this ranking. Our recommendation would be for the CEEA to take steps to improve their methods, as this will reflect well on utilities and governments being graded," Gaile Whelan Enns told Manitoba Wildlands.

The CEEA releases the report card every two years. It is based on 9 parameters including codes and standards of energy efficiency, initiatives to reduce fuel consumption, public outreach, and regulation on utilities.