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- Arctic Ocean Full of Biodiversity Surprises
- Cottages at First Nation Sacred Site Opposed
- Mining Watchdog Exposes DFO
- World's Water Supply - WBCSD Report
- Canada to Regulate Large Emitter GHGs
- Global Fisheries Crisis - 5 Things To Do
- Siberia Melting
- Elizabeth May Receives Order of Canada
- Water For Life Conference Announced
- ANWR Vote Approaches, Canada's PM Weighs In
- Governments Work Together on Emissions
- US Senators Tour Yukon
| Arctic Ocean Full of Biodiversity Surprises | 21 September 05 |
 Recent exploration of the Arctic Ocean by a University of Alaska led team of scientists has uncovered previously unknown species of jellyfish and worms.The scientists used robot submarines and sonar to probe an isolated 12,470-foot (3,800-metre) basin off Canada's Arctic coast where they fear species could be at risk from global warming. They were surprised by the abundance and diversity of life that they encountered on their expedition - animals on the sea floor, sea cucumbers, and all kinds of jellyfish and crustaceans. Some of the species are completely new to science. The team said the data would help measure the impact of climate change and, should polar caps continue receding, the damage done by increased energy exploitation, fishing and shipping. View the full August 1, 2005 Reuters article on Planet Ark View the August 1, 2005 photo on Planet Ark Sources: Reuters/Planet Ark
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| Cottages at First Nation Sacred Site Opposed | 16 September 05 |
 Despite intentions to conduct land use planning before development on the East Side of Lake Winnipeg, the Manitoba government is proceeding with plans for another cottage development on a significant First Nation sacred site.Located on the Winnipeg River, in the traditional territory of Sagkeeng First Nation, the site includes original riverbank and upland boreal forest habitat for several listed and endangered species. Despite this First Nation sacred site containing significant petroforms also including some of the last remaining intact riparian forest along the Winnipeg River, the urgency to protect the site is being ignored. Land use plans and traditional occupancy studies have not been undertaken, and provincial and Aboriginal archeological reviews have barely begun. Instead of investigating fully first, and listening to the majority of local residents who are opposed to the cottage development, the Manitoba government is continuing the cottage development process. Cottage development is also in conflict with Manitoba's Heritage Resources Act. According to the government's own web site, "[u]nder terms of this law, it is illegal to collect, move or alter objects of archaeological or heritage significance..." Manitoba Wildlands director Gaile Whelan Enns observed, "There are no protected lands along the Winnipeg River. This situation looks like the government is forgetting its own commitments for land use planning and protected areas - while avoiding its responsibilities for petroforms." View the September 14, 2005 First Nation Elders, Silver Falls Concerned Residents, and Manitoba Wildlands press release (DOC) View the September 12, 2005 background document on the Silver Falls West Sacred Site (DOC) View the September 15, 2005 Canadian Press article (DOC) View the September 16, 2005 Winnipeg Sun article (DOC) View Manitoba Wildlands Map of Silver Falls and Sagkeeng First Nation Area Visit the Government of Manitoba web page on Manitoba Petroforms Sources: First Nation Elders, Silver Falls Concerned Residents, Manitoba Wildlands, Government of Manitoba |
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| Mining Watchdog Exposes DFO | 14 September 05 |
 A June 2005 Mining Watch Canada report, Protecting Fish/Protecting Mines - What is the real job of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans? says Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has allowed extensive destruction of fish habitat from mining development. DFO is the federal agency mandated to manage and protect fish and fish habitat in inland waters. The report says DFO ignores its own mandate and advice from independent scientists. The report was released with Sierra Club Canada, the Suzuki Foundation, and Sierra Legal Defense Fund.Highly critical of the policies and practices of DFO, the report looks at fisheries policy as well as specific case studies that illustrate: lack of a scientific basis for decision-making; lack of monitoring or follow up; and disregard for processes like environmental assessment that are supposed to encourage public participation. The study makes specific recommendation as to how to remedy the situation and concludes that DFO must act on its regulatory responsibilities to protect fish and fish habitat. View the full June 28, 2005 press release (PDF) View the summary of the report Protecting Fish/Protecting Mines - What is the real job of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans? (PDF) View the full report Protecting Fish/Protecting Mines - What is the real job of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans? (PDF) Source: MiningWatch Canada
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| World's Water Supply - WBCSD Report | 14 September 05 |
 A new report by the World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD) delves into questions such as 'Where are our fresh water supplies located and how are they being used?' 'Are we draining this precious resource faster than nature can replenish it?'These are important questions, given that three quarters of the Earth's surface is covered in water, yet only half a per cent of the water on the planet is available for use by humans. The WBCSD's Water Facts and Trends provides a helpful overview of the world's water supplies for policy-makers, media and individuals interested in what's happening to the world's water supply. View the August 23, 2005 World Business Council on Sustainable Development article View the report: Water Facts and Trends (PDF) Source: World Business Council on Sustainable Development
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| Canada to Regulate Large Emitter GHGs | 14 September 05 |
 Six GHGs were added to Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) September 3, 2005 in a step towards the regulation of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and Canada making good on its Kyoto commitments.This is a necessary step for large final emitters required to meet the 45 megatonne reduction target set out in Canada's Climate Change Plan. The Plan clearly states the preferred option for implementing the Large Final Emitters system is through CEPA. Publication of a draft regulation setting out the elements of the Large Final Emitters system is planned before December 2005. Discussions with provinces have also begun on possible equivalency agreements. A series of 'consultative' workshops across Canada are scheduled during September, 2005. The amendment to Schedule 1 of the CEPA adds the following GHGs:
View the September 3, 2005 Canada Gazette: Order Adding Toxic Substances to Schedule 1 to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 Source: Government of Canada
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| Global Fisheries Crisis - 5 Things To Do | 07 September 05 |
 Dr. Robert Rangeley and Josh Laughren, both of WWF Canada, have released recommendations on Canada's role in solving the global fisheries crisis. According to WWF Canada's Marine Programme Director for the Atlantic Region and their Marine Conservation Programme Director, there are five steps that must be taken in the short term to stop the destruction of our fisheries:1) Base decisions on science - which includes ecosystem based and precautionary approaches 2) Prohibit bottom-trawling and other harmful forms of fishing in sensitive areas. 3) Reduce bycatch (the portion of the catch every year that is thrown back overboard, dead - including 300,000 whales and dolphins, tens of thousands of seabirds, thousands of endangered sea turtles, and millions of tonnes of juvenile fish that are the foundation of the next generation) 4) Invest in better technology so that fewer non-targeted fish will be killed, with less damage to habitat 5) Stop illegal fishing, especially by foreign fleets on the high seas. View the full August 10, 2005 WWF Canada editorial Sources: WWF Canada
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| Siberia Melting | 07 September 05 |
 The world's largest frozen peat bog is turning into a mass of shallow lakes as the ground melts, according to Russian researchers, and could unleash billions of tonnes of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. Methane is 20 times as potent a greenhouse gas as carbon dioxide.The bog covers an area stretching for a million square kilometres (the size of Germany and France) across the permafrost of western Siberia. Sergei Kirpotin, a botanist at Tomsk State University describes the melting as an 'ecological landslide that is probably irreversible and is undoubtedly connected to climatic warming'. He says that the entire western Siberian sub-Arctic region has begun to melt, and this 'has all happened in the last three or four years' and he suspects that some unknown critical threshold has been crossed, which has triggered the melting. Larry Smith of the University of California, Los Angeles, estimates that the west Siberian bog alone contains some 70 billion tonnes of methane, a quarter of all the methane stored on the land surface worldwide. An international research partnership, known as the Global Carbon Project, identified melting permafrost as a major source of feedbacks that could accelerate climate change by releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. View the full August 11, 2005 New Scientist magazine online article Source: New Scientist |
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| Elizabeth May Receives Order of Canada | 07 September 05 |
 The Governor General of Canada appointed Elizabeth May, Executive Director of Sierra Club Canada, as an Officer to the Order of Canada August 29, 2005. This is the top award given to Canadian citizens by the Government of Canada.Ms. May, who was appointed as an Officer to the Order of Canada (O.C) was among 82 new appointments, in effect as of June 29, 2005. Three different levels of membership - Companion, Officer and Member - honour people whose accomplishments vary in degree and scope. The Order of Canada was established in 1967 to recognize outstanding achievement and service in various fields of human endeavor. It is our country`s highest honour for lifetime achievement. A ceremony will be held at a later date to present recipients with their insignia. Congratulations, Elizabeth! View the August 29, 2005 press release from the Governor General of Canada View the August 31, 2005 Sierra Club of Canada press release Sources: Governor General of Canada
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| Water For Life Conference Announced | 31 August 05 |
 Sponsored and organized by the Manitoba Southern Chiefs Organization, the Water For Life conference will be held in Winnipeg October 19th and 20th, 2005.World renowned scientist, environmentalist, and broadcaster David Suzuki will be a featured guest speaker at the conference. Topics will include Lake Winnipeg science, international issues - water and climate change & water and human security, Aboriginal water rights and international law, and strategies for communities and various resource sectors. Visit the Manitoba Southern Chiefs Organization or contact (204) 946-1869. View the Conference agenda (PDF) View the Conference Registration (PDF) Source: Southern Chiefs Organization |
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| ANWR Vote Approaches, Canada's PM Weighs In | 31 August 05 |
 The US Senate's upcoming fall 2005 vote on whether or not to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska to oil exploration and development has groups and prominent individuals, including Canadians opposed to drilling in the ANWR ramping up their campaigns and grabbed the attention of media.In a recent Globe and Mail Op-Ed, former Liberal Prime Minister and current WWF Canada Board MemberJohn Turner made a passionate argument against drilling, citing the future health of the Porcupine caribou herd, not to mention the "muskoxen, wolverines, golden eagles and millions of migratory birds that call the ANWR home". The article sparked a response by Curtis A. Stone, Counselor for Environment, U.S. Embassy, who asserted that the development can occur in an environmentally sensitive fashion. This caused Monte Hummel, WWF Canada President Emeritus, to step into the debate and correct Mr. Stone that "the oil industry's footprint in Alaska has not 'vastly decreased'. Current development sprawls over 1,000 square miles and includes a record of spills, leaks and contamination." Finally, Canada's Prime Minister, Paul Martin, clarified Canada's position on drilling in the ANWR by stating "We will pull out all of the stops in trying to maintain the ecological integrity of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge". WWF Canada is engaged in a campaign to defeat the vote in the US. Their website allows visitors to sign a petition urging Prime Minister Paul Martin to "instruct Canada's Ambassador to the United States to meet immediately with the key members of Congress whose votes are critical to defeating resolutions to drill in the refuge".  Visit the WWF campaign site to keep oil drilling out of ANWR and sign the petitionView the WWF web article "Why we need to say NO to drilling in the Arctic" View John Turner's August 16, 2005 Globe & Mail article (DOC) View Curtis A. Stone's August 20, 2005 Globe & Mail article (DOC) View Monte Hummel's August 23, 2005 Globe & Mail article (DOC) View the August 24, 2004 Globe & Mail article on the Prime Minister's ANWR statements (DOC) Sources: WWF Canada, Globe and Mail |
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| Governments Work Together on Emissions | 31 August 05 |
 Northeastern states in the US are working together at the regional level to draft an agreement to introduce mandatory controls on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Environmental groups on both sides of the Canada-US border are urging the states and provinces to take a cross-border regional approach to greenhouse gas reduction.Nine US states - stretching from New Jersey to Maine - are expected to announce a plan next month to freeze carbon dioxide emissions from big power stations by 2009 and then reduce them by 10% by 2020. The outline of the northeastern states' draft agreement was published August 24, 2005 in the New York Times. A coalition of environmental advocates in Canada and the United States released their second annual report card on climate change action for northeastern North America in Fredericton August 20, 2005. They appealed to provincial and state leaders to take a regional approach to greenhouse gas reduction or risk missing their 2001 targets. The governors of New England and premiers of Quebec and the Atlantic provinces approved an action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2010. David Coon, of the New Brunswick Conservation Council, said a co-operative planning approach is needed to prevent situations in which, for example, New Brunswick would reduce its energy use and emissions but increase emissions due to energy in its exports to cities, such as Boston, in times of high energy demand. The premiers and governors will discuss their progress on the climate change agreement when they meet in St. John's, Newfoundland August 2005. View the August 23, 2005 Canadian Press article on CNEWS View the August 25, 2005 Guardian Unlimited article Sources: Canadian Press, Guardian Unlimited |
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| US Senators Tour Yukon | 25 August 05 |
 The Yukon government welcomed four United States senators on their way to Alaska as part of a trip to witness first-hand the effects of climate change in the North.Senator John McCain (R Ariz.), Senators Susan Collins (R Me.), Hillary Rodham Clinton (D N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham (R S.C.) visited Whitehorse, August 15, 2005. The senators viewed melting in the Friday/Alligator ice patch, which has revealed a large quantity of hunting artifacts, biological specimens and other sources of paleo-environmental information. To conclude their trip, the senators touched down in the traditional fishing camp of Klukshu Village to witness the salmon run and speak with First Nation youth and Elders about climate change impacts in their traditional territory. Following the visit, the US senators said signs of rising temperatures on Earth are obvious and they called on Congress to act. They felt they had observed effects that will provide them with more ammunition in the fight for a bill, co-sponsored by McCain and Connecticut Democrat Joe Lieberman, to cap US greenhouse gas emissions. The United States is the biggest emitter of heat-trapping carbon dioxide, which many scientists have linked to global warming. The White House has warned that mandatory caps on greenhouse gas emissions could stunt US economic growth. View the Yukon Government August 15, 2005 press release View the Whitehorse Star article View the August 18, 2005 Reuters article on Planet Ark Sources: Government of Yukon, Reuters / Planet Ark |
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