RSS Feeds:
News |
- Zonolite Contaminated By Asbestos
- NAFTA North American Emissions Inventory
- Finance Minister Grilled on Kyoto
- Red River Floodway Hearings Start
- Lake Winnipeg Stewardship Board Reports
- Threats, Crisis and Hope for Coral Reefs
- Canada Must Act to Halt Devils Lake Project
- US Greens Ask Canada to Regulate Car Emissions
- Dion Calls For Quebec Hydro Panel
- Colombian Indigenous People Fight Hydro
- Tahltan Elders Occupy Band Office
- Oil and Gas Spending - Undermines Kyoto Commitment
| Zonolite Contaminated By Asbestos | 01 March 05 |
 Former Manitoba premier Howard Pawley says the federal and provincial governments could face lawsuits if they don't take immediate action to help people exposed to the asbestos-contaminated Zonolite insulation.Pawley is providing legal advice to one of Canada's top experts on asbestos research. The former New Democrat premier says he's very concerned about the lack of understanding of the risk some Canadians face, whether they worked in a plant that processed the insulation, or whether they have it in their homes. It's estimated some 300,000 houses across Canada are insulated with contaminated vermiculite from a Winnipeg plant and others, which closed in recent years. Pawley says documentation shows health officials in Canada knew of the risks of Zonolite in the 1960s. "I believe the federal government is very much exposed, from a legal perspective, in regard to this," he says. "Where there's any suspicion that workers and others have been exposed, there should be every effort made to ensure that testing is done." The Poplar River First Nation Thundersky family has had several family members become terminally ill due to Zonolite insulation. View the February 17, 2005 CBC news story View Winnipeg Free Press articles: February 11, 2005 & February 18, 2005 (DOCs) Source: CBC Winnipeg (image also) |
|
| NAFTA North American Emissions Inventory | 24 February 05 |
 A report that compares emissions data from over 1000 individual fossil-fuel power plants in Canada, Mexico and the United States was released by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) January 11, 2005.The report, North American Power Plant Air Emissions, is a first step towards the possible development of a shared emissions inventory for North America. The study finds a small percentage of facilities release much of the electricity sector's sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury and carbon dioxide emissions in North America. These emissions are known to contribute to acid rain, haze, smog, and climate change, as well as toxic mercury found in fish and eaten by people. While coal combustion accounts for only 44 percent of electricity on the continent, it is responsible for 86 percent of total sulfur dioxide emissions from electricity and 90 percent of nitrogen oxides. The vast majority of mercury emissions from electricity generation in each country also come from coal combustion. William Kennedy, Executive Director of the CEC, noted that "this report helps set a North American benchmark..." View the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) January 11, 2005 press release View the North American Power Plant Air Emissions report Source: Commission for Environmental Cooperation |
|
| Finance Minister Grilled on Kyoto | 24 February 05 |
 In a rare move, the House of Commons Environment Committee summoned Finance Minister Ralph Goodale to address the lack of clarity over the Government's Kyoto implementation plans.In his February 8, 2005 testimony, Mr. Goodale told the committee he would consider using the tax system to promote Kyoto goals. Goodale also noted he is looking to the Green Budget Coalition for input. The Liberal government is under pressure to present a coherent Kyoto plan. Specifics of the federal climate change strategy were not presented in Mr. Goodale's February 23 budget. Since ratifying Kyoto two years ago, the government has gone backward on greenhouse gas emissions. Canada's Green Budget Coalition says "even the United States, which has rejected Kyoto, has nonetheless taken far more effective steps than Canada in curtailing greenhouse gas emissions." National Green Party leader Jim Harris says greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 20% in Canada since 1990. Kyoto calls for reductions of 7% below 1990 levels. In an online article for the Globe & Mail Harris is particularly critical of Canada's pursuit of trading arrangements which include provision of fossil fuels to the U.S. and China, two of the biggest greenhouse culprits. Meanwhile, the Globe & Mail reports the oil industry in Canada is "pushing for any Kyoto-related costs to be written off against royalties and taxes as it aims to cushion the competitive blow of the greenhouse-gas pact." View the Globe & Mail articles; February 8, 2005 & February 9, 2005 Visit the Green Budget Coalition website View Jim Harris article View Minister Goodale's testimony before the committee Sources: Globe & Mail, Green Budget Coalition |
|
| Red River Floodway Hearings Start | 22 February 05 |
 Manitoba Clean Environment Commission (CEC) hearings for the proposed Floodway Expansion project began on February 15, 2005 and are scheduled to convene for 12 days within the following weeks, concluding on March 3, 2005. Four of the twelve days of hearings will be held outside of Winnipeg, in Oakbank. However, unlike recent CEC hearings, attendees and public participants will not have the benefit of a presentation by the proponents to open the Oakbank portion of the Floodway Expansion project hearings.The hearings were supposed to start February 14, 2005, however the CEC instead heard arguments regarding a motion filed by the rural municipalities (RM) of East St. Paul, Springfield and St. Clements. The motion requested that the CEC adjourn the hearings and direct the Manitoba Floodway Authority (MFA), the project proponent, to provide more information on the design of the floodway expansion so the RMs can properly analyze the impacts. The municipalities are worried the $665-million floodway expansion could cause their aquifers to leak into the floodway and that contaminated water would seep into their drinking water. Aquifer damage has resulted from the original floodway. The Chair of the CEC dismissed the RM's motion on February 15, 2005. The Chair indicated that the issues raised in the municipalities' motion will be addressed through the hearing process and that to accept the motion would be to decide, without sufficient evidence, that the MFA's environmental impact statement (EIS) is deficient. Director of Manitoba Wildlands, Gaile Whelan Enns said: "These CEC hearings may result in an environmental license for both the existing floodway and the expansion. To limit hearings content to the expansion project ignores the fact that the existing floodway has no environmental license. These communitities are rightly concerned about additional water quality risks from the expanded floodway." View the CEC hearings transcript for the proposed Floodway Expansion project Download the motion filed by the rural municipalities (RM) of East St. Paul, Springfield and St. Clements (PDF) Download the CEC decision on the motion filed by the rural municipalities (RM) of East St. Paul, Springfield and St. Clements (PDF) Download the motions brief prepared by the Manitoba Floodway Authority (PDF) Sources: Clean Environment Commission, Manitoba Wildlands, Winnipeg Free Press |
|
| Lake Winnipeg Stewardship Board Reports | 22 February 05 |
 The interim report of the Lake Winnipeg Stewardship Board (LWSB) released February 18, 2005 makes more than 80 recommendations for action aimed at helping Manitoba reduce nutrient levels and restore the health of the lake's aquatic ecosystems.The lake's major problem is an explosion of algae growth caused by increases in nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus entering the lake. The blooming algae suck up oxygen, eventually killing off fish and other life. Two years ago, the province announced a goal of cutting levels of nitrogen and phosphorus to return Lake Winnipeg to 1970's water quality and health. But it has yet to set a target date for achieving that goal. Gaile Whelan Enns, director of Manitoba Wildlands, said the report and its recommendations give short shrift to the fact Lake Winnipeg is a Manitoba Hydro reservoir and its level is manipulated according to hydro-electricity needs. That manipulation has an adverse impact on the lake's ability to clean itself, she said. "It could be the main reason why the lake is dying -- we just don't know," she said. The LWSB also recommended that its report now be used for public discussion. Minister Ashton has asked the LWSB to lead this discussion and to report back by the end of June 2005. View the Government of Manitoba February 18, 2005 press release View the Winnipeg Free Press February 19, 2005 article (DOC) Download the Lake Winnipeg Stewardship Board Interim Report, February 2005 (PDF) Sources: Government of Manitoba, Winnipeg Free Press |
|
| Threats, Crisis and Hope for Coral Reefs | 22 February 05 |
 The Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, involving 240 scientists from 96 countries released a report showing that about 20 percent of the world's coral reefs are so damaged they are beyond repair. The Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2004 was released December 6, 2004 at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) headquarters in Washington, D.C.The report indicates that damaged reefs no longer provide fish for people or attractions for tourists. The percentage of reefs recovering from past damage has risen but half of the world's reefs are threatened with destruction. In total, 70 percent of the world's reefs are threatened or destroyed, in contrast to four years ago when 59 percent of the world's reefs were threatened or damaged. Climate change (which causes coral bleaching, rising sea levels, and potentially threatens the ability of corals to form skeletons in waters that are particularly acid), runoff pollution, human modifications to shorelines and destructive fishing methods pose the greatest threats to reefs. The report also details many new initiatives aimed at reversing this degradation. View the WWF US press release View the report Status of the Coral Reefs of the World: 2004 View the WWF website for more information on the state of the world's coral reefs Source: WWF US |
|
| Canada Must Act to Halt Devils Lake Project | 17 February 05 |
 According to international law expert Michael Byers, Canada must act quickly to stop a North Dakota plan that threatens to harm Canadian waterways.In a Globe and Mail article from January 31, 2005, Mr. Byers argues that the Devils Lake diversion will have an impact that extends beyond its direct effects on fish populations and water quality. If North Dakota transfers even a small amount of water into the Sheyenne River, its ability to violate the Boundary Waters Treaty without consequence would show that neither Ottawa nor Washington is firmly committed to that legal regime and individual states and provinces would become more willing to challenge federal control over transboundary waters. Mr. Byers, the Canada Research Chair in global politics and international law at the University of British Columbia, and academic director of the Liu Institute for Global Issues, calls for Canada to make a considerable effort to ensure that Washington does everything it can to prevent the diversion of water from Devils Lake this spring. He advocates for seeking a federal court injunction until the matter is jointly referred to the International Joint Commission for resolution. View the January 31, 2005 Globe and Mail article on the Waterhole web site View previous Manitoba Wildlands news items regarding Devils Lake: August 31, 2004; May 3, 2004; April 5, 2004; November 3, 2003 |
|
| US Greens Ask Canada to Regulate Car Emissions | 16 February 05 |
 Nine major U.S. environmental organizations have asked Prime Minister Paul Martin to kick-start a continent-wide shift toward cleaner cars and trucks by regulating the greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles rather than risk Canada's Kyoto compliance on a voluntary agreement with industry."Canada is on the brink of an historic decision" the groups state, in a letter sent February 14, 2005 to the Prime Minister. "If Canadian action helps lead to a new North American standard, the world could see reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in the tens of millions of tonnes every year." The letter's signatories include the Executive Directors of the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defence Council, U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Union of Concerned Scientists, Steven and Michele Kirsch Foundation, Environmental Defence, American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies, and Public Citizen, groups that represent millions of environmentally concerned Americans. View the February 14, 2005 Sierra Club of Canada press release View the February 14, 2005 letter signed by US environmental groups (PDF) Source: Sierra Club of Canada |
|
| Dion Calls For Québec Hydro Panel | 14 February 05 |
 The Honourable Stéphane Dion, Minister of the Environment, has determined that a review panel is the most appropriate level of environmental assessment for Hydro-Québec's proposed Romaine hydroelectric complex project. This decision follows a request made by the responsible authorities, the federal ministers Transport and Fisheries & Oceans.Hydro-Québec plans to build a 1500-megawatt complex on the Romaine River which empties into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This complex will include four generating stations and the creation of reservoirs covering a total area of approximately 275 km2. The project will also include the construction of an access road of approximately 160 km. View the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency release Visit Hydro Québec Source: Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency |
|
| Colombian Indigenous People Fight Hydro | 14 February 05 |
 Four hundred indigenous people impacted by Colombia's Urrá Dam have been camped out in front of government buildings in the nation's capital since late December 2004. The Embera-Katío people, among the almost 70,000 people affected by the 340 MW Urrá Dam, are demanding the government comply with an agreement it signed with them in 2000. The agreement covers land restitution, benefit sharing, mitigation and human rights.The US$800 million dollar dam floods 7,400 hectares along the Sinú River in the vicinity of the Colombia-Panama border. The Export Development Canada (EDC), a federal Crown corporation, provided US$18.2 million in financing for the project. The International Rivers Network (IRN), an organization involved in river advocacy around the world, including Canada, is supporting the people camped out in Bogotá, Columbia. In a recent letter to Columbian President Uribe IRN call for an "international audit to evaluate the social and environmental impacts of the dam" as an "essential part of complying with the agreements of 2000." Violence against the Embera-Katío has been ongoing since the construction began in 1994. Kimy Pernia, a prominent leader in the fight against the dam was abducted in June 2001. To date, he has not been found, nor has anyone been prosecuted in the case. Embera-Katío representative Alberta Achito visited Manitoba Cree communities impacted by hydroelectric projects in 2001. View IRN letter to President Uribe View IRN information on the Urrá Dam View photos of the Embera-Katío people in Bogota, Jan. 21/05 View Probe International information about EDC involvement in Urrá project View EDC information on the Urrá Dam (scroll down page) Sources: International Rivers Network, Export Development Canada |
|
| Tahltan Elders Occupy Band Office | 14 February 05 |
 On Jan. 17, 2005, a group of 35 traditional Tahltan Elders, some of them in their mid-80s, occupied the band office in Telegraph Creek to protest mining development on their territory and repudiated Chief Jerry Asp's authority to speak on their behalf.Elder Pat Etzerza stated that they have no intention of leaving any time soon, despite the fact that Chief Asp has obtained an injunction that would legally oust them. The tribulations of Chief Asp serve as a powerful reminder of something that government and industry frequently fail to take into account. Elders such as those occupying the band office in Telegraph Creek, have a moral suasion in aboriginal communities that simply does not exist in mainstream society, where seniors are routinely marginalized and their social role trivialized. Elected Aboriginal councils, with which mainstream government and industry prefer to deal, remain a colonial veneer upon the traditional forms of government, which are influenced by the complicated dynamics of ancient family territorial jurisdictions, hereditary clan ranks and affiliations, and rights to intellectual property based on lineages legitimized by principles that don't apply in mainstream culture. Traditional forms of governance will have to be acknowledged and accommodated if government and industry are sincere about wanting to establish certainty in resource development. View coverage of the Elders' action on the Mines and Communities web site Visit the Tahltan Band Council web site Source: Vancouver Sun |
|
| Oil and Gas Spending - Undermines Kyoto Commitment | 10 February 05 |
 Government spending on Canada's Oil and Gas Industry - Undermining Canada's Kyoto Commitment, a study released today by Canada's Climate Action Network, reveals that the federal government gave Canada's oil and gas industry more than $1.4 billion in 2002 in tax concessions and other subsidies. This is an increase of 33% over the 1996 level. The 60-page report was prepared by the Alberta-based Pembina Institute, a close observer of the industry for many years."At a time when the Minister of Natural Resources is proposing to weaken Kyoto targets for industry on economic grounds, we wanted to understand the extent to which the federal government is actually bolstering the profits of this already highly profitable sector," said John Bennett, Executive Director of the Climate Action Network. Twenty percent of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions came from the oil and gas sector in 2002 - an increase of 47% over the 1990 level. "Kyoto targets for the oil and gas industry should be significantly toughened, especially in light of corporate welfare the sector is receiving," added Bennett. View the Pembina Institute press release View the report and executive summary commissioned by the Climate Action Network Canada Visit the Canadian Climate Action Network (CANet) web site Source: Pembina Institute |
|
