The two main pesticide regulations in Saskatchewan, the Pesticide Control Products Act and the Pesticide Control Products Regulations make no mention of cosmetic pesticides, nor has either law been meaningfully revised in the past 10 years.

We have previously discussed the potential damage of the oil sands to the local ecosystem, but it is now becoming clearer that the pollution in the Athabasca river is rising. Fish are no longer safe to eat; as such, communities that used to live off the local land are in danger. Diane Saxe gives a very good run-down of a new study by David Shindler that clearly identifies abnormally high levels of heavy metals in the river and fish.

The question becomes, why is neither the Federal or Provincial government doing anything about this? In a couple of weeks, we will be publishing a report with all the environmental penalties in Canada, without spoiling the ending, there aren’t many.

The full study by David Shindler is found here.

Nous sommes très fiers d’annoncer un nouveau partenaire, l’AQVE.

L’AQVE est un organisme pluridisciplinaire et sans but lucratif dont la mission est de regrouper les intervenants de la vérification environnementale, et promouvoir la pratique de la vérification environnementale. Nous allons offrir des mises à jour environnementales fédérales sur leur site web et les membres de l’AQVE auront accès aux mises à jour québécoises.

En plus, tous les membres de l’AQVE auront droit à un rabais de 25 % sur leur première année d’abonnement à NimonikApp.ca – règlements environnementaux simplifiés.

Contactez-nous pour de plus amples informations ou une démonstration personnelle du site.

Association québécoise de vérification environnementale (AQVE) is a non-profit organisation that groups environmental auditors and verifiers and actively promotes the environmental industry in Canada. As part of our offer, we will be posting Federal environmental updates to their website and will offer Quebec environmental updates to their members through the members-only section of the site.

As part of our offer, we will publish Federal environmental updates on their website and will offer Québec environmental updates to their members through the members-only section of the site. In addition, all AQVE members will have the right to a 25% reduction on their first year membership to NimonikApp.ca – Environmental regulations simplified.

Do not hesitate to contact us for more information or a personal demonstration of our site.

We are very pleased to announce a new affiliate: the Automotive Association of Canada. They are “The voice and the resource for the automotive aftermarket industry in Canada.” and group thousands of car parts manufacturers and distributors.

As part of our partnership, we will be offering Federal environmental updates on their website and Ontario updates to all of their members. In addition, all AIA Canada members will receive a 25% reduction on their first year subscription to NimonikApp.ca – Environmental regulations simplified.

If you are an AIA member, contact us to find out more.

If you are part of another association and would like to have them become Nimonik affiliates, please let us know.

• Arsenic and lead released to tailings ponds has increased 26% in 4 years
• 111 661 tonnes of sulphur dioxide were released (causes acid rain)
• 70 685 tonnes of volatile organic compounds were released (causes smog and harm human organs)
• Produce nearly all of acenapthene which can cause tumours on the ling, skin and bladder.
• Acenapthene production has increased 42 per cent since 2006.
• 322 tonnes of arsenic
• 651 tonnes of lead
• Lots of other lovely substances too.
• and bbout 3.35 million barrels of oil per day.

The average day at my office in downtown Beijing, 2005.

China has just announced the forced shutdown of 2 000 old and inefficient industrial plants (AFP article). Some are government run, others are privately owned. This strong handed move to close polluting plants could only be done in China (or some other autocratic state). But, criticize China for their pollution we might, when they decide to move, they move big and fast. As the famous sinologist, Alain Peyfritte apply stated, “Quand la Chine s’eveillera, le monde tremblera” (When China wakes, the world will tremble).

In 2005, I interned at Danieli, an Italian contractor to steel factories, in Beijing. During my year in China, I visited innumerable steel factories from the most inefficient to the newest plants in China. Even then, there was a strong push to close old factories and replace them with new, clean and efficient plants. Prior to the 2008 Olympics the government shutdown and dismantled the Shogung plant in Beijing, the steel plant was literally inside Beijing – you could take the subway there. That move, along with others helped dramatically reduce pollution in the capital.

Upon my return to China in 2009, I noticed a massive difference in the level of pollution. Yes, it is still very polluted, but it now felt like a major American city on a bad day instead of a large city in a developing country. These 2000 shutdowns matter a great deal and will have a significant impact on pollution in the country. If only the Canada had the courage to enact strong legislation we might not be the largest polluters (per capita) in the world. The chinese shutdowns will also serve as an example and warning to the rest of Chinese industry that Beijing is attacking the green revolution on both sides – developing new technology and killing old practices.

On July 27th, the Western Climate Initiative (WCI) released details of its strategy to reduce regional greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. The WCI is a regional collaboration among seven American states and four Canadian provinces (Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia and Manitoba) to fight climate change and global warming. The document that was made public is billed as a roadmap to assist WCI members (known as partner jurisdictions) in developing and implementing regulations. The program start date is set for January 1, 2012. The first stage of the program will target generators emitting more than 25,000 tonnes of GHG annually.

The program aims to put a price on emissions, and offers an incentive to innovate and find new ways to reduce emissions.

The main feature of the program is a series of integrated cap-and-trade programs implemented through state and provincial regulations. Each participating partner jurisdiction will issue emission allowances to meet its specific emissions goal. Partner jurisdictions will use that cap to form a regional allowance market, where each participant recognizes one another’s allowances for compliance. Emissions allowances issued by each jurisdiction will be usable throughout the jurisdictions for compliance purposes.

The cap-and-trade program includes tight emissions reporting requirements that ensure accurate and timely measurement and recording of GHG emissions by the entities included in the program.

At least once every three years, targeted entities must turn in province one “emission allowance” for each metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions they emit and report. Consequently, the number of allowances issued will be reduced over time. Anyone can trade emission allowances, so those who succeed in reducing their emissions below the number of allowances they hold can sell whatever they have in excess or save them for a rainy day. By selling excess allowances, an entity can make up some of its costs in reducing emissions. Holding allowances for later use can also befit entities by reducing future compliance costs.

A lot can still happen to torpedo the initiative. Proposition 23, on the California ballot this fall, is intended to derail the state’s signature climate-change law. Also, Arizona, Utah, Washington, Oregon, Montana and Manitoba have all announced that they will delay joining the emissions market, out of fear of rising energy prices.

But if it does see the light of day, the WCI will be North America’s second biggest market for emissions allowances, after the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).

Aside from the integrated cap-and-trade program, the WCI strategy aims to encouraging GHG emissions reductions in industries not covered by the emissions cap, help reduce energy costs across the region and promot energy efficiency policies and programs through energy innovation in high-emitting industries. There are also plans to help individuals transition to new clean-energy jobs.

For more detail, click here.

Jim Middlemiss at the National Post has a good rundown here on the stakes surrounding Quebec’s proposed Bill-79 which, if passed, will introduce some key changes to the province’s Mining Act. The title of the article, in typical headline writing fashion, plays up the fact that Quebec is at risk of losing its status as a mining haven. But even the lawyers interviewed in the article seem to acknowledge that there is a lot of good that can come out of the proposed changes, provided the parameters can be better defined, particularly with respect to public consultations and provisions governing the eventual closure of mines. It’s pretty much common sense to anyone that the province and industry should be working together to find ways companies can best finance their obligations to close the mine in a faraway distant future.

The risks of managing hazardous materials increase exponentially – not linearly – with the complexity of the system. Sadly, with increasing demand for oil, we are likely to continue to see more and more spills. It is high time that the clean-up costs and risks involved in extracting and transporting oil are included in the price of oil. With higher prices we will increase energy efficiency and allow for the development of clean energy.

Only one month ago, we interviewed of the Polaris Institute on the proposed Enbridge pipeline and its potential effects, see the interview here.

Lastly, as a refresher, take a look at our interview on the BP oil spill, liability issues and cleanup costs with Dianne Saxe, see that interview here.

Next we discussed liability issues on risky projects and how to safely ensure that a company has sufficient funds for a cleanup. In the U.S. they have the super-funds for cleanup and oil tankers pay into a common fund, but in Canada there is very little infrastructure for ensuring there is money in the bank to clean-up after a disaster.

Lastly, we briefly discussed the increased risks of an oil spill in cold waters where oil breaks down much more slowly and the wildlife and vegetation are more fragile.Consequently, an oil spill in cold Canadian waters could potentially be much, much more harmful than the disaster in the Gulf. Take a look at the video and send us your questions.

This month, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice awarded $36-million in the long-awaited Inco class-action to Port Colbourne residents. Inco operated a nickel refinery that was found responsible for having contaminated nearby properties with airborne metals, particularly nickel, thereby causing drops in value. The ruling shows promise for future environmental class actions, particularly as the trial judge had to juggle with a number of complex legal issues. Blakes has more here.

More coverage here:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/the-law-page/ruling-could-flood-polluters-with-lawsuits-observers-say/article1646534/

“This is because large amounts of carbon tied up in trees and other plants are released when the reservoir is initially flooded and the plants rot. Then after this first pulse of decay, plant matter settling on the reservoir’s bottom decomposes without oxygen, resulting in a build-up of dissolved methane. This is released into the atmosphere when water passes through the dam’s turbines.”

Large dams contribute up to 4 per cent of global warming by some estimates.

Still, there are alternatives, such as “run of river” which, theoretically at least, results in a smaller ecological footprint.

Other oil spill winners include yesterday’s fossil-fuel villains (Exxon), Republican governors, lawyers and democratic lobbyists. Added to this unholy alliance are environmental groups whose coffers will swell in the wake of the disaster.

Beyond legal compliance, the rigorous and methodical collection and analysis of environmental data helps increase awareness at all levels of a company and incite more efficient (and profitable) operations.