December 9, 2011

National

Canada wants new climate deal by 2015: Environment minister (December 8, 2011): "Time is really running short" Canada is pushing for a new binding international climate change regime to come into effect within four years to avoid dangerous interference with the atmosphere, Environment Minister Peter Kent said Thursday. Speaking to reporters after a public appearance at a side event at the United Nations climate change summit, Kent acknowledged there were a lot of issues left to resolve before the end of the conference on Friday.

CanNor gets new president (December 8, 2011): Patrick Borbey will take over troubled federal agency Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that Patrick Borbey will take over the troubled Canadian Northern Economic Development agency on Dec. 19. Dennis Bevington, the New Democratic Party member of parliament for the Western Arctic, says Borbey is a good choice because he knows the North well.

Regional

Search underway for missing Nunavik man (December 8, 2011): An air and ground search is underway near the Nunavik community of Akulivik, in northern Quebec. Teams are looking for Samwillie Amaamatuaq, 34, who has been missing for 11 days. Searchers say he walked out onto the land last week and never returned. He reportedly had no hunting gear with him.

Nunavik health board executive director, president face “corrective action” (December 8, 2011): The executive director of the Nunavik Regional Health and Social Services Board, Jeannie May, and Alasie Arngak, the president of the health board, may face disciplinary action, sources have told Nunatsiaq News. That’s after evidence of credit card misuse came to light during a review of the health board’s finances.

Hydro outage at LG-1 means some still shiver in Chisasibi (December 8, 2011): Power cut out Dec. 5  Several homes in Chisasibi, a Cree and Inuit community along the Quebec coast of James Bay, remained without power Dec. 8, four full days after the community suffered a major outage. Chisasibi and its neighbouring community to the south, Wemindji, both declared states of emergencies earlier this week after two transformers at La Grande-1 blew, cutting electricity to the two communities.

Mineral exploration companies spending more in Nunavut: NRC (December 9, 2011): “Nunavut has captured investors’ interest" New figures from Natural Resources Canada on mineral exploration in Canada show exploration companies brought $396 million into Nunavut during 2011 — up $73 million from 2011’s figure of $323 million. In Nunavut and Yukon, mineral exploration companies are now spending more than previously projected.. But in the Northwest Territories, expenditures continue to be down, but recent figures are even lower than originally projected.

Premier re-opens session with priorities speech (December 8, 2011): MLAs in the NWT are back at their desks for a few days before breaking for Christmas. The 17th Legislative Assembly resumed its first session Wednesday afternoon with Premier Bob McLeod announcing the plan for his government. McLeod said he wants to strengthen the economy in the territory, and one way to do that is through infrastructure investment.

Iqaluit students take stand against bullying (December 9, 2011): "I find that bullying makes you ugly" Students at Inuksuk High School in Iqaluit have formed an anti-bullying group. Their message: bullying will not be tolerated in their school. “Believe me, the staff and administration is fabulous here,” Grant said. “Bullying is not something that is ignored. But it is the peers who are going to change the culture around.” bullying.” Art teacher Linda Grant first approached a group of her senior art students last September about befriending a student in Grade 9 who was being bullied.

Fired Iqaluit planner launches $700,000 lawsuit at city hall (December 8, 2011): Michèle Bertol alleges bullying, harassment, "demeaning" behaviour  Michèle Bertol, the City of Iqaluit’s ex-senior director of lands and planning, is targeting her former employer with a wrongful dismissal lawsuit that’s stuffed with embarrassing allegations about the inner workings of Iqaluit’s city government. Bertol, 56, was summarily fired from her job Jan. 26, 2011, after nearly seven years of employment, following a council meeting held Jan. 25, 2011.

Climate Change

Study shows more shrubbery in a warming world (December 8, 2011): Scientists have used satellite data from NASA-built Landsat missions to confirm that more than 20 years of warming temperatures in northern Quebec, Canada, have resulted in an increase in the amount and extent of shrubs and grasses. "For the first time, we've been able to map this change in detail, and it's because of the spatial resolution and length-of-record that you can get with Landsat," says Jeff Masek, the program's project scientist. He's based at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

Four decades of sea ice decline in Canada (December 8, 2011): Researchers in Canada say the average area covered by sea ice during summer has declined for four decades in all nine sea ice regions in the country's North. The largest declines occurred in the Northern Labrador Sea where sea ice decreased at a rate of almost 600 square miles or 17 percent per decade, a release from Statistics Canada said Thursday.

Past 40 years sees drop in Arctic summer sea ice: StatsCan (December 8, 2011): Largest drops in northern Labrador Sea, Hudson Strait You’ll find less Arctic summer sea ice wherever you look in Canada’s North. Over the past 40 years, the average area covered by sea ice during summer has declined in all its nine sea ice regions, Statistics Canada said Dec. 8.

SLU Professor calls for climate assistance for Alaskan villages (December 9, 2011): Delegates from nearly 200 countries have been meeting over the past two weeks in South Africa for the United Nations Convention on climate change. St. Lawrence University professor Jon Rosales just returned from Durban. He's been advocating on behalf of villages on the Bering Strait, on the west coast of Alaska, which are the focus of his research. Julie Grant has more.

Op-Ed: Polar bears eating polar bears, what's new? (December 9, 2011): ….. Three incidents during the summer and early autumn form the foundation of the premise of increased cannibalism by a researcher, Ian Sterling. The headline: "Polar bear cannibalism: More to come in a warmer Arctic?" really sets the tenor of the article and lends itself to blaming climate change for that which the Inuits are quoted as stating in the video that it's the sort of thing they "hear from hunters is happening all the time" and also, "The photos are being blown out of proportion". The lead sentence in the article even makes the case against the premise of the 'story' Adult male polar bears preying on cubs and even females has long been observed,

Can Coca-Cola's conscience save the polar bear from Arctic meltdown? (December 8, 2011): Imagine a watery world, three decades from now, where the last, wild polar bears survive on stubborn patches of sea ice in a high Arctic haven that allows regulated offshore oil drilling, tourism and shipping. That's roughly the future envisioned by the World Wildlife Fund under a project that could receive several million dollars from Coca-Cola aimed at helping to protect the white bruins and other ice-dependent animals. 

Global warming will boost solar power in Europe but cause losses elsewhere (December 9, 2011): Scientists have predicted how changes to temperature and the distribution of sunlight will effect solar technologies Amid all the discussion about how energy sources may impact on climate change, we often overlook the fact that climate change will in turn impact on energy sources. As the world warms, this will become an increasingly important issue, affecting everything from nuclear power stations needing cold water for cooling through to melting ice opening up new fossil fuel reserves in the Arctic.

How the Earth has warmed since 1950 (and why) (December 8, 2011): In case you haven't gotten the memo yet, Earth's climate has been changing, with the atmosphere slowly warming over the past six decades by almost 1 degree Fahrenheit. Many scientists say this small rise in the planet's annual temperature is only the beginning of a multi-decade sizzle that could ultimately lead to loss of summer sea ice, rising ocean levels, thawing permafrost, disrupted ecosystems -- plus more violent storms, droughts and heat waves.

Sea ice loss in Canada's north, 1968-2010 (December 8, 2011): The amount of ice covering Canadian Arctic waters in summer declined in all sea ice regions from 1968-2010, according to a new Statistics Canada report. The map below shows the ice loss per decade and overall in each sea ice region as well as along two major shipping routes.

Sea ice shrank throughout Canada's Arctic waters (December 8, 2011): A new report appears to add to the mounting evidence that global warming is changing the face of Canada's North. Statistics Canada says the average area covered by sea ice during summer has declined in all nine of Canada's northern sea-ice regions over the past four decades. The agency says summer sea ice has also declined in two of three northern shipping route regions, which are not normally navigable because of ice cover. The largest declines occurred in five southern and eastern sea ice regions:

Other

Rocky waters for historic ship (December 9, 2011): A piece of Canadian Arctic history is in danger of rotting away. The leaky facility housing the first vessel to circumnavigate North America is not providing the proper environmental conditions for preserving it, says Simon Robinson, executive director of the Vancouver Maritime Museum. He said a funding reallocation awaiting city-council approval will help with the historical St. Roch’s long-term preservation.

7 Crazy Facts You Should Know About The Arctic (December 8, 2011): The Arctic is coming in from the cold. We've all seen the pictures of starving polar bears, staring bleakly at the retreating pack ice on which their survival depends. But as the polar ice cap shrinks, this oceanic basin is also opening up to human activity. And as its vast economic resources become increasingly accessible, it looks set to become a cauldron of commercial potential and political conflict.

Ban fracking, says Yukon NDP (December 8, 2011): Energy critic says method should not be used until found safe The Yukon New Democratic Party wants the Yukon government to ban fracking in the territory until it is shown to be safe. Fracking is a technique used in the oil and gas industry to get at fossil fuels trapped in rock formations. Critics say the process can contaminate ground water.