BECAUSE CCS IS A TECHNO MYTH

2050 a more important climate target than 2030, proponents of carbon capture say

Story by The Canadian Press • Yesterday 

CALGARY — Alberta's new climate plan drew criticism this week for its lack of interim emissions reduction targets, but proponents of carbon capture and storage technology say it's important to be realistic about how quickly major projects can be deployed.



"Whether we like it or not, it's going to take time," said James Millar, president and CEO of the International CCS (carbon capture and storage) Knowledge Centre, a non-profit organization based in Regina.

"It comes down to getting these projects built. And in an optimal world, that will take six or seven years."

Most climate models suggest the large-scale deployment of carbon capture technology — which is used to trap harmful greenhouse gas emissions from industrial processes and store them safely underground — will be necessary if Canada is to have a chance of meeting the net-zero-by-2050 target the federal government has committed to.

There are currently more than 50 proposed carbon capture and storage projects in various stages of development by industry across the country. The vast majority of those are proposed to be located in Alberta, home to Canada's oil and gas sector and the country's heaviest-emitting province.

But while some of those projects could be getting close to a final investment decision, companies have said they need more policy and regulatory certainty before they can pull the trigger on what is expected to be billions of dollars in capital investment.

They're racing against the clock. The federal government's net-zero plan includes an interim target of reducing Canada's emissions by at least 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 — a goal and time frame that the oil and gas industry has long suggested is unrealistic.

“The question is, how fast do you want us to go?" said MEG Energy Corp. CEO Derek Evans at an oil and gas industry conference in Toronto earlier this month.

MEG is part of the Pathways Alliance, a consortium of oilsands companies that has committed to spending $16.5 billion on a massive carbon capture and storage network to be built in northern Alberta.

Evans said Pathways intends to apply for regulatory approval for its carbon pipeline as early as this fall, but 2030 is fast approaching and building a 400 kilometre-long piece of infrastructure is a heavy lift.

"Do you want me to jam that ($16.5 billion investment) through that knothole in that time frame? Or if we’re making progress on that, is that the key?" Evans asked.

Alberta's climate plan, in contrast to the federal vision, doesn't contain any interim targets. Instead, it asks for proposals for consultants to go through the provincial economy sector by sector and analyze what's achievable.

Millar said he believes industry wants to gets shovels in the ground sooner rather than later — not just to meet the federal 2030 target, but also because the federal price on carbon is set to rise by $170 per tonne by 2030.

But he pointed out that Canada doesn't have a history of building large infrastructure projects quickly, which may mean that making progress towards a 2050 goal is more important than a 2030 target. The industry is still waiting for more policy certainty from the federal government around future carbon pricing, and there are also concerns around how long the regulatory and permitting process could take for some of these projects.

"We'd all like to move a lot quicker, but we just have to look at history, at the length of time it takes to get things done," Millar said.

"So I think it's 2050 for those reasons. This is going to take time."

Jan Gorski, oil and gas director for the Pembina Institute — a clean energy think-tank — said interim targets on the road to 2050 are an important accountability measure. He said the lack of a near-term target without a clear emissions reduction signal could lead to decisions that lock in higher emissions, such as building natural-gas fired power plants to produce electricity instead of investing in renewable energy.

However, Gorski added that targets on their own mean nothing, which is why the federal government's pledge to introduce a legislated cap on emissions from the oil and gas sector is so important.

"What we need is both a target and policy," Gorski said. "The target on its own is only one part of the equation."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 20, 2023.

Amanda Stephenson, The Canadian Press

Report finds Canadian Tire stores violated privacy laws with facial recognition technology

Story by MobileSyrup • Yesterday 

Several Canadian Tire stores that used facial recognition technology have been found to have violated privacy laws.


As reported by The Globe and Mail, British Columbia’s privacy commissioner, Michael McEvoy, published a report revealing that the stores that used facial recognition technology did not adequately notify their customers or obtain consent to collect their personal information.

Further, according to the report, even if the stores using facial recognition technology obtained customer consent, they would still need to provide a valid reason for collecting the information. The report found no reasonable reasons.

A total of 12 Canadian Tire stores used the technology for about three years, quoting precautionary measures against theft and safety. The systems were subsequently removed when Canadian Tire learned that the privacy commissioner was investigating four of its stores using the technology.

The report also revealed that the systems collected sensitive biometric information between 2018 and 2021, and that the stores would have needed to make a compelling case to justify the collection of such information. Further, the commissioner recommended that the stores develop and maintain a robust privacy management plan, while the British Columbia government should change the laws that regulate the sale of biometric technology and create additional obligations for organizations that use it.

He emphasized that retailers must carefully consider the privacy rights of their customers before implementing new technologies that gather sensitive personal information.

Source: The Globe and Mail

After the migrant deaths in Akwesasne, Canadian immigration law must reckon with its colonial history

Story by Vincent Wong, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Windsor

THE CONVERSATION • Yesterday 

On March 29, two families of four died while attempting to cross the St. Lawrence River from Canada to the U.S. Their bodies were found in Akwesasne Mohawk territory which straddles the Canada-United States border.


Searchers pulled the bodies of two families who had attempted to cross the Canada-U.S. border from the St. Lawrence River in Akwesasne, Que. on March 31.

© THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Media coverage quickly began to frame the fatal incident as an issue of illegal human smuggling. Reports characterized the Akwesasne Mohawk territory as a “smuggling hotspot” and an “ideal location for trafficking of humans and contraband.”

Articles featured exposés on migrants who helped smuggle people across the border as well as Akwesasne individuals who assisted in crossings rendered illegal by U.S. and Canadian governments.

This type of news coverage, which focuses on individuals, allows governments on both sides of the border to elude responsibility for enacting policies which limit options to cross borders legally, make irregular crossings more dangerous and deflect blame onto those facilitating those crossings.

But perhaps the most glaring omission in media coverage is any meaningful reflection on what it means for this tragedy to occur on Indigenous territory.

Indigenous communities and the border

Scholars have drawn attention to historical amnesia when it comes to colonialism and racism in the western media coverage of migration. Unless this amnesia is addressed, the precarious conditions, suffering and death that many migrants fleeing persecution and displacement face will continue.

The Akwesasne tragedy must be understood in the context of colonial history and the imposition of the U.S.-Canada border on Indigenous nations.


The Canadian side of Akwesasne beside a frozen St. Lawrence River in March 2022. The Indigenous territory straddles both sides of the Canada-U.S. border.

© (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

The 1783 Treaty of Paris established a rough initial boundary between American settler claims and British settler claims, which ran through the St. Lawrence River, present-day Akwesasne territory and the Great Lakes.

The 1794 Jay’s Treaty codified the inherent rights of Indigenous Peoples to move freely across the border and to carry out trade and commerce. Yet, in practice, neither colonial government expended much effort to monitor or restrict the movement of people across the boundary.

But as American and Canadian governments hungrily expanded to the west, the idea of freedom of movement for Indigenous Peoples began to fade away in the face of settler colonial objectives.

Instead, Indigenous Peoples were made foreigners in their own land with mobility and land rights inferior to those of European settler migrants. After the Métis-led 1885 North-West Rebellion was put down, Canada implemented a regime of racialized migration control known as the Indian pass system.

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This system made it illegal for Indigenous people to leave their reserve without a pass issued by an Indian agent for a specific duration and purpose. Those caught violating pass conditions faced jail time and could be “deported” back to their reserve. The pass system remained enforced in some locations until the 1940s.

As Historian Benjamin Hoy writes, “[f]rom the very outset, Canada and the United States believed that building a national border on Indigenous lands required erasing pre-existing territorial boundaries.”

Colonial dispossession

Canadian immigration law has historically served as a key mechanism of colonial dispossession. The first Immigration Act of 1869 was designed to promote “a liberal policy for the settlement and colonization of the uncultivated lands”, particularly as part of westward expansion.

It did this by actively encouraging white European settlers to come to Canada by granting them protections and rights. These included travel support, affordable homesteads, no removal after arriving and naturalization after three years’ residence.

Additionally, the 1872 Dominion Lands Act granted large plots of land to any settler who paid a small fee and made certain improvements on the land. Yet this land was not Canada’s to claim, grant or sell, but rather belonged to Indigenous nations whose traditional territories were swept up through military violence and unfair treaties.


A Mohawk flag flies in front of a Canadian border crossing near Akwesasne. Canadian immigration law has historically served as a key mechanism of colonial dispossession.

© THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Undermining Indigenous self-determination

Canada has continued to assert unilateral sovereignty in immigration while simultaneously erasing diverse Indigenous laws and customs.

This came to a head in the 2006 federal court case of Sister Juliana Eligwe, a Nigerian nun in Canada who faced deportation. Sister Juliana claimed asylum in Canada, saying that she would face persecution if she returned to Nigeria.

Sister Juliana worked as live-in nanny and housekeeper. She also volunteered with the Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation in Manitoba where she supported youth experiencing the emotional trauma of losing peers and loved ones to suicide.

In a bid to prevent her deportation, the First Nation made Sister Juliana a band member. The First Nation’s lawyers argued that Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act should be read in a way that recognized the inherent right of Indigenous communities to determine political membership, as well as any member’s right to enter and remain in Canada.

The court rejected that argument, saying the First Nation was attempting “to usurp the discretion of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration by accepting non-residents as band members and thereby granting them permanent resident status.”

Ultimately, Sister Juliana was deported to Nigeria, another country deeply affected by the legacies of British colonialism. In siding with the federal government, the court effectively took away the First Nation’s right to decide on its own membership.

A key part of the truth and reconciliation process is for settlers to acknowledge treaty relationships with Indigenous communities and their treaty rights to be on this land. It is untenable that immigration policy remains untouched by the obligations of reconciliation and decolonization.

To help avoid more tragedies at the border, Canada must make a commitment to reckon with its unfair and colonial history of immigration. One of the first steps is to acknowledge and respect Indigenous sovereignty, laws and treaty relations when it comes to immigration.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.

Read more:

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ONTARIO

Food of the Future challenges ideas of agriculture at APL

Story by The Canadian Press • Yesterday 

As our population grows, our traditional methods of farming might not be able to keep up with demand. But new, innovative ideas for sustainable and “community-based indoor agriculture” have been recently highlighted by Dr. Matt Hammond and Phil Fung in a new partnership with the Aurora Public Library.

On Thursday, April 20, the duo will host Food of the Future, an Earth Day presentation, through the Aurora Public Library’s (APL) channels. The live, virtual presentation, at which the presenters will take questions from participants, has worked hand-in-hand with a model biome, which has taken pride of place in the Library Living Room since April 4 before being wrapped up this Saturday, April 22.

The biome, located near APL’s central elevator, is a mix of hydroponics and aquaculture, bringing fish into the mix.

“As Phil and Matt are so passionate about the project, they started off saying they would like to do a little sample model and then, ‘We don’t want to have a little aquarium on top of the stands? We’re going to build one that is 6.5 feet tall and we’re going to attach it to the elevator,’” explains Reccia Mandelcorn, APL’s Manager of Community Collaboration, with a chuckle. “They wanted to give people the idea that you could grow kale, microgreens, and all kinds of stuff in there. The fish are a huge draw (for visitors to APL) and we even have a contest now where kids can name the fish they’re looking at. When they go to look at the fish, the parents are talking to them about growing.”

Bringing the work of Fung and Hammond to APL is “major,” says Mandelcorn as their engineering work and work on innovation has garnered them significant recognition in recent years.

“We are getting a lot of registration not only from our local community, but from different municipalities who are really interested in this project,” she says. “I am personally really honoured that Phil and Matt decided to host this at Aurora Public Library because I think they would have been welcome in any municipality and certainly by any library and it is really big for us. I am so excited.”

Making this presentation particularly relevant for the community, she adds, is the awareness of what is happening to Ontario’s Greenbelt and to local farmlands.

“The pandemic also brought up the whole supply chain and many people are living in condos or apartments and don’t have access to community gardens. I think the whole concept of food and food instability has hit people in a way that they haven’t ever thought of before. This is a way of thinking of new ways to do agriculture that works with our changing urban environment. Even in Aurora, which is suburb, we look around us and see we are becoming more urban and we need to look at other ways of making food local and taking ownership of our food. Also, I think people are just excited about new technologies – it’s new technology that is really meaningful and what can be more meaningful than food that sustains us?”

This week’s presentation and installation is just one of the many ways APL has supported food programs. They have partnered with the York Region Food Network on several initiatives, including the Culinary Traveller program, which has resulted in the publication of some of the best-loved recipes of Aurorans who have roots in all parts of the world, as well as gardening programs.

“We are very interested in continuing our partnership with them and I think they are with us as well. If there are any other environmental groups in the area who are interested in partnering with the Library, we are very passionate,” says Mandelcorn. “Food is community, it’s culture, and certainly with our staff, we’re very passionate about environmental concerns and about good food and bringing people together. We’re happy to work with anybody!

“This is a small little piece that Phil and Matt are showing as an example of something larger that a municipality can take on as a project, but we have had people who have come through and said, ‘We can actually do this in my own space,’ so I think people are looking at this as a template for something creative they can do in their own homes. That is a very exciting side piece. We looked at it from a macro level but people are coming to say from a personal level how they can see this working within their own spaces, so I think that is very exciting, too.”

For more on Food of the Future, including registration, visit bit.ly/3Hjle8b

Brock Weir, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Auroran

P.E.I. firefighters get lessons on handling solar panel fires

Story by Thinh Nguyen • Yesterday .

When firefighters pull up to a call and find a home's solar panels on fire, can they use water to beat down the flames?

The answer is yes, but with specific precautions, said David Candy, who's training firefighters on Prince Edward Island this week.

"You can flow water on it, but it's got to be a solid screen nozzle, [it] has to be greater than 20 feet away, and you can flow ... pressures between 100 and 150 GPM [gallons per minute]," said Candy, who is with the Riverview Fire Department in New Brunswick.

Maintaining that six-metre distance is important because those panels might still be generating power, posing a risk of electrocution. Firefighters must also wear specialized gloves designed for those fighting electrical fires, he said.

That's just one of the lessons Candy is bringing to a number of fire departments on the Island, including the Borden-Carleton Fire Department.

"It actually was very eye-opening," said Shawn Jessome, the department's chief.

"We haven't seen anything on our side with solar panels. But it's becoming more and more [common] on P.E.I. to have solar panels on houses and now commercial buildings. So it's good to have that training."

Departments in Crapaud, Tyne Valley and New London are taking the program this week.

A three-step process

Candy developed the training program when he began to notice more photovoltaic systems around Atlantic Canada. The course teaches firefighters how to deal with incidents involving these systems, giving them a basic understanding of solar technology as well as the hazards and safety concerns that come with it.

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During his classes, he talks about a three-step process when firefighters pull up to the scene of a fire.

First, they need to do a 360-degree walkaround and look up to see if there are any solar panels on the house. They also need to watch out for any ground-mounted solar systems.


Solar panels are becoming more popular on P.E.I. as a safe source of electricity, but they come with some hazards for firefighters.© CBC

Step two is to shut down any solar panel connections.

"As you walk around the building, there's disconnects that are part of the system. They're the built-in safety feature. We want them to shut down any components that can be shut down."

Step three is to watch out for the remaining electrical hazards, since solar roof panels might still be generating power during normal daylight conditions. They will have to be disconnected, Candy said, "or they have to be covered with a heavy black canvas or opaque material, so it doesn't generate power."

Preparation is key

It's important to control the safety risks that come with solar panels, just like any other kinds of utilities, Candy said.

When propane started to become more popular in homes, many fire departments had concerns about dangers that were different from what they were used to, Candy noted. Training helped them mitigate problems associated with that energy source, he said — and he's expecting the same with solar panels.

"We have a whole lot of utilities that we're controlling now… the solar voltaic is something new. They're extremely safe, but still, there are some challenges and risks.

"And we want to make sure that firefighters are properly prepared because the more information and training you have prior to the emergency happening, it's going to make it safer for the members responding."

As for homeowners, Candy said they need to make sure their panels are set up by a qualified installer and the components meet national electrical codes.

After taking the course, Jessome said his department intends to scout its coverage area and see which houses and businesses have solar panels.

Eventually, the department will send a questionnaire to these property owners to find out the panels' output, where the disconnects are, and whether there's a backup battery.

"I hope to see more fire departments do this training," Jessome said. "It's very valuable and has a lot of information into it."

Up in smoke: Human activities are fuelling wildfires that burn essential carbon-sequestering peatlands

THE CONVERSATION

Mike Waddington, Professor, School of Earth, Environment & Society, McMaster University 

Sophie Wilkinson, Assistant professor, Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University

 • Yesterday

For centuries, society has scorned bogs, fens and swamps — collectively known as peatlands — treating them as wastelands available to be drained and developed without realizing they’re important buffers against climate-changing carbon emissions.

Smouldering fire in a drained peatland near Fort McMurray, Alta. produces smoke from underground. These ecosystems are affected by rising temperatures, drought, wildfire and various human actions including drainage.© (Leyland Cecco)

It’s only recently that humans have realized how vital these wetlands are to regulating our climate, despite negative connotations in derisive expressions like “swamped,” “bogged down” and “drain the swamp.”

Draining the swamp, wherever it might be, could be a catastrophic mistake for humankind as climate change throws punches that these ecosystems can handle much better than others.

But as the changing climate exacerbates the extent of droughts and wildfires, especially in the vast peatlands of the north, these ecosystems are now fighting a losing battle.
Threats to carbon-sequestering peatlands

A majority of all the world’s peatlands are found in northern regions. Layered by waterlogged peat topped by living mosses, these peatlands absorb and expel carbon, typically storing a little more than they give off, making them carbon sinks over time. 

Over thousands of years, peatlands have accumulated massive amounts of carbon.

Collectively, peatlands hold more carbon than all the world’s forests. Peatlands account for just three per cent of the world’s land mass but hold about a third of the planet’s stored soil carbon, making them Earth’s most carbon-dense ecosystems.

However, peatlands are under pressure everywhere. They are affected by rising temperatures, drought, wildfire and various human actions, including drainage. In this process of draining, the water from the peatlands is allowed to run off through dug-out ditches, thus making the wetland drier.

Individual bogs are drained for agriculture, mining, urban development, wind turbine placement or peat harvesting. So far, between seven and 10 per cent of all northern peatlands have been drained.

Fire and bogs

Wildfires are becoming more frequent and more severe, meaning peatlands will have to be at their best to continue absorbing carbon.

Healthy peatlands are remarkably resilient to the impacts of fire. A significant amount of carbon is lost both to burning itself and through burn damage that impairs the growth of carbon-sequestering mosses. But these ecosystems are typically able to recover and restore their climate-regulating function within 10 to 30 years.

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However, when bogs have been damaged, especially by drainage, they become vulnerable to wildfire.

Even without fire, drained bogs are net contributors of carbon. When they burn, they burn much more deeply because their peat reserves are dry and dense. These self-propagating smouldering fires can spew millions of tonnes of carbon and harmful, toxic smoke into our atmosphere.

The time to save our peatlands is now

As climate change accelerates over the coming decades, the interplay between degraded peatlands and hotter fires significantly changes the carbon equation in the environment.



A burned peatland in the Fort McMurray wildfire. It is critical to keep our peatlands from burning up,© (Mike Waddington)

In our recently published paper, we found that the direct threat from drainage, coupled with climate-change enhanced wildfires, is accelerating the release of carbon from these peatlands. Simply put, our actions are turning climate-friendly peatlands into liabilities, with potentially devastating consequences.

Our study of natural, degraded and restored forms of peatlands in boreal and temperate regions revealed that the once stable carbon-storing power of our northern peatlands is gradually losing to the effects of fire, and drained peatlands are the biggest culprits for this.

Compromising the healthy peatlands that remain — even if it’s for otherwise beneficial uses such as growing food or helping us move away from fossil fuels — could backfire badly, especially as climatic conditions worsen.



Sophie Wilkinson demonstrates the resistance of moss to an experimental fire in a bog during a project conducted in partnership with FP Innovations, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry and the Canadian Forest Service.© (Greg Verkaik)

We found that without deliberate restoration efforts for already drained peatlands, and protection for those that remain, our carbon-collecting northern bogs could flip to carbon contributors by the end of this century. This will further accelerate the overall pace of global warming and climate change.

Fire is natural, of course, and some peat will always burn, but the degree and frequency of wildfire is making it harder for peatlands to recover their ability to store carbon after a fire.

Our research shows that it is not only critical to keep our peatlands from burning up, but that there is also an important and viable opportunity to mitigate this impending disaster. But the window for action is shrinking quickly.

Canada is home to one-third of the world’s northern peatlands and a proven force in restoring drained bogs.

The looming peat fire crisis demands that Canada prioritize protecting its intact peatlands and accelerate their restoration. Reviving the carbon-storing capacity of peatlands would delay their broader conversion from climate benefactors to liabilities, providing precious time to act on climate change.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.

Read more:

How scientists are restoring boreal peatlands to help keep carbon in the ground

Peatlands protect against wildfire and flooding, but they’re still under attack in Canada

Sophie Wilkinson receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Mike Waddington receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Blazing Star Environmental, McMaster University, Ganawenim Meshkiki, and Henvey Inlet Wind LP.

Canada’s support of Line 5 pipeline to come under scrutiny of United Nations

Story by The Canadian Press • Windspeaker.com

Canada is being called out by Indigenous nations on both sides of the border for its support of the continued operations of Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline.

A report signed by the Anishinabek Nation, which represents 39 First Nations in Ontario, along with 10 tribes in Michigan and two tribes in Wisconsin, as well as a handful of environmental organizations, was submitted earlier this month to the United Nations Human Rights Council as part of the fourth universal periodic review of Canada.

The periodic review is a mechanism of the human rights council aimed at improving human rights situations in countries by hearing periodic scrutiny.

The Canadian government must work with Anishinaabe people on both sides of the “international border (which) creates an artificial divide between our Canadian and American families,” said Grand Council Chief Reg Niganobe of the Anishinabek Nation.

Niganobe joined Indigenous leaders from Canada, including Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archbild, in addressing media at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York on April 19.

“At the United Nations we will continue to seek clarity on the application of the principles of free, prior and informed consent when it comes to state actors and Indigenous peoples who do not live within their domestic jurisdiction,” said Niganobe.

Niganobe is part of an international delegation of environmental and Indigenous groups attending the UN forum to call on Canada and the United States to shut down the Line 5 pipeline.

Line 5 is a 70-year-old pipeline owned and operated by the Canadian company Enbridge in traditional Anishinaabe territories. It transports 87 million litres of crude oil and natural gas daily just over 1,000 km crossing through Wisconsin into Michigan and terminating in Ontario. The line runs under the Straits of Mackinac, a channel connecting the Great Lakes of Michigan and Huron.

The operation of the line is an “urgent issue.” Tribal Nations and environmental groups are concerned an oil spill could decimate fisheries, damage animal and plant species, pollute sacred places and cultural resources, and jeopardize access to drinking water.

The submission to the UN Human Rights Council says one study found that 4.2 million litres of oil has spilled from Line 5 over 33 incidents since 1953.

“Tribes in the U.S. and Canada…have worked for years to decommission Line 5 given the risks a catastrophic oil spill poses to their health, culture and environment,” says the submission.

It states “a catastrophic oil spill” could contaminate more than 375,000 acres of land and wetlands, 450 lakes and thousands of shorelines and rivers.

“It would irreversibly devastate the environment, impacting Indigenous communities’ livelihood, ability to practice their culture, and way of life,” the submission goes on to say.

To this end, the 51 Tribal Nation signatories admonish Canada for its continued support of Line 5, which includes legal and diplomatic action while excluding Indigenous communities from directly being involved in the decision-making process.

They also say that Canada’s stand is in direct contradiction to the seven international human rights treaties the country has ratified and its passage of United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples legislation.

They call on Canada “to abandon its current posture in the Line 5 litigation in U.S. courts, respect and protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples, and prioritize the pursuit of a sustainable future.”

“Line 5 could effectively be shut down,” said Niganobe. But Canada and Enbridge “choose to keep that line in operation for no reason at all…there are more effective things they can do that they’re not doing.”

The Tribal Nations’ submission points out that Line 5 “exacerbates the climate crisis” with its upstream and downstream greenhouse gas emissions amounting to approximately 87 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually.

Windspeaker.com contacted Natural Resources Canada for comments as NRC is mandated to develop Canada’s natural resources. However, NRC directed Windspeaker.com’s inquiry to Global Affairs Canada, which, in part, promotes international trade.

"Canada is committed to working in partnership with Indigenous Peoples and will engage with Indigenous groups on the Universal Periodic Review report on Line 5. Canada takes into account all reports sent to the UN and is reviewing the one sent by Indigenous and environmental groups," said Global Affairs in an email statement.

"We encourage civil society and Indigenous Peoples to propose recommendations to help us better defend and promote human rights. We look forward to receiving the next set of recommendations.”

The next session of the UN Human Rights Commission’s universal period review of Canada will take place Nov. 6 thru Nov. 17.

By Shari Narine, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

How scientists are creating stronger coral reefs faster than ever

Story by Li Cohen • Yesterday 

A new project in the Caribbean is setting out to save coral reefs – and the world.
Ocean Shop Project, spearheaded by climate scientist Doctor Deborah Brosnan,
Duration 2:34
CBS News
It takes hundreds of years for coral reefs to grow. Scientists found a way to do it in months.
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The Ocean-Shot Project, spearheaded by climate scientist Dr. Deborah Brosnan, launched in 2021 to develop a "massive, first-of-its-kind" coral reef restoration initiative in the Caribbean country Antigua and Barbuda.

"We lose more coral reefs in a day that we can restore in a decade," Brosnan told CBS News. "Our progress towards protecting coral reefs – which ultimately protect us – is too slow. So Ocean-Shot is about literally rebuilding the reefs, the architecture of the reefs, for the future."

What sets this project apart from other coral reef restoration projects is its focus – the architecture of the reef itself. While many initiatives prioritize saving the corals, Ocean-Shot tacks on the additional focus of developing the base for those corals to grow and thrive.


Ocean-Shot is growing more resilient coral species and developing reefs in the Caribbean in an effort to help marine ecosystems – and humanity – combat the climate crisis. 

Credit: Ocean-Shot

Coral secretes calcium carbonate, creating a sort-of concrete around itself that becomes the structure for the reef. But that process can take "hundreds and thousands of years," Brosnan said. And with coral bleaching events only anticipated to become more intense in the coming decades as global and ocean temperatures warm, this can be a problem for reefs that need to be able to recover.

"What we're doing is we're saying, 'let's learn from the corals, let's learn from nature,'" Brosnan said. "And let's make this happen quickly."

To make that happen, her team is creating reef structures in a lab and then planting them in the ocean, a process that Brosnan likened to "gardening." The team is also planting "resilient corals" among the structures that have already survived several bleaching events.



Ocean-Shot deployed a coral reef into the ocean near Antigua and Barbuda, an effort that has already brought in new marine life to the area.

 / Credit: Ocean-Shot

Nearly six months ago, her team deployed their first set of these structures, called modules, into the ocean around Antigua and Barbuda. And it's already seeing significant success.

"We've got 97-98% survival of the corals we've transplanted. And we now have 26 new species that have moved in by themselves ...everything from parrot fish to commercial fish to commercial lobster," Brosnan said. "We saw a whole ecosystem start to recognize these reefs as home and just move right on in. So what it told us is that if we provide the living structure, the ecosystem will respond in return."

Thriving coral reefs doesn't just help marine life thrive, Brosnan said, but it also helps humanity survive.

Coral reefs are essential to protecting coastlines from erosion, and when reefs are close to the ocean surface, Brosnan said they can break up about 95% of incoming wave energy. This allows for the power of strong waves to break up before hitting shore, protecting those on the coast as well as beaches as a whole and making communities and coastlines more resilient against rising sea levels and climate change, she said.

Coral reefs are also a crucial source of food and income for more than half a billion people across the world, according to NOAA, with the net economic value of reefs estimated to be "tens of billions of U.S. dollars per year."

Cooperating with billionaire philanthropist and entrepreneur John Paul Dejoria was an essential part of this project's success, Brosnan said, as was the support of the country's prime minister, Gaston Browne. Brosnan said the project could be scaled up around the world with enough support.

At the end of the day, Brosnan said, "our planet is at stake."

"We're helping the reef through this transition of what our planet used to be like, to what it really is like today and what it's going to be like in the future," she said. "Corals are more resilent. If we create the right conditions for them, they will thrive."

Canada watchdog pans gov't emissions-tracking, tree-planting efforts

Story by By Nia Williams • Yesterday

(Reuters) -Canada is failing to track the impact of specific government climate regulations on carbon emissions and is unlikely to meet a commitment to plant 2 billion trees by 2031, reports from the country's official environment watchdog said on Thursday.

By 2030, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government aims to cut emissions 42-45% below 2005 levels. Canada's national greenhouse gas inventory report, released last week, showed the country managed an 8.4% cut in 2021.

But the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Jerry DeMarco, presented five performance audit reports that criticised many aspects of Canada's climate and biodiversity policies.

"When I look at all of the...reports that have flagged these grave concerns over the years, it's clear that we have been repeatedly ringing the alarm bells. Now, these bells are almost deafening," DeMarco told a news conference in Ottawa.

DeMarco said Canada's failure to track how specific policies impact emissions means the federal government does not know whether it is using the right tools to meet its climate targets.

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He also warned Natural Resources Canada fell well short of the goal of planting 60 million trees in 2022, which put in jeopardy its 2 billion trees by 2031 goal.

DeMarco said while it was still possible for the government to get back on track meet its 2031 target with "significant changes", the carbon sequestered by the trees would be less than forecast.

"They will not be able to meet their target for carbon sequestration by 2030, which means they have to find real reductions elsewhere, whether it's oil and gas, transportation or something else, to reach their 40 to 45% (emissions cut) target by 2030," DeMarco said.

In a statement, Canada's Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said the government would "double down" on tree-planting efforts and implement many of the commissioner's recommendations.

Canada's Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault said the government would refine its reporting of carbon emissions.

"We won't stop fighting climate change while we figure it out reporting methodologies," Guilbeault told reporters in Ottawa. "The bottom line is that Canada is bending the emission curve downward."

(Reporting by Nia Williams in British Columbia; editing by Diane Craft and David Gregorio)

Climate change is fueling deadly heat waves in India. It’s putting the country’s development at risk, study says

Story by Helen Regan •  CNN news - Yesterday 

Deadly heat waves fueled by climate change are threatening India’s development and risk reversing its progress on poverty alleviation, health and economic growth, a new study has found.

Heat waves have already critically impacted the country, leading to power outages, increased dust and air pollution, and accelerated glacial melt in the north of India, researchers from the University of Cambridge said in the study published in the journal PLOS Climate on Wednesday.

Since 1992, more than 24,000 people have died because of heat waves in India, the study said.

And the impacts are expected to get worse as heat waves become more frequent, intense and lethal due to the climate crisis.

“India is currently facing a collision of multiple cumulative climate hazards,” said the researchers.

“Long-term projections indicate that Indian heat waves could cross the survivability limit for a healthy human resting in the shade by 2050.”

The study shows that millions more people in India are vulnerable to climate change than first thought. More than 90% of the country could be severely impacted by heat waves, falling into an extreme heat “danger” zone, according to the heat index, the study found.

The heat index is how hot it feels and considers both air temperature and humidity to assess the heat’s impact on the population.

Last year, India experienced a searing heat wave, during which parts of the country reached more than 49°C (120°F).

In 2022, India experienced its hottest April in 122 years and its hottest March on record, the study said. And it experienced extreme weather on 242 out of 273 days between January and October 2022, the researchers found.

Such repeated heat stress will upend millions of lives and livelihoods.

“Estimates show a 15% decrease in outdoor working capacity … during daylight hours due to extreme heat by 2050,” the study found. “The increased heat is expected to cost India 2.8% and 8.7% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and depressed living standards by 2050 and 2100, respectively.”

By mid-century, 70 Indian cities are expected to have more than 1 million inhabitants, according to the study.

Extreme heat will pose a threat to the energy security and health of those people, and reverse progress in inequality and poverty reduction, the researchers found.

“My family in Kolkata is suffering from current heat waves leading to frequent load shedding,” said the author of the study, Dr Ramit Debnath, in a reference to enforced power outages that reduce strain on the grid. “The climate-energy nexus is becoming more relevant,” he added.

Typically, it’s the poorest and most vulnerable who will suffer the most.

Heat waves will “have unprecedented consequences on the low-income population” the study said. As an example, the authors point to the rapidly urbanizing capital New Delhi, which “has a high level of construction activities, mostly involving a low-income labor force, who are also at severe risk from heat wave impacts.”

While India has a “climate vulnerability index” through which it assesses its vulnerability to the climate crisis, the authors believe this underestimates how heat waves impact the country’s development.

India has committed to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, a list of 17 objectives that include cutting poverty, hunger, inequality and disease, as well as promoting health, education and sanitation.

By not understanding the true threat of heat waves on its population, India risks missing out on those goals.

The study’s co-author Professor Ronita Bardhan said the recommendations could be used to build heat resilience for low-income housing as “these communities are most vulnerable to heat impacts.”

“Heat-health packages for low-income and slum dwellers are specifically critical as we show heat waves have devastating impacts on urban sustainability,” she said.

Another practical application is urban greening strategies around highly dense areas, which “can provide relief from urban heat island effects,” Bardhan said.

The authors stress “urgency” in recommending India update its extreme weather assessment to include the heat index and its impact on India’s sustainable development.

“India has demonstrated tremendous leadership in scaling up heat action plans in the last five years by declaring heat waves a natural disaster and mobilizing appropriate relief resources,” the authors said.

But “as the heat waves in India and the Indian subcontinent become recurrent and long-lasting, it is high time that climate experts and policymakers reevaluate the metrics for assessing the country’s climate vulnerability.”