Polar Bear Listed As Species of Special Concern

Thanks in large part to letters you sent, the federal government has officially declared the Polar Bear a species of special concern under the Species at Risk Act. 

Nearly 63,000 Nature Canada supporters asked the federal government to take action for polar bears. You asked for these three things:

• List the polar bear in law,
• Complete the required management plan ahead of the three-year legal deadline and
• Take action on climate change to protect polar bear habitat

Today, Nature Canada supports the government’s decision to recognize the perilous condition of Canada’s Polar Bear population by listing it under the Species at Risk Act (SARA).

The listing in law officially recognises the at-risk status which the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) has assigned to the polar bear since 1991. This important milestone means that, by law, a plan must be devised within three years to prevent the species from becoming endangered or threatened.

During the public comment period for the proposal to list the Polar Bear as a species of special concern, 99% of the comments received by the government supported the proposal. The vast majority of comments called for official designation under SARA and fast action on climate change.

The message was clear: listing the polar bear, coupled with action on climate change, are necessary to save one of Canada’s most iconic species.

With nearly 15,000 polar bears, Canada accounts for 60 per cent of the world's polar bear population. But dramatic changes, caused by global warming, are taking place in the Arctic that threaten the survival of this spectacular species.

Climate change is causing polar ice caps to melt, robbing the bears of the ice floes they need to hunt prey. If the Arctic ice cap continues to melt sooner and form later, Polar Bears will become too thin to reproduce and many scientists predict they will become extinct by the end of this century.

Thousands of Nature Canada supporters asked the federal government to act now before it’s too late – and  much work still needs to be done to protect the Polar Bear.

Nature Canada urges the federal government to take fast action on climate change to prevent the extinction of this spectacular species, and strongly recommends that a management plan – mandated by law – be completed in advance of the three-year deadline.

My Reflections on the Release of the "Birds at Risk" Report

For over a year, I have worked with colleagues with National Resources Defence Council and Boreal Songbird Initiative on writing the Birds at Risk: The Importance of Canada’s Boreal Wetlands and Waterways.

It is good to see it out in the public forum. Though I’ve lived most of the my life in southern Canada, I have spent considerable time in the boreal region, first as a Park Naturalist on Lake Superior, and afterwards as an atlasser for the Atlas of Breeding Birds of Ontario – both in the early 1980s, and between 2001 and 2005, with the Quebec Breeding Bird Atlas in 1987, and a range of other trips both related to work and pleasure.

I’ve learned that canoeing is the only viable means of getting around in the summer, that in the Hudson Bay lowlands, even with gloves, long sleeves and a bug net over my head, 64 black flies can bite me under my watch band in one day, that there can still be ice along some of the rivers in late June, and most importantly that the vast forests and river systems are not uninhabited, but rather part of the homelands of First Nations peoples. The bugs, the rapids and the sudden changes in temperature do not scare me . . . but the red tinted water escaping from the mine tailings empoundment, the sickly smell of herbicides from aerial spraying and the distant din of machines do.

I am one of those auditory birders – though I enjoy seeing birds, I love hearing them and find great satisfaction in knowing their voices. The sound scape of the boreal wetlands is unequal for drama and beauty. The Common Loon’s song is at the top of the most emotive and haunting sounds on earth. Add to this the melodic flute-like refrains of Hermit Thrushes, a cheery chorus of White-throated Sparrow, the staccato explosiveness of a Connecticut Warbler’s song, and the emphatic “Whip-three-beers” of the threatened Olive-sided Flycatcher, and you have, in my view, the perfect symphony.

Sadly, members of the orchestra are dropping out as pressures to exploit the rich resources of the boreal accelerate destruction and change, and climate change tightens its grip on these northern biomes.

As manager of bird conservation programs for Nature Canada, I know that part of our mission is to be a voice for nature, including the species that are being silenced. We hope that the messages from this report will be discussed, debated and inform decisions related to this precious biome. This is our chance as a country to make a difference for our children, and their children with our largest ecological contribution to the earth’s health, our boreal forest.

Climate Negotiations and Justice for Vulnerable Populations

Volunteer inspects trees at a tree nursery in Oviedo, Dominican Republic

On Monday I had the opportunity to spend the day at a learning conference that Nature Canada, as a member of the Canadian Coalition on Climate Change and Development (C4D), helped organize.

C4D brings together many of Canada's development and environmental organizations around climate change adaptation, financing and other climate change issues that affect our partners in developing countries. Nature Canada participates in C4D primarily because our integrated conservation and development work cannot ignore climate change and to advocate for the protection of nature and ecosystem-based approaches in climate change adaptation policy and action.

This year, C4D decided to learn more about REDD - the mechanism that is being negotiated internationally to reduce emission from deforestation and forest degradation - and about the debates around its potential impact on small farmers, indigenous peoples and other marginalized and vulnerable people. Earlier this year we held a small learning session about REDD and on Monday 4 panels of fabulous speakers from Canada and the South helped us learn and reflect on the upcoming meeting of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Durban in November and the upcoming Rio + 20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in June 2012; REDD and other financing mechanism for mitigation; the role of agriculture; and the opportunities for Canadian civil society organizations around these international fora.

I am still taking all this in, but I heard a few clear messages:

1. Governments are not listening to scientists and are not acting on the opportunity to keep climate change below the level that may avert great human and ecosystem harm (an average increase of less than 1.5 degrees Celsius) before it is too late

2. The most vulnerable, including women, will suffer the most: climate change is a social justice issue, and developed countries need to fund and support adaptation. We need to build RESILIENCE

3. Social and local mobilization are sources of hope, as are, potentially, municipal and provincial governments

4. Upcoming meetings promise little if any progress; but we need to avoid bad decisions, particularly on agriculture, technology transfers and forests

5. Every effort to support action on climate change mitigation and adaptation counts: we can't give up!

Learn more, talk to others, talk to your government, mobilize!

The conference was organized by C4D in collaboration with the Canadian Council for International Cooperation (CCIC) Africa Canada Forum and Asia Pacific Working Group and Canadian Food Security Policy Group. It was possible thanks to the support of Canadian Foodgrains Bank, CARE Canada, CCIC with support from the International Development Research Centre, and the Royal Norwegian Embassy.

Reading suggestions, more detail on the conference and a related public event held Monday night are available here.

A webcast of the conference will be available soon. Check back on this blog for the link.

Want to know more about Nature Canada's work in developing countries? Check out our projects in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Polar Bear to be Added to Species at Risk List

At last, in part thanks to thousands of letters sent by Nature Canada supporters, Canada appears set to list polar bears under Canada's species-at-risk legislation.

Ottawa gave notice July 2 of the proposal to list the polar bear as a species of special concern under the Species At Risk Act, something Canada’s scientific Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife has been recommending since 1991.

The proposal is undergoing a 30-day public comment period, and a final decision is anticipated to be made in November.

This important milestone means that, by law, a plan must be devised within three years to prevent the species from becoming endangered or threatened.

Polar bears are the world’s largest land predators, and the most majestic creature of the Far North. But dramatic changes, caused by global warming, are taking place in the Arctic that threaten the survival of this spectacular species.

Global warming is melting the polar ice caps, robbing the bears of the ice floes they need to hunt prey. As the annual sea ice melts, polar bears are forced ashore to spend their summers fasting. If the Arctic ice cap continues to melt sooner and form later, polar bears will become too thin to reproduce and many scientists predict they will become extinct by the end of this century.

The Arctic sea ice, which some reports say is shrinking by up to five per cent every ten years, not only provides hunting ground for polar bears, but shelter and transportation for seals, walrus, arctic foxes, and the Inuit people. The underside provides a surface for algae that supports cod, char, beluga, and narwhal. The white sea ice also has a cooling effect on climate by reflecting light away from Earth’s surface. As it melts, global warming advances even more quickly.

The United States designated the polar bear as threatened in May 2008. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature added the polar bear to its "Red List" of the world's most imperiled wildlife in 2006.

COSEWIC has said four of Canada's 13 polar bear subpopulations are at risk of becoming threatened over the next few decades, due to shrinking sea ice in some areas and overhunting in others. In 2009, the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group (PBSG) cited climate change as the greatest challenge to the conservation of polar bears, and concluded that 1 of 19 subpopulations is currently increasing, 3 are stable and 8 are declining. For the remaining 7 subpopulations available data were insufficient to provide an assessment of the current trend.

There are approximately 15,000 polar bears in Canada, accounting for 60 per cent of the world's polar bear population, according to federal estimates.

Nature Canada and its supporters have been actively lobbying for the polar bear to be added to the Species at Risk list. More than 3,100 people sent letters demanding official designation, and over 40,000 people signed our petition for fast action on climate change to save the polar bear.

We encourage you to take part in the 30-day comment period – let Environment Minister Peter Kent know your views on listing the polar bear on Canada’s Species at Risk list.

6 Hot Home Tips for Cool Summer Living

by Fantastijes

A late start to the summer means that we've only recently dusted our standing fans, planted our vegetable gardens, and started planning our weekend getaways.

But what about all the time that we'll be spending indoors when the thermostat is pushing 30? With a little planning, you can easily keep your home cool and your energy bills down.

If you're looking to beat the heat naturally, stay cool while keeping these green tips in mind:

Create a stir. Circulating air keeps you cooler, and fans use 90% less energy than air conditioners. If you can, set up a cross-current with window fans.

Get with the program. On days when air conditioning is an absolute necessity, set the thermostat to 25C and leave it there. If you'll be away from home for more than four hours, turn the a/c off and program it to turn on an hour before you return.

Invest in low-E. Windows with low-E films keep out the summer heat. As a bonus, they'll also keep heat inside during the winter. Make sure all windows are properly sealed to avoid drafts.

Reflect on your roof. If you're planning on updating your roof, choose light-coloured materials to redirect the sun's heat away from your home. Alternatively, install a radiant barrier inside your roof to accomplish some of the same goals.

Go green – from the top down. Consider a green roof that will not only cool your home, but can provide habitat for wildlife if you plant native, drought-tolerant species. Environment Canada research shows that a typical one-storey building with about 10 cm of grass and growth medium on its roof cuts its cooling needs by 25%.

Don't forget the garden. Plant shrubs and trees that will shield your house from the sun and keep it cooler while attracting beneficial birds, insects, and other nature neighbours.

As an added incentive, following these green tips for staying cool and you'll be contributing to the global effort to fight climate change. Much of the energy that we use during the summer goes into trying to stay cool and comfortable indoors. By 2030, global energy demand is expected to be two thirds higher than it is today. Reducing our household energy consumption makes sense for the planet and the pocketbook.

Save Our Frogs!

Northern Leopard Frog

We hear them calling at night. They live in our ponds, streams, marshes and backyards. We keep them as pets. Yet we take for granted that frogs and toads will always be around. Today is Save the Frogs Day, a day to celebrate our amphibious friends and raise awareness about their plight.

Around the world frog populations are declining in large part due to human activity. This is very significant – the health of frog populations has long been regarded as a strong indicator of how healthy our wild ecosystems are. Frogs have semi-permeable skin, making them very sensitive to environmental change and excellent “indicator species”. Of the approximately 6000 known amphibian species, it is estimated that 1/3 are at risk of extinction. The main threats to these beautiful creatures are habitat loss and destruction, chemical pollutants in waterways, invasive species, and disease.

Here is a small look at just a few of Canada’s noteworthy frog species:

Blanchard’s Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans blanchardi) – These greenish-brown, red, black or yellow-coloured treefrogs reach a maximum size of 4 centimetres, and can be found in Ontario. They live in marshes, drainage trenches and quarries. Feeding on small insects, these frogs on average live only 1 to 2 years. Pesticide contamination and habitat destruction are the main causes of population decline. Blanchard’s Cricket frog is listed as endangered by the Ontario and Federal Governments.

Great Basin Spadefoot (Spea intermontanus) – This British Columbian species can be found in vernal ponds, semi-permanent alkali lakes, and in arid areas near breeding sites. At 5 centimetres, the frog gets its name from a sharp-edged, horny tubercle on the inside of its hind foot, which is wedge-shaped. Their skin is quite smooth, and they have teeth in their upper jaw. It appears that populations have declined in BC due to threats from recreational vehicles and habitat destruction by cattle.

Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) – Even if you’re not familiar with the Spring Peeper, you’ve probably heard its unique repetitive chirping call each spring, which can carry over half a kilometre in range. At 3 centimetres, this frog has a wide range in Canada, and has been found from Manitoba to Prince Edward Island, and even in Florida. One female can lay 800 to 1000 eggs with tadpoles hatching in 6 to 12 days. Even though it is considered relatively stable in most of its habitat, the Toronto area populations have disappeared.

Western (Striped) Chorus Frog (Pseudacris triseriata) – This greenish-grey coloured treefrog can be identified by the 3 dark stripes along its back, and reaches an adult size of only 4 centimetres. This frog is only found in a small part of Canada - in Southern Ontario and along the Ottawa and upper St. Lawrence rivers in Québec.
   
Leopard Frog (Rana pipiens) – With its unique large, light-edged spots adorning its green or brown coloured-body, the Leopard frog can be spotted very easily. It can be found in every province and territory except for the Yukon, and can also be found in the northwestern United States. But the Northern Leopard Frog is found only in Canada. A single female can lay up to 7000 eggs, and the average lifespan for an adult in the wild is 3 to 4 years. The male Leopard frog call sounds like a low-pitched snore quickly followed by low grunts. Although very widespread, there is strong evidence that Western Canadian populations are declining, due to habitat loss and long-term drought.

So, what can be done to help our amphibious neighbours? Here are a few suggestions:

• Nature Canada’s FrogWatch program is a great way to get to know common frog species and contribute to citizen science. FrogWatch provides tips for identifying frogs by sight and sound and encourages people to collect information on frog species and submit that data to help scientists get a better understanding of frog populations across the country.
• Learn about the main threats to frog species living near you and learn how to prevent further damage to our natural ecosystems. Dumping chemicals into our waterways, or releasing non-native species of mammal, fish, amphibian or bird into the wild are two of the biggest threats to Canadian amphibians.
• Take a look at the Save the Frogs Day website to learn about the global initiative to protect, save and educate ourselves about frog and toad species facing extinction.
• Never purchase wild frogs, toads or other amphibians from pet stores or breeders as this greatly affects native wild populations.

Nature Canada would like to thank Michael Berrigan for contributing this blog post.

Canadians more willing than Americans to pay more for renewable energy

Read our position on wind energy

A recent poll shows that Canadians are more willing than Americans to pay more for renewable energy – they’re also more likely to accept evidence of climate change.

A survey by the Public Policy Forum and Sustainable Prosperity found that 73% of Canadians would be willing to pay up to $50 more every year for renewable energy. Their American counterparts were less willing to do the same – only 55% agreed to a $50 hike in yearly energy costs.

“The results are encouraging and in line with much of the research that we have recently published,” said Sustainable Prosperity’s Alex Wood in a statement. “The numbers are clear, Canadians want smart climate change policy, and the evidence here is that they believe carbon pricing to be a central element of smart climate change policy.”

This translated into support for cap and trade and carbon tax policies by the majority of Canadians surveyed. Not surprisingly, 40% of Canadians agreed that federal and provincial governments should take action against climate change.

It’s notable that Canadians’ support for smart climate change policies – even at the cost of an extra $50 per month – stands in contrast to Americans’ opinions. Why the difference? There are likely many factors involved in shaping public opinion on climate change policy, but a fundamental factor is how strongly people believe in the phenomenon of climate change.

According to the poll, Canadians are more likely than Americans to believe in climate change: 80% of Canadians believe there is strong evidence to support climate change, compared with only 55% of Americans. One reason for this gap could be the degree to which Climategate affected Americans’ views on climate change compared to Canadians, which is alluded to in the survey’s comments section.

Despite the 2009 email scandal involving prominent climate change scientists, Canadians showed strong support for the idea that climate change is happening – 90% believe it’s a serious problem.

The survey attracted a lot of media attention for highlighting the difference between Canadian and American views on climate change, but perhaps the greatest take-away message was that Canadians want to see their government enact environment-friendly energy policies.

Supporting Communities and Conservation in the Dominican Republic

Children take a tour of a nursery in Oviedo

After visiting Formon near Macaya National Park in Haiti last week, our director of conservation, Mara Kerry, has spent the last few days visiting our partner, Grupo Jaragua, in the Dominican Republic.

Grupo Jaragua is working to promote sustainable livelihoods with the support of Nature Canada and the Canadian International Development Agency, just like our Haitian partner, Haiti Audubon Society, is doing in Haiti. As Canadian co-partners in BirdLife International, we are committed to working across borders for birds and people.

Grupo Jaragua’s work is centered on the community of Oviedo in southwestern Dominican Republic, and is aimed at improving the lives of people in the community while ensuring the conservation of the Jaragua-Bahoruco-Enriquillo Biosphere Reserve.

The Reserve is critically important for many endemic species of plants, birds and other animals in the Caribbean. The Bicknell's Thrush – an at-risk bird species facing habitat loss across its range – spends the winter in the Reserve, and many more migratory birds depend on the forests of Haiti and the Dominican Republic as safe wintering grounds and stop-over sites.

Here's what Mara had to say about her visit:

Upon my arrival in Oviedo, I was met by a large group including staff, volunteers and members of the local mothers', children's and livestock producers' groups. Many of the volunteers were the beneficiaries of the summer camps for children that Grupo Jaragua has been running in the area for years. As young adults, they are determined to make a difference and advance sustainable development and conservation.

One young man testified that he used to hunt wild animals and plants in the Jaragua-Bahoruco-Enriquillo Biosphere Reserve. Since participating in the workshops of Grupo Jaragua, he has changed his behavior – he has stopped hunting. He understands the unique value of the plants and animals in the region and that some are endangered and is now trying to influence his own family stop hunting. He would like his uncles in particular to stop hunting and learn to care for the forests and its animals. Another young man was inspired by the workshops to go to university to study biology so that he can contribute to his country's growth towards sustainability.

Grupo Jaragua has also been instrumental in building tree nurseries in Oviedo. I had the chance to pay them a visit – they’re really cool!

A volunteer inspects the trees inside a tree nursery in Oviedo.

The nurseries only use native plants. Grupo Jaragua is piloting several agroforestry plots with some of these native species, which also have an economic value to the community.

A volunteer waters a seedling planted as part of an agroforestry project in Oviedo.

Here’s the plan for these pilot projects: in the canopy there will be trees that can provide fuel for cooking, fruit, and wood for crafts and furniture. The really neat thing about this is that these resources can be harvested from just the branches – the tree does not need to be cut down.

In the understory, there will be trees that provide food, such as fruit, for the community. One tree in particular produces a berry that the people of Oviedo use to make the local wine which can be sold for a good price. Another is a shrub-like plant whose leaves can be used to make tea and the bark to make a perfume that is popular here and in Haiti. In addition, a local indigenous species of oregano can be grown along with crops like yuca and sweet potato.

Five families in the area are experimenting with agroforestry practices on their own land. And they haven’t stopped there – they are also experimenting with "live fences" that can produce food for animals (goats and cattle) in a sustainable manner.

Grupo Jaragua has also helped build the community centre where it hosts workshops on sustainable resource use and climate change adaptation practices. These workshops are open to everyone in the community, and as a result, more people know more about climate change, birds conservation and agroforestry. The building itself is wonderful and the main hall is used by the community for everything from the workshops to local weddings, birthdays and even funerals. In addition, the centre provides a source of income. The cabins can be rented out to visitors, technical experts and for other community events.

I’m very encouraged by what I’ve seen during my visit. The people of Oviedo have really embraced the idea of integrating sustainable practices into their daily lives and we’re thrilled to be part of that change. This would not be possible without the work of our partner, Grupo Jaragua. We are very proud to support this work. Projects in communities like Oviedo are making a tangible difference to people’s lives and it is our hope that they will continue to receive the support they need to build a better future.

Displaying Unusual Behaviour: Polar Bears Observed Preying on Bird Nests

Polar bears are known to consume a wide range of marine mammals, with chicks and bird eggs not featuring prominently in their diet.

So when scientists observed a group of polar bears feeding on a colony of arctic birds in Hudson Bay, they took note. Reporting their findings in the scientific journal, Polar Biology, the researchers speculated that the unusual behavior could be the result of sea ice breaking up earlier in the year, among other factors.

Rising arctic temperatures have caused sea ice, used by polar bears to hunt for seal and other mammals during the winter months, to break apart up to a month earlier than 20 years ago. The early break up happens to coincide with the period when arctic birds, such as snow geese and thick-billed murres, build their nests. Polar bears, finding themselves on shore earlier in the year, have been spotted feeding on chicks and bird eggs on Coats and Southampton Islands. An Environment Canada news story highlights the potential for the bears to increasingly depend on birds as a food source.

Should we be alarmed? Keep in mind that these observations are anecdotal, but they do point to the potential for climate change to impact the delicate balance in the north. As the arctic environment continues to change, complex ecological interactions are being played out with potentially troubling results for birds.

The Great Southern Exodus

“Imagine your lawn crawling north away from your house at a speed of about five and a half feet per year.”

It’s a powerful image Dr. Lawrence Smith uses to describe the impact of climate change in his recent book, The World in 2050: Four Forces Shaping Civilization's Northern Future, which has garnered him media attention.

After a bit of searching, I found numerous credible sources citing scientific papers that back up his startling prediction. It falls in line with research findings that have been years in the making. I might add that to understand the full impact of Smith’s analogy, you’d also have to imagine that your south-facing backyard is shrinking, drying up, and losing lustre. 

But we’re not just talking about your lawn and backyard vegetable patch. Smith paints a picture of a very real and extensively documented phenomenon that will have wide-ranging effects. As global temperatures rise, plants and animals will be pushed north and up in to higher altitudes.

Animals and plants are sensitive to changes in temperature, with several studies showing that some have adapted to regional warming by shifting their range to the north. Global-scale models predict a continuous northerly shift in both plant and animal distributions. 

But keep in mind that even if species have the flexibility to adapt and keep up with a changing climate, physical barriers such as mountains and human settlements could stand in the way. Other factors like food availability and soil types could also prevent a range shift.

Animals and plants that are already under considerable stress are least likely to make the move north, a point that is highlighted in an assessment by the European Environmental Agency.

In a recent interview with Bob MacDonald, host of CBC Radio’s Quirks and Quarks, Dr. Smith updated his original analogy to something a bit more dramatic in scale. 

“It's five and a half feet per day," Dr. Smith told host Bob McDonald. "And this number refers not to the spread of agriculture, but to the mass migration of biological life that is already happening on our planet and has been for several decades. On average the world's plants and animals have been moving northward to higher latitude at a rate of about six kilometres per decade."

Climate Change Linked to Shrinking Birds

Photo: Scarlet Tanager.
Courtesy of TheMarvelousInNature from Flickr

Certain birds in North America are getting smaller, according to a paper published last year in the journal Oikos and covered in the October issue of The Scientist.

Researchers from the University of Zϋrich found that more than 100 bird species have shrunk in size over the past half of a century. This appears to be driven by climate change, since smaller body size and wing length provide an advantage in a warmer climate. What that advantage may be, is still unknown. However, it is well known that animals that live in warmer climates tend to be smaller. The changes observed could be the result of bird species adapting to a warming earth.

About half a million birds were weighed and measured in the study. On average, a species’ body mass shrunk by 1.3%. Some species, like the rose-breasted grosbeak, lost 4% over the 46-year study period. The most affected bird species were North American songbirds, but the pattern was also found in birds that spend the winter in the Caribbean and South America. The BBC’s coverage of the study includes more details and is worth checking out.

While it’s not easy to say whether these changes will have long-term effects on the bird populations studied, they have raised concerns about the consequences of a warming planet for birds.

“The fact that this selection seems to be favoring small birds and that the birds are getting smaller both suggests that the decrease in size is an adaptive response . . . But the problem is to what extent can you keep adapting in that way? If it keeps getting warmer, and you keep having to select for small size, then eventually you are going to see the consequences of that,” said Ary Hoffmann, commenting on the paper in The Scientist.

The Cancún Agreement

Last week saw the conclusion of the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Cancún, Mexico. The resulting Cancún Agreement is not legally binding, but it is more than most expected. The signatories (all negotiating parties except Bolivia, who considers the agreement ecocide) agreed to keep talking; promised to keep global temperature rise below 2 °C (without saying how); and pledged to establish a Green Climate Fund (with the World Bank as the trustee) where developed countries are expected to contribute $100 billion per year by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries, as well as approximately $30 billion for 2010-2012 as a fast-start finance mechanism.

Two other positive advances in the climate negotiations are: 1) an agreement on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), in which developing countries are encouraged to, and compensated for, protecting their forests.; and 2) the establishment of the Cancún Adaptation Framework, with the ‘objective of enhancing action on adaptation’.

The unresolved question is whether to extend the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which contains binding emissions reduction targets for developed countries. The debate is postponed to COP17 to be held in Durban, South Africa in 2011, or in 2012, the year the Protocol expires. Unlike many countries that were willing to compromise, Canada, Japan and Russia strongly oppossed an extension of Kyoto. Canada has argued only an agreement including all countries would be effective and fair–the US has not ratified the Protocol, and India and China are exempted from cutting their emissions until 2012. Some Canadians, however, would prefer to be leaders in cutting emissions.

For many, the Cancún Agreement has revitalized the UN body regulating climate change, especially after the failure of COP15 in Copenhagen in 2009. Expectations were extremely low, so most have applauded the outcomes. Yet the most urgent outcome-a plan to reduce emissions and keep the global temperature rise below catastrophic levels-will have to wait until South Africa.

Canada's Only Climate Legislation Killed in the Senate

Canada's only federal climate change legislation, the Climate Change Accountability Act, was defeated in the Senate 43 to 32 last night.

After being stalled for months, there was a surprise vote on Bill C-311 before any debate or consideration could be held in the Senate. This unprecedented action means that a Bill passed by a majority of elected MPs, representing two-thirds of Canadians, is dead.

What now?

Canada will be heading to the UN climate change negotiations in Cancun this December without a single law on the books or Bill in Parliament tackling greenhouse gas pollution. We have been assured that new climate legislation will be brought forward, but a delay of even a year or two could be devastating for species and wildlife habitats in Canada.

Nature Canada supporters have consistently raised their voices in support of strong, swift action from the government to address climate change. Our call has been heard - climate legislation has been passed in the House of Commons twice in the past two years. And although those Bills have failed to become law, any federal party opposing action on climate change must resort to parliamentary tricks to do so.

Report says it's time to end subsidies to fossil fuel companies

An oil pipeline stretches across
the landscape

Last week the Climate Action Network released a report on the billions of dollars in tax breaks that the Government of Canada hands out to oil, coal and gas companies each year -- and the problems this poses for attempts to address our changing climate and transition to a greener economy.

From the report, Fuelling the Problem:

By subsidizing fossil fuel producing companies the government is encouraging faster production and facilitating the rapid expansion of large fossil fuel projects such as the Alberta tar sands, Canada’s fastest growing source of greenhouse gas pollution.

Globally, artificially low costs of fossil fuels have been shown to encourage wasteful consumption, distort energy markets, and allow for increased greenhouse gas pollution, thereby fueling the climate crisis. Subsidizing oil extraction also makes investments in oil more attractive compared to lower carbon, lower risk alternatives, thereby increasing the lock‐in of economies into fossil fuels.

In a time of fiscal constraint, the federal government could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in extra revenue by ending unfair tax breaks to some of the richest companies in the world. Eliminating handouts to oil and gas corporations operating in Canada would also help the country take a step towards a cleaner energy economy.

So why no action? Using leaked government memos, the report outlines a months-long strategy to downplay its responsibility to phase out fossil fuel subsidies, something all G20 countries agreed to do in 2009. According to the report, the Green Budget Coalition (in which Nature Canada is a member) has identified over $900 million in tax breaks to the fossil fuels industry that could be eliminated in the March 2011 federal budget.

Climate Change Bill Continues to Collect Dust

As reported by 350.org, on Sunday, 10/10/10, citizens in 188 countries engaged in more than 7,000 organized “work parties” to cut carbon and asked their politicians a simple question, "We're getting to work, what about you?"

Well on Friday September 8, Stephen Harper and his Conservative government answered them by instructing his appointed senators to delay the country’s only federal climate bill and ordering them not to speak on the subject, even though senators had five solid months to review the legislation, and to prevent the legislation from moving forward.

The legislation in question is Bill C-311, the Climate Change Accountability Act, which was passed in the House of Commons last May by elected MPs and subsequently stalled in the Senate during the summer months. Harper’s instructions came after the prescribed five months to consider the bill. Richard Neufeld, an oil and gas sector veteran is responsible for leading the debate, however the senator has refused to acknowledged the bill, and according to Senate rules, only government can conclude debate on a bill or schedule votes.

This scenario is all too familiar, as a similar bill touching on clean energy was blocked in the US last July by the Senate and to this day there has been no vote and no change.

Support Bill C-311 by writing to your local MP and letting them know that you feel strongly about this issue. You can also join our campaign to stop the tar sands, Canada's largest contributor to climate change.

Fall Preview: What Should Parliament Be Doing for the Environment?

Parliament resumed this week, and there are several environmental policies or legislations that need action now. Nature Canada will be asking our elected representatives to:

• Complete the mandatory Species at Risk Act 5-year review.

The long-awaited 5-year review of Canada's Species at Risk Act (SARA) began in 2009. The House of Commons Environment Committee has heard testimony from many witnesses and received numerous submissions, including from Nature Canada, and now needs to complete its report. As we wait for recommendations to make this crucial environmental legislation stronger, the list of at-risk species in Canada has reached 602.

Parliament must act now to strengthen SARA and make the law work to protect our endangered species.

• Begin a comprehensive review of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and reinstate crucial measures that were cut this spring in Bill C-9, the Budget Implementation Act.

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA) establishes the national environmental assessment process used to evaluate the negative environmental impacts of new projects like mines, pipelines and tar sands projects and seeks out ways to reduce or eliminate those negative impacts.

During the budget process this spring, changes were made to CEAA that weaken the Act, side-stepping a mandatory review process that was due to start in June.

There should be a full consultation and discussion on CEAA, allowing for open and transparent debate of any further amendments. We are calling on all MPs to work to reinstate the legislation that was removed from the Act and strengthen it to ensure that our environment is protected.

• Begin a comprehensive review of regulation of unconventional oil and gas production promised in the spring.

In the wake of the Gulf oil spill, the federal government voted on June 2 to immediately conduct an open public review of relevant federal laws, regulations and policies regarding the development of all unconventional sources of oil and gas. Since this decision, little action has been taken, leaving Canada's wildlife and habitats in danger from oil and gas development.

The federal government must immediately undertake this comprehensive review to assure Canadians that our oil and gas development regulations meet the highest standards.

Additionally, Bill C-311 - the only piece of climate change legislation currently under consideration in Canada - is stalled in the Senate. The Bill has been adjourned in the name of Conservative Senator Richard Neufeld and cannot move forward until he speaks to it.

This Bill has been passed in the House of Commons not once, but twice. It was originally introduced as Bill C-377 by the NDP in 2008; the Bill died when an election was called in the Fall of 2008. In its most recent form, Bill C-311 passed third reading in the House by a majority of MPs representing almost 2/3 of the Canadian population.

Concerned Canadians have constantly raised their voices demanding strong action from our government on climate change, and we hope to see this Bill move forward this fall.

If you agree that these issues are important and the federal government needs to act on them this fall, contact your MP today and tell them to take action for Canada's environment.

Ozone Success Shows Emissions Can Be Reduced

When I was growing up, before going to play outside we were always told, "Put on lots of sunscreen!" The hole in the ozone layer was a fairly recent discovery, and cholorfluorocarbons (CFCs) were still found in everything from refrigerator coolants to hair spray aerosol pumps.

While today's findings by UN scientists that the ozone layer has stopped thinning don't mean I can leave the tube of sunblock at home, they do show us that a concerted global effort can reduce emissions and have a positive effect on the environment.

From the AFP story:

"The Montreal Protocol signed in 1987 to control ozone depleting substances is working, it has protected us from further ozone depletion over the past decades," said World Meteorological Organisation head of research Len Barrie.


"Global ozone, including ozone in the polar region, is no longer decreasing but not yet increasing," he told journalists.

The 300 scientists who compiled the four yearly ozone assessment now expect that the ozone layer in the stratosphere will be restored to 1980 levels in 2045 to 2060, according to the report, "slightly earlier" than expected.

 
This success in reducing CFCs, also a contributor to climate change, shows us that a concerted effort could reduce other greenhouse gas emissions. The world was able to recognize its danger once before and we hope that global leaders will come together again this winter to agree on steps to reduce the levels of greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere by human activity.

Study Shows Toxins Affect Polar Bears, Gulls, other Arctic Wildlife

A recently published report uses new data on the effects of persistent organohalogen contaminants (OHCs) on Arctic wildlife to evaluate health risks of a range of species, including polar bears, killer whales and black-backed gulls.

The study, created for the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program, looked at OHC contamination in relation to other stressors like disease, predation, climate change, food scarcity, and body condition, to see how contaminants affect species at a population level.

For the Arctic's top predator, the research findings:

have highlighted that OHCs adversely affect polar bear liver and kidney functions, immune response and endocrine system, which helps regulate growth, cognitive abilities, and body temperature. These impairments may alter the ability for bears to acclimatize and adapt to extreme Arctic environments.

When these effects are considered in combination with climate change, natural periods of fasting, cub survival rate, and female reproductive impairment, polar bear populations in East Greenland and Svalbard may be at higher risk of chronic population-level stress.

Studies of other species found similar trends. The effects of certain OHCs on great black-backed gulls from northern Norway, for example, appeared to have been aggravated when the birds were exposed to parasites, climate change, and food scarcity, among other things.

More details from this study are summarized in Environment Canada's quarterly newsletter, Wildlife and Landscape Science News, which, incidentally, I always find an interesting read.

In the Climate Debate, We Don't Need More Science, We Need More PR

Leading up to the recent G20 summit in Toronto Prime Minister Harper called climate change talks a "sideshow" and cancelled the gathering of environment ministers that normally precedes the meeting.

Back in January, Americans ranked global warming dead last among public priorities (just as they did in 2009). Now, that public opinion cooling trend has spread elsewhere. Just 42 percent of Germans are concerned about climate change, down from 62 percent in 2006. In Australia, only 53 percent still consider it an urgent issue, down from 75 percent in 2007. Newsweek Magazine has relegated climate change to being "just one policy priority among many" and "just another flavor of grubby interest politics".

For climate scientists, and the NGOs who advocate bold, decisive action to address the climate crisis, these are frustrating times.

Distressingly, many people in the green movement are tempted to spend time casting blame for the apparent rise in skepticism over global warming -- it's the climate change deniers and their blogs, it's the big oil lobby, it's journalists bent on providing "both sides" of the issue, it's an ignorant public that refuses to listen to the facts.

But assigning blame is a waste of time.

As Erin Biba argued in a recent Wired Magazine column, what climate scientists need isn't someone to blame, and it isn't more science. It's better PR.

This isn't a message scientists necessarily like to hear. Biba writes:

This kind of talk can be unsettling to scientists. “Scientists hate the word spin. They get bent out of shape by the concept that they should frame their message,” says Jennifer Ouellette, director of the Science and Entertainment Exchange, a National Academy of Sciences program that helps connect the entertainment industry with technical consultants. “They feel that the facts should speak for themselves. They’re not wrong; they’re just not realistic.”

Facts alone rarely convince people outside academe. Messages need to be personal, and whether we like it or not, arguments that appeal to a person's basic self-serving nature are more effective. It's not enough to say "Eat your vegetables, they're good for you." Instead you need to answer questions like What's in it for me? How do I benefit? We need to frame the issue in terms that say if we do something (invest in clean energy, say, or adopt conservation) we'll be richer and happier than we are today.

It's all the more important that the climatology community seek the expertise of PR professionals at a time when every crackpot theorist has the power to sway opinion by simply typing away in some basement. The days are long gone when spending years studying a subject, earning an advanced degree and becoming an expert in your field automatically granted you some credibility and trust. A strong anti-establishment current against experts, primarily attacking their basic motivations ("they're just saying that to get grant money") has seriously eroded public trust in traditional centres of authority.

And in the end, scientists must turn to the PR professionals because, as Chris Mooney writes in the Washington Post:

as much as the public misunderstands science, scientists misunderstand the public. In particular, they often fail to realize that a more scientifically informed public is not necessarily a public that will more frequently side with scientists...

Experts aren't wrong in thinking that Americans don't know much about science, but given how little they themselves often know about the public, they should be careful not to throw stones. Rather than simply crusading against ignorance, the defenders of science should also work closely with social scientists and specialists in public opinion to determine how to defuse controversies by addressing their fundamental causes.

In other words, we don't need more facts. We need better storytellers.

Climate Change Accountability Stalled in Senate, Faces Opposition from Chamber of Commerce

What could be more iconic than a summer road trip? Time for sun, sightseeing and… smog? That's right - we're deep into the hazy days of summer, and climate change is still on our minds.

Bill C-311, the only piece of climate change legislation currently under consideration in Canada, may be stalled in the Senate for the rest of the summer. As reported in The Globe and Mail, the Bill has been adjourned in the name of Conservative Senator Richard Neufeld and cannot move forward until he speaks to it.

The Bill was introduced in the House of Commons by NDP MP Bruce Hyer and is being supported in the Senate by Liberal Senator Grant Mitchell.

This Bill has been passed in the House of Commons not once, but twice. It was originally introduced as Bill C-377 by the NDP in 2008; the Bill died when an election was called in the Fall of 2008. In its most recent form, Bill C-311 passed third reading in the House by a majority of MPs representing almost 2/3 of the Canadian population.

In addition to the legislative delays that Bill C-311 has faced, another challenge is looming after the National Post reported that the Canadian Chamber of Commerce is calling on its members to lobby the Senate to kill the Bill. Their argument: requiring a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change is a threat to Canada's economic competitiveness.

Supporters of the Bill point out that there are many lucrative opportunities in a new green economy that can only be achieved if we take action now to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. The Bill also contains provisions to modify the ambitious targets of a 25% reduction below 1990 levels by 2020 and an 80% reduction by 2050.

Concerned Canadians have constantly raised their voices demanding strong action from our government on climate change. We recognize that if we continue down the road we're on, it's leading to a dead end.

Nature Canada hopes the Senate will pass the bill and allow Canada to start catching up!

Photo by confidence, comely/Flickr