[All] GREN NEWS Jan 2017

[water.lulu at yahoo.ca]

Happy New Years everybody! 
Here's the latest
Local
Elmira Chemtura contamination update: Woolwich Remediation Advisory Committee (RAC) announced the retirement of current TechnicalAdvisory Group (TAG) Chairperson Dr. Dick Jacksoneffective December 31st Tiffany Svenssonwas introduced as the new chairperson effective January 1st. She is a SolutionLeader/Senior Hydrogeologist at BluMetric Environment Inc.  RAC has also recommended to the MOECC that it revise its residential notice of May 2016 bythe end of February, 2017. RAC wants the notice to indicate that the sediment quality data inthe Canagagigue Creek for dioxins and furans in an October 31 MOECC document does notsupport the MOECC statement that Toxicity Equivalent (TEQ) levels “have decreasedsubstantially since [MOECC] first began monitoring the creek in the 1990s.”  
Dec. 22nd media release here: http://www.woolwich.ca/en/township-services/resources/Media-Release-for-RAC-Dec-22-2016.pdf
Technical Advisory Group (TAG) Work Plan 2016 is online and shows mapping and further details of the contamination issues here: http://www.woolwich.ca/en/township-services/resources/Committees-of-Council---2016-TAG-Work-Plan.pdf
Nestle/Elora updates: 1. SaveOurWater.ca and Wellington Water Watchers accuse Nestlé, Centre Wellington of 'backroom deal' to privatize water - CBC News story here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/nestle-centre-wellington-accused-deny-backroom-deals-1.3920539

2. Wellington Water Watchers has an upcoming public meeting on the issue happening on Jan. 11th 7pm at the Royal Canadian Legion at 110 Metcalfe St. Elora. Details here: http://wellingtonwaterwatchers.nationbuilder.com/urgent_meeting_in_elora_say_no_to_nestl_partnership?platform=hootsuite

Line 9 featured on the Dominion PodcastThere is an excellent radio podcast on Line 9 featuring interviews with Chippewas of the Thames Myeengun Henry, Engineering expert Richard Kuprewicz  and Vanessa Gray of Aamjiwnaang. Mr. Kuprewicz speaks with both candor and urgency to expose the fact that Enbridge and Canadian regulators basically lied about the risks of hydrostatic testing. You can listen online here: http://mediacoop.ca/audio/dominion-podcast-03-enbridges-line-9-pipeline/36395 (Seeing that this line crosses the Grand, I've tucked this topic under Local.)
Line 9 Supreme Court Article Great summery of the Supreme Court hearings regarding both Chippewas of the Thames vs. Line 9 and Clyde River cases showing the positions of the various parties and how they view the issue of relying on the NEB for duty to consult. http://mediacoop.ca/story/indigenous-legal-challenges-supreme-court-put-appr/36386
Provincial News
Cap and TradeCap and trade only adds $5.68-$ 6.70 per month but lower gas costs are absorbing it. Fiscal change not really noticeable. 
http://www.kenoradailyminerandnews.com/2017/01/03/cap-and-trade-adding-between-568-and-670-on-average-per-month

OPG"s Deep Geological Repository updates 1. Article in KW Record: Moving planned nuclear-waste bunker would cost billions, raise risks, OPG sayshttp://www.therecord.com/news-story/7050097-moving-planned-nuclear-waste-bunker-would-cost-billions-raise-risks-opg-says/2. Federal agency to make recommendation on Lake Huron nuclear waste dump in fall 2017
Read more at Council of Canadians: http://canadians.org/blog/federal-agency-make-recommendation-lake-huron-nuclear-waste-dump-fall-2017
2015 State of Climate Change Science in Great Lakes BasinGreat Lakes surface water temperatures has increased up to 3.5C due to climate Change. Full report here: 
http://ijc.org/greatlakesconnection/en/2016/12/state-climate-change-science-great-lakes-basin/?utm_content=buffer4ba0c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Federal News
Round Up pesticide & First Nations“If you go up the road here where they sprayed, everything is black, like a forest fire.”
First Nations people are pressing Ottawa to halt glyphosate spraying that they say is endangering their traditional diet and way of life
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/in-northern-ontario-herbicides-have-indigenous-people-treading-carefully-and-takingaction/article33088274/?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=Referrer:+Social+Network+/+Media&utm_campaign=Shared+Web+Article+Links
Food Waste is very costlyConsulting firm Value Chain Management International published a report this week that tabulates the total monetary cost of the millions of kilograms of food that goes to waste every year in Canadian homes, restaurants and grocery stores. More than $31 billion worth of food is wasted every year in Canada and when energy, water and other resource costs are factored in the true cost could be up to three times that much, a new report suggests. CBC article here: http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/business/food-waste-costs-canada-31b-a-year-report-says-1.2869708
To view actual report visit here http://vcm-international.com/food-waste/food-waste-publications/

Manitoba Chiefs take Enbridge Line 3 pipeline issue to court.  The original 390,000-barrel per day Line 3 pipeline was built in 1968 and would be decommissioned and left underground. The new larger pipeline would carry 760,000 barrels of diluted bitumen per day and would have the capacity to do so for the next 50-60 years. Enbridge admits the pipeline would mean 19 to 26 megatonnes of upstream greenhouse gas emissions each year. Enbridge wants to replace the entire pipeline by December 2017.  Grand Chief Derek Nepinak states; "As it stands now, the only communities who are able to participate in the NEB consultation are the ones who can front the costs of participation in the hearings on a limited cost recovery budget. This means that if you don't have the money to pay for consultation, you don't get any consultation."http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/brent-patterson/2017/01/assembly-manitoba-chiefs-to-challenge-enbridge-line-3-pipelin#.WGxt2EId1-0.twitter
Enbridge Spectra Deal has risks Food and Water Watch is calling on the Federal Trade Commission to review the Enbridge Spectra merger stating that it is anti-competitive and will likely result in higher costs for consumers. The proposed merger would enable Enbridge-Spectra
to artificially raise prices on  natural gas. Enbridge-Spectra would be a dominant player in the Gulf Coast-Louisiana, U.S.-Canada border and MichiganEnbridge has stated that rapid expansion has led to pipeline safety problems and the proposed deal would add thousands of miles of pipeline to Enbridge’s network.Food & Water Watch believes that there are more than sufficient anti-competitive concerns for the FTC to block the early termination of the merger review and extend the investigation into the proposed Enbridge-Spectra merger. Full report here: http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/sites/default/files/fww_enbridge-spectra_white_paper_jan_2017.pdf
Atlantic Marine Park: Public Input needed. Canadians have until Jan 31 to submit their comments on the new proposed St. Anns Bank Marine Protected Area Atlantic marine protected area east of Cape Breton. http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/aoi-si/stanns-sainteanne-eng.html

Alberta Bill to protect watershedsA private member’s motion is asking the Alberta government to take action to conserve headwaters. The article notes that water from mountains and hills of the Rocky Mountains account for 80 per cent of Alberta’s water. Downstream, Saskatchewan and Manitoba count on it, too. Yukon Conservation Initiative program director Stephen Legault states “There’s a string of bad decisions made over the last 20 or 30 years that have led us to a crisis level.” He pointed to policies around forestry and off-highway vehicle use, which have decimated watersheds. Where once the water would soak in during heavy rain, it now runs off heavily compacted earth as though hitting a sheet.http://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/alberta-to-focus-on-water-security 

Number of abandoned oil and gas wells doubled in 2016. http://calgaryherald.com/business/energy/inventory-of-abandoned-oil-and-gas-wells-doubles-in-2016


International 
New EPA Report Will Lead to Virtual US Ban on Atrazine HerbicideThe amount of the herbicide atrazine that’s released into the environment in the United States is likely harming most species of plants and animals, including mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles, according to a risk assessment released Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
For article visit here; http://sustainablepulse.com/2016/06/03/new-epa-risk-assessment-will-lead-to-virtual-us-ban-on-atrazine-herbicide/#.WG6-OVMrJhGTo view report visit here: https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/draft-ecological-risk-assessments-triazines
US policy flip flopped quickly! This is an alarming wake up call on just how fast US policy can move. On Jan. 2nd the US Republican dominated House of Representatives voted to remove the independence of the US Ethics commissioner in a closed meeting without any prior notice. http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2017/01/02/House-Republicans-vote-to-weaken-Congressional-ethics-watchdog/7171483405670/?spt=su&or=btn_twOn Jan. 3rd in an emergency meeting they swiftly removed this policy. http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/02/politics/office-of-congressional-ethics-oversight-of-ethics-committee-amendment/index.html

Underestimated dangere of Global Gulf Stream breakdown Data shows declining freshwater melt and weaker currents are altering the distribution of salt in the oceans causing adverse impacts. News article: http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2017/01/the-underestimated-danger-of-a-breakdown-of-the-gulf-stream-system/Abstract by Wei Liu and colleagues at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego and the University of Wisconsin-Madison http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/1/e1601666

Here comes the sun! Solar power is now cheaper than wind power, and half the price of coal. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-15/world-energy-hits-a-turning-point-solar-that-s-cheaper-than-wind

Renewable energy could drive the oil price as low as $10 a barrel.Lots of oil bankrupcy seen as renewable energy grows swiftly  
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/oil-gas-firms-industry-bust-renewable-energy-revolution-biofuel-solar-panel-wind-power-opec-saudi-a7507016.html
Shell's Debt is now 78 Billion Dollars. http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Oil-Major-Shell-Plans-To-Shrink-As-Oil-Rebounds.html
Wind Power RecordIn Sweden, a windstorm named "Urd" generated 3 days of wind power equivalent of 6 nuclear plants generating half a million kHw. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/sweden-wind-power-record-energy-storm-urd-weather-renewable-farm-a7498511.html


Quick Sign Petitions 
Ensure Ottawa, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick Act to find out what cause massive fish kill in Nova Scotia http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/851/797/604/

Have a good one everybody! 
Lulu :0)


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