All That Glitters: The Gold Special
This week on Terra Informa, we’re looking at the shiny element that has come to symbolize glitz, glamour, and gigantic mining controversies: gold. How did ancient societies bring gold up from the ground? Are Canadian gold companies good for Guatemala? We speak to a Guatemalan organization that focuses on land rights and mining, and feature Toronto-based singer-songwriter Caleb Lance’s song ‘Gold.’ And this week we’re welcoming two new volunteers: Annie Banks and Jess Warren. Get ready for a show that really shines.
Gold: It’s in our necklaces, our laptops, and the fanciest desserts. But digging it up is rarely pretty. [Photo credit: BullionVault]
Ecobabble: Gold
Shiny new volunteer Jess Warren brings us a look at the very first ancient gold mines in Mesopotamia, how much gold we’ve dug up worldwide, and some of the messy methods we use to extract it. Wonder no more about sluicing and heap leaching.
Gold in Guatemala
Are Canadian gold companies good for Guatemala? Goldcorp is one of Canada’s largest gold-mining companies. Based in Vancouver, it has been operating extensively in Guatemala for the last decade. A study in November 2011 from Tufts University, Searching for Gold in the Highlands of Guatemala, Economic Benefits and Environmental Risks of the Marlin Mine found that Guatemala receives only 42% of the mine revenues, and local communities receive only 5% of revenues, while the environmental risks posed to local communities are exceptionally high. At Goldcorp’s recent AGM in April, a shareholder proposal was presented calling for Goldcorp to take responsibility for adequate closure of the Marline Mine, to ensure that Guatemalans aren’t left with the long-term costs of clean-up.
Terra Informa correspondant Kathryn Lennon spoke with Oscar Lionel, with the help of a translator. Oscar is an employee of Ceiba, in Chimaltenango, Guatemala. Ceiba is a Guatemalan organization that focuses on land rights, mining and food sovereignty. She also hears from Valerie Croft, a member of the network, Breaking the Silence.
More on this story: Another Guatemalan environmental activist (Oscar Galvez) attacked
Gold- Music by Caleb Lance
Caleb Lance is a singer-songwriter based in Toronto. His music is influenced by his experience in the outdoors, he was a geography and environmental studies major at Wilfrid Laurier. This song you’re about to hear, Gold, was inspired by the story of a man in Malartic Quebec, who was forcibly evicted from his childhood home to make way for a gold-mine project, by Osisko Mines. This is Canada’s largest open pit mine.Caleb is set to release his debut album, Keep My Name. This song Gold, is off his new album.
News Headlines
Canadian food security issues raised by UN representative
On Wednesday May 16, United Nations special rapporteur on the right-to-food Oliver De Schutter raised concerns about food security in Canada. De Schutter also raised concerns about Canada’s relations with Indigenous people. In his report De Schutter described “a system that presents barriers for the poor to access nutritious diets and that tolerates increased inequalities between rich and poor, and aboriginal and non-aboriginal peoples.” Federal Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq called De Schutter “ill-informed” and “patronizing.” In contrast, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami Mary Simon welcomed De Schutter’s findings.
More on this story: The Globe and Mail, Nunatsiaq, National Post
Federal government closes Experimental Lakes Area
This week, the Harper government announced the closure of Canada’s Experimental Lakes Area. The ELA is a world-renowned aquatic research facility that has been providing the globe with award-winning water research for more than 40 years. The government claims it is closing the 40 year program simply because it does not fit with their mandate.
More on this story: Net News Ledger, CBC.ca
Indigenous-led campaign launches report against Shell
The Indigenous Environmental Network and the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation are launching an Indigenous-led campaign against Shell and its projects. A report, entitled “Risking Ruin: Shell’s dangerous developments in the Tar Sands, Arctic and Nigeria”was publicly launched on Friday, May 18th in London, England. The report profiles the Indigenous communities impacted by Shell’s projects in places like Alberta, Alaska and the Niger Delta.
Report available online: Risking Ruin
More on this story: Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and the Tar Sands, Indigenous Environmental Network
Tahltan Nation opposes Red Chris Mine
The Tahltan Nation has expressed opposition to the Red Chris copper and gold mine. In specific, the Tahltan Nation opposes the Province’s decision to issue a Mines Act permit to Red Chris. The proposed mine would be a 30,000 tonne per day open pit mine in the Todagin Plateau area of Tahltan territory. The mine would seriously damage Todagin Mountain and would turn a pristine valley and a lake into a tailings pond, according to a report from the Tahltan Central Council.
More on this story: Tahltan Central Council (PDF), The Globe and Mail, APTN
Part 2 – Rough Waters & Divided Valleys: Voices from the route of the Northern Gateway Pipeline
Download or Stream Part 1 Here
Subscribe to Terra Informa on Itunes
Like Terra Informa on Facebook
Follow Terra Informa on Twitter
Part 1 – Rough Waters & Divided Valleys: Voices from the route of the Northern Gateway Pipeline
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Part 2 Coming This Week!
Subscribe to Terra Informa on Itunes
Like Terra Informa on Facebook
Follow Terra Informa on Twitter
Beetles, Regenerative Buildings, Jane’s Walk, the Achuar Visit Talisman’s AGM and more!
This week’s show takes a look at everything from beetles to regenerative buildings, Jane’s Walk, indigenous leaders from Peru’s Achuar people who are visiting Talisman Energy’s AGM, and the Yinka Dene Alliance Freedom Train. We end with the music of Rachelle Van Zanten, which warms us up for the launch of our Northern Gateway Pipeline Documentary next week.
Download This Weeks Show (Terra Informa -2012Apr29)
Junction Walk, Photo by Vic Gedris
The Acoustics of Bark Beetles
David Dunn, sound artist and composer produced an album in 2006 called The Sound of Light in Trees: The Acoustic Ecology of Pinyon Pines, in collaboration with the Acoustic Ecology Institute. With tiny microphones, he records the sounds of bark beetles in New Mexico’s pinyon pines. Beyond a fascinating listening experience, this is an innovative approach to the ecology of insects, and to monitoring bark beetle populations.
More on this story: The Sound of Light in Trees: The Acoustic Ecology of Pinyon Pines
The Ecology of Pine Beetles & Cold Temperatures
Regenerative Buildings
We’ve all heard of net-zero buildings..structures designed so they give back to the grid as much electricity as they take. But what if a building could actually regenerate its habitat? What if it could send electricity back to the grid, recharge the aquifer below it, and more? UBC’s new Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability – or CIRS – does just that. Terra Informa’s Chris Chang-Yen Phillips talks with Martin Nielsen is a principal at Perkins + Will Canada, the architects behind CIRS.
More on this story: The UBC Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability
Jane’s Walk
Get out and walk! On May 5th and 6th, join people across Canada and around the world in celebration of pedestrianism and urban-adventuring. The walks began in 2007, in legacy to Jane Jacobs, urban visionary, activist and writer. From Thunder Bay, to Guelph, Saskatoon to Winnipeg, Vancouver to Fredericton, walking tours led by volunteer tour-guides will happen everywhere! Find out what walks are planned for your community by visiting www.janeswalk.net
Tweet about your walk, or follow Jane’s Walks on Twitter: #janeswalk
Achuar Leaders Visit Canada: Talisman Energy’s AGM, Fort MacMurry, and Other Communities
More on this story: http://amazonwatch.org/, Fort McMurray Today, Intercontinental Cry
Yinka Dene Alliance Freedom Train
On April 29th, British Columbia’s Yinka Dene Alliance begins a cross-country Freedom Train journey on Monday, to declare their ban on the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline. They depart from Jasper, Alberta, and will stop in several cities, including Edmonton, Saskatoon and Winnipeg before arriving in Toronto for Enbridge’s annual shareholders meeting on May 9. Rallies and feasts are planned to welcome them in cities they stop in.
More on this story: Vancouver Observer
Rachelle Van Zanten
Permaculture, Composting, and Carbon Offsets
With spring upon us, we thought that today we’d spend some time in the garden. We begin the show with a look at permiculture and how it works. Then we meet up with Anna Vesala who tells us about the ins and outs of composting. In the second half of the show we switch gears a bit and take a look at carbon offsets. Two of our correspondents, with very different opinions, share their thoughts on why offsets do and don’t work.
Students in an Into to Permaculture course touring a garden. Photo by Nick Ritar and Kirsten Bradley.
Permaculture
Permaculture is an agricultural philosophy that focuses on optimizing the interactions between the different organisms in a garden in order to create a system that’s self sustaining and doesn’t rely on constant human interventions. Today Ron Berezan, affectionately known as the Urban Farmer, explains the basics of how permiculture works.
Composting
North American households are notorious for the amount of garbage they produce, but did you know that there’s a simple, painless way to put a huge dent in the amount of material you send to the landfill? For the average home, somewhere around 40% of solid waste is organic material. That means that an earthworm composter under the kitchen sink or a compost heap in the backyard can cut by almost half the number of garbage bags you put out on the curb each week. To find out a little more about composting and how it works, we caught up with Anna Vesala. She completed the City of Edmonton’s three week Master Composter & Recycler Program a few years back, and now provides information about waste reduction at community events around the city.
Carbon Offsets
Most of us think little of hopping on a plane and heading off for a quick break, especially when airfares are on sale. But air travel is one of the world’s fastest growing sources of carbon emissions. For those who are concerned about their personal impact on the planet, avoiding plane travel is a good start. And for flights you insist on taking, offsetting the carbon emissions might help alleviate the damage. But the world of offsets is tricky – lots of companies, not much regulation. To help make sense of it all, David Kaczan sorted through the details so you don’t have to.
More on this story: Pembina/Suzuki Report on Carbon Offsets, Background Info
CheatNeutral.com
David’s opinions of carbon offsets certainly aren’t the only ones on the topic. Some people are pretty skeptical about the value of offsets, and one of them is our very own Scott McAnsh. Scott tells us about a website called CheatNeutral.com that pokes a bit of fun at the idea of offsetting carbon emissions.
Alberta Election 2012 & Community Bike Shops
Today we look at the environmental implications of next week’s provincial election in Alberta. As Canada’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, the province’s policy decisions impact the whole country. Would a shift in power be followed by a shift in policy towards the oil sands? Plus, we get our hands dirty with a visit to the local community bike shop. This isn’t your ordinary bike store. Here they’ll teach you how to fix your own bike and provide all the tools to do it, and at a fraction of the cost.
Edmonton Centre Liberal candidate Laurie Blakeman at her campaign office. Photo by Chris Chang-Yen Phillips.
Alberta Election
In recent years Canada’s reputation on environmental issues has taken a beating on the international stage, particularly when it comes to climate change. As the home of the oil sands and the only province still building coal fired power plants, Alberta is front and centre in the debate over the nation’s carbon emissions. On April 23rd, Albertans will go to the polls, and for the first time in 40 years the Progressive Conservatives face a serious threat of being unseated. Regardless of who wins the election, there will be implications for the country as a whole and for efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Today Terra Informa’s Chris Chang-Yen Phillips speaks to the parties about the environmental platforms they would implement if elected.
Policy Statements:
- PCs on Oil Sands Monitoring
- PCs on the Environment (MS Word)
- NDP on Land
- NDP on Electricity
- Wildrose on the Environment
- Wildrose on Energy
- Liberals on the Environment (video)
More on this story: iPolitics.ca: What would a Wildrose win do to Canada’s energy policies?
Community Bike Shops
As spring weather warms the country, more and more cyclists are hitting the roads. Their first stop is often the local repair shop for a quick tune up, but if your bike needs a little work there’s another option. Community bike shops are popping up from coast to coast, providing cyclists with the space to repair their own bikes, and teaching them the skills to do it. For more on the story, Steve Andersen speaks to members of community bike shops in Vancouver and Edmonton.
More on this story: List of Community Bike Shops in Canada
News Headlines
Canada won’t meet its 2020 emissions target
Canada will find it tough to meet its 2020 emissions target due to the continued expansion of the oil sands in Alberta. That’s according to a recent report published by the Thomson Reuters Point Carbon News division. Although Canada’s output of greenhouse gasses was almost unchanged in 2010 from 2009 — news that was recently hailed by the conservative government — the government’s pledge to cut emissions to 607 megatonnes by 2020 is still far out of reach due to increased production in the oil sands.
More on this story: BBC News, Reuters, Point Carbon (PDF)
David Suzuki resigns from his charitable foundation
David Suzuki, Canada’s most famous environmentalist, says that he has resigned from the board of his charitable foundation to avoid being the a scapegoat for criticism and government attacks that would undermine his foundation’s ability to be an effective voice for the environment. Dr. Suzuki said he had to leave the board and distance himself from the organization because the foundation was being targeted because of his personal views and actions.
More on this story: Globe and Mail, Vancouver Sun, CTV News
Wind Turbines
Now we head across the Atlantic to a UK study that has dispelled the belief that onshore wind farms are causing long term changes to bird populations. The study, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology was carried out by four European naturalists and orthinologists, goes against widespread allegations that clusters of turbines routinely cause serious damage to birds through collision with the revolving blades, noise, or visual disturbances.
More on this story: The Guardian, CleanTechnica, Original Report (PDF)
Fracking linked to earth quakes
Scientists at the upcoming meeting of the Seismological Society of America will be reporting that the rate of increase in earthquakes coincides with use of hydro-fracturing and its surge in use from 2006. The dramatic rise in earthquakes started in 2001 and covers a large area of the mid U.S. from Alabama to the Rockies in the west. Most of the earthquakes occurred within 24 hours of the injection of the wastewater and chemicals at the end of fracking operations.
More on this story: CBC News, Environmental Working Group, Think Progress
We rely on modern pharmaceuticals to keep us healthy, but now researchers are finding that those same drugs are making their way into our water. Today Dr. Greg Goss tells us about the effects these chemicals are having on aquatic ecosystems. We also look into a prominent, but often misunderstood scientific theory, the Gaia Hypothesis. Plus, we talk to director David York about his documentary Wiebo’s War, which chronicles Wiebo Ludwig’s battle with the oil and gas industry. Ludwig spent years fighting sour gas extraction near his home, and eventually served time for bombings and sabotage.
Wiebo Ludwig's struggle with the oil and gas industry spanned decades and culminated in high profile acts of sabotage. Today we talk to the director of Wiebo's War, a documentary about Ludwig's battle.
Pharmaceuticals in our Water
Most people take safe drinking water for granted, but just how clean is our municipal water? Modern water purification does a great job of removing viruses and bacteria, but now concerns are starting to surface about a different type of contamination. Increasingly, trace amounts of pharmaceuticals are being found in water. Today our correspondent Steve Andersen talks to water expert Dr. Greg Goss about the risks and what we can do to reduce them.
Gaia Hypothesis
Does the earth seem uncannily comfortable? Certainly, levels of nutrients, atmospheric gasses, salinity, temperature and more seem just right for life. Could it be that life itself is creating the conditions it requires, and if so, does that make the entire earth some kind of super organism? David Kaczan finds out on today’s Ecobabble, on the Gaia Hypothesis.
Wiebo’s War
Sometimes on Terra Informa, we bring you green screen segments where we review an environmentally themed film. Today Rebecca Rooney brings us a green screen of Wiebo’s War, a documentary that tells the story of Wiebo Ludwig and his Christian community. The community lives in northern Alberta, the heart of Canada’s oil patch. They moved there 25 years ago to live in line with their believes, including becoming self-sufficient in terms of food and energy use. They built their farm with their own hands, not knowing that it lay on top of one of the largest undeveloped natural gas fields in North America. Their neighbours accepted industry buyouts and moved on. Weibo and his family – after years of trying to negotiate with the gas industry, politicians, and the media – went to war.
Terra MisInforma- April Fools
This week on Terra Informa we get into the spirit of April Fools and decided to turn things on their head a bit, make fun at ourselves and try and have a laugh over some satirized environmental news coverage. We hope you enjoy this week’s show but you can expect your regular Terra Informa to be back next week. This week we look at the current 5 biggest environmental threats, hear about the most beautiful coal power plants and learn about the winner of the award of excellence in excellence, in journalism.
News Headlines
If you’ve never thought about how the environment can be a hidden threat to national security, take a seat, prick up your ears, and sharpen that tongue. I hope you’ve been moved to action against these heinous tactics of Mother Earth because citizens, if we’re going to finally do away with these tree-hugging, bike-loving, patchouli-huffing ecoterrorists once and for all, please, for the love of all that is sweet and mercifully 1%, contact your elected representatives and demand that we destroy the environment before it destroys us.
2)Dying (1)
3)Chop-Sticks
4)Rivers
Coal Plant Beauty Pageant
We all have people in our lives who quietly do the hard work without asking for any special credit. The teacher who stays up late grading papers. The mom who spends all day slaving away in front of the stove. Well, we decided it’s high time to honour the achievements of the unsung heroes behind our power supply: our coal plants. Live from the red carpet of the Coal Plant Beauty Pageant, it’s Terra Misinforma’s Andy Read and Rebecca Rooney.
Ezra Levant Award for Excellence in Excellence in Journalism
This year, we’re also honouring one individual with the Ezra Levant Award for Excellence in Excellence in Journalism. It was no easy task to sift through thousands of nominations, however one man stood out. Kathryn Lennon is here to tell us who.
Many remote communities in Canada depend on diesel generators for their power. It’s a system that’s not only environmental problematic, it’s often not the most reliable. Today we speak with a BC organization that’s helping communities migrate to renewable energy so that they’re no longer dependent on fuel shipments from the south. We also bring you a review of the new film If a tree falls, which chronicles the experiences of members of the Earth Liberation Front. Plus, we take a look at dioxins: what they are, where they come from, and their effect on human health.
A fire set by members of the Earth Liberation Front rips through the offices of Superior Lumber in Oregon. Photo by Roy Milburn.
Green Screen Movie Review: If a Tree Falls
Every once in a while the Terra Informa crew heads out to the movies to review an eco-themed film. This week Terra Informa corespondent Myles Curry brings you a Green Screen Review of the documentary If a tree falls: a story of the Earth Liberation Front. The film focuses on the contentious issue of radical environmental groups and their treatment as terrorists by authorities. Democracy Now! Clip (1) (2)
Renewable Energy for Remote Communities
If you live in the city, try to think back to the last time you flipped a light switch and nothing turned on. Now picture depending on a plane full of diesel to come into town before you get power again. If you live in a remote community in Canada today, this is likely the energy system you rely on, so moving towards a more local renewable energy system is about more than just climate issues. Terra Informa’s Chris Chang-Yen Phillips speaks to Alia Lamaadar about Cleantech Community Gateway, her non-profit that’s working to help the communities of Haida Gwaii build a new energy system.
News Headlines
Asthma Study
Remember all that dirt you ate when you were a kid? Scientists at Harvard Medical School have found evidence it may have kept you healthier. In a study just published in the journal Science, researchers gave groups of mice different levels of exposure to microbes and examined how their immune systems reacted. Mice that were shielded from microbes in infancy seem to have had more cases of inflammatory bowel disease and asthma.
More on this story: Nature, NPR, Daily Express
Jumbo Glacier Ski Resort
In BC, the province has given a controversial new ski resort the green light. The Jumbo Glacier Resort will offer year-round skiing in a remote mountain area near Invermere, in the southeast of BC. Many people welcome the jobs that the 6000 room resort would create, as well as the recreational opportunities. But there are also fears over the environmental impact of such an enormous development, and the affects it will have on the area’s grizzly bear population.
More on this story: CBC News, Winnipeg Free Press, Globe and Mail, Cranbrook Daily Townsman
High Temperature Records Crumble
Over 7,000 high temperature records were broken in an “unprecedented” March heat wave in much of the United States signaling a warming climate, health and weather experts said in a press conference last Friday. While natural climate variability plays a major role, it is the addition of human-spurred climate change that makes this particular hot spell extraordinary, the scientists said in a briefing.
More on this story: NASA, Mother Jones, Huffington Post
Great Backyard Bird Count
The year’s Great Backyard Bird Count has released some interesting results. Based on the observations of people from across the country, four times more snowy owls migrated south from the Arctic than did last year. This is said to be due to lemmings, which snowy owls hunt, becoming more scarce, forcing the birds to fly south in search of food.
More on this story: Great Backyard Bird Count, Science
Mountain Pine Beetle & New Research On Oil Sands Reclamation
On this week’s show Myles talks with a previous contributor to Terra Informa, Rebecca Rooney, whose recently published research into oil sands reclamation has gained attention in the scientific community and challenged the industry’s public claims regarding the quality of their reclamation practices. We also bring our focus to another devastating force in western Canada, the mountain pine beetle, in an interview with researcher Dr. Janice Cooke. All of this and our weekly eco-headlines will give you your fix for Canadian environmental news.
From Dr. Rooney's media presentation on the paper 'Oil sands mining and reclamation cause massive loss of peatland and stored carbon'
News Headlines
World Water Forum declaration falls short on human rights, claim experts
MPs’ plan to streamline environmental oversight draws opposition fire
NDP says leaked documents show feds abandoning fresh water oversight
Environmental crunch worse than thought: OECD 2050 report
Mountain Pine Beetle
Mountain pine beetles are about the size of the head of a match. Even for an insect, they’re pretty insignificant. But their effect on forests is hard to put into words. Over the past decade they’ve turned the mountains and valleys of central BC from lush green to red, wiping out the province’s lodgepole pines for hundreds of kilometres on end. Now they’re slowly moving eastward, with the outbreak well under way in Alberta. What does this summer hold in store for Canada’s forests? And how far east will the mountain pine beetles ultimately advance? We speak with Dr. Janice Cooke for the latest on the outbreak.
Bonus Content: Interviews with Andrew Nikiforuk and Dr. Dezene Huber
Peatland & Stored Carbon Loss Due To Oilsands Reclamation Plans
This week Terra Informa correspondent Rebecca Rooney took a break from reporting on the news, and instead made some headlines of her own. Rebecca holds a PhD in wetlands ecology from the University of Alberta and is the lead author of a new scientific study on the reclamation of the Alberta oil sands. The study quantifies for the first time the changes in the ecology and ecological services offered by the areas which are to be reclaimed after mining operations are complete. Terra Informa correspondent Myles Curry met up with Dr Rooney to get a summary of what these new findings reveal about the tar sands’ cumulative impacts.
