Water

Environmental Science Axed by Harper 2012-2013

Summer-2013-Vol23-No3

Compiled by Joyce Nelson

Fisheries & Oceans
Discontinued: Species-at-Risk Program, Ocean Contaminants & Marine Toxicology Program, Habitat Management, Experimental Lakes Area (Northern Ontario), DFO Marine Science Libraries, Centre for Offshore Oil & Gas Energy Research

Harper's War on Science

Summer-2013-Vol23-No3

by Joyce Nelson

Canada’s Information Commissioner, Suzanne Legault, agreed at the end of March to launch an investigation into the extensive muzzling of federally-funded scientists at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), Environment Canada, Natural Resources Canada and other federal agencies. Her decision comes after a February 20th complaint formally filed by Democracy Watch in partnership with the Environmental Law Clinic of the University of Victoria, which called for a full investigation and was accompanied by a 128-page report, Muzzling Civil Servants: A Threat to Democracy.

That report documents systematic silencing since 2007 of

The Canada Foundation for Innovation - War on Science

Summer-2013-Vol23-No3

Excerpt from Joyce Nelson's WS article, "Harper's War on Science"

Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for Science and Technology, has consistently defended the Harper government from accusations of a War on Science by emphasizing the $5.5 billion that the Feds have provided to the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), including another $225 million to the CFI in Economic Action Plan 2013 released on March 21.

The CFI – the key decision-maker for all science funding in

Save Ocean Science - Fighting the War on Science

Summer-2013-Vol23-No3

by Susan MacVittie

Photo credit: John Gardner, Timothy Foulkes

When residents in St. Andrews, New Brunswick heard that the federal government was going to close the St. Andrews Biological Station (SABS) Library, discontinue the Contaminants and Toxicology (CT) program, and reduce the Habitat program as part of its cost cutting measures, they formed Save Ocean Science (SOS) to raise awareness about the impact of lost jobs and lost science.

Since 1908, the SABS Library has provided resources to

Minister of International Cooperation's Response to Watershed Sentinel Miranda Holme's Column

Please find below a letter from Minister Fantino in response to the article published for the Watershed Sentinel by Miranda Holmes.

Contrary to the disingenuous and misleading insinuations made by Miranda Holmes, let there be no doubt that bringing

6th Annual Keepers of the Water Conference Videos

Submitted by susan on Mon, 10/15/2012 - 12:23

6th Annual Keepers of the Water The 6th Conference Of The Keepers Of The Water was held Sept 26-29th, 2012 in Fort Nelson, BC.

To watch a video on the proceedings click HERE

Hosted and organized by the Fort Nelson First Nation, The Keepers of the Water is comprised of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples;

Sustainable Ocean Energy in BC

Summer-2011-Vol21-No3

by Stephanie Orford

Thanks to renewed interest in ocean energy in Canada, entrepreneurs are starting to harness the waves and tides off the coast of BC to generate electricity, and kick-start a new energy sector in the process.

“There is a renewed interest in Canada ... in extracting energy from waves and tidal currents,” said Andrew Cornett, who leads ocean energy research for the Canadian Hydraulics Centre at the National Research Council.

Toxic Mining in the Baja

Jan-Feb-2012-Vol22-No1

Proposed toxic gold mining in Baja California Sur threatens massive water shortage in an already dry climate.

by Dawn Paley

Canadians on vacation are generally welcomed in Baja, but another set of Canadians are distinctly unwelcome: those who come in search of gold and who want to use the water to get it...

Every October, an estimated 20,000 grey whales begin their long migration from the waters off Alaska’s shores down the west coast to sub-tropical lagoons off the Coast of Baja California, Mexico.

Beyond the Tourist Veil in Mayan Mexico

Summer-2012-Vol22-No3

by Dawn Paley

From my perch in front of a small coffee shop in the town of Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico, I watched a steady flow of visitors walk from the bus station to the hotel district, in search of a place to lay down their heads – and their packs.

Meltdown in Antarctica

Ice streams are moving huge amounts of ice into the oceans from the centre of Antarctica-a continent three-quarters as large as North America.

by Bruce Torrie

The possibility of a substantial sea level change was made all too clear in a recent article in Climate Alert, the newsletter of the prestigious Climate Institute of Washington, DC. In that publication, researchers examined the potential for a breakup of the already two-thirds-collapsed west side of Antarctica, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), and the chance of a six-metre increase in the global sea level.

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"This is it. It's done!" was the message in Alaska in 2008, 19 years after the Exxon Valdes oil spill. Dave Janka, who runs Auklet Charters in Prince William Sound, ran his boat over to Smith Island to snap this photo. Dave says, "It's far from done!"

W.L.M. (Bill) Wilson writes: 'Attached is my rewrite of Anne Feeney’s “Have You Been To Jail for Justice”. Anne granted permission to do non-profit performances of this Enbridge version.' Video by Ester Strijbos.