Pileated Woodpecker Taking Suet

Jim Dubois, from Nature Canada's online community, just sent us these pics of a Pileated Woodpecker and a Northern Flicker in his yard -- enjoy!

From Jim:

I have a pair of Flickers, and a female Pileated Woodpecker getting suet to take back to their nests at the moment.

Since I flat refuse to feed Starlings, I take the feeder down when they're around, and only put it back up when I hear the woodpeckers yelling. The Pileated did today, so I went out and hung it up.

She only climbed a little bit up the tree, then watched me as I hung it beneath her, and was at it before I got to the back steps. I sat on the rail, about ten feet away, and watched her eat.

While she kept on eye on me, it didn't bother her much. Unless, that is, you count the last shot of her (below). I recognize that look from somewhere.



There's a video of her here: http://www.vimeo.com/5254022 and of the Flicker here: http://www.vimeo.com/5044969


Thanks for sharing the nature photos Jim! Check out other photos on Jim's site.

Supporters Sound Off about Getting Around Town

Our most recent Quick Poll asks: How do you get to work? Almost 75% of the people who took the survey have chosen to travel to work in a way that reduces their greenhouse gas emissions and slows climate change. Although solo drivers make up the largest group of respondents, public transit and walking aren’t far behind, with cycling and carpooling being the least-favoured commuter options.
We also ask for your opinion on services for transit users, cyclists and pedestrians in your community. Overall, the responses are mixed, but even those who feel services are adequate in their areas believe that there is room for improvement:

“In Toronto, they do a fair job... but we can always use more bike lanes & paths, and less cars!”

“Yes, but not enough. Moncton needs to increase its bicycle paths and increase the efficiency of its public transit system.”

There are also apparent differences between rural and urban areas:

“I live in a suburban area of Ontario transit is not a priority here, walking is an activity and cyclists are few and far between.”

“Transit is great in Edmonton, average in Lethbridge. Cycling opportunities are great in both though.”

By far, the most comments speak to improving cycling infrastructure:

“Regina is weak on services for cyclists but is making improvements with dedicated cycle lanes.”

“In Winnipeg, we do not have enough services for cyclists. There are not enough paths and we are supposed to be on the road, however, drivers are not respectful of our safety and some stay much too close to cyclists for me to feel safe on the roads.”

If services for cyclists were better, would more people ride their bikes to work?

The greatest impediments to travel by transit seem to be time and cost:

“My job is 10 miles away; it takes me 3 buses and 1 hour and 45min. to get there. A car, 15 min. If the transit was better organized I would take the bus.”

“Transit is unaffordable in Vancouver (B.C). It costs more to get a 3 zone bus pass then it does for me to have car insurance and pay for gas.”

“The rapid transit system should have been more developed many years ago… Transit fares have also been steadily increasing, which is totally counterproductive. (Edmonton)”

However, this closing response should give us hope for the future of commuting:

“We gave up our car 10 years ago - however, where we live we have great access to transit but we feel that more bus lanes should be provided, more incentives to persuade the public to leave their vehicles at home!”

You can still share your thoughts on commuting with us! Vote today and tell us how you get to work.

Piping Plover Update

Piping Plover Guardian Kim Toews just sent us an update on the plovers at Sauble Beach, Ontario:

June 11 - The first Piping Plover hatch at Sauble Beach occurred at 12:26 p.m. at the mid-way nest. The adults were no longer incubating the remaining two eggs from this nest, with the assumption being that they are no longer viable.

This female plover successfully nested at Oliphant in 2008. Two of the birds that fledged from Sauble Beach in 2007 are spending this season in Michigan.

June 12 - At 1:00 p.m., one of the chicks was predated by a merlin. The loss of a one day old chick really saddened and was upsetting to many who watched the event unfold. The remaining chick was observed regularly on the beach with the adult birds.

June 17 - The south hatch was completed today and there are 4 downy chicks. All of the young left the nest within several hours of hatching and were foraging forf ood.

June 21 - The north nest was completed on Sunday and there are 4 young plover chicks. At present, we have a total of nine chicks. The young plovers are growing rapidly and are now very mobile, venturing greater distances every day. The chicks spend their day feeding, resting and brooding. Merlins are still in the area.

Thanks for the update Kim!

Volunteer plover guardians spend time on the beach monitoring and protecting the plovers from disturbances that might affect their nesting activities. They also educate the public about the piping plover and the need to protect their beachside nests. Learn more about Sauble Beach's plovers, or about Canada's other plover populations.

(Photo: Brendan Toews)

Hello, Bambi

"Whoa, hello, Bambi!" That exclamation from the bus driver gave me about 5 seconds of warning before my bus zoomed past a deer on the side of the road during my morning commute last week. I turned my head and caught a glimpse of a beautiful doe bounding up a slight incline. I have to confess, it made me smile and brightened my day.

Living in an urban environment, I often forget about the abundance of nature that surrounds us. From common backyard birds - robins, goldfinches, cardinals, chickadees and blue jays - to species we may think of as pests - squirrels and raccoons come to mind - wildlife lives alongside us every day.

We often think about connecting with nature in the context of getting away, spending a weekend at the cottage or visiting a park. This summer, I've resolved to take more time to appreciate what's in my own neighbourhood; when I stop to smell the flowers, I'll also be keeping an eye open for urban wildlife.

Thanks to Philip Daikens for sharing his wildlife sighting this spring.

Philip writes:

"The deer was about 50 yards from my aunt's back yard in Kitchener, Ont. This hill is the back side of a ski slope, we had a birthday party in progress which didn't seem to disturb the deer at all. It grazed along the hill side for about 15 minutes, the kids and I had just been to the top not long before it arrived."

Photos: Chipmunk, Rhonda Sutherland; Deer, Philip Daikens

Spider Web Photo from Mer Bleue Nature Walk

Nature Canada member Eugene Kirkham just sent us one of his pics from our outing to Mer Bleue bog this weekend. Check it out:

Thanks Eugene! Read more about our nature walk -- and see more photos -- here.

Boreal Songbird Petition presented to Federal Parliament

On June 15, Linda Duncan, MP for Edmonton-Strathcona, presented the Boreal songbird petition to the federal parliament of Canada. Ms Duncan stood before the House with two large binders of 60,000 signatures. On behalf of the signatories, she asked the government to explain what they are doing to protect the boreal forest, described as north America’s songbird nursery, and as one of the most significant carbon stores on the planet. Ms. Duncan noted that while only 10 percent of the boreal is formally protected, 30 percent is open for resources extraction. Nature Canada is gratified by Ms Duncan’s efforts and on behalf of the thousands of Canadians and citizens from 120 countries who signed the petition, we implore the federal government to take immediate and aggressive action to protect the boreal forests of Canada.

Watch Ms Duncan’s presentation on Utube now.

The Blackburnian Warbler (photo by Alan Woodhouse), is one of many songbirds that keeps the boreal forest healthy by eating leaf and needle-eating caterpillars such as the spruce budworm.

Nature Canada outing at Mer Bleue nets 36 species

Early Saturday morning, the last day of spring, twenty people participated in Nature Canada’s birding outing to Mer Bleue, perhaps the most outstanding jewel in the National Capital Commission’s greenbelt. This outing was for participants at the Nature Canada Annual General Meeting, held at Carleton University in Ottawa. Participants included several Nature Canada Board members, supporters and staff. (Photo Above: On the bog boardwalk, looking for birds).

The weather was perfect. Low fog lingered over parts of Mer Bleue, the largest bog in the Ottawa region. The temperature was cool enough to suppress the abundant populations of biting insects. Spider webs glowed against the dark green background of bog vegetation in the early morning light. A brilliantly coloured Baltimore Oriole, rivalled by an equally spectacular Rose-breasted Grosbeak, greeted the group in the tall poplars at the beginning of the trail. A chunky American Bittern caught the eye of several participants as it flew over us on its way to the cattails marsh fringe of the lagg – the area of open water surrounding the bog.

For participants, the morning was more a sound experience than visual one really – as many species’ songs drifted over the mysterious bog vegetation to our receptive ears. The remarkably ethereal notes of the Hermit Thrush, the distinctive “Oh Canada Canada Canada” of the White throated Sparrow, a common Yellowthroat’s “Wichity wichity wichity,” the staccato notes of an Eastern Kingbird, and many other species added to the magical soundscape. The bog itself was a stunning and intricate community of colours and shapes – mainly green shrubs, trees and moss, punctuated by the white dew-laced spider webs, the white tufts of cottongrass, the white flower clusters of Labrador tea or the pink flowers of bog laurel. The sphagnum itself – the soft and spongy moss that really defines the bog, forms an extraordinarily beautiful and intricate quilt of tendrils in variations of green, yellow and even red. (Photo Above: Three generations looking into the cattail marsh).


More photos from our nature walk:














Morning dew on orb spider web
















A sea of green-bleue captures the mist

Nature Canada Chair and new CEO trying to call in a
Nashville Warbler

Catails in the lagg zone

The intricate patterns of sundew and sphagnum





Here is the total bird list for the outing:

Trumpeter Swan
Wood Duck
Great Blue Heron
American Bittern
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Kingbird
Alder Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
Hermit Thrush
Veery
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Cedar Waxwing
Nashville Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Chipping Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Baltimore Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Purple Finch
American Goldfinch.

Good News for Right Whales

Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales received some good news this week. The federal government has formally identified their critical habitat under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) in their two main Atlantic Canadian feeding grounds, and now they must protect it. These areas, the Grand Manan Basin located at the mouth of the Bay of Fundy, and the Roseway Basin located off the southeastern tip of Nova Scotia, are home to an abundance of copepods, which are the whales' main food source.

These areas will offer much needed protection for an endangered species that is down to around 400 individuals. The whale was hunted to critically low numbers in the past, and its recovery is now hampered by the threat of strikes from ships and entanglement in fishing gear. The whales are slowly recovering, with 39 calves born this winter in their wintering grounds off the coast of Florida. Protection of their Canadian feeding areas as critical habitat will help to ensure that the species continues on the path towards recovery.

This is also a good news story for the implementation of the Species at Risk Act. All too often, recovery strategies for endangered and threatened species are finalized without the identification of areas of critical habitat for the species, even when there is much available science that can be used to identify those areas. In this case, when the draft recovery strategy for North Atlantic Right Whale was published with only one critical habitat area proposed, scientists and environmentalists told the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) that enough is known about the Roseway and Grand Manan Basins to declare them both critical habitat areas for the species.

DFO agreed and did the right thing to protect the Right Whale. I hope this is the beginning of a positive trend from the federal government for the protection of our species at risk.

The final recovery strategy for North Atlantic Right Whale is available here; news articles on the critical habitat designation are here and here.

photo: Handout, U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Alberta Unwilling to Protect Endangered Caribou Habitat

This week the province of Alberta revealed it has no plans to formally protect land to save two rapidly dwindling woodland caribou herds in the northern foothills.

Despite an Environment Canada report from last year on woodland caribou that noted there is a "high weight of evidence" that the herds are not self-sustaining given their small, rapidly declining population and very high total disturbance, Alberta Sustainable Resource Development has apparently opted against establishing any protected areas to conserve what numbers remain.

Two of Nature Canada's board members, Cliff Wallis and Chuck Priestley, voiced their concerns in an Edmonton Journal news article today: [UPDATE: Got ahead of myself! Chuck is up for election to our board this weekend; in four days he may be a member of our board]

Wallis, who also belongs to the Alberta Wilderness Association, says the research shows that woodland caribou need the highest level of protection.

"The science is telling us caribou are intolerant of even low levels of activity."

The fact the government isn't willing to protect land, shows it doesn't intend to save the herd, he says.

"Although they speak a mean streak about doing it, their actions show what they really mean."

Chuck Priestley, of the Alberta Foothills Network, says the government appears to be forging ahead with approving industrial activity in the area used by the most imperiled herds in Alberta.

"It's clear the habitat needs to be improved, not further degraded."

This news comes as Canadian researchers find a global decline of caribou populations.

In the first global review of caribou status ever done, University of Alberta researchers found that populations are declining almost everywhere they live, from Alaska and Canada, to Greenland, Scandinavia and Russia.

The culprits? Habitat loss and a climate that's changing too quickly for them to adapt.
(Photo: Wayne Sawchuk)

Species at Risk Act Parliamentary Review Underway

The long awaited (and overdue) five-year review of the Species at Risk Act (SARA) is finally underway in Parliament. The review is being conducted by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development. This review is mandated under the act, and is an opportunity to shine light on the legislative and implementation shortcomings of SARA, as well as to put us on the right path towards strengthening the act and how it is being applied across the country.

I had the privilege of appearing in front of the Standing Committee in early June to represent Nature Canada together with NGO and industry association members of the Species at Risk Advisory Committee (SARAC). Because SARAC boasts members from diverse industry, academic and environmental perspectives, it is a unique committee providing multi-faceted advice about SARA to Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans and Parks Canada.

SARAC's consensus message to the Standing Committee was clear: there is much work to be done on many elements of SARA to ensure that it lives up to its promise as a strong piece of legislation for the protection of wildlife at risk and their habitats in Canada. You can read the full SARAC brief submitted to the Standing Committee here, and read a transcript of my testimony to the Standing Committee (and that of my SARAC colleagues from the David Suzuki Foundation, the Mining Association of Canada, and the Fisheries Council of Canada) here.

There have been a few other sessions of this review so far (with much still to talk about!). A particularly interesting witness was Dr. Jeffrey Hutchings, chair of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). COSEWIC is the independent science committee tasked under SARA with assessing the status of species at risk in Canada, and recommending species for listing and protection under the act. During his very compelling testimony, Dr. Hutchings told the Standing Committee about the paramount importance of maintaining the independence of COSEWIC so that the best possible unbiased scientific information is used to assess species status. COSEWIC also recommended to the Standing Committee that the legal listing loophole of SARA be closed so that species assessed as at risk actually receive timely legal protection under the act. You can read a transcript of Dr. Hutching's testimony (including a lively debate among the Standing Committe's MPs about the appropriateness of discussing Ministerial appointments to COSEWIC) here.

There are no additional SARA sessions scheduled for the Standing Committee before Parliament rises later this month for the summer. Nature Canada has spent the past year collaborating with David Suzuki Foundation, Ecojustice and Environmental Defence on an analysis of SARA's shortcomings (read about these in our report Canada's Species at Risk Act: Implementation at a Snail's Pace). We've also mapped out detailed solutions to fix these problems. I'm eagerly anticipating the opportunity for Nature Canada and our NGO partners to present this information to the five-year review once the Standing Committee resumes its work in the fall. Stay tuned for updates!

Canadian Rivers Day - Water and Your Health

June 14 is Canadian Rivers Day, and to commemorate, here are some thoughts on the many ways water is important to your health:

Your Body
Water is essential to all known forms of life.

In humans, water delivers oxygen and nutrients to different parts of the body, and removes toxins and waste from the body. Water also regulates body temperature through perspiration and reduces friction between joints to facilitate movement.

We can survive without food for about 30 to 40 days, but we can only survive a few days without water!

Experts disagree about the exact recommended intake of water, but most put it at about 2-2.5 liters a day. It takes an average of eight to ten cups to replenish the water our bodies lose each day. In addition to drinking glasses of water, you also ingest a certain amount through foods that contain water.

Your Community
Most of the world’s cities live near and depend on rivers, lakes and other bodies of water.

They are critical sources of drinking water, and play essential roles in industry, including power generation, food processing, and agriculture.

In Canada and parts of the United States, spending time on or near water is a cherished way of life, a part of our identity for generations. Swimming, boating, fishing and relaxing at the cottage – these are just some of the activities we enjoy on our lakes and rivers.

Your Environment
Balanced, healthy ecosystems, including freshwater rivers and lakes, perform many amazing services that cannot be replicated – and that we depend on for survival.

• moderate weather extremes and their impacts


• disperse seeds


• mitigate drought and floods


• protect people from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays


• protect stream and river channels and coastal shores from erosion


• control agricultural pests


• maintain biodiversity


• preserve soils and renew their fertility


• purify the air and water


• regulate disease carrying organisms


• pollinate crops and natural vegetation
  

The way we treat our water resources can have an effect on healthy ecosystems:

• runoff of pesticides, fertilizers, and animal wastes


• pollution of land, water, and air resources


• introduction of non-native species


• overharvesting of fisheries


• destruction of wetlands
  

These services are so fundamental to life that they are easy to take for granted, but remember, they are far beyond the ability of human technology to replicate. We depend on healthy water resources!

Check out our Water Conservation web site for more information on Canada's freshwater resources, including a Water Conservation Pledge to reduce your water consumption by 10 gallons (38 litres) a day.

Nahanni Park Expansion a Crown Jewel for the Boreal

Nahanni National Park Reserve is officially expanding. The federal government, Dehcho First Nations, and the Government of the NWT have all signed off on new park boundaries that encompass most of the South Nahanni River watershed. This permanent protection marks a large - 30,000 square km - step forward in protecting Canada's boreal forest.

From the Canadian Boreal Initiative:

Nahanni National Park Reserve is especially known for its awe-inspiring Virginia Falls (Nailicho), which are twice as high as Niagara Falls. “This park expansion is a big day for conservation—but the fact that it was done in partnership with First Nations makes it all the more exciting,” said Larry Innes, CBI’s executive director. First established in 1972, Nahanni National Park Reserve became the first site recognized as a World Heritage Site in 1978 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

...

The new boundaries will greatly increase secure habitat for wide-ranging and sensitive species like woodland caribou, grizzly bears, mountain goats, and Dall's sheep. Protecting this watershed and connecting it to other areas in the region will help ensure a healthy Boreal ecosystem for future generations.

The South Nahanni watershed is of cultural and traditional importance for Dene peoples. Parks Canada worked extensively with the Dehcho First Nations in bringing forward the new boundaries, and has committed to establishing a companion national park, to be called Naats’ihch’oh with the Sahtu First Nations to protect the balance of the region. Parks Canada is also engaged in consultations with neighbouring Kaska Dena in the Yukon about these initiatives.

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society has also been able to declare victory in their Nahanni campaign:

"The Nahanni is the jewel of Canada’s Boreal forest, and one of the world’s greatest wilderness treasures. Canada has shown true global leadership by protecting it," says CPAWS National Executive Director Eric Hébert-Daly.

"With this announcement the federal government has created a national park that can take its place alongside Banff and Jasper as one of the world’s great protected areas," says Harvey Locke, CPAWS Senior Advisor for Conservation.

The boreal forest is a green necklace across Canada's North, stretching from the Yukon Territory to the Labrador coast. The newly expanded Nahanni National Park Reserve is a bright jewel in that necklace.

Happy Oceans Day - Take the Water Pledge

Happy Oceans Day everyone!

Since I have water (conservation) on the brain, here are a few wet facts and figures on what is undoubtedly the most intriguing -- and essential -- substance on the planet:

• Water is the only substance found on earth naturally in three forms – solid, liquid and gas.
• About 70% of the earth is covered in water.
• Once evaporated, a water molecule spends about 10 days in the air.
• Freshwater lakes and rivers, ice and snow, and underground aquifers hold only 2.5% of the world's water. By comparison, saltwater oceans and seas contain 97.5% of the world's water supply.
• Worldwide, one billion people lack access to safe drinking water, 2.4 billion to adequate sanitation.
• Health problems related to water pollution in general are estimated to cost Canadians $300 million per year.
• Today, around 3 800 cubic kilometers of fresh water is withdrawn annually from the world's lakes, rivers and aquifers. This is twice the volume extracted 50 years ago.

More water facts.

Marine ecosystems are as affected by human activity as terrestrial ecosystems.

Canada's National Parks Act was designed to guide conservation and protection only on land. So in 1996, Nature Canada began advocating for new legislation that would enable the creation of national marine conservation areas.

In 2000-01, Nature Canada staff worked with government policy makers to strengthen federal Bill C-10, "An Act respecting the national marine conservation areas of Canada", introduced in February 2001. Nature Canada devoted countless hours toward getting the National Marine Conservation Areas Act passed in 2002.

Since then, Canada’s progress in preserving marine ecosystems has been frustratingly slow. However, in 2007,the Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area was established, extending roughly 140 kilometers east of Thunder Bay, protecting endangered trout populations, caribou, peregrine falcons, eagles and herons. At one million hectares it will be the largest freshwater marine conservation area in the world.

We continue to push for more marine conservation areas. Nature Canada, together with 19 other environmental and conservation organizations, has called for the establishment of a national system of marine protected areas by 2012. This would result in 14 new national marine conservation areas, including Bowie Seamount off the north coast of British Columbia and Iquali qluug off Baffin Island in Nunavut.

You can reduce the global demand on our water resources by taking the Water Conservation Pledge - follow these steps to save 10 gallons (38 litres) of eater a day. Water Conservation pledge.

Legal Action to Protect Sage-Grouse Habitat

More species at risk news this week, as a coalition of environmental groups represented by Ecojustice is in court to force the government to protect critical habitat for the endangered Greater Sage-Grouse. The lawsuit alleges the federal Minister of Environment failed to comply with Canada’s Species at Risk Act which requires the Sage-Grouse’s critical habitat to be identified in its recovery strategy, so it can be protected.

The argument that the government failed in its duty to identify critical habitat in the recovery strategy is particularly compelling given that Greater Sage-Grouse is a very well known species, with much of its critical habitat for nesting and brood-rearing already identified in independent scientific studies.

Nature Canada is not one of the organizations represented on the case, but we're a supporting player. We commented on the proposed recovery strategy, telling the government that the information existed to allow them to identify critical habitat for the species. And our conservation ecologist, Ted Cheskey, provided an affidavit about this for the court case. Ted also supplied us with the following conservation information about Sage-Grouse:

Greater Sage-Grouse is the largest member of the Grouse family, and lives exclusively in sagebrush habitat in the central western United States and arid parts of south-western Canada. Historically the population in Canada included populations in the Okanagan in British Columbia, south-eastern Alberta and southern Saskatchewan. Currently the population is limited to a small area of south-eastern Alberta and south-western and south-central Saskatchewan. Its Canadian range has shrunk from about 100,000 km2 to 6,000 km2 or six percent of the historical range. Similar declines have occurred in the United States populations. The total Canadian population has plummeted about 90% over two decades from roughly 5000 individuals to approximately 500.

Greater Sage-Grouse is very sensitive to habitat fragmentation and disturbance. In Canada, much of its remaining population outside of Grasslands National Park in Saskatchewan is in community pasture that is either Federal Crown land in Saskatchewan, or Alberta Crown land in Alberta. The installation of well heads for gas or oil exploration or extraction, wind turbines, irrigation projects and intensified grazing all are linked to its decline. With each passing day, the potential for more applications for gas wells or wind turbines in Sage-Grouse habitat increases. Unfortunately, there is a correlation between the sagebrush habitat upon which Sage-Grouse depends, and gas deposits.These facts underlie the urgency to identify critical habitat immediately, and protect it.

You can read about the court case being heard this week here and here.

Nature Photo of the Month - Fawn

Our latest Photo of the Month comes from Michelle Holmes of Shelburne, Ontario, who writes:

Hello Nature Canada,

This photo is of a newborn fawn that my family happened upon in a forest near Hockley Valley, Ontario. It was tiny and did not walk yet, though we did witness it stumbling a bit, clearly trying! We took a few quick pictures and carried on our way. We knew the mother would be back soon. It was an awesome experience and a first for all of us!

As always, you can also have the Photo of the Month delivered directly to your inbox by signing up for our enewsletter, or you can check out previous photos on our web site.

And if you have a nature image you'd like to share, send it in!

Timely documentary helps rally support for Great Lakes restoration

The Great Lakes are the largest system of fresh surface water on Earth, containing nearly 20% of the world supply. If you're interested in seeing how we use and abuse this precious resource, I think you'll enjoy the new documentary film Waterlife.

The folks at Good Company Communications and Hello Cool World sent us more information to share about this project. The film opens June 5 in Toronto and June 19 in Vancouver.

2009 is a crucial year for the Great Lakes. With U.S. President Barack Obama's proposal on the table to pump $475 million into Great Lakes restoration and mounting pressures from environmental groups for a review of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, Kevin McMahon's award-winning documentary WATERLIFE could be instrumental in rallying public support.

Winner of the Special Jury Prize for Canadian Feature at the Hot Docs film festival, Waterlife is a fascinating documentary that tells the story of the last great reserve of fresh water on Earth. Under assault by toxins, sewage, invasive species and dropping water, many scientists believe the Great Lakes are on the verge of ecological collapse.
The film introduces us to some amazing characters - among them, an Anishinabe medicine woman who walked 17,000 kms around the lakes to sympathize with them; a man whose lakefront property now borders on a field thanks to sewer overflows; and a village where mysterious toxins ensure that most new babies are girls.

Innovatively shot, the film shows the lakes as they might appear to a seagull, a fish or a water molecule. The soundtrack features songs by the likes of Sam Roberts, Sufjan Stevens, Sigur Ros, Robbie Robertson, and Brian Eno. The Tragically Hip's Gordon Downie narrates. The film is directed by Toronto documentary vet Kevin McMahon (The Falls).

The film is produced by Primitive Entertainment (Kristina McLaughlin and Michael McMahon) in co-production with the National Film Board of Canada (Gerry Flahive). One of its executive producers is Mark Achbar (The Corporation).

Waterlife is being released in Canada by Mongrel Media.

For trailers and more information, visit: http://www.ourwaterlife.com/

The influence the Great Lakes have on the surrounding climate is considerable. Changes to lake levels, temperature and salinity, brought about in part by global warming, could have lasting impacts on local weather systems. Additionally, millions of families rely on the Great Lakes Basin for a clean, healthy source of drinking water. Let the Government know you want a long-term plan to protect the quality of water in the Great Lakes Basin by signing our petition.

(Thanks to David Ng at Good Company Communications for sending us this info on Waterlife. Photo shows Lake Superior.)

Toxic Soup: Tar Sands Ingredients Must be Disclosed

The Edmonton Journal reported last week that Environment Canada will not appeal a Federal Court decision that requires tar sands mines to report the contents of their tailings ponds:

MiningWatch Canada and Great Lakes United challenged the federal government’s unwillingness to collect this information from mining companies in 2007. Their original target was metal mines, but the ruling is broad enough to include oilsands mines.

In late April, Federal Court Judge James Russell ruled that Canada’s environment minister made a mistake in thinking the Canadian Environmental Protection Act did not require mining companies to report the material that ends up in tailings and waste-rock disposal areas.

Other large industries and institutions are required to report all their toxic emissions, which are entered into a public database system managed by the federal government called the National Pollutant Release Inventory.

Disclosure of the toxins contained in these pools is important for the health of surrounding wildlife, as well as human settlements. Although we can guess at the composition of the tailings, knowledge of the true contents will help in dealing with accidental discharges; current industry practice does not include the release of any waste water from the extraction process into the environment. A complete listing will also allow pollutants to be tracked through the ecosystem, furthering our understanding of the impacts of tar sands development.