Environment

N.W.T. mine reports 450M-litre wastewater spill

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Updated: 5:34 PM CDT

YELLOWKNIFE - The Diavik Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territories says 450 million litres of wastewater spilled due to a broken pipeline.

The spill took place on Feb. 7 but wasn't reported to the Northwest Territories government until late last week.

The territorial government says pipeline operators did not initially believe it needed to be reported as the wastewater leaked into a containment pond that was its final destination.

The government says its inspectors have confirmed the spill is within the pond and none has been released into the environment.

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

Weather

This evening: Scattered flurries -3°c Scattered flurries Tonight: Light snow -7°c Light snow

Winnipeg MB
-3°C, Overcast

Full Forecast

Park board has tips to 'respect' Vancouver coyotes

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Park board has tips to 'respect' Vancouver coyotes

The Canadian Press 2 minute read 1:51 PM CDT

VANCOUVER - Now that coyote denning season is in full swing, the Vancouver park board is offering some tips for "peaceful coexistence" between the animals and humans.

Their pups are born in the spring, and the board says that makes coyotes more active as they protect their dens and seek food for their young.

Normally they're only seen at dawn and dusk, but the board says that behaviour changes in spring, when they're spotted in the daytime and they become bolder or stand their ground if they perceive a threat.

Coyotes are found across Vancouver and prefer sheltered, wooded areas to raise their families, so the board says it will occasionally close trails in high-traffic locations like Stanley Park where they are known to frequent.

Read
1:51 PM CDT

A coyote walks through Coronation Park in Toronto on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. Now that coyote denning season is in full swing, the Vancouver park board is offering some tips for a "peaceful coexistence" between the animals and humans. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Evan Buhler

US regulators delay decision on nuclear fuel storage license

Susan Montoya Bryan, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

US regulators delay decision on nuclear fuel storage license

Susan Montoya Bryan, The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: 5:21 PM CDT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — U.S. regulators say they need more time to wrap up a final safety report and make a decision on whether to license a multibillion-dollar complex meant to temporarily store tons of spent fuel from commercial nuclear power plants around the nation.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a new schedule Monday, citing unforeseen staffing constraints. The agency was initially expected to issue a decision by the end of March. It will now be the end of May.

The announcement comes just days after New Mexico approved legislation aimed at stopping the project. It’s expected that supporters of the storage facility will take the fight to court, but New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Tuesday asked the NRC to suspend its consideration of the license application.

New Jersey-based Holtec International already has spent an estimated $80 million in its pursuit of a 40-year license to build and operate the complex in southeastern New Mexico. Company officials said Tuesday that the delay in licensing would have only a minimal impact on the original timeline.

Read
Updated: 5:21 PM CDT

FILE - A sign on a fence warns of radioactive materials at a containment building housing a nuclear reactor at the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan, N.Y., on April 26, 2021. U.S. regulators say they need more time to wrap up a final safety report and make a decision on whether to license a multibillion-dollar project meant to temporarily store tons of spent fuel from commercial nuclear power plants around the nation. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a new schedule Monday, March 20, 2023, citing unforeseen staffing constraints. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Nevada to add gas plant as drought threatens power grids

Rio Yamat, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Nevada to add gas plant as drought threatens power grids

Rio Yamat, The Associated Press 4 minute read 4:07 PM CDT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Utility regulators in Nevada gave the state’s largest power provider clearance to start work on a $333 million project to build a natural gas plant in the state for the first time in nearly 15 years, signaling yet another consequence of the extreme drought conditions in the southwestern U.S.

The two gas-fired turbines to be erected north of Las Vegas by NV Energy are expected to come online by July 2024 amid hotter summers and longer wildfire seasons in a state that aims to have a carbon-free power grid by 2050.

Nevada’s Public Utilities Commission approved the plans last week. It said the turbines are needed to address peak electricity demand in the summer months, as ever-drying conditions in the West continue to stress the region’s power grids and slash hydroelectric output, including the behemoth power producers on the Colorado River — the Hoover Dam and Glen Canyon Dam.

But environmental advocates have argued that the turbines mark a major step backwards for Nevada's climate goals.

Read
4:07 PM CDT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Utility regulators in Nevada gave the state’s largest power provider clearance to start work on a $333 million project to build a natural gas plant in the state for the first time in nearly 15 years, signaling yet another consequence of the extreme drought conditions in the southwestern U.S.

The two gas-fired turbines to be erected north of Las Vegas by NV Energy are expected to come online by July 2024 amid hotter summers and longer wildfire seasons in a state that aims to have a carbon-free power grid by 2050.

Nevada’s Public Utilities Commission approved the plans last week. It said the turbines are needed to address peak electricity demand in the summer months, as ever-drying conditions in the West continue to stress the region’s power grids and slash hydroelectric output, including the behemoth power producers on the Colorado River — the Hoover Dam and Glen Canyon Dam.

But environmental advocates have argued that the turbines mark a major step backwards for Nevada's climate goals.

Changes coming to spill reporting: Alberta premier

Dean Bennett, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Changes coming to spill reporting: Alberta premier

Dean Bennett, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: 4:57 PM CDT

EDMONTON - Premier Danielle Smith says laggardly public notification of Imperial Oil oilsands wastewater spills has illuminated the need for Alberta to ensure future alarms are sounded quicker.

Smith says her government is working with the province's oilsands regulator to develop better policies to give affected groups timely notification.

“Good practice and being a good neighbour (means) more communication is better,” Smith said Tuesday at an unrelated news conference in Mundare, Alta.

“That’s going to be our approach going forward. I’ve talked to the environment minister about that and the energy minister about that and the regulator about that.

Read
Updated: 4:57 PM CDT

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith leaves following a meeting on health care with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canada's premiers, in Ottawa on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Editorial Roundup: United States

The Associated Press 19 minute read Preview

Editorial Roundup: United States

The Associated Press 19 minute read 2:26 PM CDT

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

March 15

The Washington Post on voter fraud:

A 59-year-old man was arrested last week for allegedly double voting in the 2020 presidential election. Florida authorities brought the felony charge because of information submitted by Virginia to a national database called ERIC, which is short for the Electronic Registration Information Center. The very same day, Florida pulled out of the fraud detection consortium, along with Missouri and West Virginia, capitulating for political reasons to bizarre conspiracy theories peddled by those who still claim that former president Donald Trump won reelection in 2020.

Read
2:26 PM CDT

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

March 15

The Washington Post on voter fraud:

A 59-year-old man was arrested last week for allegedly double voting in the 2020 presidential election. Florida authorities brought the felony charge because of information submitted by Virginia to a national database called ERIC, which is short for the Electronic Registration Information Center. The very same day, Florida pulled out of the fraud detection consortium, along with Missouri and West Virginia, capitulating for political reasons to bizarre conspiracy theories peddled by those who still claim that former president Donald Trump won reelection in 2020.

Residents sue Louisiana parish to halt polluting plants

Drew Costley, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Residents sue Louisiana parish to halt polluting plants

Drew Costley, The Associated Press 4 minute read Updated: 5:02 PM CDT

Residents of a Louisiana parish located in the heart of a cluster of polluting petrochemical factories filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday raising allegations of civil rights, environmental justice and religious liberty violations.

The lawsuit names St. James Parish as the defendant and says the parish council approved the construction of several factories in two Black districts of the parish that emit harmful amounts of toxic chemicals. It said the pollution negatively affected the health of the area's Black residents.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are calling for a moratorium on petrochemical plants like one being built by Formosa Plastics that was approved by the council in 2019. The Associated Press reached out to the council for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

For several years, Black residents of St. James Parish have lobbied the parish council and state government to do something about petrochemical plants emitting toxic chemicals into the air they breathe. But they've been ignored, according to Shamyra Lavigne of Rise St. James, a local climate justice organization.

Read
Updated: 5:02 PM CDT

FILE - Myrtle Felton, from left, Sharon Lavigne, Gail LeBoeuf and Rita Cooper, members of RISE St. James, conduct a live stream video on property owned by Formosa on March 11, 2020, in St. James Parish, La. Residents of a Louisiana parish located in the heart of a cluster of polluting petrochemical factories filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday, March 21, 2023, raising allegations of civil rights, environmental justice and religious liberty violations. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

EU warns Spain over expanding irrigation near prized wetland

Joseph Wilson, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

EU warns Spain over expanding irrigation near prized wetland

Joseph Wilson, The Associated Press 3 minute read 1:03 PM CDT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — The European Union has warned Spain that it won’t tolerate renewed plans by regional politicians in the country’s south to expand irrigation near the prized Doñana wetlands, which scientists and ecologists say are in danger of drying up.

In a letter seen by The Associated Press on Tuesday, Florika Fink-Hooijer, the head of the EU’s Directorate General for the Environment, told Spain’s government that it is “necessary to immediately ensure the strict protection of Doñana’s exceptional natural treasures, especially taking into account that rainfall is increasingly scarce due to climate change.”

The Doñana wetlands are a UNESCO world heritage site and considered one of Europe’s key biospheres. Sitting on an estuary where the Guadalquivir River meets the Atlantic Ocean, their 74,000 hectares (182,000 acres) are a wintering site for a half-million waterfowl and a stopover spot for millions of other birds that migrate from Africa to northern Europe.

But the park’s lagoons and marshes are shrinking under pressure from local farmers, some of whom use illegal wells to tap its underlying aquifer. The situation has worsened because of a drought during a record-hot 2022 for Spain.

Read
1:03 PM CDT

FILE - A water meter stands in a dry wetland in Donana natural park, southwest Spain, Oct. 19, 2022. In a letter seen by the Associated Press on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, the European Union has warned Spain for a second time that it won’t tolerate renewed plans by regional politicians in the country’s south to expand irrigation near the prized Doñana wetlands, which scientists and ecologists say are in danger of drying up. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File)

Climate group urges 'made-in-Canada' response

Nojoud Al Mallees, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Climate group urges 'made-in-Canada' response

Nojoud Al Mallees, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: 3:45 PM CDT

OTTAWA - As the federal government readies its spring budget, a climate group is urging Ottawa to pursue a "made-in-Canada" response to U.S. clean energy incentives.

The Canadian Climate Institute published a report on Tuesday with recommendations for the federal government on how to respond to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act passed last summer.

The institute says the government shouldn't try to match the incentives and subsidies offered by the U.S., and should instead tailor its measures for Canada.

The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law last August by U.S. President Joe Biden, invests nearly US$400 billion in everything from critical minerals to battery manufacturing, electric vehicles and clean electricity, including hydrogen.

Read
Updated: 3:45 PM CDT

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, February 13, 2023. As the federal government readies its spring budget, a climate group is urging Ottawa to pursue a "made-in-Canada" response to U.S. clean energy incentives. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle

Housing near Ontario park could be stopped: feds

The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Housing near Ontario park could be stopped: feds

The Canadian Press 3 minute read Updated: 3:55 PM CDT

VAUGHAN, Ont. - Ontario's plans to build housing near a massive national park could be shut down if a new study shows a negative impact on biodiversity and at-risk species, the federal environment minister warned on Tuesday.

Steven Guilbeault said the study will be conducted as soon as possible in Rouge National Urban Park in the Greater Toronto Area.

Premier Doug Ford said he was not given a heads-up about the study, but was "not too concerned" it would affect development.

"It shouldn't slow down our development plans, it's adjacent, it's not right there, but good luck to them," Ford said.

Read
Updated: 3:55 PM CDT

Ontario Premier Doug Ford makes an announcement at a Magna International production facility, in Brampton, Ont., on Wednesday, February 15, 2023. Ford says an environmental study the federal government is reportedly planning on launching shouldn't slow down plans to develop housing on the Greenbelt. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

Itching to start spring garden cleanup? Not so fast!

Jessica Damiano, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Itching to start spring garden cleanup? Not so fast!

Jessica Damiano, The Associated Press 4 minute read Updated: 11:00 AM CDT

When the blare of the year’s first leaf blower awakened me one morning last week, I realized spring cleanup had commenced -- no matter that March could still roar like a lion here in my Long Island, New York, neighborhood.

It stands to reason that professional landscapers cannot logistically clear all of their clients' properties at the same time -- the right time -- so they start early. That’s good for them but bad for our gardens.

In mine, I forgo the fall cleanup, opting instead to allow leaf litter, ornamental grasses and spent perennials to remain standing to serve as shelter for pollinators and other insects over winter. Those insects are still hibernating, and removing the debris before they resume their life cycles would mean removing them from my garden.

That would result in less food for birds and fewer flowers and tomatoes for me.

Read
Updated: 11:00 AM CDT

This March 15, 2023, photo provided by Jessica Damiano shows ornamental grasses left standing in her Long Island, N.Y. garden over winter. The dead foliage provides shelter for hibernating pollinators and other insects until they emerge from dormancy and resume their lifecycles in mid to late spring. (Jessica Damiano via AP)

UN chief’s call for ambition on climate gets muted response

Frank Jordans, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

UN chief’s call for ambition on climate gets muted response

Frank Jordans, The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: 11:33 AM CDT

BERLIN (AP) — Senior government officials at a climate meeting in Copenhagen gave a muted response Tuesday to calls from the head of the United Nations for countries to show greater ambition when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres urged rich countries Monday to bring forward their target for achieving net zero emissions as close as possible to 2040, and for emerging economies to aim for a date as close as possible to 2050. This would be a significant shifting of the goal posts: the United States and the European Union are currently aiming for net zero by 2050, while China is targeting 2060 and India has set a deadline of 2070.

Guterres' call came in a video message responding to a new report by the U.N.'s top climate science panel which found that the world is still far off track if it wants to cap global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) compared to pre-industrial times, as agreed in the 2015 Paris accord. He did not attend the Copenhagen meeting.

Speaking at the end of a two-day meeting in the Danish capital of senior officials from dozens of countries, Egypt's foreign minister said there was no “specific answer to the aspirational goals” set out by Guterres.

Read
Updated: 11:33 AM CDT

Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry, left, and Denmark's climate minister, Dan Joergensen speak during a press conference at the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial, in Copenhagen, Tuesday, March 21, 2023. Senior government officials gathered for a climate meeting in Copenhagen gave a muted response Tuesday to calls from the head of the United Nations for countries to show greater ambition when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. (Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

Supreme Court takes on impact assessment case

The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Supreme Court takes on impact assessment case

The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: 2:56 PM CDT

OTTAWA - Federal lawyers defended the government's Impact Assessment Act in the Supreme Court of Canada on Tuesday as a two-day hearing started to determine the future of how the country weighs the environmental costs of economic development.

Several of the five-member panel of justices hearing the appeal of an Alberta decision that found the act unconstitutional quizzed Ottawa's representatives about whether the legislation is too broad.

Justice Malcolm Rowe said the act allows Ottawa to use narrow concerns over matters such as fisheries to gain control over a wide variety of unconnected issues.

"The feds get their hook in under some head of power and once the hook is in, they can use that for any purpose they want," he said.

Read
Updated: 2:56 PM CDT

The Supreme Court of Canada is pictured in Ottawa on Friday, March 3, 2023. Arguments are underway before the Supreme Court of Canada in a long-awaited case over the federal Impact Assessment Act.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Drought in Spain’s northeast empties reservoirs

Emilio Morenatti, The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Drought in Spain’s northeast empties reservoirs

Emilio Morenatti, The Associated Press 2 minute read 8:33 AM CDT

VILANOVA DE SAU, Spain (AP) — The medieval church of Sant Romà disappeared from view in the 1960s, when the town of Vilanova de Sau, an hour north of Barcelona, was flooded to create a reservoir.

In the past three decades, its spectral belltower has broken the surface several times, serving as a punctual reminder of Spain’s fragile water resources.

But today the church’s tower, its nave and the building’s foundations are all exposed. The bare, steep ridges of the Sau reservoir show how far its levels have receded, and the cracked earth around the remaining pool of water is trodden by tourists attracted by the ghost village’s reappearance.

Drought in Spain’s northeast reached “exceptional” levels last month, menacing access to drinking water for 6 million people in the Barcelona metropolitan area.

Read
8:33 AM CDT

Fishermen use a net to catch fish that would struggle to survive in the low-oxygen water in order to protect drinking water in the Sau reservoir, about 100 km (62 miles) north of Barcelona. Spain, Monday, March 20, 2023. The Sau reservoir's water levels now stand at 9% of total capacity, according to Catalan Water Agency data, so officials have taken the decision to remove its fish to prevent them from asphyxiating. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Swedish court OKs activists to sue state over climate policy

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Swedish court OKs activists to sue state over climate policy

The Associated Press 2 minute read 7:18 AM CDT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — A court in Sweden on Tuesday allowed a group of environmental activists, including Greta Thunberg, to file a lawsuit against the Swedish state for what they say is insufficient action on the climate.

The youth-led initiative Aurora, which is behind the lawsuit, said on its website that “the Swedish state does not treat the climate crisis as a crisis.”

Last year, more than 600 people under the age of 26 signed a document as the basis for the lawsuit, saying the country has violated its citizens' human rights with its climate policies. On Nov. 25, hundreds of activists, among them Thunberg holding a sign reading “now we sue the state,” marched through the Swedish capital to the courthouse to file the lawsuit.

“We in Aurora hold the state responsible for the lack of climate work. Through a court process, we must ensure that the state respects human rights,” the group said on its site.

Read
7:18 AM CDT

FILE - Climate activist Greta Thunberg, center, attends a demonstration by youth-led organization Aurora, in Stockholm, Sweden, Friday, Nov. 25, 2022. Writing on cardboard reads in Swedish "Now we sue the State". A court in Sweden on Tuesday, March 21, 2022 allowed a group of environmental activists, including Greta Thunberg, to file a lawsuit against the Swedish state for what they say is insufficient climate action. (Christine Ohlsson/TT News Agency via AP, File)

Austrian museum skews paintings to reflect climate change

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Austrian museum skews paintings to reflect climate change

The Associated Press 2 minute read Updated: 12:50 PM CDT

VIENNA (AP) — A Vienna museum is hanging some of its paintings at an angle to reflect the possible effects of climate change on the landscapes they depict.

The Austrian capital's Leopold Museum said Tuesday that 15 paintings will be slightly skewed until June 26 as part of the action titled “A Few Degrees More (Will Turn the World into an Uncomfortable Place).” They include works by Gustave Courbet, Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt.

The museum is turning the paintings by the number of degrees by which temperatures at the locations they depict — such as the coast of Normandy and Austria's Attersee region — could rise if far-reaching action isn't taken against climate change.

It worked with a Vienna-based climate research network, Climate Change Center Austria. Museum director Hans-Peter Wipplinger said in a statement that museums “preserve and impart cultural heritage to the next generations” and “have the potential to positively influence our future action by making people aware of social phenomena.”

Read
Updated: 12:50 PM CDT

VIENNA (AP) — A Vienna museum is hanging some of its paintings at an angle to reflect the possible effects of climate change on the landscapes they depict.

The Austrian capital's Leopold Museum said Tuesday that 15 paintings will be slightly skewed until June 26 as part of the action titled “A Few Degrees More (Will Turn the World into an Uncomfortable Place).” They include works by Gustave Courbet, Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt.

The museum is turning the paintings by the number of degrees by which temperatures at the locations they depict — such as the coast of Normandy and Austria's Attersee region — could rise if far-reaching action isn't taken against climate change.

It worked with a Vienna-based climate research network, Climate Change Center Austria. Museum director Hans-Peter Wipplinger said in a statement that museums “preserve and impart cultural heritage to the next generations” and “have the potential to positively influence our future action by making people aware of social phenomena.”

Biden creates national monuments in Nevada, Texas mountains

Matthew Daly, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Biden creates national monuments in Nevada, Texas mountains

Matthew Daly, The Associated Press 6 minute read Updated: 5:27 PM CDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Tuesday he is establishing national monuments on more than half a million acres in Nevada and Texas and creating a marine sanctuary in U.S. waters near the Pacific Remote Islands southwest of Hawaii. The conservation measures are “protecting the heart and soul of our national pride,'' Biden said.

Speaking at a White House summit on conservation action, Biden said the new monuments are among the “natural treasures” that "define our identity as a nation. They’re a birthright we have to pass down to generation after generation.''

Biden designated Avi Kwa Ame, a desert mountain in southern Nevada that Native Americans consider sacred, as a national monument, along with the Castner Range in El Paso, Texas. He also moved to create a national marine sanctuary in U.S. waters around the Pacific Remote Islands.

Conservation and tribal groups praised Biden's actions, but Nevada's new Republican governor slammed the monument designation as “federal confiscation” of Nevada land and “a historic mistake that will cost Nevadans for generations to come.”

Read
Updated: 5:27 PM CDT

FILE - Teddybear Chollas are seen within the proposed Avi Kwa Ame National Monument on Feb. 12, 2022, near Searchlight, Nev. Biden intends to designate Avi Kwa Ame, a desert mountain in southern Nevada that's considered sacred to Native Americans, as a new national monumen. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, File)

African nations consider swapping debt for climate funding

Wanjohi Kabukuru, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

African nations consider swapping debt for climate funding

Wanjohi Kabukuru, The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: 4:53 AM CDT

MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) — African countries saddled with debt and ravaged by losses and damages from weather events like cyclones, drought and extreme temperatures have agreed to consider swapping debt to invest in climate action in a meeting of finance ministers in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

The “debt-for-climate swap” option is an economic tool that allows a country’s debt to be reduced in exchange for commitments on green investments. It was among several alternative green financing models discussed at the ongoing United Nations conference for finance and economic ministers that supporters say would boost funds to adapt to climate harms, protect nature and finance local communities.

It comes as many African nations are battling with the effects of costly climate change-fueled events like the ongoing drought in eastern Africa that has killed thousands and decimated livelihoods reliant on rain-fed agriculture and the aftermath of the devastating Cyclone Freddy in the south that's left hundreds dead and thousands of others displaced.

Egyptian finance minister Mohamed Maait said that his country is one of many that is now having to add heavy climate costs to budgets stretched thin by external debt — which takes up to 17% of countries' spending in some cases — and other basic needs.

Read
Updated: 4:53 AM CDT

FILE - Men transport their salvaged belongings in Chiradzulu, southern Malawi, March 17, 2023. During a conference in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on Monday, March 20, 2023, leaders of African countries hit hard by climate change discussed finance options that would allow for the forgiveness of debt in exchange for investment in green energies. (AP Photo/Thoko Chikondi, File)

'Friendlier' containers boost reusable plastics

Sharif Hassan, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

'Friendlier' containers boost reusable plastics

Sharif Hassan, The Canadian Press 4 minute read 3:01 AM CDT

Their company has already washed nearly half a million plastic containers, but the founders of Friendlier hope to scrub more and expand their operations as Canada phases out single-use plastics.

Kayli Dale and Jacquie Hutchings, both chemical engineers, launched Friendlier in 2019 while studying at the University of Waterloo.

Dale said their goal was "to create the biggest sustainability impact" possible, and after noticing that Canada was lagging behind in reusable plastics – especially compared to Europe – decided to focus there.

Friendlier's business-model was inspired by rugby fans in England, where Hutchins saw people lining up after a match to get a refund on the deposit they paid for a plastic beer cup.

Read
3:01 AM CDT

Friendlier co-founders, Kayli Dale, 25, left and Jacquie Hutchings, 26, right, with some of their re-usable food packaging containers fresh from being washed and sterilized at their facility in Guelph, Ont. on Monday, March 20, 2023. With their company, Friendlier, launched in November 2020, the two entrepreneurs hope to simplify the transition from single use to reusable packaging. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter Power

Brace for familiar Canada-U.S. trade anxiety

James McCarten, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

Brace for familiar Canada-U.S. trade anxiety

James McCarten, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Updated: 3:10 PM CDT

WASHINGTON - It's been less than three years since the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement replaced NAFTA as the law of the land in continental trade, and there are already hints of the existential anxiety that preceded it.

That's because of the so-called "sunset provision," a clause that reflects the lingering working-class distrust of globalization in the U.S. that helped Donald Trump get elected president back in 2016.

Article 34.7 of the agreement, the "review and term extension" clause, establishes a 16-year life cycle that requires all three countries to sit down every six years to ensure everyone is still satisfied.

That clock began ticking in the summer of 2020. If it runs out in 2026, it triggers a self-destruct mechanism of sorts, ensuring the agreement — known in Canada as CUSMA — would expire 10 years later without a three-way consensus.

Read
Updated: 3:10 PM CDT

U.S. President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador listen to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speak during a joint news conference at the North American Leaders Summit, in Mexico City, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. It’s been less than three years since the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement replaced NAFTA as the law of the land in continental trade, and there are already hints of the existential anxiety that preceded it. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Top 10 historic Sierra snow seasons

The Associated Press 1 minute read Preview

Top 10 historic Sierra snow seasons

The Associated Press 1 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 9:04 PM CDT

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Here is a list of the Top 10 Sierra winters with the most snow in the 77 years since the UC-Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab started keeping records in 1946 northwest of Lake Tahoe near Donner Pass at Soda Springs, California:

TOP TEN HISTORIC SIERRA SNOW SEASONS

1951-52 — 812 inches (2,062 cm), or 67.7 feet (20.6 meters)

2022-23 — 677 inches (1,719.6 cm), or 56.4 feet (17.2 meters)

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 9:04 PM CDT

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Here is a list of the Top 10 Sierra winters with the most snow in the 77 years since the UC-Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab started keeping records in 1946 northwest of Lake Tahoe near Donner Pass at Soda Springs, California:

TOP TEN HISTORIC SIERRA SNOW SEASONS

1951-52 — 812 inches (2,062 cm), or 67.7 feet (20.6 meters)

2022-23 — 677 inches (1,719.6 cm), or 56.4 feet (17.2 meters)

No telling how much more snow coming for Sierra Nevada

Scott Sonner, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

No telling how much more snow coming for Sierra Nevada

Scott Sonner, The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: 12:49 PM CDT

RENO, Nev. (AP) — No one really knows how much snow fell on the infamous Donner Party when the pioneers were trapped atop the Sierra Nevada for months and dozens died near Lake Tahoe in the winter of 1846-47.

But this season has now etched its way into the history books as the second snowiest in the 77 years of record-keeping at the Central Sierra Snow Lab — more than 56.4 feet (677 inches, 17.2 meters) with no end in sight.

And there's still a chance it could surpass the record of 67.7 feet (812 inches, 20.6 meters) set in 1951-52 when more than 200 passengers on a San Francisco-bound luxury train from Chicago were stranded for three days near Donner Pass west of Truckee, California.

Over the weekend, the “winter that just doesn’t want to end” as the National Weather Service in Reno put it, topped the previous No. 2 record of 55.9 feet (671 inches, 17 meters) set in 1982-83. That was the second of back-to-back blizzard buster seasons remembered most for an avalanche that killed seven at a Tahoe ski resort on March 31, 1982.

Read
Updated: 12:49 PM CDT

FILE - The Pioneer Memorial, dedicated to the Donner Party, is seen behind snow cleared from the parking lot at the Donner Memorial State Park at Truckee, Calif., on March 28, 2011. The snow depth reaches up to half the height of the 22-foot tall shaft the statues are placed on. A relentless 2022-23 winter at Lake Tahoe has now etched its way into the history books as the Sierra's second-snowiest on record. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

Official: Mountain lion claws man in hot tub in Colorado

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Official: Mountain lion claws man in hot tub in Colorado

The Associated Press 2 minute read Yesterday at 4:42 PM CDT

NATHROP, Colo. (AP) — Wildlife officials said Monday they are searching for a mountain lion that clawed a man's head while he was sitting in a hot tub with his wife at a rental home in central Colorado.

The man was soaking in the in-ground hot tub in a wooded subdivision west of Nathrop on Saturday night when he felt something grab his head, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. He screamed at the mountain lion and started splashing water while his wife shined a flashlight at the animal.

Authorities said it retreated to the top of a hill and continued to watch the couple.

The man and his wife were able to get back into the home, where they cleaned his wounds and called the property owner, who happened to work for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The man had four superficial scratches on top of his head and near his right ear, but he declined medical treatment.

Read
Yesterday at 4:42 PM CDT

NATHROP, Colo. (AP) — Wildlife officials said Monday they are searching for a mountain lion that clawed a man's head while he was sitting in a hot tub with his wife at a rental home in central Colorado.

The man was soaking in the in-ground hot tub in a wooded subdivision west of Nathrop on Saturday night when he felt something grab his head, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. He screamed at the mountain lion and started splashing water while his wife shined a flashlight at the animal.

Authorities said it retreated to the top of a hill and continued to watch the couple.

The man and his wife were able to get back into the home, where they cleaned his wounds and called the property owner, who happened to work for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The man had four superficial scratches on top of his head and near his right ear, but he declined medical treatment.

Judge pauses Biden waterway protections in Texas, Idaho

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Judge pauses Biden waterway protections in Texas, Idaho

The Associated Press 2 minute read Yesterday at 4:29 PM CDT

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — A federal judge paused the Biden administration's waterway protections in Texas and Idaho as Republicans across the country challenge the environmental regulations as vague and argue the rules would create economic burdens.

The preliminary injunction by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Vincent Brown of Texas surrounds a rule finalized in December that defines which “waters of the United States” — often called “WOTUS” — qualify for protection under the Clean Water Act. The decision was signed Sunday and affects only Texas and Idaho.

Roughly half of all U.S. states are taking part in lawsuits challenging the rule. Earlier this month, the U.S. House also voted to overturn the protections under a measure that Biden said he would veto if it reaches his desk.

“The unlawful rule would have saddled Texans across the state with crushing new regulations, slowing our state’s economic development and limiting our job growth," Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement.

Read
Yesterday at 4:29 PM CDT

FILE - A paddler floats along the Devil's River on Feb. 17, 2023, near Del Rio, Texas. A federal judge on Sunday, March 19, has paused the Biden administration's waterway protections in Texas and Idaho as Republicans across the country challenge the environmental regulations as vague and argue it would create economic burdens. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

Last wild Atlantic salmon can survive Maine dams, feds say

Patrick Whittle, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Last wild Atlantic salmon can survive Maine dams, feds say

Patrick Whittle, The Associated Press 3 minute read Yesterday at 4:18 PM CDT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The federal government ruled Monday that the last wild Atlantic salmon in the country can coexist with hydroelectric dams on a Maine river, dealing a blow to environmentalists who have long sought to remove the dams.

The salmon, once abundant in the U.S., now return to only a few Maine rivers. One is the Kennebec River, dammed by Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday that the dams are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the salmon if conservation measures are taken.

Conservation measures along Brookfield's four Kennebec dams are designed to improve fish passages and will require an investment of more than $100 million by Brookfield, NOAA said. The dam upgrades would allow the salmon to swim up the Kennebec from the Atlantic Ocean to freshwater inland habitats for the first time since the construction of the dams in the 19th century, the agency said.

The agency reviewed the dams because Brookfield is seeking to relicense one of them and amend the licenses for three others, said NOAA spokesperson Allison Ferreira. NOAA said in a statement that it will “oversee an extensive monitoring program to ensure that the dams meet the expectations of improved fish passage in the Kennebec River.”

Read
Yesterday at 4:18 PM CDT

FILE - Farm-raised Atlantic salmon move across a conveyor belt as they are brought aboard a harvesting boat on Oct. 12, 2008, near Eastport, Maine. The federal government ruled Monday, March 20, 2023, that the last wild Atlantic salmon in the country can coexist with dams on a Maine river, dealing a blow to environmentalists who have long sought to remove them. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

LOAD MORE