Let's celebrate International Day of Biological Diversity!

The unrestricted exploitation of wildlife has led to the disappearance of many animal (& plant) species at an alarming rate, destroying Earth's biological diversity and upsetting the ecological balance. (UN)

A pheasant in Saskatchewan.

A swallowtail butterfly in Manitoba, CA. (Papilio canadensis)

Prairie dogs in Saskatchewan.

Blue jays in Manitoba.

A cow moose in Manitoba.

A skunk in Manitoba.

     A subspecies of the swallowtail (papilio machaon britannicus).                                                                       Photo by Bill Dean - UK. 

One of several species at risk in Canada, the small white lady's slipper, (Cypripedium candidum). Photo by Mason Brock.

 All photos by PinP, except where otherwise noted.

‘To say nothing is not public service’: former Agriculture Canada official raised red flags on pesticide

By Marc Fawcett-Atkinson | News | May 16th 2024

National Observer

A former official in Canada's agriculture ministry accused the federal pesticide regulator of failing to assess the health risks posed by the controversial herbicide glyphosate, a key ingredient of Roundup, months before leaving the ministry.

The concerns from David Cox, who at the time was deputy director at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), were revealed in a trove of emails distributed to high- and mid-level AAFC officials — including deputy minister Stefanie Beck — in June and October 2023. They were obtained by Canada's National Observer through an access to information request.

"I am not an expert but I do believe in raising red flags where I see large-scale risk exposure and peer-reviewed papers stating there are harms. To say nothing is not public service," wrote Cox in a June 14, 2023 email distributed to eight senior AAFC officials, including Beck. A spokesperson for AAFC said this week that Cox no longer works for the ministry.

Researchers have found that glyphosate, which is commonly labelled both an herbicide and a pesticide by the industry, can cause cancer, is toxic to the nervous system and harms animals' gut bacteria. The chemical is considered to be potentially carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. A recent Health Canada study concluded that the average Canadian has small amounts of glyphosate in their urine.

According to Cox's June 14, 2023 email, up to 90 per cent of Canadian "fields and horticulture crops, and their soils, have long-term exposure from ongoing" glyphosate use.

Nonetheless, according to the government's sales report, the chemical is by far Canada's most common herbicide, with over 50 million kilograms of the herbicide sold in Canada in 2020. It is used by farmers to kill weeds and logging companies to eradicate deciduous trees from their cutblocks. Pesticide regulators in Canada, the U.S. and the European Union have deemed glyphosate-based pesticides to be safe, despite a fast-growing body of research about the chemical's danger.

The revelations come as Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) — an agency within Health Canada — has doubled down on allowing glyphosate use in recent years despite lawsuits, sustained political criticism and growing global concern about the chemical's health impacts.

In a Thursday statement, AAFC said the "government of Canada takes pesticide safety very seriously and is committed to protecting the health of humans and the environment, including wildlife. To be used in Canada, a pesticide such as glyphosate must undergo a highly regulated, science-based risk assessment to ensure that it meets Health Canada’s human health and environment protection requirements."

A recent report by Aimpoint Research, funded by global pesticide giant Bayer, found that eliminating the pesticide's use would raise U.S. farmers' production costs by about $1.9 billion. Researchers have found that eliminating the current widespread use of glyphosate is possible, though they note the shift would require planning and efforts to support farmers in the transition.

E-mails reviewed by Canada's National Observer show that a former official within Agriculture Canada had repeatedly warned senior ministry officials about the potential harms of the popular herbicide glyphosate, as shown in research.

Primarily penned by Cox, the trove of emails also included a note written by Myriam Fernandez, an AAFC researcher specializing in organic agriculture. The messages show both employees raised the alarm about the health risks posed by glyphosate, citing emerging research about the chemical's role in harming the nervous system and pregnancy and potentially causing cancers.

In the June email, Cox wrote that "glyphosate concerns me as I receive peer-reviewed journals and papers from [AAFC researchers]" that run counter to the federal government's policy to consider the chemical to be safe. The findings, he suggested, left him concerned that Canadian agricultural policies and regulatory decisions for the chemical were failing to reflect the most modern research on the product's toxicity.

Cox continued sounding the alarm in a subsequent email sent on October 13, 2023 to Tom Rosser, AAFC's assistant deputy minister of market and industry services and Donald Boucher, AAFC director-general of sector development and analysis. In the note, he reiterated being "truly concerned about the growing peer-review literature about glyphosate health and environmental risks to the public."

He wrote that AAFC had become "too reliant or complacent" on the ability of Canada's regulator to properly evaluate glyphosate. That could lead the agency to overlook emerging science about the product's health impact and international efforts to rein in its use, potentially creating a "risk red flag scenario," he said.

Vietnam is the only country to have fully banned the chemical. Sri Lanka tried in 2015 and backed down in 2021; France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany have partially prohibited it. Germany and Mexico have pledged to fully ban the pesticide, but have not yet done so. It was almost banned across the EU last year, but the bloc's pesticide regulator renewed the pesticide's registration last year.

Cox noted that Canada's continued use of glyphosate — and AAFC's lack of a plan to help farmers use less of it — exposed Canada to future financial and trade risks if other countries ban products exposed to the chemical.

"For your sakes, please take this seriously if you haven't yet. Never been clear to me if these [concerns] are dismissed because of the policy paradigm driving the biotechnology agenda … or that I am seen as an organic arguer defaming [glyphosate]. I am just revealing context based on evidence I get from various sources," he wrote.

The documents released in the access to information request included a Jan. 18, 2023 email Cox and other AAFC staff and people involved in Canada's organic sector received from AAFC researcher Fernandez. The message included an 2022 study of glyphosate's health impact and noted that Fernandez was "gathering scientific publications on glyphosate impacts on the health of humans."

Cox forwarded the email to Rosser and Boucher and said he would add them to Fernandez's mailing list distributing new research about the health impacts of glyphosate. The documents do not include any response from either official.

"I wish that those opposed to organic agriculture, and who still believe that glyphosate is 'just like water,' would take the time to do a simple search for this type of peer-reviewed scientific publications, and read them," Fernandez wrote.

The revelations come amid growing concerns about Canada's pesticide regulator's ability to protect Canadians from harmful pesticides, including glyphosate.

Last year, Canada's National Observer found the agency had for years downplayed health and environmental concerns from its own scientists about the toxic pesticide chlorpyrifos. The agency also downplayed the health risks of the pesticide dimethyl tetrachloroterephtalate (DCPA) in the wake of an emergency warning from the EPA about the chemical.

The agency's transparency has also come into question after prominent health researcher Bruce Lanphear resigned from a scientific advisory position with the PMRA last year due to transparency issues. In his letter of resignation, he lambasted the organization's "obsolete" approach to pesticide regulation.

Moreover, in 2022, a coalition of health and environmental groups led by Ecojustice challenged the government's decision to renew glyphosate-based herbicide "Mad Dog Plus." The case alleges the government failed to assess research on the chemical's health risks published since it was re-approved by the regulator in 2017.

That case comes on the heels of a 2022 ruling by the Federal Court of Appeal that found the PMRA failed to justify its 2017 decision to re-approve the chemical.

"Interesting to see a deputy director at [AAFC] raising red flags," said Laura Bowman, an Ecojustice lawyer and pesticide expert. "The irony is that as more evidence piles up on glyphosate risks, the harder it is for regulators to keep up. That's why we brought the registration renewal litigation."

Cassie Barker, the senior program manager for toxics at Environmental Defence, was succinct about the implication of Cox's efforts to raise red flags about glyphosate.

"That's wild. I'm glad to hear it," she said.

The ICC could issue warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders. How does the court work?

CBC News

International Criminal Court prosecutor seeks arrest warrants for Israeli, Hamas leaders.

Leaders of Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas may soon be the subjects of international arrest warrants over allegations they are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Story here.

In Seawater, Researchers See an Untapped Bounty of Critical Metals

Yale Environment  360 

Researchers and companies are aiming to draw key minerals, including lithium and magnesium, from ocean water, desalination plant residue, and industrial waste brine. They say their processes will use less land and produce less pollution than mining, but major hurdles remain. 

Story here.

Axe the Tax: Here's what happened after Australia killed its carbon pricing regime

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM FOUNDATION

 

Bushfires - Kangaroo Island, Australia. 2020.

                               New Matilda from Brisbane.

Can Canada learn anything from Australia's carbon tax experience?  STORY HERE.

Manitoba First Nations seek billions in damages over Winnipeg sewage spill

CBC News

Massive February spill into Red River caused significant harm for downstream communities: lawsuit. Story here.

John Pomeroy Has Seen the Okanagan’s Hotter, Drier Future

THE TYEE

The noted hydrologist projects a harsh shift in the region’s climate and water supply.

BLOGGER TAKES ISSUE ONCE AGAIN, WITH MANITOBA PORK (LETTER)

Manitoba Co-Operator

 In a 700-plus word article appearing in several rural papers recently, Cam Dahl, the industry group’s general manager, makes the preposterous claim that “it’s hard to be green while in the red.” LETTER HERE.

IF YOU'RE STILL AGAINST THE CARBON TAX - THINK AGAIN!

MOTHER CORP NEWS.

A PinP photo.
Research by the Climate Change Institute shows, the carbon tax has resulted in lower emissions! Story here.

Fire in the desert

PNAS

Fueled by invasive grasses and climate change, desert fires are growing larger and more dangerous. Story here.

Native ecosystems are losing the race against invasives, with potentially dangerous consequences for desert cities like Tucson. The city’s outskirts are shown here in the midst of the 2020 Bighorn Fire, which came alarmingly close to foothill homes. Image credit: Unsplash/Frankie Lopez.

Danielle Smith drops ‘uncertainty bomb’ on Alberta’s clean energy future

CANADA'S National Observer

By John Woodside | News, Energy, Politics | February 29th 2024

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announces new measures for renewable energy development.

Alberta’s seven-month pause on renewable energy development is coming to an end, but new rules promise to restrict the sector even further, experts say.

Among the new rules Premier Danielle Smith announced Wednesday is a ban on new wind projects within a 35-kilometre buffer zone of protected areas and other “pristine viewscapes” chosen by the province. Other projects in the buffer zone could be subjected to a “visual impact assessment” before securing approval.

Smith also said the Alberta Utilities Commission, which regulates energy projects, will take an “agriculture first” approach, meaning crops and livestock will take priority over renewable energy proposals unless it can be demonstrated that the project can coexist with agricultural uses. Renewable energy developers will also be required to put money aside for reclamation; an environmental measure frequently shirked by oil and gas companies that has resulted in the province facing $33 billion worth of liability from inactive wells.

“Growing our renewable energy industry must happen in well-defined and responsible ways,” Smith said. “We need to ensure we're not sacrificing our future agricultural yields, or tourism dollars, or breathtaking viewscapes to rush renewable developments through.”

Simon Dyer, Pembina Institute deputy executive director, told Canada’s National Observer that Wednesday’s announcement will hamstring the renewable energy sector and raises more questions than it answers.

“If you put a 35-kilometre buffer on all protected areas in southern Alberta, that covers 76 per cent of the landscape,” he said, adding that the Alberta government hasn’t provided concrete details about how projects will be evaluated going forward. “I mean, if I was a wind developer and 76 per cent of that land [is affected], I'd be very concerned and ask for clarification.”

Smith said renewables have a place in the province’s energy mix, but stressed gas power will remain the cornerstone indefinitely. She described a “parallel process” that would see renewable energy added to the grid only with an “equivalent amount” of gas power to ensure gas can meet demand at all times. She said this was an important step to take because renewable energy is typically intermittent, and she wants to avoid blackouts, pointing to a cold snap in January that led to the province’s electricity system operator issuing alerts to residents to conserve power.

In fact, the reason for the power shortage was natural gas plants being offline. Renewable energy helped ease the strain on the system, according to the Alberta Electric System Operator.

“The province was the undisputed renewables capital of Canada... Now Alberta is undermining its own success, making it one of the only jurisdictions in the world trying to frustrate the deployment of cheap, clean, renewable electricity."

Speaking to reporters from Parliament Hill, Liberal MP George Chahal didn’t mince words. He said Smith is “continuing her ideological crusade against renewables” and is telling investors that Alberta is “closed for business.” He also noted Smith’s moratorium seven months ago on renewable energy development affected more than 100 projects, representing $33 billion worth of investment and 24,000 jobs.

“Danielle Smith is killing an industry and making life more expensive,” he said.

“Today, she essentially announced that with the new 35-kilometre rule, and layers of restrictions, the vast majority of Alberta is off limits,” he said. “The temporary moratorium has now become permanent.”

Chahal, who represents the riding of Calgary Skyview, also accused Smith of scapegoating renewable energy during January’s cold snap.

“All this begs the question: Where has this mismanagement got us? Under Jason Kenney and Danielle Smith's watch, electricity rates have quadrupled since 2019,” he said. “Smith's unfair treatment of renewables would only make things worse.”

Dyer said the new rules will negatively impact renewable energy development in the province.

“Some of these rules seem patently unfair and target an industry that supports reliable and low-cost electricity,” he said. “Many of these restrictions do not apply to other industries or land uses.”

By “inventing” new concepts like “pristine viewscapes” to restrict potential renewable energy projects, Dyer said Alberta appears to be using a double standard since other industries like coal mining or logging don’t face the same rules.

“It does appear to come from a bias around renewable energy… If you don't like renewable energy, I guess looking at renewable energy upsets you,” he said.

Other environmental think tanks and business groups were quick to criticize Alberta’s announcement.

Evan Pivnick, Clean Energy Canada’s clean energy program manager, said Albertans stand to lose the most from the new rules. He described Smith’s announcement as an “uncertainty bomb” for investors.

“Until last year, the province was the undisputed renewables capital of Canada, securing over $4.7 billion in new investment and bringing thousands of new jobs to the province since 2019,” he said in a statement. “Now Alberta is undermining its own success, making it one of the only jurisdictions in the world trying to frustrate the deployment of cheap, clean, renewable electricity.”

Clean Energy Canada research also suggests decarbonizing the province’s power grid could save $600 per household in utility costs because electricity generated from wind and solar is cheaper than gas. That’s an important affordability concern given Albertans pay higher electricity bills than residents of any other province.

Jordan Dye, Business Renewables Centre-Canada director, said in a statement that industry will need much greater detail from the province, saying they are missing from “just about every regulatory area they’ve announced new rules on.”

“By introducing three new regulatory frameworks without details, investors and developers are left wondering what this actually means for their projects,” he said. “While details are needed across all categories, particularly concerning is the continued vagueness of the viewscapes requirements.

“Any project that’s even close to a protected area, or what might be considered a protected area, can’t move forward until there’s certainty from the provincial government.”