PLANET IN PERIL

EcoWatch As Mark Mattson waited to speak to Canada's minister for the environment, Catherine McKenna, about the  Great Lakes  last December, he could feel the weight of the 184-page report he carried in his shoulder bag. More here.

EcoWatch Oil from the stricken oil tanker Sanchi, which exploded and sank in the East China Sea, may have now reached the shores of Japan, according to the country's Coast Guard. More here.

OTTAWA - Sierra Club Canada Foundation is disappointed, but not surprised, that Federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna approved up to seven exploratory drill wells for BP off Nova Scotia yesterday. The leases where BP will be drilling are located 48 km from Sable Island National Park and 71 km from the Gully Marine Protected Area, home to the Northern bottlenose whale and deep-sea corals. "I wish I could say I was shocked, but sadly I'm not," stated Gretchen Fitzgerald, National Program Director of Sierra Club Canada Foundation.  "This project could  result in a massive blow out on the East coast, one  that  we are not prepared nor equipped  to deal with. Even under the best  conditions,  BP says it will take two weeks to cap a well.  That's two weeks  for oil to flow,  threatening whales, fish, birds, and fisheries." The Environmental Assessment Report for the project indicates that in  case of  a spill, oil could  rea

NATIONAL OBSERVER Just as the Kinder Morgan pipeline controversy surges to fever pitch over oil spill impacts, a barge near Vancouver has sunk, spilling diesel into the ocean in the territory of the Squamish Nation. More here. A sunken tanker in the harbour at San Juan,  Puerto Rico, 1968.  U.S, Navy photo. RELATED:  Spills are an ocean away — until they’re not

nature Photo by  Andreas Weith Melting sea ice makes it hard for the Arctic predators to consume enough calories to survive. More here.