South Asia

production stopped: The Canadian gas-exploration company Niko failed to receive government permission for producing gas after a blowout wrecked the Tengratila gas field. It began removing drilling equipment from the site amidst protests from local residents who demanded the company's pullout be stopped till their demands are met and issues of compensation for financial and environmental damages sorted. Niko officials claimed it was totally safe to produce gas from the Tengratila gas field.

In Court

Canada refuses Sumas:The federal court of Canada ruled out the possibility of establishing a US-based power plant near the Canadian border. The company, Sumas Energy 2, proposed to source natural gas from Canada and build the plant in Sumas. It would cost US $400 million and generate 660 megawatts of power. The proposal ran into opposition in the province's Fraser Valley, where communities contended that air quality was already bad because of pollution drifting from the Vancouver area. The National Energy Board rejected the proposed plant last spring.

Frog helps potato

a team of biotechnologists in Canada has chanced upon a new use for the skin secretions of a rainforest frog: protecting potatoes against pathogens.

Where are the boys?

Pollution has allegedly tipped the gender balance in the Chemical Valley community, living among chemical plants in southwest Ontario, Canada. A review of Aamjiwnaang First Nation birth records, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, says only about one third of the babies born in the area between 1999 and 2003 were males. The area houses Canada's largest bunch of chemical, allied manufacturing and research and development units.

In Court

Agent Orange in Canada: A class action lawsuit has been filed in Ottawa, Canada, by people who claim they were exposed to Agent Orange and other chemicals that were tested in the 1960s at a Canadian Forces base in New Brunswick. The petitioners say they suffered serious health problems due to the spraying and seek punitive and aggravated damages, although they don't quote a specific amount. Though the claims have not been proven in a court, the government has acknowledged the spraying.

Off to Canada

the media has of late celebrated the news of Indian farmers gearing up for a Canadian citizenship. But it actually is a story of a severe resource-drain that affects agriculture, the Indian economy's backbone. An institution responsible for extending research and development gains to India's own agricultural sector is aiding this drain. What's worse, the scheme will not benefit poor farmers, as claimed, but the super-rich ones.

Price of subsidy

The eu and Canada will impose an additional 15 per cent duty (worth us$ 150) on certain us imports, beginning May 1, 2005.

In Court

Pointless: A US federal appeals court recently heard arguments on a five-year-old battle over whether the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the authority to regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from motor vehicles. The results were as unclear as ever. The plaintiffs in the case comprise 12 states, one territory, three cities and 13 non-government organisations. They want EPA to explain why it can't regulate CO2 emissions from motor vehicles under the Clean Air Act.

It's a fun jaunt

Environmental Policy I ndia / Canada

Controversy further sealed

A massive seal hunt, supported by poor coastal communities for the big money it brings them but opposed by animal rights activists, began in Canada on March 29, 2005. The Canadian government justified the hunt, citing record levels of seal population and decreasing commercial fish stocks; seals have voracious appetites, especially for cod.