Sunday, October 31, 2010

ENVIRONMENT: Upper Fundy land returned to saltmarsh

Anyone living in upper Bay of Fundy is quite aware that large tracts of our coastal land are currently protected from tidal inundation by dykes. The original dykes were built by Acadian settlers over 350 years ago to convert salt water marshes to farm land.

Although these converted salt water marshes or "dykelands" remain some of the region's most fertile agricultural land, much of it today is underutilized: 15% of dykeland in Nova Scotia and 41% of dykeland in New Brunswick is no longer being farmed. 

It's estimated that 85% of the saltmarshes in the Bay of Fundy were lost due to dyking. With the pressures of climate change and rising sea levels, there certainly appears to be case to be made returning some of these unused dykelands to the Bay as salt marshes.

Ducks Unlimited launched an interesting project this week in upper Bay of Fundy: it intentionally returned 16 hectares of farmland to saltmarsh and will closely monitor how the restored saltmarsh can act as a buffer to rising sea levels and storm surges. It's also expected that salt marshes may ease the pressure on remaining dykes. 'Twill be interesting to watch...

From http://bayoffundy.blogspot.com/2010/10/upper-fundy-land-restored-to-saltmarsh.html

Friday, October 22, 2010

ENERGY: Sierra Club targets export of nuclear waste.

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 SCC awaits decision on Bruce Power’s plan to ship 1600 tonnes of nuclear waste across the Great Lakes to Sweden
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) held two days of public hearings in Ottawa September 28- 29th, 2010 to discuss Bruce Power’s proposal to move 16 used steam generators to Studsvik, Sweden where they would be disassembled, melted down and recycled. Leftover waste would be shipped back to Canada.

Interveners representing concerned environmental and community groups joined Sierra Club Canada’s Executive Director, John Bennett, in asking the CNSC to adjourn the hearing to allow time to prepare a proper study on the potential environmental impacts that such an undertaking would entail.

Bruce Power’s proposal represents “a major deviation from the approved plan” set out in their 2005 Environmental Assessment. As such, John argued before the panel that Bruce Power’s current proposal “should require revisiting the environmental assessment.”

For more information: http://www.sierraclub.ca/en/blog/john-bennett/blue-box-nukes


Thursday, October 14, 2010

ON STAGE: Terry Gillespie Tonight in St. Andrews. More Tommorrow!

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TONIGHT !!!
 
TOMORROW
Something a Little Different
LOVESTORM
at the Sunbury Shores Gallery  8pm  $10
Lovestorm Is
Tim Isaac (Isaac and Blewett)
and
Nina Khosla (Great Balancing Act)

Friday, October 8, 2010

ENERGY: More problems at Lepreau - Fuel tube problems could delay N.B. nuclear plant

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Last Updated: Friday, October 8, 2010 | 7:03 PM AT
CBC News



Any further delay of the Point Lepreau refurbishment could jeopardize a campaign promise to freeze power rates made by the incoming Progressive Conservative government. (CBC)

NB Power has announced that Atomic Energy of Canada Limited will have to start over with one of the most important parts of the refurbishment of the Point Lepreau nuclear plant.

The federal Crown corporation is going to remove all 380 calandria tubes to reinstall and reseal them, which could further delay the completion of the project, already more than a year behind schedule.

It has been estimated that NB Power will have to pay $1 million a day to purchase replacement power while the reactor is not in service.

"Project staff are proceeding with the removal of all 380 calandria tubes," said an NB Power statement that was released at 5 p.m. AT Friday, as New Brunswickers prepared for the three-day Thanksgiving weekend.

"We do not have specific details from AECL on how it will impact the overall timeline of the project.

"In our continued efforts to be open and transparent with our employees and customers, we are releasing this information to you now as this is currently happening and will provide you with more detailed information as it becomes available later next week."

The calandria tubes are made to house smaller nuclear pressure tubes, which in turn contain radioactive nuclear fuel bundles.
Refurbishment originally scheduled for 2009 completion

They were the first major piece of equipment to be installed in the reactor as part of the much-delayed refurbishment of the 27-year-old generating station in southern New Brunswick.

The refurbishment, which began on March 28, 2008, is expected to extend the generating station's life by 25 to 30 years. It was supposed to be completed by September 2009.

Before Friday's announcement, the $1.4-billion refurbishment was already hundreds of millions of dollars over budget.

The most optimistic recent forecasts estimate the refurbishment will be completed by October 2011, and NB Power will need until February 2012 to get the power plant to begin generating electricity again.

The removal of the original calandria tubes took AECL one year.

With the delays, the incoming Progressive Conservative government will be in charge of a refurbishment deal they signed up for in 2005, when they were led by Bernard Lord.

The newest delay could be a problem for incoming leader David Alward, who takes power Oct. 12. He promised a three-year freeze on power rates, which was calculated on the assumption the reactor would be operational in February.

NB Power predicted in April that power rates would rise an extra three per cent next year because of the refurbishment cost overruns.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2010/10/08/nb-point-lepreau-refurbishment-delays.html?ref=rss#ixzz11oHWayFR




Pre-operational environmental monitoring report for the Point Lepreau, N.B., nuclear generating station - 1981 (Canadian technical report of hydrography and ocean sciences)

Thursday, October 7, 2010

CONSERVATION: Rockweed biologist receives national award

10/6/10 10:40 pm Updated: 10/6/10 10:42 pm
By Sharon Kiley Mack
BDN Staff

MACHIAS, Maine — Dr. Robin Hadlock Seeley was driving Wednesday from New York to Pembroke despite still recovering from the flu. She said she needed to come to testify today before the state’s Regulatory Fairness Board in Calais regarding the impact of mechanical and hand harvesting on Maine’s rockweed — a coastal seaweed.

This dedication to environmental issues is why Seeley stands out in her field and was recently honored by the Audubon Society with a $10,000 national Together Green Fellowship.

The fellowship, one of 40 awarded across the country, will enable Seeley to continue her work to protect the rockweed intertidal habitat by working with students, the public and policymakers.

“Rockweed plays a fundamental role in Maine’s coastal and estuarine ecosystems, serving as habitat for more than 100 fish and invertebrate species, as well as shorebirds and ducks,” Seeley said Wednesday. “Unregulated, industrial-scale cutting of rockweed threatens the fishing potential, ecological health and natural beauty that are vital to Maine’s future.”

Seeley is an assistant director at the Shoals Marine Laboratory in Maine, which is operated by Cornell University and the University of New Hampshire.

The fellowship is supported by a conservation alliance between Audubon and Toyota. It offers specialized training in conservation planning and execution, the chance to work and share best practices with gifted conservation professionals and assistance with project outreach and evaluation. The fellowship stresses community-focused projects that engage local residents in conserving land, water and energy and contributing to greater environmental health.

Seeley is working to preserve intertidal habitat in Maine by protecting rockweed beds from industrial-scale cutting. For her project, Seeley will expand on the work of the Rockweed Coalition, an organization she co-founded, by working with local educators to design lesson plans for elementary, middle and high school students on the value of seaweed habitat. She also plans to work with policymakers at the state level to promote the value of the intertidal habitat for Maine fisheries and wildlife.

Seeley has spent the last 10 years working on rockweed management, sharing scientific knowledge on the effects of rockweed cutting while also listening to local communities. She helped mobilize support for a Maine law that strictly manages the cutting of seaweed in Cobscook Bay by putting all federal, state and private conservation areas off-limits to commercial cutting.

“Robin is the kind of person who can make a real difference in the health of our environment and the quality of our future,” Audubon President David Yarnold said in a prepared statement. “Each of our Together Green Fellows demonstrates exceptional environmental understanding and commitment, combined with tremendous potential to inspire and lead others. Together, they represent the talented and diverse leadership the environmental community will need to tackle the huge challenges and opportunities confronting us today and in the years to come.”

Seeley said the award comes at a key time for the Rockweed Coalition.

“Support from Together Green provides a great boost to our work informing policy-makers and the public about the unrecognized breadth of ecological services provided by rockweed in Maine,” she said.

Seeley, a Maine native, earned her bachelor’s degree in biology and environmental studies from Bowdoin College, a master’s degree in zoology from the University of Rhode Island and her doctorate in biology from Yale University. She has served as an adjunct faculty member in the School of Marine Science, University of Maine.

A complete list of the 2010 Together Green Fellows can be found at www.TogetherGreen.org/fellows.


Ecology and management of Maine's eelgrass, rockweeds, and kelps: Executive summary

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

$7 million in federal port grants headed to Eastport, Portland

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http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/155499.html

10/5/10 11:53 pm Updated: 10/6/10 05:46 am
By Sharon Kiley Mack
BDN Staff

EASTPORT, Maine — A permitting problem that held up $7 million in federal funds for Maine’s ports at Eastport and Portland, was cleared this week and the funding should be released immediately, according to Maine’s congressional delegation.

The funds were part of a $14 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery — TIGER — grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation that was awarded eight months ago to upgrade the infrastructure at three ports in Maine.

Another $7 million in the package for Searsport is still being withheld because of a “Buy American” requirement in the agreement between the U.S. Department of Transportation and Maine had been holding up the process since February. Searsport needs to buy a mobile harbor crane that is not produced in the U.S.

According to John Henshaw of the Maine Port Authority, all three projects were part of one grant request, and as such the funding for all three was held up.

But the USDOT announced this week that it will allow the projects at Eastport and Portland to proceed while Searsport seeks a waiver. Moving those projects ahead is critical, especially at Eastport, since the state has a short construction season. The Eastport project requires blasting and drilling, which now can be accomplished before winter sets in.

The three ports and their projects are:

ä $2 million will go to Eastport for a warehouse, conveyer equipment and storage pad.

ä $5 million to the International Marine Terminal in Portland for capacity and infrastructure improvements to improve access to the pier and cargo-handling capability.

ä $7 million to Searsport for investments in a heavy-lift mobile harbor crane and cargo-handling equipment. “These TIGER grants were designed to put people back to work,” U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe said in a prepared statement. “The last thing we want is government paperwork preventing critical infrastructure initiatives, like the ‘Revitalizing Maine’s Ports’ project, from moving forward and creating jobs. I am delighted we were able to find a way to cut through the red tape, so that Mainers may get back to work on such a vital project

TOURISM: UNESCO names N.B. home to new geopark

Last Updated: Tuesday, October 5, 2010 | 6:35 AM AT
CBC News




UNESCO named Stonehammer Geopark, which includes Fundy National Park, the world's newest geopark at a conference in Greece. (CBC)UNESCO has named a large swath of land along the Bay of Fundy coastline as the world's latest geopark.

Stonehammer Geopark covers 2,500 square kilometres across southern New Brunswick and stretches from Lepreau Falls to Norton, Saint John and Grand Bay-Westfield to St. Martins.

The United Nations Education, Scientific, Cultural Organization awarded Stonehammer Geopark the distinction of becoming North America's first geopark at a conference in Greece late Sunday.

The title comes just after construction workers at a nursing home project in Saint John found a 500-million-year-old rock formation called a hinge.

And scientists discovered 318-million-year-old reptile footprints in rock slabs near St. Martins in 2008.
'From a marketing perspective, as well as educational and preservation perspective, it just gives us that extra notch, that extra level we're able to work with now.'— Gail Bremner, Stonehammer Geopark

Gail Bremner, the executive director of Stonehammer Geopark, said the designation and the prestige it carries will help attract more tourists and bring some of them back.

"It provides new product. For example, for the cruise ship visitors that are coming, we get a lot of repeat visitors, so it gives them an opportunity to explore our region in a different perspective," Bremner said.

Geologists from Germany and Ireland visited southern New Brunswick in August to assess whether the area should be home to the continent's first geopark.

This is just another distinction for the region.

The Bay of Fundy is one of 28 finalists in a worldwide campaign by the New 7 Wonders Foundation, a group based in Switzerland. The online campaign is intended to increase knowledge and tourism to some of the world's great natural wonders.

Other entrants include the Amazon rainforest, South Africa's Table Mountain, Uluru in Australia (also known as Ayers Rock) and Mount Vesuvius in Italy.

EVENTS: October - Upcoming in Charlotte County, NB

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Thursday at Harry and Martha Bryan's
Mascarene Road near St. George
 
 
and
Next Thursday at The Arena Theatre
St. Andrews
 
 
 
Mark Your Calendar for
New Brunswick Emerging Artist Showcase
 
Wednesday Oct 27th
 
Owen Steel, Babette Hayward, Andy Brown, Lisa Leblanc
 
 

Monday, October 4, 2010

500 million year old rock stops construction and stirs online debate

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 Interesting article for sure. But the debate it stirred in the comments is even more interesting. Don't miss it!!


Art

****************************

Ancient rock formation uncovered in N.B.

Geologist estimates 4.5-metre rock formation is 500 million years old
Last Updated: Monday, October 4, 2010 | 8:52 AM AT
CBC News


Construction was stopped at a Saint John nursing home site after workers found a rock formation estimated to be 500 million years old. (CBC)

Saint John construction workers are altering a nursing home's renovation plans after discovering a rock formation that is estimated to be 500 million years old.

Construction crews had been excavating for the expansion to the Loch Lomond Villa Nursing Home since mid September.

A unique 4.5-metre rock formation was found jutting through the shale and that forced the workers to change their construction plans. Geologists are now debating over what could be done with the discovery.

Terry Moore, the facilities manager at the nursing home, said the ancient rock formation appears to resemble a tree.
'I knew right away it wasn't going to be a fossil tree because it's about 500 million years old. We know trees don't appear in the geological record until about 360 million years ago, so it's much too old to be a tree.'— Randy Miller, N.B. Museum

"It actually looks like the side of the tree, the formation of bark all along here … it's just so unique," Moore said.

Once the geological surprise was found, the nursing home staff called in experts from the New Brunswick Museum to investigate the rock formation.

Randy Miller, the provincial paleontologist at the New Brunswick Museum, said the age of the formation makes it impossible for the discovery to be a tree.

"I knew right away it wasn't going to be a fossil tree because it's about 500 million years old," Miller said.

"We know trees don't appear in the geological record until about 360 million years ago, so it's much too old to be a tree."

Miller said the log is actually a hinge, which happens when layers of rock are folded on top of each other when heated up deep within the earth.
Preserving the discovery

The provincial paleontologist said the hinge is worth preserving right where it is situated.

Miller said other examples of the rock formations have been unearthed around Saint John and he hopes this latest discovery can help the city's push toward geo-tourism.

"Some people think about the geo-park being fossils and that part of the story. But there are other really important parts of the story, about plate tectonics, how the big processes of geology work," Miller said.

"So all these little sites are kind of interesting because we use them for teaching.… It may be a place that you could take the public to, if it's accessible, and say, 'Look, how rocks are folded and this is how it happens.'"

While Miller and other experts decide how to accomplish that, construction crews at the Saint John nursing home have reworked their plans to avoid disturbing the rock any further.

The geological discovery at the nursing home comes about two weeks after highway construction was halted in southwestern New Brunswick after First Nations artifacts were found.

The discovery of what are believed to be First Nations artifacts happened in Charlotte County after torrential rains during post-tropical storm Earl in mid-September exposed the objects.

Read comments and more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2010/10/04/nb-fossil-nursing-home-saint-john-616.html?ref=rss#socialcomments#ixzz11PDtejfB

Friday, October 1, 2010

BOOKS: Mary Majka Book launch tomorrow

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From bayoffundy.blogspot.com - Thanks Terri!!

Bay of Fundy book launch tomorrow!

There's a very exciting event taking place tomorrow, October 2, in Albert County, New Brunswick: the launch of a biography of well-known Bay of Fundy naturalist, Mary Majka.

Mary is one of Canada’s great pioneering environmentalists. She is best known as a television host, a conservationist, and a driving force behind the internationally acclaimed Mary’s Point Western Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve on the Bay of Fundy.

Sanctuary (her authorized biography to be released this weekend) gives full expression to the intensely personal story of Mary’s life. A daughter of privilege, a survivor of World War II Poland, an architect of dreams, Mary Majka became passionately intent on protecting fragile spaces and species for generations to come.

In this amazing chronicle of determination and foresight, Deborah Carr reveals a complex, indomitable, thoroughly human being — flawed yet feisty, inspiring and inspired. With information gleaned from Mary’s own memories, present day scenes and passages of reportage, Sanctuary engages the reader in a shared remembering as Deborah weaves together the story of a young Polish girl named Marysia, who faced sorrow, loss and then war alone, and through this discovered a healing connection to nature. It is the story of how she evolved into the award-winning woman known as Mary Majka, who played a key role in preserving the natural and cultural heritage of New Brunswick and encouraged others to pursue their passion and make their own mark on the world.

But beneath all this, it is the story of finding sanctuary – of achieving that sacred place of acceptance and refuge, both in the world and within the soul.

The book launch for Sanctuary takes place Oct 2, from 2PM – 4PM at the Harvey Hall, 29 Mary’s Point Road, Harvey, Albert Co. (Near Riverside-Albert), NB. Both the author and Mary Majka will be there to sign books.

To read more about the story behind the writing of Sanctuary, visit author, Deborah Carr’s blog, What If?

AQUACULTURE: Aquaculture company denies using harmful pesticide

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Image Credit: wikipedia.com



Investigation: Environment Canada probing discovery of illegal substance in Bay of Fundy

Derwin Gowan
Telegraph-Journal

ST. STEPHEN - Northern Harvest Sea Farms does not use the pesticide cypermethrin, company chief executive officer Larry Ingalls said in a news release Thursday.

On Sept. 23, Environment Canada issued "inspectors directions" telling Northern Harvest and Ocean Legacy Inc. to cease using cypermethrin, and prevent its use in the future, in floating salmon cages in the Bay of Fundy off Charlotte County.

The department based these orders on results of samples taken in the spring that show cypermethrin was present in salmon cages belonging to the two companies, said Robert Robichaud in Moncton, operations manager for the department's enforcement branch in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

The test results showed "detectable" levels of this chemical licenced for agricultural use, but not for a marine environment in Canada, Robichaud said.

The department took the samples from May through July as part of a program of routine inspections of aquaculture sites that began this spring, Robichaud said.

The two companies must "immediately stop any use of cypermethrin and prevent any future use of cypermethrin," Robichaud said. The companies could be fined up to $200,000 for not complying.

The investigation continues into who put the cypermethrin, commonly used to kill potato bugs and on blueberries, in the water.

The probe could lead to criminal charges.

Environment Canada's laboratory in Moncton identified cypermetrhin on dead lobster in the Bay of Fundy last fall.

On Nov. 19 the Grand Manan Fishermen's Association reported dead lobster in traps. More were found Nov. 23 in Pocologan, and off Deer Island Dec. 3.

On Sept. 8 this year, a fisherman reported a number of dead lobsters off Campobello Island. The laboratory has yet to identify any chemicals on these lobsters.

Canada does not licence cypermethrin for use in water, but the substance does kill sea lice, a bane to salmon farmers.

Traditional fisheries favour banning all chemicals from the bay, controlling sea lice by reducing the number of salmon in sea cages, Fundy North Fishermen's Association executive director Maria Recchia said in an interview.

The industry should raise fish in tanks on land, John Werring with the David Suzuki Foundation said from Vancover.

"This is just all part of an ongoing investigation," said Pamela Parker, executive director of the New Brunswick Salmon Growers' Association. "We shouldn't draw conclusions until the investigation reaches its end point."

"Northern Harvest Sea Farms has not, is not and will not use cypermethrin. The use of this, or any other unauthorized products is strictly against the company and owner's policy," Ingalls said in his written statement.

The company will co-operate with Environment Canada's investigation, he said.

Environment Canada found "positive results at very low levels in May" at two sites, Ingalls said.

"Ongoing tests at these sites have resulted in negative readings. All other farms tested had negative results, including recent testing at three farms in Campobello.

"Because of the seriousness of this issue, Northern Harvest immediately contracted an independent laboratory analysis of the sites in question among others. All those results have been negative," he said.

Northern Harvest will say no more while the investigation continues, he said.

Ocean Legacy did not return calls.