Oil Spills in the North Saskatchewan River

On July 21st, 2016, a Husky oil pipeline burst, leaking 200,000 – 250,000 litres of oil into the North Saskatchewan River just upstream of Maidstone, and 75 kms upstream of Paynton Ferry. Water intakes were closed for many of the communities down river as the damage was assessed and berms to control the spill were put in place. A temporary water line was put in place which only delivered 1/3 of the regular water supply to the area. (Global News)

Five samples were taken in a 20km stretch of the river on August 2nd to analyze the water for drinking, all which failed based on federal government regulations. A third party consultant company was hired to complete the water samples from various depths along the river. Over 1000 samples have been collected, results of 900 of them have been released which met guidelines. Some of these samples were collected up to 385kms downstream in Prince Albert. Saskatchewan’s Water Security Agency has also began its own independent sampling.

The Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment predicts that the spill is unlikely to be contained as the sediments sink to the bottom of the river and become distributed. The reported animal death pole is at 63 as of August 2nd. Environment and Climate Change Canada is investigating whether the spill violates other Canadian law such as the Fisheries Act and Migratory Birds Convention Act. Elizabeth McSheffrey reports for the National Observer that 130,000 litres of oil has so far been recovered and booms have been put in place to contain the rest. See Husky’s report from August 2nd, 2016 here.

This Husky pipeline was built in 1997, and it seems shortsighted to approve new projects when old infrastructure developments are causing significant problems. Hopefully the people in the Maidstone and Prince Albert regions have safe drinking water returned to them as soon as possible.

It seems Husky has done everything in their power to correct this spill to the best of their abilities. Containment, clean up, water assessments, and wildlife relief efforts have all been implemented and people’s safety has not been compromised. Hopefully their efforts will be successful, but more preventative measures should be taken in order to reduce these risks in the first place. Older pipelines and infrastructure should have more inspections and mitigations to prevent these spills in the first place which cause environmental damage, put people’s lives and livelihoods at risk, and cost the government and tax payers money.

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World Rhino Day

International organizations have been creating international ______ day, to spread awareness about species that are in critical danger and facing extinction, and today is World Rhino Day!

“Of the three Asian rhino species, two – Javan rhinos and Sumatran rhinos – are critically endangered. After the extinction of Javan rhino in Viet Nam in 2010, only one small population of Javan rhinos remains, in Java, Indonesia, with fewer than 50 individuals.”

The two species of African Rhinos are Black Rhinos (critically endangered, but starting to make a come back), and White Rhinos (threatened). The Southern White Rhino is are finally thriving in protected areas and sanctuaries, but unfortunately, the Northern White Rhino has a population of 4 individuals.

The demand for rhinoceros horn is by far their greatest threat. Although CITES banned the international trade of rhinoceros horn in 1977, the demand is still high in Africa and Asia. Rhino horn has many uses, including medicinal and tools such as dagger handles.

“Although some traditional medical practitioners are using alternatives, a TRAFFIC survey of medical practitioners showed that 60% stocked rhino horn and 27% maintained that it was essential to their work.”

The African Rhino Crisis is fuelled by the demand for rhino horn in Asian medicine. Organized groups of poachers have been killing hundreds of rhinos per year, putting their numbers seriously in decline. A subspecies of northern white rhino is already thought to be extinct, with many other species not far behind.

Habitat loss and destruction is another major factor in the decline of rhinos, not to mention thousands of other species all over the world.

“Habitat loss poses the greatest threat to species. The world’s forests, swamps, plains, lakes, and other habitats continue to disappear as they are harvested for human consumption and cleared to make way for agriculture, housing, roads, pipelines and the other hallmarks of industrial development. Without a strong plan to create terrestrial and marine protected areas important ecological habitats will continue to be lost.”

3 reasons to celebrate World Rhino Day:

1) The recovery of white rhinos from the brink of extinction 100 years ago to over 20,000 today is one of conservation’s greatest success stories.
2) Black rhino numbers have more than doubled from their low point of 2,400 in 1994 to more than 5,000 today.
3) The greater one-horned rhino faced a similar extinction threat at the turn of the 20th century, when only a handful remained, but have since recovered to over 3,300 today.

– World Wildlife Fund

Who Else is Helping Rhinos?

• SOS – Save Our Species
• IUCN – International Union for the Conservation of Nature
• International Rhino Foundation

How Can You Help? 

• Don’t buy rhino horn products. Illegal trade in rhino horn is a continuing problem, posing one of the greatest threats to rhinos today.
• Donate towards much-needed anti-poaching equipment and support in Africa
  South Africans / Residents of other countries
  
• Adopt a Sumatran rhino through WWF-US
• Adopt a Black rhino through WWF-UK
• Use and support sustainable wood, paper and palm oil. By purchasing certified sustainable palm oil and FSC-certified forest products, retailers, traders, and manufacturers help protect Sumatran and Javan rhino habitat by limiting illegal logging and forest conversion to oil palm plantations. Consumers can also help by demanding certified products.
• Donate to WWF to support the Asian Rhino and Elephant Action Strategy
• Spread the word!

Thank you to the World Wildlife Fund for coming up with strategies to save the rhinos!

 

Other important wildlife and environment dates:

• World Wetland Day – February 2nd
• World Wildlife Day – March 3rd
• International Day of Forests – March 21st
• World Water Day – March 22nd
• Earth Day – April 22nd
• International Day for Biodiversity – May 22nd
• World Environment Day – June 5th
• World Oceans Day – June 8th
• International Tiger Day – July 29th
• World Elephant Day – August 12th
• World Animal Day – October 4th
• World Habitat Day – October 7th
• World Soil Day – December 7th
• International Mountain Day – December 11th

 

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Wildlife Trafficking – update

A success story for wildlife!

“Conservation group Wildlife Alliance rescued 333 animals, including an endangered pileated gibbon, in 12 provinces during the month of July,”

The Wildlife Alliance, partnered with the Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team (WRRT) and the Cambodian Forestry Administration, have formed the “dream team”. They have been doing some truly inspiring work in Cambodia fighting the wildlife trafficking issue head on since 2001.

“Wildlife Alliance joined in the fight against the illegal wildlife trade in Cambodia in 2001, in partnership with the Cambodian Forestry Administration. The Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team began fighting the trade in the markets, restaurants, and roads of Cambodia, arresting traders and rescuing wildlife which continues to this day.”

Please visit the Wildlife Alliance website for more information!

It would have a huge impact on wildlife trafficking if every country could implement something like the Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team. Since 2001, Wildlife Alliance has rescued 56,000 animals from poachers and illegal wildlife traders. Can you imagine if every country was capable of doing this? With awareness, knowledge, and proactive thinking, it may be possible.

 

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Wildlife Wednesday!

For the first ever Wildlife Wednesday I’d like to talk about new species of wildlife being discovered all over the world.

Modern humans, or Homo Sapiens, were present in Africa 200,000 years ago and began to disperse out of Africa in groups about 50,000 years ago. Although 200,000 years seems like a long time for us humans, geologically that is a very short time period. The Earth is estimated at 4.5 billion years old. About 50,000 years ago language, music and culture began developing in our ancient relatives. It is only in the last 12,000 years that we began to cultivate plants and animals and develop agricultural practices, and ancient civilizations (such as Mesopotamia) are only 6,000 years old. Since then, science and technology have been the driving forces of humans, forever trying to uncover the secrets of our planet.

Long before our ancient ancestors evolved into modern humans, there were plants and animals, some species are dated millions of years old. For example, many species of sharks and fish are 100 + million years old. Jellyfish are 505 million years old! These are species we have known about for a long time, and are able to calculate their ages using fossil evidence and carbon dating.

With humans inhabiting nearly every corner of the world, it’s hard to imagine that there are still more creatures out there that we have yet to discover, but you may be surprised to know that there are new species being discovered every year! A new deep sea creature is discovered almost every time scientists venture down into the deep dark ocean. Apparently we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the ocean! Mariana’s Trench, the deepest part of the ocean, is over 36,000 feet deep. The tallest mountain on Earth, Mt. Everest, is just over 29,000 feet.

“The Mariana Trench’s microscopic inhabitants might even shed light on the emergence of life on Earth. Some researchers, such as Patricia Fryer et alat University of Hawaii, have speculated that serpentine mud volcanoes located near ocean trenches might have provided the right conditions for our planet’s first life-forms. Additionally, studying rocks from ocean trenches could lead to a better understanding of the earthquakes that create the powerful and devastating tsunamis seen around the Pacific Rim, geologists say.”

Learn more about this vast, unexplored place here.

But it’s not just living plants and animals that are being discovered…New Species of Massive Dinosaur Discovered in Africa
(Huffington Post article, Sept 10th, 2014)

Besides the oceans deep and digging up fossils in Africa, 400 new species of animals and plants have been discovered in the Amazon rainforest in the past 4 years! These include: the purring monkey, vegetarian piraña, and thimble frog.
Check out the full article published by The Guardian in 2013: here.

Purring Monkey

More recently, the International Institute for Species Exploration posted an article of the recent species discovered in 2014. Their list includes the Olinguito, a small raccoon-like carnivore that lives in the trees of the Andes mountains in Ecuador and Chile.
“It is the first new carnivorous mammal described in the Western Hemisphere in 35 years.”

 

Read about the rest of the newly discovered creatures here.

Olinguito

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Although we may think that we know everything, we definitely do not. I believe that we are rapidly approaching a tipping point in terms of sustainable energy and climate change, and we have a long way to go before we can successfully find the balance between humans and nature. There are many extremely biologically diverse regions on the planet, and it is these areas we must strive to protect. Many of the plants in these diverse regions, such as the Amazon and many other areas in South America, have long been used by the native tribes as healing medicinal plants, and western medicine could take a lesson or two from them. We are only a tiny part of this intricate system, yet we undoubtedly cause the most damage. The fact that scientists are discovering new plants and animals is important because it proves that there is much to learn about the natural world we inhabit.

“The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant, “What good is it?” If the land mechanism as a whole is good, then every part is good, whether we understand it or not. If the biota, in the course of aeons, has built something we like but do not understand, then who but a fool would discard seemingly useless parts? To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering.”

– Aldo Leopold, Round River : From the Journals of Aldo Leopold

 

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Illegal Wildlife Trade

The Illegal Wildlife Trade in an issue that is threatening thousands species of animals all over the world.

This article written by Jessica Aldred of The Guardian reviews 2013 : “the year wildlife crime became an international security issue.” It really sums up this intense global matter and paints a vivid picture of how it is impacting not only the animals, but our safety as well.

The Illegal Wildlife Trade

“The world is dealing with an unprecedented spike in illegal wildlife trade, threatening to overturn decades of conservation gains. Ivory estimated to weigh more than 23 metric tons—a figure that represents 2,500 elephants—was seized in the 13 largest seizures of illegal ivory in 2011. Poaching threatens the last of our wild tigers that number as few as 3,200.”

– World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

Hot Spots

As wildlife crime increases, this complicated situation escalates. Here in North America, we aren’t directly exposed to illegal wildlife trade and therefore don’t see the repercussions directly. The criminals involved in this business are severe. It takes a lot of man power to set up international networks, and wildlife (including live or parts) are being shipped overseas just as illegal drug and arms trafficking operates. It is estimated that this business is worth billions of dollars, money which funds other illegal activities and threatens the health and safety of every country involved.

“DEMAND DRIVES CRIME
Rhino horn, elephant ivory and tiger products continue to command high prices among consumers, especially in Asia. In Vietnam, the recent myth that rhino horn can cure cancer has led to massive poaching in South Africa and pushed the price of rhino horn to rival gold.”

As WWF explains, demand for these illegal animal parts is supplying fuel to the fire. As if habitat destruction wasn’t enough, many of these animals are now faced with the threat of poaching for their parts.

“Illegal wildlife trade is driven by high profit margins and, in many cases, the high prices paid for rare species. Vulnerable wild animals are pushed further to the edge of extinction when nature can’t replenish their stocks to keep up with the rate of human consumption.”

Many of these animals, such as Bengal Tigers, Black Rhinos, Tamarins, African Elephants, Amur Tigers, Snow Leopards, Green Turtle and hundreds of species of birds already had weak numbers, but now they face extinction.

The areas that see the most wildlife crime are South America (birds), Africa (rhino, elephant, big cats) and Asia (elephant, big cats).

Other areas such as Japan, Indonesia, South America, and China are involved in illegal trade of marine life, including shark, dolphin, whale, turtle, and fish.

This article published by The Guardian last year explains the impact of illegal wildlife trafficking in Africa. The article, Ivory Demand explains why the issue is so complicated and who it is directly affecting.

What Can We Do

Many of these desired parts (ivory, wild meats, pelts, teeth, turtle shell, feathers, eggs, etc.) are ending up in Asia, making this issue more complicated.

“Corruption, toothless laws, weak judicial systems and light sentences allow criminal networks to keep plundering wildlife with little regard to consequences. These factors make illegal wildlife trade a low risk business with high returns. The poachers—often poor locals—are the usually the only ones caught, leaving the real masterminds and their network safe and operational with the ability to strike again.”

Awareness, international treaties (such as CITES), donations and petitions can help slow down the illegal wildlife trade before it’s too late.

Please take a moment to read WWF’s Buyer Beware page so you can be part of the solution.

See who else is involved with this issue:

• TRAFFIC
• National Geographic
• Wildlife Conservation Society
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife
• Smithsonian
• International Fund for Animal Welfare

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