Starting May 1, the ecoENERGY for Aboriginal and Northern Communities Program is accepting applications for eligible projects. The Program has two funding streams:

1) Renewable Energy Projects: funding for pre-feasibility and feasibility studies for renewable energy projects (e.g. hydroelectricity, wind) that will result in at least 4000 tonnes of GHG reductions over the next 20 years. A maximum of $250,000 is available for per project.

2) Energy Projects Integrated with Community Buildings: funding for the design and construction of clean energy projects integrated into community buildings (new or existing). A maximum of $100,000 is available per project.

The ecoENERGY Program is a great opportunity for Aboriginal and Northern communities to be leaders in the green energy sector, and to create local jobs and build capacity.

If you are interested in designing a project or submitting an application for a project that you already have in mind, Ecolibrio can help.

For more information on the Program click here.

The application deadline is July 6.

The Vancouver Sun recently profiled SunSelect Produce Inc., a Delta-based greenhouse grower that has become the first producer in the world to implement a Carbon-Capture-and-Storage system (CCS) into their operations. The CCS system, developed by Dutch energy company Procede BC, sequesters the carbon released by biomass and turns it into food for the plants. SunSelect then sells the carbon credits on BC’s carbon market to reduce the capital costs of installing the new equipment. The CCS system is intended to reduce Green House Gas emissions and energy costs.

From our perspective, this project highlights the many interconnections that exist between food production and energy use, and the potential for ‘sustainable synergies’ when both are analyzed in a more systematic approach. How do you view this project?

To read the entire article, click here.

On March 28, the IPCC report issued its latest report, the “Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation” or SREX. SREX is the culmination of an ambitious research project that combined expertise in physical climate science, the impacts of climate change and risk management. The report analyzes data gathered since 1950 on extreme weather and related disasters, and argues that “adaptation measures can reduce the risks of climate extremes and disasters today and in the future, regardless of the degree of certainty around future changes.” The report describes how the impacts of climate change are already visible in current extreme weather events, which are just as likely to impact developing and developed regions of the world. Risk management and changes in land use policy it argues, are key to limiting the negative human and economic consequences of climate-related disasters and extreme weather.

To read a review of the report by the Globe and Mail, click here.

To read the report, or to watch a summary video, click here.

On the eve of the Globe 2012 conference in Vancouver this past week, four West Coast Governments – BC, California, Oregon and Washington – announced a plan to create one million green sector jobs in the next decade. The collaborative plan also outlines strategies to increase private sector growth in the green tech sector, reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of public buildings, promote green vehicle technology and infrastructure, and enhance emergency response management and preparedness.

Click here to read the press release

Click here to read the Action Plan

This article in the Los Angeles Times, discusses Forest Biologist Reese Halter’s new book about the relationship between global climate change and bark beetles entitled “The Insatiable Bark Beetle”.

In the book Halter describes the positive feedback loop that allows bark beetles to increasingly devastate pine, spruce and fir forests such as those found in BC. He notes, “The trillions of beetles involved didn’t blow in from somewhere else, either: the main culprit, the mountain pine beetle, is indigenous to North America”. Beetles are quickly turning forests, traditionally viewed as vast ‘carbon sinks’ into ‘carbon sources’. Halter notes, “Over the next decade, the beetle-killed BC forests will emit 250 million metric tons of CO2 – the equivalent of five years of car and light truck emissions in Canada.”

If left unabated, and with the impacts of climate change become more severe in the coming years and decades, bark beetles will decimate ecosystems, economies and traditional ways of life in BC and other regions of North America.

To read the full article click here.

Two recent articles, one in the Vancouver Sun and the other in the Sooke News Mirror, chronicle the efforts of Vancouver Island-based T’Sou-ke Nation to secure a prosperous, sustainable future for its people, and lead by example.

T’Sou-ke Nation, led by Chief Gordon Planes and energy specialist Andrew Moore, is pioneering a path of what it calls “energy autonomy, food self-sufficiency, cultural renaissance and economic development”. And keeping with the idea of sustainable development, they are incorporating those principals into new solar energy and greenhouse projects that include local business development, capacity building, job creation and cultural tourism components.

To read more click on the following links Vancouver Sun – Sooke News Mirror.

This article from Swiss Info highlights a study recently published in the journal Nature Geoscience by McGill University scientists. The article described the relationship between climate change and ocean oxygen depletion that results in so called “dead zones” (estimated at 15% of oceans). The predicted global temperature rise of at least 2 degrees over the coming 80-100 years is predicted to increase the severity and extent of these oxygen-depleted zones, having a very significant impact fish, shrimp, molluscs populations and other marine life that depend on oxygen rich water.  Apart from environmental consequences, there are expected to be significant economic implications for fisheries, which already face pressures from over-fishing. According to the map that accompanies this article, “dead zones” are concentrated around the equator, the Indian Ocean and along the Pacific Coast of North and South America, from Alaska to Chile.

To read the entire article, click here.

This February 2nd article from UPI, cites researchers from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), and describes the decline of Yellow Cedars along Coastal Pacific Northwest of North America. Researchers argue that these old-growth Cedars are at risk of extinction because of changing weather patterns induced by global climate change. Their research shows that late Winter and early Spring snow packs have decreased in volume, exposing the Cedars’ shallow network of roots to freezing temperatures. The article also notes that a loss of Yellow Cedar not only has economic implications in the region, being a valuable tree in forestry sectors of British Columbia and Alaska, but there are cultural implications as well. Coastal First Nations have historically used Yellow Cedars for ceremonial, household and commercial purposes.

To read the entire article, click here.

This article from the Guardian cites research around the world that suggest old growth trees, such as those found in the Pacific Northwest, and their local ecosystems are more susceptible to the impacts of climate change. The article notes that “prolonged attack[s] from [increased wind turbulence], severe droughts and new pests and diseases” are killing these wooden goliaths, and as a result, impacting their ability to produce seedlings, provide habitat and moderate local micro-environments.

To read the whole article, click here.

This article by AlertNet (Thomson Reuters) discusses the impacts of climate change on maize production in Argentina, and efforts by researchers to replace hybrid varieties with traditional ones that are expected to be much more adaptable to severe weather events such as droughts. This will prove to be a challenge for the Nation, one of the world’s biggest maize producers and exporters, as current production is dominated by hybrids and domestic consumers have all but forgot about traditional, local varieties.

To read the whole article, click here.