As is often the case with change, some people welcome the opportunity while others are wary of making things worse. For B.C. teachers, changes to the B.C. curriculum drafts in the areas of science and environmental education might be a cause to be wary. While the general decision to revise the B.C. curriculum may be rooted in good intentions, some teachers are concerned this shift provides an opportunity to cut vital learning objectives from public education.

Recently, B.C. teacher Lenny Ross expressed concern about the implications of these curriculum changes. His essay, "Concerns With the Transformation of the B.C. Curriculum," which was sent to colleagues and educators province-wide, highlights his dismay with the proposed changes, which have nearly eliminated environmental education from B.C. curriculum.

Ross, who has a Master's in environmental education from the University of Victoria, is a grade 4/5 teacher in the Greater Victoria School District. In his essay, he points out that the current curriculum includes a consistent environment sciences framework, which is built up from K-12 to develop eco-literacy. The latest draft revision dismantles this specifically structured environmental curriculum.

This, he believes, is a dangerous omission. “We are in a time of grave environmental peril,” Ross wrote. “Our governments are waging a sustained and successful war against the development of an informed, involved and environmentally knowledgeable citizenry.”

In the current curriculum, "life sciences," encompasses the majority of environmental education learning objectives. Starting in kindergarten with “characteristics of living things” to Grade 7 “ecology,” environmental science is iterated and the learning expectations are clearly communicated. The latest curriculum draft revision no longer expressly includes “life sciences.”

Ross wonders why environmental terms and learning objectives appear to be specifically removed from the draft, while other learning outcomes remain mysteriously intact. For example, Ross wrote "students (in grade four) currently study weather, and its impacts on humans, different habitats and ecosystems, food chains, and adaptations of animals to survive; we have the strongest focus on ecology in the elementary years. This has been replaced with the study of atoms and molecules, 10 forms of energy, and the rock cycle. Hardly 'Big Idea' topics that [nine]-year-olds get passionate about."

The ambition to make changes to B.C. curriculum was born of the idea that the current one had too many explicit learning objectives and, as a result, impacted a teacher’s ability to focus on “big ideas.” The hope is that students will be taught how to think, not what to think.

The B.C. Ministry of Education's Learn magazine confirms the current B.C. curriculum has more than "164 discrete learning outcomes for grade two" alone. According to Rod Allen, superintendent of the Ministry of Education’s learning division, “many teachers find that the focus of instruction is on covering the curriculum rather than student learning.” Allen has been criticized in the past for his position on special education curriculum and for potentially opening up the B.C. Education Plan to influence from private corporations.

 “We started with a conceptual framework defining the core competencies we want to develop in students,” Faizel Rawji, principal of Senator Reis Elementary School in Surrey, told Learn Magazine. She explains that curriculum developers are looking to create a more student-centred approach to learning and they are hoping the curriculum changes will allow teachers to develop more meaningful learning outcomes with their classes.

Of course, it is possible that a teacher, who is able and motivated to make the necessary connections with environmental sciences, will not be impeded by the shift in guidelines. Physics, biology and chemistry concepts are still clearly outlined and each of these topics could incorporate the missing "life sciences." Still, that is no guarantee that they will be taught. New teachers may not even think to include it if it isn't outlined as a goal.

Ross agrees the shift to less prescriptive learning outcomes isn't a bad idea. However, he thinks the explicit terms of environmental education ought to exist. “Becoming an eco-literate citizen that in turn creates an eco-literate society is rapidly becoming one of the most important knowledge sets for our future,” he wrote. “Yet our provincial government has created a curriculum that destroys the cohesiveness of what little environmental education we had.”

"I don't disagree with that approach to teaching,” Ross wrote,  “but what idea could be bigger, or I might add, more age appropriate, than the study of nature integrated into the larger concepts of ecology?”

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.

Part 4 of the series The Mine Next Door, an in-depth look at the proposed Ajax mine near Kamloops, British Columbia. Read Part 1 of this series: KGHM Open-Pit Mine Proposal Within Kamloops City Limits, Part 2: The Price of the Ajax Mine and Part 3: An Interview with Ryan Day of Secwépemc Nation.

“Kamloops Moms for Clean Air is not just a group for moms, we are for anyone who cares about clean air, healthy lungs, and preserving the freedom we have to run outside anytime we want, to breathe deeply while doing all the things we love to do outdoors,” said Gina Morris from Kamloops Moms for Clean Air at an event they organized to educate Kamloopians about the possible risks the KGHM Ajax Mine may cause in terms of air pollution.

As Kamloops faces the complicated decision of whether or not to welcome the Ajax open-pit gold and copper mine, public health is possibly the most pressing issue. Mining operations are expected to take place within less than 2 kilometres of schools, hospitals and residential areas. Since open-pit mines are known to produce harmful particulate dust and affect water supplies, many local health professionals and preservation societies are concerned that Ajax will compromise the air and water quality of Kamloops.

In an interview with DeSmog, KGHM acknowledged the public health concerns associated with open pit mines. The company purports to operate under a “Zero Harm” policy, which pertains to safety concerns for both humans and the environment. KGHM community affairs specialist Robin Bartlett explained Zero Harm “means we do everything possible to ensure health and safety” of surrounding communities and the environment.[view:in_this_series=block_1]

“Mining knowledge and technology,” she said, “have improved tremendously. Reclamation of former mining areas allows land to be used for many things including: wildlife habit, recreational uses and cattle grazing.”

KGHM failed to explain how their Zero Harm mandate would extend to maintaining Kamloops’ air quality. Instead they highlighted the successes of current and past mining projects with regards to water usage. “Our record with other mines in North and South America reflects Zero Harm practices,” Bartlett told DeSmog. “At our Carlota Mine in Arizona, which is soon scheduled to close, all aspects of operation were managed with closure and 'doing no harm' in mind."

The Carlota mine has been a “zero discharge operation.” All water that comes into contact with the mine is held within the property and reused for dust control and mine processes. The project's "disturbed" water is prevented from leaving the property and re-entering the water cycle.

"We purchased locally impacted water for use in our operations, partially replacing the need to use freshwater. We transported agave plants from disturbed areas to safer locations in collaboration with the Forest Service of Arizona.”

The amount of water needed to run the Carlota Mine, however, is substantial. According to the Arizona newspaper, The Green Valley News, “On a daily basis, Carlota uses 590 gallons of water per minute.” The water used in mining procedures is exposed to chemical processing like sulphuric leeching, where acidic water is pumped through ore piles to leach copper from the rock. 

According to the same newspaper, the Carlota Mine uses water from wells located in Haunted Canyon but, because of reduced flows, the U.S. Forest Service required KGHM to return some of the extracted water. 

According to the current published plans for Ajax, project water will be sourced from "Inks Lake, storm water catchment ponds and Kamloops Lake." The company plans to "recycle water from the process, thus reducing the water draw to about half of that, depending on the time of year.”

In addition to water contamination and use, air quality is the major health concern for many medical professionals in Kamloops. Last week, Dr. Jill Calder spoke at Kamloops’ Thompson Rivers University (TRU) on the subject of the risks associated with the current plans for the location of the Ajax mine. She is part of the newly formed group, Kamloops Physicians for a Healthy Environment.

During her talk, Calder gave a run-down of the mine's plans, showing the geographic difficulties Kamloops may face when it comes to air pollution. She suggests certain air patterns – mostly inversions and katabatic winds, set to carry mine pollutants downhill towards the city – makes Kamloops ill-suited to an open-pit mine. 

"We don't disagree with mining and the creation of jobs and projects that are good for the economy. But this particular mine, in this location, we are against it," Calder told the Tyee in a recent interview.

In the past, open-pit mines located nearby to cities that experience inversion, have been suffered major air pollution problems. Salt Lake City, Utah, is known to have one of the worst air quality rankings in the United States. One third of the city’s air pollution is linked to the Rio Tinto subsidiary Kennecott Bingham Canyon gold and copper mine; an open pit mine located about 20 miles from the city.

The Guardian reports a current lawsuit filed against Rio Tinto “claims the Bingham Canyon mine, near Salt Lake City, has breached air pollution laws for five years causing effects doctors called 'similar to smoking 20 cigarettes a day.'"

There are many claimants in the case including Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment (UPHE), Utah Moms for Clean Air and the environmental group Wildearth Guardians. They say the mine has been "emitting particle matter at levels in excess of those allowed by the US Clean Air Act" for at least five years. Rio Tinto denies the claims.”

The UPHE said dust from the Bingham Canyon mine is a risk because it can be "absorbed into the bloodstream, causing respiratory system damage, adverse pulmonary [heart and lungs] effects and potentially even premature death.”

The city of Kamloops is located downwind of the Ajax mine proposal, which makes it especially vulnerable to the particulate dust that such winds could distribute from the mine.

Like the UPHE, local doctors are speaking out against the mine proposal. In their Letter to former Minister of Environment Peter Ken, the Physicians and Surgeons of the City of Kamloops and Surrounding Area expressed the need for further inquiry into the possibility of compromised air quality due to particulate dust containing “Arsenic, Cadmium, Strontium, Manganese, and others."

"These particles can damage healthy lungs,” they wrote.

“Kamloops citizens deserve the most rigorous investigation about the particulate emissions," they said, "and what trace minerals toxic or otherwise may be contained within them, to assess the potential effect on [the] airshed quality.”

The Ajax Mine is expected to have a 23 year lifespan and produce up to 60,000 tonnes of ore per day. The project is currently being reviewed under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and B.C.'s Environmental Assessment Act.

The proposed site of the Ajax Mine:

For a larger image, click here.

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.

Part 3 of the series The Mine Next Door, an in-depth look at the proposed Ajax mine near Kamloops, British Columbia. Read Part 1 of this series: KGHM Open-Pit Mine Proposal Within Kamloops City Limits and Part 2: The Price of the Ajax Mine.

Ryan Day is a marathon runner who is completing graduate studies in Indigenous Governance at the University of Victoria. He's also from St'uxwtéws, a community of the Secwépemc Nation near Kamloops, B.C. Last year, Day won the Kamloops Marathon, which is one of many outdoor sporting events that take place in the city that, because of a newly proposed open-pit mining project, faces the threat of losing its prized title as “Canada’s Tournament Capital.”

In a recent interview with DeSmog, Day told us that, as a runner, his goal is not the competition. It’s about “modeling a healthy lifestyle and being visible to others."

"The sport of running," he says, "has given me a great deal in my lifetime and if I am able to inspire anyone, particularly youth to take up the sport for fun or competition, that is important to me. Given that placing high in a race creates somewhat of a captive audience I also used it to model taking a principled stance on a very important issue, that of the proposed Ajax mine.”

His position on the KGHM Ajax mine proposal is clear. As a runner, he believes that the construction of the mine will absolutely impact the decision of marathoners like himself to come to Kamloops to run. “If the sport is competed outside,” he told DeSmog, “and there is a possible air quality issue, athletes will not want to risk their health and will seek the next alternative. Likewise, Kamloops may be less likely to win bids to host outdoor sporting events. Perhaps the 'Tournament Capital' may cease to be an accurate title for the city."

Day won't be through with his studies until late October or November of this year, yet he is already working in his field.

“I am working on the health transfer from Health Canada to the First Nations Health Authority, where we are taking a community driven and Nation-based approach to healing and creating wellness among our citizens. In this work I am required to make few compromises to my values as a Secwépemc person and able to support an agenda of authentic healing and wellness for our people. I have been able to apply my Indigenous Governance coursework directly, although my thesis-project is related to mining, Indigenous land title and rights, and economic uncertainty.”[view:in_this_series=block_1]

As a researcher in the field, Day says the debate over the supposed benefits of the Ajax mine is misleading.

“To talk about the benefits of the mine is to be distracted from the fundamental issue at hand: that of justice."

The proposed mine overlaps with Secwépemc Territory, says Day. The land, and the minerals it contains, has more value than its pure economic worth. "There is an ongoing fight for the recognition of our (Secwépemc) title and rights to these lands and in this fight with the crown our biggest bargaining chip is the value of those minerals in the ground."

For this reason, says Day, "the value for Secwépemc peoples is in the mine not going through."

Without a mine "the living Secwépemc peoples and their children have a better hand to play in having our land title and rights recognized in a substantive way."

If the Secwépemc people were to consider the viability of a mine on their territory, says Day, "the health of the land and water will be at the forefront informing the decision on when, how and if, those minerals will leave the ground." 

"It is important to keep in mind Ajax is just one mine threatening the Thomson River watershed.”

The question of economic benefits, however, still has importance to Day's community which, he says, is poor. Sure, says Day, some people might economically benefit from the mine but such 'benefit' seems far from the real kinds of wholistic economic and environmental health his community prizes. His community shouldn't be faced with a decision between environmentally sustainable living on the one hand and economic health on the other.

"The laws and policies of Canada and B.C. have systemically impoverished our people so that we are forced to take jobs we fundamentally oppose. I say fundamentally oppose because an open-pit mine and the technology involved is the definition of short sighted, whereas a Secwépemc worldview requires taking into account many generations into the future. When you are forced into doing something in opposition to your fundamental values how does this make you feel? Is this healthy?”

Day's main concern with the mine “is that of justice." And not just for his people: "Residents of Kamloops need to widen their vision and realize there is an entire ecosystem they are a part of," he says. "The policies of the federal and provincial government are attacking it and Secwépemc land title and rights are their first best defense."

Day says his biggest personal concern is for the region's water. He says the tailings facilities needed to support the mine will "last indefinitely, an imminent threat to the watershed."

Water, he says, is "the lifeblood of these lands."

Kamloops, like many other small towns, is being forced into a restrictive framework when addressing issues of employment and economic stability. One that Day thinks is becoming increasingly out of step with today's ecological limits. 

There is not rosy answer to the question of slowing economies, says Day. "The problem with economic stability is that if we remain stable on this course the destruction of this ecosystem and planet is inevitable. What we need is for people to begin thinking, I mean really sitting down and thinking seven generations into the future and making choices today with that in mind."

That thinking doesn't necessarily dismiss the possibility of resource extraction outright, says Day, but more investment in education and innovation might mean the safer extraction of our resources, and their greatest potential use. Tax dollars and royalty regimes should reflect this smarter use of resources, says Day.

"Therefore the onus is on the policy-making bodies, the federal and provincial governments to use [these] mechanism[s]."

Yet, the failure of past and current governments to adequately address these concerns leads Day to believe the time to properly address inherent legal title and land rights for Indigenous peoples has come.

"First Nations and non-First Nations people alike need to reject the permitting process of the provincial and federal governments on the grounds that they have no legal claim to the lands and at best have an incomplete claim to the lands… This puts fear into the investment community who demands certainty. This puts decision-making power in Indigenous peoples' hands. To be clear, I do not mean the federally delegated authority of the Indian Act Chief & Council but to the People who have collective land and water, title, rights and responsibilities to this place which has never been ceded in treaty or surrendered in war.”

Video courtesy of stopajax.ca.

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.

Part 2 of the series The Mine Next Door, an in-depth look at the proposed Ajax mine near Kamloops, British Columbia. Read Part 1 of this series: KGHM Open-Pit Mine Proposal Within Kamloops City Limits.

Despite concerns about public and environmental health, some Kamloops residents still support the KGHM Ajax open-pit mine proposal due to optimism about jobs and economic returns through federal and provincial taxes.

The perspective of the supporters isn't new. Resource exploration is common in the area. However, open-pit mines are a relatively recent development in B.C. According to the Ministry of Energy and Mines, which is responsible for the Core Review of the project, "Throughout the [last] century following the Fraser River Gold Rush, most mining activities in British Columbia took place underground. But in the early 1960s, the feasibility of open-pit production increased tremendously, and as a result, several huge copper mines opened, including Highland Valley Copper—the largest open-pit operation in all of North America." 

However, many Kamloopians are hoping that the future of Kamloops will head in a different direction. Today the city is known for a great many things besides resources. Since Kamloops  is “Canada’s Tournament Capital,” a growing university town with the Thompson Rivers University, where the largest employer is the Royal Inlands Hospital (RIH), the economics of the Ajax project may not be as simple as they seem.

Most Kamloopians are comfortable with a certain amount of mining activity and resource exploration so long as it doesn't put priorities like health and livability in jeopardy. What makes the Ajax project problematic is it’s potential to threaten other industries, drive down property values and distort the healthy-city image that the title, “Canada’s Tournament Capital,” implies.

Kamloops has been picking up speed as a highly desirable place for young families and professionals to start a life and career. Business opportunities are plentiful and the RIH is actively recruiting medical and administrative professionals. Prospective Kamloopians could be dissuaded from re-locating to a mining town.

Surrounding the southwest side of the city with an open-pit mine and adjacent tailings facilities, could bring about the destructive re-branding of Kamloops from Canada's Tournament Capital to mining town. 

Part of the role of Tournament Capital includes hosting events such as the Western Canada Summer Games (WCSG). When Kamloops hosted this hugely profitable event, the City enjoyed an estimated $9,000,000 according to KAPA. The City hosts other large events such as the recent B.C, Senior Games and the upcoming curling Briar, all of which add large sums to the Kamloops economy. 

According to the economic development company Venture Kamloops, "Rocky Mountaineer Vacations injects over $15 million into the local economy during the summer season, and Kamloops is a stopover point for bus tour companies travelling between the Lower Mainland and Rocky Mountains. Kamloops also caters to the business travel market with state-of-the-art meeting and conference facilities. Several major hotel chains have moved to Kamloops in recent years, and the $20 million expansion of the Kamloops Airport is now complete." [view:in_this_series=block_1]

In all, tourism adds $165,000,000 annually to the local economy according the research of two faculty member in the tourism department of TRU. 

In a recent interview with DeSmog, KGHM, a Polish mining firm, said they did not believe the open-pit mine would affect the city's brand. “We do not anticipate the Kamloops Tournament Capital brand will be affected. Visiting athletes come for the city’s tremendous facilities.”

According to the Kamloops Area Preservation Association (KAPA) there is more at stake than there is to gain. “Homes in Aberdeen, Pineview Valley, South Sahali, Knutsford and in Mt. Dufferin [will be reduced by] 5% to 25% for a total of between $135,000,000 to $675,000,000 based on average current home values of $300,000. These residents will not be in the mood to spend much at local businesses after their assessment notices arrive.”

KGHM claims that the project will offer about 1000 temporary construction jobs during the building phase and “500 full-time positions ranging from technical, to mining services, health and safety, and administrative.” Former City Councilor, Chair of the Economic Development committee and member of the City Planning Commission, Dianne Kerr says, ”the [jobs]" represent less than 1% of the Kamloops workforce. Not all of those jobs will go to local residents. With the recent federal decisions enabling foreign workers to be hired at reduced wage rates, the number of jobs for local people will be even more questionable.”  

Since 2008, the market for copper hasn’t been as promising as it has been in years past and prices continue to fall. KGHM International—one of the largest copper mining companies in the world—has been making headlines lately for bad financial projections and financial losses due to the falling prices of silver and copper.

According to a recent write-up in Reuters, the company “disappointed on Wednesday (AUG 14, 2013) with a lower-than-expected net profit in the second quarter as it suffered from falling copper and silver prices.

The state-controlled miner showed a stand-alone bottom line almost 60 percent lower year-on-year at 666 million zlotys ($210.1 million). Analysts polled by Reuters expected the profit at 761 million. This pegs the company's first-half net profit at 1.73 billion zlotys, a little over a half of its full-year guidance of 3.2 billion.”

The AJAX mine project is a low-grade copper-gold deposit, which means there is not a great deal of copper, but there will be a lot of waste to manage. The combination of a low-grade mine and falling copper prices may imply that though the company may promise full-time employment for the 23-year life of the mine, the economics may not support it. 

The company predicts that the mine will have an “annual production of 109 million pounds of copper and 99,000 ounces of gold.” The facilities will have a 60,000 tone-per-day (TPD) processing capacity. When asked about the nature of a low-grade mine in terms of economics, the they assured DeSmog that "KGHMI has experience in successfully managing low grade deposits to meet financial goals in accordance with our Zero Harm philosophy."

KGHM expects to make a contribution of “$550 million dollars in Federal and Provincial taxes, $210 million in British Columbia Mining Act Tax, and $110 million in Municipal tax. Additionally, all levels of government are expected to benefit from increased indirect taxation associated with the project arising from income, property, and consumer taxation from business and employees working for, or servicing, the Ajax Project.”

The researchers at KAPA wonder if the company isn’t being somewhat misleading. According to their breakdown Ajax will "result in a total profit of over $9 billion dollars that will leave the Kamloops area, [going] mostly to Poland and some to Victoria to fund projects such as bridges, roads and stadium roofs in the golden triangle” and Kamloopians may be forced to subsidize the project by building roads and offering energy cost incentives.  

“This is not a good deal for Kamloops,” said Dianne Kerr. “The costs to our City are just too great, both in human and environmental terms. What is truly sad is that those costs will go un-quantified because the assessment process does not require a high level socio-economic study."

*image via Wikipedia and KAPA

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.

Tony Brumell is a poet, a fisherman and a former miner, happily retired in Kamloops B.C. He’s the kind of man that doesn’t have an email address or a laptop. He drives a red pick-up truck with a wooden canoe strapped to the top—ready to cut into the lake at a moment’s notice. Tony is the first to point out that he shouldn't have to meet with us, that his time should be spent canoeing Jacko Lake and dreaming up new lyrical ideas. Instead he volunteers his time to take anyone who’ll listen on environmental tours of the proposed site for KGHM Ajax open-pit gold and copper mine.

It was a grey day in August—a luxury in the Okanagan where mid-summer temperatures can reach upwards of 40˚C—when we, a group of writers and researchers from DeSmog Canada, met with Tony and some members of local preservation organizations. Tony took us on his tour of the rolling hills and glassy lakes that could soon be replaced with a dusty open-pit mine and tailings storage piles.

As a miner and an environmental activist, Tony understands the scale and implications of the project very well. Throughout his career, he’s been involved in everything from blasting, scaling, slope stabilization to surveying. He knows exactly what a mine like Ajax will mean for Kamloops and he is extremely worried.

Tony and a group of folks from the Kamloops Area Preservation Association (KAPA) and Kamloops Concerned Citizens (KCC) met us fully prepared, with fruits from their gardens and chairs to sit on while they confessed their concerns about the project.

Dianne Kerr, a member of the KCC and KAPA, is a former City Councillor, Chair of the Economic Development Committee, and member of the City Planning Commission. She told DeSmog that she thinks the mine “[is] too big and too close.”

Kerr and KCC co-member, Sandra Abraham, helped to produce the informational video, “Is This The Future of Kamloops?” which outlines the many dangers for Kamloops residents with regards to mining developments.  

It has been the goal of Dianne and these organizations to inform the citizens of Kamloops of the disaster that could be at their doorsteps. KAPA and KCC are concerned that residents aren't taking the threat seriously enough. Since Kamloops has an extensive history of mining and resource-based developments, KAPA and KCC fear that may have set a precedent with residents and politicians that mining is generally benign.

Tony tells us the local mining projects of the past were “nothing of any significant size compared to the proposed KGHM pit." He adds that despite the small scale of previous mining activities, the area is only just beginning to recover the migration of wildlife that once flourished in these lakes and hills. A similar recovery from such a large project as Ajax isn't likely, says Tony.

“This mine will do things to this part of the country that will alter it forever. All of this habitat and recreational area will be gone.”

The Ajax project is much larger than anything ever proposed in Kamloops. While on our tour, Tony asked us to turn and look at Sugarloaf Mountain, the tallest peak in sight, roughly 1640 feet away.

“That is roughly the top of the waste rock storage. It’s going to be 550 feet high… it’s going to be 7000 feet from the eastern edge [which is] about 100 feet from the Coquihalla Highway.”

“And that’s not the big deal” he continued. “This thing is going to be 10,000 feet long. Do you know how long the Bennett Dam is? About 7000 feet—a billion cubic metres of tailings material.”

According to the current plans, KGHM plans to construct two massive waste rock dumps. There is concern that the massive weight from rock and tailings facilities and vast amounts of water for dust control could cause stability problems in the area caused by falling water tables.

Ajax is a low-grade copper mine, expected to be a 60,000 tone-a-day operation with a waste rock to ore ratio of 2.4-1. Which means for every tone that is removed, 2.4 tones will be removed as waste rock.  

Strategic ore stockpiles and waste rock storage piles will be anywhere from 310-725 metres away from the city and could reach as high as skyscrapers. The tailings pile would be loaded with the toxic chemicals used in the extraction process, which could wash away into aquifers and lakes via rainwater, snow, and road treatment. 

The open pit and the processing plant will require KGHM to blast into 20 to 25 square kilometres around the western perimeter of town. The nearest construction site will be a mere 1.25 km away from housing in the Aberdeen neighbourhood and the Pacific Way Elementary School.

KGHM told DeSmog that they are unconcerned about the proximity to the city. "There are many examples of open-pit mines in close proximity to communities and neighbourhoods – much closer even than the proposed Ajax Project. For example, our mine in Nevada is directly adjacent to a residential area." 

However, revised plans for the Ajax project have placed the construction somewhat further away from residential zones. When asked about these reconsiderations, they told DeSmog: "The company has listened to area residents and taken an opportunity to reconfigure the project to lessen their concerns."

Shown Below: KGHM Robinson Mine, Ely, NV.

According to the Ajax Feasibility Study done by Abacus Mining and Exploration Corp, “the project is expected to generate Criteria Air Contaminants (CACs) (particulate matter and atmospheric emissions) from surface disturbance and fossil fuel combustion during construction, operations, decommissioning and reclamation of the project. Fugitive dust is expected to be the major emission relevant to air quality and the primary concern for nearby residents.”  

Initial reports by the Ministry of Energy and Mines Responsible for Core Review have found that the mine is set to blast into rock containing arsenic, lead, aluminum, chromium, uranium, manganese, and strontium.

According to the Airshed Plan 2012, The City of Kamloops said, “there is no safe level of particulate matter.” However, the arid windy Okanagan climate may make dust containing these known carcinogens impossible to avoid.

Kamloops is in a valley susceptible to inversion, which can block the vertical movement of air, making particulate matter and diesel emissions a dangerous threat to local air quality.[view:in_this_series=block_1]

When asked if the Okanagan climate would be taken into consideration in their environmental assessments, KGHM told DeSmog that "[t]he consultants studying dustfall and air quality will use a complex computer model to predict the effects of mine operations. The model incorporates scores of input and factors three years of local weather data. Results are not yet complete. The studies are underway." 

Kerr says that KAPA and the KCC have asked for more extensive environmental assessments from the provincial and federal governments but so far they’ve received only evasive, uninformative replies. 

KGHM told DeSmog: "all the studies are being conducted by independent engineering consultants. Many of the studies will also be peer-reviewed. The final say on the adequacy of the studies rests with the provincial and federal governments, either of which could seek more information or question the work done."

KGHM expects to submit their application for an environmental permit by early 2015.

Until then, Tony Brumell will be offering his time to give tours of Jacko Lake, Inks Lake and Sugarloaf Mountain, always keeping a look out for the rare burrowing owl. There's no better way to learn exactly what's at stake. 

*images used with permission of KAPA and wiki.

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.

For about a decade, bee populations around the world have been experiencing massive declines for mysterious reasons. The phenomenon, often called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), is characterized by a rapid loss of worker bees and has been linked to a wide range of causes: cell phone frequencies, mites and pesticides. It isn’t until recently that the massive bee deaths have been directly linked to the use of neonicotinoid pesticides.

Neonicotinoids, or neonics, are neuro-active insecticides, chemically related to nicotine. They came into development in the 1980’s and 90’s by Shell Oil Company and then Bayer pharmaceuticals. Neonics are hyper-toxic pesticides that are designed to be water soluble, so they are able to travel and contaminate pollen-dense plant life far and wide. The wide reach and long life of neonics has proven to be deadly to pollinators like bees and birds and detrimental to humans as it has penetrated groundwater systems into drinking water.

Recently, when they found 50,000 dead bees in a department store parking lot, the state of Oregon temporarily banned the use of these pesticides. The bans are in place until the research can show that the chemicals will not threaten bee populations. Likewise, the European Parliament put out a report in 2012 that specifically links the use of neonics to irreversible hive destruction. A moratorium has been placed on these pesticides in the European Union.

Last year 5000 beehives in Ontario were lost suddenly and have not recovered. Yet, when the story came out, the pesticide lobbyist group, CropLife claimed that the problem was nothing more than the usual crop dusting issues. CropLife blames any negative side affects resulting from the distribution of pesticide dust on equipment manufacturers.

However, this spring, farmers in Ontario experienced bee mortalities in unprecedented numbers. These deaths have been researched by scientists worldwide and are undeniably linked to the use of neonicotinoid-coated corn and soy seeds. 

Despite the evidence, bans on neonics are not in place yet in Canada. According to a report by Maria Szabo for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) is calling for further assessment before a ban will be implemented and they claim the process could take years to complete. 

In order to better understand the level of crisis that Ontario beekeepers are experiencing, DeSmog Canada spoke to Tibor Szabo Jr. of Szabo Bee Enterprises. Tibor is a queen producer, the Vice president of the Ontario Beekeepers Association (OBA), third generation beekeeper, and son of Dr. Tibor Szabo, Order of Canada recipient and Apiculturist for Agriculture Canada.

"I've never seen anything like it," Tibor said.

He tells us that he and his father first noticed the bees were being poisoned four years ago when they found that some of their hives had far fewer adult bees than what would be considered healthy. The bees were acting strange and appeared to be sick and disoriented. A full report on his findings is published at honeybees.ca.

“It was confusing,” he said. “We didn’t think that anyone was using any kind of insecticide in this area… there are, however a few corn and soy fields nearby. We had no idea that the bees were dying because of the agricultural fields.”

Last spring, Tibor discovered that hives placed nearby to agricultural fields experienced a 90% mortality rate. “There were piles and piles of dead bees,” he said.

He had heard that other beekeepers in Ontario and the US were experiencing similar things and he was told to send the dead bees to the PMRA for testing. He discovered tests for 80% of Ontario apiaries came back positive for high levels of clothianidin, a Bayer neonicotinoid insecticide, used to coat corn, “one gram of [this] can kill 25 metric tons of bees,” he said.

They then called for water testing, as they were concerned about puddles of water in the fields that they were sure the bees would be attracted to. The PMRA didn’t get around to testing the water last year. However, The Szabos requested water testing again this year and the PMRA did the tests. The results are still coming in, but initial reports show “extremely concerning levels of insecticide are present in field water.”

What worries him even further is that the chemicals stay present in the water and soil and re-contaminate crops for over three years. “There were samples of dandelions taken that had been sprayed a year before. They tested positive for the pesticides the next year, even though these plants hadn’t been treated.”

When the Ontario beekeepers realized the coated seeds were the culprit in the massive bee deaths, the OBA tried to issue best management practices the farmers could follow that would reduce or eliminate the need for insecticides. “They were not adopted by Health Canada,” Tibor tells us. “They have their own best practices management that looks identical to the pesticides industry’s.”

Earlier this month, the Guelph Mercury published a story on the Szabo farm and how they lost 49 of 50 hives this spring. The President of CropLife responded to the article with a letter that claimed the Varroa Mite was responsible for the deaths of the bees, not the neonics.

Szabo says that CropLife is an incredibly effective lobbying group. “They work hard at misinforming or muddying the information flow, so to speak.”  He goes on to say that anyone who kept bees would know that the Varroa Mite has an entirely different epidemiology. And, indeed, if anyone knows about the Varroa Mite, it’s the Szabos. 

Dr. Tibor Szabo is one of the foremost researchers on the Varroa Mite. He had been aware of its presence long before the mite reached the US in the 1980s and Canada in the 1990’s. Years before the mite was present in Canada, Dr. Szabo had already been breeding bees for resistance to the mite.

Ontario farmers are on board with the OBA and are trying to get untreated seed. However, they are finding it extremely difficult to buy any. Coated seed is all anyone can buy, despite studies that show the pesticides may not have any positive effect on the crop yields. “For everyday that goes by without bans, CropLife makes money by forcing farmers to buy coated seed. If they can delay anything, they make money.”  

The PMRA is in no big hurry to ban the pesticides either, Tibor told DeSmog. "They make 20% of their budget from the licensing and registration of these pesticides. That’s around $8 million per year."

Meanwhile, the use of neonics in Canadian agriculture was implemented before the chemicals were sufficiently tested for safety. Now, the PMRA says they need to do extensive testing before they can issue a ban.

Canadians don't want the Neonics. In a recent poll by the Sierra Club Canada, 67% of informed Canadians support the ban of the neonicotinoid pesticides responsible for massive bee mortalities in the United States and Canada. Another 24% said that they were unsure and 10% were against it. Of the 1000 persons polled, 95% of those that supported the ban also supported their provincial government taking action, should the federal government ignore the issue.

Support for the ban is highest in Ontario, where bee colonies were hit the hardest. In Ontario 54 bee keepers were affected and 4000 bee colonies were destroyed after the planting of pesticide-coated seeds were planted in corresponding fields last year.

“People need to know what’s happening,” Tibor says. "The ban on neonics may have come sooner [in Oregon] because it happened in a parking lot, where people could see it. Here, it’s happening in the farm land.”

He reminds us that so much of life depends on pollination. “It’s a key to our Earth and the way that things have a evolved.” He suggests readers sign the petition to Ban Honey Bee Killing Pesticides Now! on The Petition Site or the Save Ontario's Bees petition at Change.org.

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.

A report, published on July 11th of this year, reveals that the Piscine Reovirus (PRV) is decimating British Columbia salmon populations. This report, published in Virology Journal, was co-authored by researchers from the Atlantic Veterinary College at the University of Prince Edward Island, Centro de Investigaciones Biologicas in Chile and, and the Raincoast Research Society in British Columbia. The research shows that B.C. fish tested positive in both farmed and wild salmon sources.

Yet, despite the report’s findings, officials for the Canadian government’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) claim that the virus is no cause for alarm. As with any of the three deadly European viruses found on the coasts of B.C., the DFO doesn’t consider the appearance of a virus as a threat. They will only take action in the event of a major disease outbreak.

Twyla Roscovich sought to find out why in her Documentary, Salmon Confidential. In it, she asked Dr. Gary Marty, B.C. Health Vet, what his conclusions were about PRV contamination, in relation to the drastic decline in fish populations in the Fraser River and Rivers Inlet Sockeye. Dr. Marty said that he doesn’t know what the problem is, so the virus shouldn’t be blamed.

“When it was first reported in 2010, I was very concerned. So, we went and tested 625 fish and found it in just about every fish. We found it in healthy fish… So, I decided that I couldn’t provide any interpretation for what this meant and I decided it was probably not a major concern. “ – Dr. Gary Marty.

Farmed fish is a multi-million dollar industry in B.C. and salmon is what the province is known for worldwide. Scientists are concerned that the DFO and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)—the governing bodies in charge of protecting the fish—are also responsible for the state of the industry. That “is a major conflict of interest,” said Dr. Larry Dill, professor of Biological Sciences at Simon Fraser University.

It is likely that the virus was imported to B.C. out of Norway, by way of the fish farming industry. Samples taken from the European virus and the B.C. virus show enough similarities to assume that they are from the same strain. Ninety-eight percent of the Pacific salmon fish farms in B.C. are Norwegian-owned.

The farms are crowded along the coast of the Discovery passage—the narrowest salmon route in the world and the DFO approved location of eleven fish farms. The only wild fish populations that are experiencing a decline in numbers are those that travel through the Discovery passage to spawn. Wild salmon that take a more westerly route and do not pass through the farms are showing no signs of disease. 

Biologist Alexandra Morton, along with many other scientists in Canada, Chile and Norway are convinced that the PRV virus is a very serious problem. PRV was first identified in Atlantic salmon farms in Norway in 1999. It is considered lethal to fish as it has proven to lead to the disease HSMI – heart and skeletal muscle inflammation.

According to the most recent press release by the Department of Wild Salmon, “HSMI can cause lesions in the heart and muscles and can make the heart soft, impeding the fish’s ability to swim and uptake oxygen.”

The 2012 Annual General Report by the Norwegian company, Marine Harvest—the leading salmon aquaculture company in British Columbia—cites HSMI as the second largest cause of fish mortality.

The inflammation of the heart and muscles makes tissues blood-logged and weak, which means that the fish are unlikely to have the athletic ability to swim against the strong current to spawning grounds. This decreased ability to swim upstream may be linked to the thousands of mysterious pre-spawn fish mortalities in recent years.

There are many papers written by Norwegian experts on the relationship between PRV and HSMI. One such paper by Gustavo Palacios et al. recommends that “measures must be taken to control PRV not only because it threatens domestic salmon production but also due to the potential for transmission to wild salmon populations.”

It has been very difficult for scientists to do proper research on farmed fish in Canada. Fish farm records are considered confidential which means they are not available to scientists or the public. The farmed fish samples used in the Department of Wild Salmon’s research had to be taken, primarily, from supermarkets.

Morton claims that her research is being slowed by her “lack of ability to go to the farms and test.” Out of necessity, Morton has been forced to conduct her research on supermarket fish, which have proven to be a viable source of the virus.

What Morton's team has found in Canadian supermarkets is appalling. A healthy salmon ought to be fat with dark orange flesh. The supermarket fish were skinny, grey-gilled, with deformities and visible lesions.

“A skinny fish is a sick fish,” Morton said and Dr. Marty agrees. “Sick fish,” he said, “don’t eat, and fish that don’t eat won’t grow. It is expected that fish that make it to market are healthy. They are also inspected by CFIA.”

Morton and Dr. Kibenge from the lab for fish viruses at the Atlantic Veterinary College at the University of Prince Edward Island “have found PRV in nearly 97% of the farmed salmon tested in B.C. supermarkets.” Since these findings the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has attacked the credibility of Dr. Kibenge's research, suggesting his international certification be revoked.

The province projects that the presence of the virus won't be a threat according to the Department of Wild Salmon, “there is no evidence to support the province’s theory.” 

In Morton's opinion, the main concern is that “the viability of wild salmon has been put at risk in favour of the viability of farmed salmon.”

*images and video courtesy of the Department of Wild Salmon.

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.

“Nobody knows what happens when you introduce a virus into a popluation that hasn’t been exposed to it before. It might be totally benign or it might have a devastating impact like smallpox on the Aboriginal popluations in North America.”

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.

Early scientific analysis predicted that the risks associated with hazardous waste injection wells would be negligible. Unfortunately, experience has indicated that disposing of hazardous waste deep underground has been linked to water contamination, destroyed ecosystems, toxic leaks and earthquakes.

Now we are learning that there is a difference between scientific analysis and scientific evidence.

In a recent extensive report by ProPublica, John Apps, leading geoscientist, who advises the Department of Energy for Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, said that the science used to go forward with disposal wells was not sound.

"Every statement is based on a collection of experts that offer you their opinions. Then you do a scientific analysis of their opinions and get some probability out of it. This is a wonderful way to go when you don't have any evidence one way or another… But it really doesn't mean anything scientifically."

Perhaps the scientific projections behind the disposal well operations would be sound under ideal conditions: uniform rock structure, stability of toxic materials, predictable reactions and seismic activity. But, scientists say, no amount of speculation can take into account all of the variables of deep underground environments.

"Geology," according to geologist Ronald Reese, "is never what you think it is.”

Only practical data and experimental research can offer any insight into the possible risks of hazardous waste injection wells. And since many disposal wells have gone unmonitored for years, regulators are unable to make informed decisions about their safety.

According to ProPublica, the EPA “has not counted the number of cases of waste migration or contamination in more than 20 years.”

Up until the 1960’s most toxic waste was deposited in lakes and rivers, which led to obvious, unbearable pollution of eco-systems and drinking water in the United States. As an answer to this pressing problem, oil companies developed hazardous waste injection wells as a solution.

Disposal wells use high-pressure pumps to force toxic and non-toxic waste down cement and steel pipelines to dumping zones about two kilometers deep in the earth. Wells can be shallower if the waste is less offensive. The waste is then released into the porous rock beneath several layers of earth. 

The idea, according to a recent report in the Scientific American, is that “underground waste is contained by layer after layer of impermeable rock. If one layer leaks, the next blocks the waste from spreading before it reaches groundwater. The laws of physics and fluid dynamics should ensure that the waste can't spread far and is diluted as it goes.”

Each disposal well could deposit more than millions of gallons of waste into the ground using tremendous force. Once the waste is deposited, it is not tracked and scientists have no real idea of how far it can travel. The ProPublica report points out that, “rock layers aren't always neatly stacked as they appear in engineers' sketches. They often fold and twist over on themselves. Waste injected into such formations is more likely to spread in lopsided, unpredictable ways.”

In light of recent research and evidence of leakage, hydrologist Tom Myers says that more knowledge is needed to understand the implications of deep disposal wells as “natural faults and fractures are more prevalent than commonly understood.”

Scientific projections were unable to foresee the ways that injection wells would impact the environment. The three major ways are:

Water

In many cases, liquid waste has traveled horizontally and migrated up to ground water through abandoned water and oil wells. This unanticipated phenomenon has been linked to hundreds of water contamination cases throughout the United States and Canada. 

There are currently thousands of unplugged and abandoned wells in the United States and Canada. In 1989, the United States General Accounting Office (GAO) investigated and concluded that current safeguards aren’t preventing contamination from injected oil and gas wastes. Their report states specifically that “brines from Class II wells can enter drinking water supplies directly, through cracks and leaks in the well casing, or indirectly through nearby wells.”

Canada too has had its share of disposal well-related contamination due to insufficient research. The Canadian government blames events like the contamination of groundwater in Lambton Count, Ontario, in 1977 on a “lack of knowledge.” According to Environment Canada, “[d]isposal wells were constructed and waste injected following the regulations and best knowledge at the time. However, it was not realized that waste fluids would migrate to the surface through abandoned oil and groundwater wells, causing a major problem that still exists today.”

Earthquakes

Even basic regulations are supposed to include a seismic survey within a two-mile radius of the designated drilling area. Yet, “in 1961, a 12,000-foot well was drilled at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, northeast of Denver, for disposing of waste fluids from the Arsenal's chemical weapons operations. Injection commenced March 1962, and an unusual series of earthquakes erupted in the area shortly after.” According to the USGS, over the course of time that the Rocky Mountain Arsenal waste dumping practice went on, the area sustained a dozen earthquakes.

The earthquakes were prompted by the destabilization of a seismic fault line due to the drilling of the well and the pressure of materials being forced into the ground. The Arsenal stopped injection operations November 26, 1967 after a 5.0 magnitude earthquake rocked the area a few months earlier.

This isn’t an isolated case.

In 2011, A magnitude 5.7 earthquake rocked the area surrounding Prague, Oklahoma. Scientists say the "largest earthquake in Oklahoma history was likely triggered by a waste injection well." According to a report in National Geographic, "[a]s pressure builds in these disposal wells, it pushes up against geological faults, sometimes causing them to rupture, setting off an earthquake."

In a report released by the scientific journal Geology earlier this year, "Significant earthquakes are increasingly occurring within the continental interior of the United States." These quakes are being directly linked with injection well operations.

Land Value

In Texas many farmers are unable to use their land for farming or livestock due to contamination. Texas is riddled with abandoned and unplugged oil wells, which play a role in the leaks caused by injection wells.

The abandoned wells present a pathway for injected wastes to migrate upward into ground water and onto farmland. If a field is flooded by an injection well leak, the land is not suitable for farming of any kind. The resale value of the land is also affected.

As ProPublica reports, in 2003, "Ed Cowley of the EPA got a call to check out a pool of briny water in a bucolic farm field outside Chico, Texas. Nearby, he said, a stand of trees had begun to wither, their leaves turning crispy brown and falling to the ground." 

The pool of water was due to a salt-water leak from a nearby injection well. Salt-water brine is used in various oil production techniques and is known to contain dangerous chemicals like benzene. "It was frustrating," Crowley said. "If your water goes, what does that do to the value of your land?"

A major contributor to the deficit of knowledge surrounding waste injection wells could be the lack of sufficient monitoring and documentation. And this negligence doesn't appear to be accidental. In the 1980’s, an abundance of leak and water contamination reports brought waste injection well regulations into consideration with federal regulators proposing stricter rules. At the time the oil and gas industry complained they couldn’t afford to uphold such high standards of inspection. The amount of money needed to conduct the inspections would force them to close down they said.

Oil and gas exploration and production waste is now exempt from federal hazardous wastes regulations in the US. 

According to ProPublica, “[o]perators are required to do so-called 'mechanical integrity' tests at regular intervals, yearly for Class 1 wells and at least once every five years for Class 2 wells. In 2010, the tests led to more than 7,500 violations [in the US], with more than 2,300 wells failing. In Texas, one violation was issued for every three Class 2 wells examined in 2010.”

In some cases, operators aren't required to comply with what regulations do exist. Many operational wells were built before current regulations were put into place. These “grandfathered” wells are not, and will not be, subject to the same regulations as new wells.

Even with new wells, the standards are not being met. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, new permits are being issued “without evidence that the pressure tests were conducted.”

Inspection regulations in place are habitually ignored or sidestepped. Perhaps because regulations are, according to some experts, “outdated at this point.”

*images courtesy of Wiki

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.

1. It can be compressed and pipelined several meters down to naturally occurring saline aquifers and salt deposits.
2. It can be used in a process called Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). A method that injects CO2 into aging oil reservoirs.
3. It can be stored near materials that contain calcium or magnesium. The website states: “this material can be carbonated to form mineral solids, locking the CO2 away while creating a neutralized material which may have commercial value.”

“The deep Earth represents an environment that human beings have come to expect something from. We depend upon water from deep in the Earth and we have energy sources that we depend upon for extraction, minerals and metals as well. Some of these environments are used for storage of things like nuclear waste and carbon dioxide.”

“In the 1970’s and 80’s, it became clear that many of the underground environments that we depend upon had been altered by human activity. The best example is aquifers, ground water that we would typically pump either as potable water or for irrigation. It turned out that in the places where we had disposed of toxic waste, the water became contaminated.”   

“Knowledge is always a good thing if you are hoping to make sound decisions.”

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.

In April of this year, the Human Rights Council at the UN presented a report on the urgent need for laws that regulate Internet surveillance practices to protect human rights standards. As the months go by, that need is becoming more and more apparent. As allegations of spying fly with the exposure of programs like PRISM and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, it seems that Canadians may have real cause for concern when it comes to individual privacy.

“Canadians should know that they live in a borderless environment when it comes to North America.”

Rosenberg is not at all surprised at the reach of the government’s ability to collect information. He is, however, pleased that the issue is gaining some public momentum. 

“Companies probably want to be responsible with your information,” he said. The thing that has changed drastically in recent years is that the collection and storage of information has become cheap and easy. What has changed “is the scope."

But, Rosenberg argues that individuals who endeavour to commit acts of terrorism will work around known surveillances. “9/11 changed things a lot. You have these people who were doing a lot of planning over the Internet. If the Internet had been monitored in some fashion, could it have been anticipated? That’s not clear at all. The [Boston Marathon Bombing] just happened and that wasn’t anticipated.” 

But proponents of the bill – like Public Safety Minister Vic Toews – suggested those who opposed the legislation, “supported child pornographers."

So are we on a runaway train? Rosenberg thinks we might be. The only way to reverse the problem, he says, is through transparency.

“We are almost out of control [of the collection of information]. The problem is, we expect government to be responsible. What we need to do is, we need to know what type of information is being collected. What that information is being used for should be apparent and that it’s secure. The government claims the right to do what they want [with our information]. How did they get this right? Did they ask? The government would say: no this is just what we’ve always been doing. We just do it better now. We do it faster. We get more information. We can answer questions more quickly and we can be more efficient.” 

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.