Canada's Lost Salmon Return in Droves

from TreeHugger.com
by David DeFranza

Every year, sockeye salmon return to the rivers of western Canada to make their arduous upstream journey to calmer spawning grounds. It is a seasonal touchstone that signifies the approaching end of summer, one that has been observed for centuries.

The only problem is that some years, like in 2009, the salmon don't return.

In 2009, watershed managers estimated that 10,488,000 salmon would return from the Pacific. As the month wore on, it became clear that the reality would meet only a fraction of this goal. In the end, 1,370,000 salmon returned, a mere 13 percent of the preseason estimate.

The poor showing sent managers and scientists into a frenzy. After a year of research, no definitive conclusions could be made, but several theories had emerged. Warmer ocean temperatures, diminished food supplies, and an increase in predator populations were among the leading suggestions.

Others thought that offshore salmon farms could be responsible. Sea lice, which are common on the farms, may have spread to wild populations, killing many of the young salmon.

Though the final verdict is still out on the cause of last year's decline, it is clear that this year represents a dramatic rebound. Already, assessments predict 25,000,000 sockeye salmon will return to the Fraser river, the largest since 1913.

Still, even a record return may not be enough to reconcile the shock of last year's turnout.

"Everybody is abuzz about the great return of the Fraser sockeye," Fisheries Minister Gail Shea said, but "we're welcoming this with cautious optimism."

... read more story at TreeHugger.com

China's 45 Billion Disposable Chopsticks Require 100 Acres of Forests Every 24 Hours

from TreeHugger.com
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada

That's a Lot of Chopsticks

Apparently China's Ministry of Commerce has had it with disposable chopsticks. It sent out a warning to chopstick makers in June to warn them that: "Production, circulation and recycling of disposable chopsticks should be more strictly supervised." The reason? With about 45 billion disposable chopstick pairs made every year in the country, or about 130 million a day, a lot of wood is being wasted, and that in a country that is trying to increase its forest coverage (from about 8% in 1949 to 12-13% today, compared to 30% for the USA).

Greenpeace China has estimated that to keep up with this demand, 100 acres of trees need to be felled every 24 hours. Think here of a forest larger than Tiananmen Square -- or 100 American football fields -- being sacrificed every day. That works out to roughly 16 million to 25 million felled trees a year. Deforestation is one of China's gravest environmental problems, leading to soil erosion, famine, flooding, carbon dioxide release, desertification and species extinction. ( source)

If you compare 100 acres per day to the size of China's forests, it still isn't that much (it's a big country), but chopsticks are far from the only thing pressuring Chinese ecosystems. It's one more thing the country's forests could do without... read more story at TreeHugger.com

The legendary Bobby Unser named as Grand Marshal for the Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport

BOWMANVILLE, Ontario August 19, 2010 /Canada NewsWire/ - Motorsport legend Bobby Unser has been named as Grand Marshal of Canada's biggest sports car race of the year, the Mobil 1 presents The Grand Prix of Mosport, August 26-29.

Bobby, the older of the two famous racing brothers (along with Al, Sr.), established the family name many years ago by winning three Indy 500 titles, in 1968, 1975 and 1981. Unser's first career IndyCar victories came at Mosport when in 1967 he took the chequered flag in both the twin 100 mile races.

"Mosport will always have a special place in my heart. The 1967 Mosport IndyCar race became one of the most important events in my whole life because it was my first IndyCar win. So it's a real honour to be the Grand Marshal of the Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport and to help the track celebrate their 50th anniversary season," said Unser.

Unser will be at the famed 4-km road course throughout the race weekend, meeting fans and signing autographs. He will give the famous four-word command to the drivers of the American Le Mans Series on Sunday afternoon at 3 pm, just prior to the green flag drop to start the two hour, 45 minute race.

The Albuquerque, New Mexico resident has compiled a extensive list of impressive accomplishments during his long and storied racing career, including 35 IndyCar wins (4th all-time), 49 IndyCar pole positions (3rd all-time), eight 500-mile IndyCar wins, two International Race of Champions (IROC) wins and a record of 13 Pikes Peak Hill Climb wins, just to name a few. He has been inducted into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.

"When I was young I was best known as a midget and sprint car driver, mostly on dirt tracks all over the USA," he recalled. "But I really loved road racing as in the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, which I won 13 times. My first big career win was at Mosport, one of the most challenging road racing circuits in the world and I'm very proud of that."

The father of four has also served as one of the sport's premier analysts and colour commentators. Unser worked as ABC Television's chief analyst on the network's Indy 500 telecasts, and partnered with Brian Williams on CBC Sports' of the Molson Indy races in Toronto and Vancouver in the 1980s and '90s.

Schedules for autograph sessions will be posted on Mosport's website and at the track For more event information and to purchase tickets call the Mosport Hotline at 1-800-866-1072 or online at www.mosport.com.

Fly Fishers Spread Invasive Microorganisms One Step at a Time

from TreeHugger.com
by David DeFranza


"If the shoe fits," the old saying goes, but for fly fishers—who prize clean, healthy, rivers and the trout that inhabit them—hearing that their boots may be responsible for spreading a virulent microorganism across the country and around the world is a difficult to accept.

Didymosphenia geminata, a single-celled organism better known as didymo—and sometimes "rock snot"—was first discovered in British Columbia in 1989. Once it has established itself in a river, it proliferates quickly, forming thick mats that choke out plants and insects, removing essential food sources for the ecosystem.


Since its discovery, didymo has spread, eventually making its way into the middle of the United States and, by 2008, Vermont. Didymo has also jumped overseas, infecting rivers in New Zealand.

Now, mounting evidence points to felt soles as a common vector for the organisms' rapid spread and governments are mobilizing to limit their use.

For fly fishers, the situation is not as simple as buying a new pair of boots. Felt soles are far superior—and safer—than rubber alternatives. Arvey McFarland, a fly fisher from Utah, told The New York Times:

In all these years, the number of times I've fallen wearing felt soles, I can count them on one hand...when I've tried various rubber and pleated soles, I've opened my right elbow and dislocated my shoulder. No more for me.

... read more story at TreeHugger.com

Minimalist Starbucks Store Notable For What It Leaves Out Rather Than What It Puts In

from TreeHugger.com
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto

Last year at Greenbuild we learned about Starbucks' new Global Store Design Strategy from Corporate Architect Tony Gale. One very attractive feature was that it was not a "one size fits all" program but would adapt the designs to different regions; Tony said "we like to do different things in different regions, to reflect what is going on in the local culture."

We previously posted about their New York store at Spring and Crosby; I recently visited their Toronto prototype and found it to be a very interesting project indeed.

It is a small store, on the ground floor of a brand new condo, at the intersection of Toronto's shiny new rebuilt dedicated streetcar line and a major subway station, so it will get a lot of walk-in trade.

Perhaps the most interesting feature of the store design is not the green goodies that they put in, but the stuff they left out. They have taken a minimalist approach and left out ceilings, drywall and flooring, leaving the basic concrete shell of the building exposed. All of the piping in the ceiling that serves the floors above is exposed and open, not even painted. There is an obvious environmental benefit of using less stuff, less building materials, a smaller footprint in construction... read more story at TreeHugger.com