Environmental Act

Excerpt from this story from Mother Jones:

Plastic is now considered toxic under Canada’s primary environmental law—the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA)—the Trudeau government announced Wednesday.

The decision, which comes despite months of lobbying by Canada’s $28 billion plastics industry, paves the way for a proposed ban on some single-use items. A series by Canada’s National Observer earlier this year cataloged the sustained push by the plastics and food industries to disassociate plastics from anything to do with the word “toxic.”

However, the government held firm, which now clears the way for other measures to reduce plastic waste proposed by the government last fall. “This is the critical step,” said Ashley Wallis, plastics campaigner for Oceana Canada. “It’s the key that unlocks so many possibilities to help us actually address the plastic pollution crisis.”

About 3.3 million metric tons of plastic is discarded in Canada each year, and less than 10 percent—about 305,000 metric tons—is recycled. The remainder goes to landfills, incineration, or leaks into rivers, lakes and oceans, according to a 2019 study commissioned by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).

The industry is also poised to drive continued oil and gas extraction, with some petrochemical companies expecting it to account for up to 90 percent of their future growth, according to a 2020 report by the Carbon Tracker Initiative.

A 2020 government science assessment found ample evidence that plastic harms the environment, choking seabirds, cetaceans and other wildlife. The findings form the basis of the government’s decision, as substances can be considered toxic under CEPA if they harm the environment and biodiversity, human health, or both.

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From The Associated Press:

Idaho Gov. Brad Little has signed into law a measure that could lead to killing 90% of the state’s 1,500 wolves in a move that was backed by hunters and the state’s powerful ranching sector but heavily criticized by environmental advocates.

Lawmakers who sponsored the measure said they want the state’s wolf population reduced to the allowed minimum of 150 to reduce attacks on livestock […].

The primary change allows the state to hire private contractors to kill wolves and provides more money for state officials to hire the contractors.

The law also expands the way wolves can be hunted and killed. Those methods include hunting, trapping and snaring an unlimited number of wolves on a single hunting tag, using night-vision equipment, chasing down wolves on snowmobiles and ATVs and shooting them from helicopters.

Also under the new law, newborn pups can be killed if they are found on private land.

Little signed the bill on Thursday, May 6. It had passed the Senate and House with enough votes to overcome a veto. […]

Nearly 30 former state, federal and tribal wildlife managers sent a letter to Little last month asking him to veto the measure — saying the methods for killing wolves violate longstanding wildlife management practices and hunting ethics. The Idaho Fish and Game Commission also opposed the bill because it removes wildlife management decisions from the commission […].

Idaho took over management of wolves from the federal government in 2011, and the commission has been liberalizing wolf hunting and trapping over the years. […]

About 500 wolves have been killed in the state in each of the last two years by hunters, trappers and wolf-control measures carried out by state and federal authorities […].

The Idaho Cattle Association representing ranchers said it supports the measure because it allows the free-market system to play a role in killing wolves.

Little’s family has a long history of sheep ranching in Idaho.

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