Wednesday August 20, 2008
ENVIRONMENT 
Shrink the bottle, save the planet
It took skyrocketing oil prices and the prospect of an overheated planet to stem the tide, but finally those overweight wine bottles, the pretentious ones with glass so thick they're sometimes mistaken for 1.5-litre magnums, are becoming unfashionable.
Clogged recycling plants sparked water decision
The long journey toward this week's decision by city officials in London, Ont., to restrict bottled-water sales, which has earned praise from David Suzuki and derision from industry, began three years ago in the back of a recycling truck.
Propane blast left murky fog of evasion
The finger of blame spins like the needle of a compass at the North Pole, and the factual landscape it traverses is correspondingly barren. The explosive ''vapour cloud'' that killed two people and knocked the whole city sideways last week left its doppelganger in the wreckage. Nobody knows anything - supposedly. The ''no comments'' have reached critical mass.
Mutated fish causes stir over oil-sands health risks
Information about a mutated fish caught downstream from Alberta's oil-sands region will be sent to a joint government-industry group that monitors the health of rivers and lakes.
The public tap
Municipal governments are understandably frustrated by the bottled-water fad that has seen large companies bottle local tap water and sell it at great profit, but they should not get swept up in regulating citizens' lifestyles. They should stick to measures within their own mandates and facilities.
Buffett and Gates tour Alberta oil sands
Alberta's growing stature as a global economic force has been highlighted by an unexpected visit from two of the world's richest men to the province's oil sands.
Labels to show goods' carbon footprints
Japan is planning to label consumer goods to show their carbon footprints in a bid to raise public awareness about global warming, an official said yesterday.Under the plan, a select range of products from beverages to detergent will carry markings on the carbon footprint - or how much gas responsible for global warming has been emitted through production and delivery.
Watered-down responses
Any ban on bottled water alone just drives consumers to other drinks that are generally less healthy and often packaged in heavier plastic bottles (Cities Ponder Restrictions In Wake Of London Bottle Ban - Aug. 19).
Ottawa to unveil funding for Cloudworks project
The federal government this morning will announce funding for privately held Cloudworks Energy Inc. of Vancouver, which is building a run-of-river hydroelectricity project near the city. The money is part of a 10-year ''ecoEnergy'' program launched by the government last year, with a total budget of $1.5-billion, which works out to $15-million per province per year, if split equally. A spokesman for Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources, said other ecoEnergy initiatives would be unveiled along with the Cloudworks funding.
Watered-down responses
So London, Ont., will be banning the sales of bottled water at city-run facilities - perhaps the one genuinely healthy drink. No doubt, Coke will still be available, I could always buy that.
