PUBLIC MARKS from multilinko with tags canada & environment

A scientist with Environment Canada was ordered not to launch his global warming-themed novel Thursday at the same time the Conservative government was quietly axing a number of Kyoto programs.

Canada has experienced its warmest winter since modern record-keeping began, with average temperatures 3.9 degrees above normal and all regions of the country basking in abnormal mildness, according to preliminary figures compiled by Environment Canada. The biggest departure from typical winter weather was in the area where Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories converge. Temperatures there were a staggering eight degrees warmer than normal. But other notable warm spots included the entire Prairie region, where temperatures were five to seven degrees above average, and southern British Columbia. In addition, temperatures were so warm in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence watershed that the Great Lakes were ice-free in the middle of the winter.

The ocean current that gives western Europe its relatively balmy climate is stuttering, raising fears that it might fail entirely and plunge the continent into a mini ice age. The dramatic finding comes from a study of ocean circulation in the North Atlantic, which found a 30% reduction in the warm currents that carry water north from the Gulf Stream. The slow-down, which has long been predicted as a possible consequence of global warming, will give renewed urgency to intergovernmental talks in Montreal, Canada, this week on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol.

Ontario's government awarded C$2 billion ($1.7 billion) in contracts to build wind and hydro power projects on Monday in an effort to have 10 percent of electricity in Canada's biggest market generated by renewable sources. Ontario Energy Minister Donna Cansfield said she had granted awards for eight wind facilities and one hydroelectric development, which will supply a total of 975 megawatts, enough to power more than 250,000 homes. The awards come in response to a request for proposals for 1,000 MW, issued in April 2004.