Canada

The George River herd of caribou in Labrador has fallen about 90 percent in population size from a peak some 20 years ago.

"Canada said on Tuesday it will design a system to better monitor whether northern Alberta's huge oil sands projects are polluting waterways after an independent scientific panel found major flaws in the current monitoring system."

"Canada's energy regulator said on Thursday it approved plans for a C$16.2 billion ($16.1 billion) Arctic gas pipeline, a project that faces growing economic pressure as natural gas prices languish."

"Cutting through rhetoric that so often dominates debate over Canada's oil sands, a new report by a prominent academic group is a comprehensive snapshot of the failings and successes of all the industry's stakeholders and raises hope for a new era of oversight."

"Although Canada will not expose its own citizens to asbestos, its plans to continue exporting the deadly substance to developing countries has drawn widespread condemnation. "

"Canada's government is not ready to handle a major oil spill from a tanker, in part because its emergency response plan is out of date, Parliament's environmental watchdog said in a damning report on Tuesday."

A lab downstream of the Alberta oil sands project has been testing Athabasca River water for decades -- but not testing for chemicals that might come from the oil sands.