By Leigh Edgar

Once a leader in the fight against climate change, the government of Canada is now lagging behind other developed nations in its efforts to meaningfully address greenhouse gas emissions. And instead of trying to improve its own record, Canada wants to point the finger at other nations instead.
 

CWF encourages Canadians to add their voices to the call for allocation of carbon market revenues to conservation. 

Thanks in part to funding provided by the Canadian Wildlife Federation, leading polar bear researcher, Dr. Andrew Derocher and his colleagues, have found that nearly 20 per cent more polar bears are eating less, possibly due to a reduction in their main food source.
 

For the black-legged kittiwakes nesting on the steep rocky cliffs around Witless Bay, N.L., a global-scale shift in the atmosphere is personal: Their family planning depends on it. Canadian Wildlife Service scientists have found that the success of kittiwake reproduction depends in large part on the North Atlantic Oscillation — the massive circulation pattern that rules much of the climate of the North Atlantic Ocean. It’s a worrisome find, since climate experts predict climate change will throw the oscillation out of whack. 

This month’s Take Five takes a closer look at five renewable energy sources - what they are and how they are being used. 

Q. Lately I’ve been hearing a lot about climate change adaptation. What does this mean, and what is the one critical thing I can do to help wildlife? 

Mountain pine beetle infestation is killing trees at an alarming rate in Western Canada. Once helpful to Canada’s forests, the mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae, has become a hindrance due to Canada’s changing climate. The mountain pine beetle formerly aided new forest growth by getting rid of older, weaker trees and making way for new ones. In previous winters, cold temperatures kept the mountain pine beetles’ population in check, while every spring the smaller surviving population would aid our forests.  As the climate is warming on a global scale, the winters that once controlled this population are less harsh allowing the spring population of pine beetle to grow.  

At CWF we took another step to reduce our carbon emissions by installing solar panels on the roof of our Kanata, Ontario office building the spring of 2008. 

Q.  I switched my regular light bulbs to Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs). But I’m worried about the mercury in them! Which bulbs are better for the environment? 

The Canadian Wildlife Federation inspires Canadians to take action against climate change. Climb for Change organizers Mary Krupa and Mary Jo Schnepf are climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak, to bring global warming awareness to new heights while raising funds for CWF's climate change initiatives.