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City of Whitehorse Environmental Grant

Do you have a great environmental project idea that would contribute to the Whitehorse Sustainability Plan including environmental education; waste education; preserving and/or enhancing land, air, water or wildlife; demonstrating innovative technologies and environmental leadership?

If so, any non-profit societies, community groups and businesses in Whitehorse are eligible to have 50% of total project costs funded (if your project costs less than $500, we will consider funding %100).

For more information please contact the Environmental Coordinator at (867) 668-8312 or by e-mail at .

Next deadline: February 15th, 2012.

Join the 2012 Whitehorse Green Guide!

The Whitehorse Green Guide has been developed to help people in Whitehorse identify where and what green products and services are available in Whitehorse and to provide information to help people make more sustainable choices.

If you have a business or organization that offers green products and services, please fill out one of the surveys below to join the 2012 Whitehorse Green Guide and receive your annual membership participation sticker.

ALL surveys CLOSE February 29th, 2012.

New Members: If you are a NEW business or organization please complete the 2012 FULL SURVEY to be added to the Green Guide and be eligible for an annual member participation sticker. If you need help filling out the survey or have any questions please email .

Previous Members: In order to stay current in the 2012 Whitehorse Green Guide, all members need to update each year. Please select from the following:

1. NO CHANGES to information:
   If there are no changes to your information, click here to confirm your information is up to date and become eligible to receive an annual member participation sticker.
2. A FEW changes:
   If you have updates to the information provided on your survey, click here to have the changes included in the next update and become eligible to receive an annual member participation sticker.
3. Complete NEW SURVEY:
   If you have significant changes to the information provided on your survey, or if you prefer to redo and replace an earlier survey to update your information, click here for the 2012 Full Survey. Your annual membership stickers will be mailed to you in March.

Thank you for your participation! If you need help filling out the survey or have any questions please email .

Yukon Research Centre: Research fellowships

The Yukon Research Centre at Yukon College would like to invite researchers to submit applications for funding under the Northern Research Endowment Fund for 2012.

Projects with northern themes in the humanities, and in the social, pure and applied sciences are welcome. Community-based research and projects with a Yukon focus are especially encouraged. Applications are reviewed according to fund criteria and guidelines and are awarded on a competitive basis. Successful applicants will be notified in April 2012.

Applications should be submitted electronically to . Application and criteria information are available from: Yukon Research Centre, (867) 668-8772, www.yukoncollege.yk.ca/research.

Application deadline is 5:00 pm on March 19th, 2012.

Arctic Winter Games: Green Team volunteers needed

March 4-10, 2012
Whitehorse, Yukon

Green Team Needs you to volunteer! Green Team members:

• Help achieve a 70% waste diversion at the Arctic Winter Games
• Educate athletes, other volunteers and spectators how to sort their waste
• Provide a valuable environmental service
• Volunteer at a specific venue for 12 hours or more and receive volunteer benefits

To volunteer:

1. Go to www.awg2012.org and follow the links
2. Select "Venue" as your preferred Division
3. Select "Green Team" as your preferred job
4. Choose the particular venue that you would prefer to volunteer at (close to home/work making it easy for you fit your volunteering into your life or venue has the sport that you are most interested in)
5. Complete the police check
6. You will be contacted by the Green Team to set your volunteer schedule

Questions? Contact .

NOAA Arctic Report Card 2011

The Arctic Report Card considers a wide range of environmental observations throughout the Arctic, and is updated annually. A major conclusion of the 2011 Report is that there are now a sufficient number of years of data to indicate a shift in the Arctic Ocean system since 2006. This shifted is characterized by the persistent decline in the thickness and summer extent of the sea ice cover, and a warmer, fresher upper ocean.

• Read the 2011 Arctic Report Card

Compendium of Yukon Climate Change Science: 2003-2011

The Compendium of Yukon Climate Change Science is intended to provide an overview of recent (2003-2011) climate change work involving Yukon. It is comprised of various types of documents including scientific journal articles, government publications, workshop reports, and conference proceedings.

• Download Compendium of Yukon Climate Change Science: 2003-2011 (pdf)
• Download summary version of the Compendium (pdf)

Refrigerator and freezer retirement program from the Energy Solutions Centre

The Energy, Mines and Resources Energy Solutions Centre, in partnership with the Yukon Energy Corporation, is launching a refrigerator retirement program with incentives for people to remove old inefficient refrigerators and freezers from the electrical grid.

Older refrigerators and freezers cost more to operate and generate a higher demand on the electrical grid. The program will pay $50 for every appliance that is decommissioned (up to two appliances) and will also cover the cost of transportation and landfill tipping fees for a total value of between $150 and $200 per household.

For full program details and application forms, visit www.emr.gov.yk.ca/energy or contact the Energy Solutions Centre at (867) 393-7063 or toll free from the communities at (800) 661-0408 ext 7063.

Climate Condoms

Is climate change making you hot? NCE has partnered with the Government of Yukon Department of Health and Social Services to create "Climate Condoms." NCE is hosting a contest to choose the best sexy climate-change phrases which will then be sent to Health and Social Services to be the 2012 spring condoms!

These condoms will be distributed in time for Earth Day and the Haines to Haines bike relay next spring. Check out the Climate Condoms Facebook page and submit your phrases by searching for "Climate Condoms" on Facebook or by following the link on the Yukon College Facebook page.

The Climate Condoms page will be launched on Friday, July 22nd, 2011 – see the page for rules and deadlines!

El Niño-Southern Oscillation and other climate patterns play a major role in 2010; 2010 one of the two warmest years on record

Worldwide, 2010 was one of the two warmest years on record according to the 2010 State of the Climate report, released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on June 27th. The peer-reviewed report, issued in coordination with the American Meteorological Society, was compiled by 368 scientists from 45 countries. It provides a detailed, yearly update on global climate indicators, notable climate events and other climate information from every continent.

While several well-known cyclical weather patterns had a significant influence on weather and climate events throughout the year, the comprehensive analysis of indicators shows a continuation of the long-term trends scientists have seen over the last 50 years, consistent with global climate change.

• Download State of the Climate in 2010 (pdf)
• NOAA press release

Pan-Territorial Adaptation Strategy: Moving Forward on Climate Change Adaptation in Canada's North

Recently released, the Pan-Territorial Adaptation Strategy communicates the adaptation priorities of the three Territories to the general public and to national and international partners. It will guide actions and approaches to adaptation in Yukon and across the North.

• Download this document (pdf)
• A Northern Vision website

Federal and provincial governments failing to coordinate plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Canadian governments have taken their own paths to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, leading to inefficiency and a lack of coordination, says a Conference Board of Canada report released June 1st – part of its CanCompete research program. Through a review of federal, provincial, and territorial climate change action plans, the report, Greenhouse Gas Mitigation in Canada, reveals how the approach to reducing emissions has been neither effective nor efficient.

• Download this report
• Conference Board of Canada press release

Landscape Hazards in Yukon Communities: reports and maps released

Landscape Hazards in Yukon Communities is a one-year project aimed at identifying potential landscape hazards for two communities in the Yukon: Mayo and Pelly Crossing. The objective was to identify landscape hazards in these villages and nearby surroundings by compiling geoscience data from various field studies and scientific reviews. This data was used to create a map of landscape hazards based on geotechnical properties that delineate low, moderate and high-risk areas. Potential impacts of a changing climate were incorporated in the identification of these three hazard zones.

Mayo:

• Mayo landscape hazards report
• Mayo surficial geology map
• Mayo geologic hazards map

Pelly Crossing:

• Pelly Crossing landscape hazards report
• Pelly Crossing surficial geology map
• Pelly Crossing geologic hazards map

More information about this project is available in our Landscape Hazards in Yukon Communities section. For further information on the NCE's various climate change adaptation projects, go to our climate change adaptation section.

Energy Solutions Centre's Wind Prospecting Service

Do you live off the Yukon's electric grid? Have you ever wondered if the wind could power some of your needs? ESC's Wind Prospecting Service can determine your wind resource potential so that you can make an informed decision about investing in wind generation equipment.

The purpose of the Energy Solutions Centre's Wind Prospecting Service is to help off-grid residents who are interested in wind energy to determine if the wind resource at their location is sufficient to justify the significant investment required to purchase wind generation equipment.

For more info contact Cathy Cottrell, Senior Energy Advisor, Energy Solutions Centre, Energy, Mines and Resources, Yukon Government, (867) 393-7148, .

Study: Temperature trends in Canada

During the past 60 years, the trend in average annual temperatures for Canada as a whole has increased by 1.4 degrees Celsius. The article "Temperature trends in Canada" in EnviroStats examines data consisting of temperature departures from normal on an annual and seasonal basis for 11 climatic regions and the nation from 1948 to 2009.

• More information from Statistics Canada