Our Top 10 Green News Stories of 2012: 6-10

2013 is here so today we will finish our review of the Top Environmental News Stories of 2012 with numbers 6 through 10. Click here to see number 1 -5. Lets hope 2013 brings good news for the environment.

	Pipeline Battles TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline plans continued to face obstacles this year. The proposed pipeline, aiming to carry tar sands oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast, was blocked by President Obama earlier this year, but he later offered support for the lower portion. Construction has begun on the southern segment between Oklahoma and Texas, but faces challenges from protesters and some landowners. While supporters claim the pipeline will create jobs, NASA's James Hansen argues that Canada's exploitation of oil from the tar sands could mean "game over for the climate."
	Japan Tsunami Debris The 2011 March tsunami in Japan carried about five million tons of debris into the ocean, according to the Associated Press. Some of that debris has begun to wash up on the west coast of North America. While most of this debris consists of smaller items, including a motorcycle which volunteers are attempting to reunite with its Japanese owner, larger debris is already costing authorities millions of dollars to dispose of.
	Doha Climate Conference The UN climate conference in Doha, Qatar resulted in the extension of the Kyoto Protocol, although the treaty will only cover about 15 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. According to the Associated Press, the talks also lead to "vague promises of financing to help poor countries cope with climate change, and an affirmation of a previous decision to adopt a new global climate pact by 2015."
	Ontario Mega-Quarry In July 0f 2009, Highland Companies made pubic their intent to build a large open-pit mine north of Toronto, in the Melancthon area. Those opposed to the project were concerned about losing a massive swath of rich farmland and worried about the quarry’s effect on the water table. The company had said the limestone quarry would have provided an essential supply of aggregate, used to build everything from homes to roads. But the proposal was met with fierce opposition from the community and beyond. From five-day protest walks to SoupStock, Mega-quarry opponents laid out a winning game plan. On November 21, 2012 Highland announced it is withdrawing its quarry application.
	Federal budget bills and the Idle No More movement C-45 is a large omnibus bill implementing numerous measures, many of which activists claim weaken environmental protection laws. In particular, laws protecting all of the country's navigable waterways were limited in scope to protect only a few waterways of practical importance for navigation. Many of the affected waterways pass through land reserved to First Nations. This led to a series of teach-ins, rallies and protests, eventually gaining loose coordination under the name “Idle No More”. The protests were timed to coincide with the announcement that Chief Theresa Spence of Attawapiskat was launching a hunger strike to demand a meeting with Prime Minister Harper and the Queen on Aboriginal rights. So far, the Canadian federal government has indicated it will not meet the demand of a meeting with First Nations groups over environmental concerns