Do you agree with the direction Environment Canada is taking?

Environment Minister Peter Kent announced Thursday that Canada has pledged $3 million to programs to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide in developing countries.

The money would support programs to reduce greenhouse gases that don't stay in the atmosphere as long as CO2, such as methane from landfill sites and black carbon, or soot, from traditional cooking stoves.

"Canada is pleased to be the newest member of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves," said Kent. "By paving the way for the use of clean cookstoves in developing countries, we will help cut down harmful soot emissions."   

The announcement comes a day after Environment Canada confirmed it had shut down five of six stations across Canada that monitor for particles in the atmosphere - including soot.

Meanwhile, the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science kicked off Thursday in Vancouver. One session at the AAAS meeting, the largest gathering of scientists in the world, is called "Unmuzzling Government Scientists."

The Canadian government has faced criticism that its scientists are not free to discuss their research with news organizations.

"Highly regarded scientists with worldwide reputations publishing in prestigious peer-reviewed journals are repeatedly denied the opportunity to explain their work to the media and to their fellow citizens," wrote Gary Corbett, of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, on iPolitics.ca.

Corbett says the problem is compounded by shrinking government budgets for science.

Do you agree with the direction Environment Canada is taking? Why or why not? What changes, if any, would you like to see at the ministry? Let us know what you think.



(This survey is not scientific. Results are based on readers' responses.)