Canadian Lakes Set to Become Toxic Mining Dump Sites: I first read about how sixteen lakes throughout Canada are scheduled to be quietly reclassified as “tailings impoundment areas” so that mining companies can legally dump their waste into them, instead of having to build their own containment ponds, on Grist. Of course, why not use this convenient pristine wilderness fishing lake instead of bothering with the cost and trouble of building their own containment ponds? Makes perfect sense to Elizabeth Gardiner from the Mining Association of Canada, who gave us this gem of a quote, “In some cases, particularly in Canada, with this kind of topography and this number of natural lakes and depressions and ponds … in the end it’s really the safest option for human health and for the environment.”

Other Sources: The Globe and Mail, CBC News

GE Creates Mega Hybrid: The GE Hybrid Vehicle team together with the US Department of Energy developed a prototype of an off-highway hauling vehicle. So if you’re in need of a new mine haul truck like the one in the photo, go for the hybrid! While it is kind of cool that they are looking to reduce the amount of fuel used by these monsters, it is pretty funny to think that what they are being used for is to mine more coal. Hopefully the technology will be used for even bigger and better things in the future.

Source: inhabitat, GE Global Research Blog