Skier dies in deep Idaho tree well

McCALL, Idaho - Yet more evidence arrives of the dangers inherent amid the joys of tree-skiing.

The story comes from Brundage Mountain Ski Resort, near McCall, where Brad Peterson, 47, suffocated after falling into an 11-foot-deep tree well. Searchers found him under 6 feet of snow.

Half of bark beetles killed by cold

CANMORE, Alberta — Temperatures in the Bow River Valley, where Banff and Canmore are located, dipped to 25 below zero this winter, good enough to hold the populations of mountain pine beetles in check.

“We’ve moved from a situation of impending disaster to a much-improved situation of just uncertainty,” said Barry Cooke, a scientist with the Canadian Forest Service.

Computer models suggested about 50 percent of the beetle larvae in southern Alberta was killed. Alberta has more marginal habitat for mountain bark beetles, but the relatively warm winters of the last decade have worked to the advantage of the beetles.

British Columbia to tax carbon

REVELSTOKE, B.C. — The provincial government in British Columbia plans to begin levying a carbon tax beginning in June, adding a 2.4 cent tax to a liter of gasoline, rising to 7.2 cents by 2012.

It is part of the province’s effort reduce the burning of hydrocarbons and produce fewer greenhouse gases.

Canada is among the countries that signed the Kyoto Protocol, and although it’s almost certain that the nation will not meet the Kyoto targets for gas reductions, British Columbia is among has among the most aggressive climate plans.

Want to live in a Canadian container?

WHISTLER, B.C. - The housing shortage in Whistler is sufficiently severe that two years ago a consortium called H.O.M.E. was set up.

The goal of a plan hatched, but not yet executed, is to create a temporary neighborhood of trailers, portable modular units or modified containers, creating 250 beds altogether that can be rented for $575 to $675 each per month, reports Pique.

Ski trail signs applied to airport security

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- The federal government has turned to the ski slopes for ideas about how to move travelers through the security review at airports.

In a test program first launched at Salt Lake City, and then in Denver, travelers can chosen between the black-diamond, the blue and the green lines. The black-diamond line is intended for experienced travelers who carry little luggage, reports The Denver Post.

The green line is for families who move more slowly and those who have saddled themselves with lots of carry-ons.