Danger in the Nursery - Impact of Tar Sands Oil Development in Canadas Boreal on Birds (pdf) (pdf) Joe Oliver 'aligned priorities' with pipeline lobby: documents. OTTAWA -- The federal natural resources minister and the industry lobby group that represents oil and gas pipelines are "aligned on priorities, particularly on the need to expand markets," according to an internal government memo.
The document, obtained under the Access to Information Act by the environmental group Greenpeace, comes to light as Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver is in the United States burnishing the environmental record of the oilsands in an effort to bolster the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. Oliver met last July in Calgary with nine members of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association, where they discussed the "importance of communicating to Canadians" the benefits of the energy sector and environmental measures. Try It Now. Many Canadians must have wondered if George Orwell was alive and well this week as they read that the Alberta oil sands were being pitched to U.S. officials as “green” by Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver.
Enbridge pipeline panel tangled in complex web of aboriginal rights. Dene Moore and Will Campbell, The Canadian Press Published Sunday, March 17, 2013 12:22PM PDT A top Northern Gateway Pipelines official says the company is trying to balance the many competing interests in the project, and realizes it may be impossible to satisfy them all.
Federal review hearings into the $6-billion pipeline project continue Monday in Prince Rupert, where the three-person panel has been hearing about the company's aboriginal engagement and public consultation. "I think it is important to understand this is a very diverse project. Calls for Alberta pipeline safety review grow louder. Calls for an independent review into pipeline safety in Alberta are growing, with some saying it’s even more urgent now that a U.S. investigation has sharply criticized a Calgary company’s efforts to clean up a major oil spill.
“If we don’t have tough regulations in place making sure that our pipelines are very safe, then people are not going to accept pipelines coming through their territories,” said Bill Moore-Kilgannon of Public Interest Alberta. The left-leaning advocacy group is one of 54 signato ries to a letter to be released today that calls on Premier Alison Redford to formally look into pipeline safety. That number more than triples the 17 names attached to a similar call made in late June. Environmentalists make up the largest number of names. Borealbirds. B.C. sockeye collapse report might not be made public - British Columbia. A report that's expected to explain why and how millions of sockeye salmon vanished from B.C.'s Fraser River must be handed into the federal government next week, but it's still unclear when, or even if, the public will get to see a copy.
Under the terms of reference, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Bruce Cohen must deliver his report to the federal government by Monday. Enbridge’s ‘errata’ on caribou could prove a costly error. By itself, the pipeline that Enbridge proposes to build across British Columbia might not pose a great threat to caribou.
The problem is, the Enbridge Northern Gateway project cannot be taken in isolation. Fight against Northern Gateway pipeline gains star power. A leading conservation group has recruited a phalanx of well-known Canadians to join its fight against the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline, in a bid to counter past claims by the Harper government that many pipeline opponents are “radical” activists.
World Wildlife Fund Canada has signed up Canadians ranging from former Olympic hockey team captain Scott Niedermayer to author Joseph Boyden and economist Jeff Rubin, all of whom have agreed to publicly oppose the pipeline. Others who have joined the WWF campaign include Afghan war veteran and author Trevor Greene, Tony Dekker of the band Great Lake Swimmers, and the VanCity credit union. “This is a bunch of people from all different walks of life who don’t have a preexisting organized position to adhere to,” WWF Canada president Gerald Butts told The Globe and Mail’s editorial board on Wednesday.
Is GMO Farming Poisoning The World’s Drinking Water???? In a groundbreaking study published in the journal Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry last year, evidence surfaced that glyhosate, the active ingredient in the Monsanto’s patented herbicide Roundup, is flowing freely into the groundwater in areas where it is being applied. 1 The researchers found that 41% of the 140 groundwater samples taken from Catalonia Spain, had levels beyond the limit of quantification – indicating that, despite the manufacturer’s claims, glyphosate herbicide does not break down rapidly in the environment, and is accumulating there in concerning quantities.
Why Is Groundwater Contamination An Important Finding? Submission to the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project Joint Review Panel – elizabethmaymp.ca – September 4, 2012. As leader of the Green Party of Canada and as the Member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands, I appreciate this opportunity to place on the written record my comments on the Enbridge proposal for a 1177 kilometre long, twinned pipeline across northern British Columbia and a port at Kitimat to receive diluents and pipe it to Alberta, while piping back to Kitimat the mixture of diluents and bitumen.
Submission to the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project Joint Review Panel – elizabethmaymp.ca – September 4, 2012. A worrisome wet wake-up call from the Arctic. Arctic sea ice has already melted to a record low this year, in thickness and extent.
And summer’s not over yet. According to the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center, record melt has occurred for the past six years. Both the NSIDC and the European Space Agency say ice is thinning at a rate 50 per cent faster than scientists predicted, mainly because of global warming, and that summer Arctic ice could soon disappear altogether. The implications for global climate and weather, and for animals and people in the North, are enormous. Environment Minister Peter Kent to weaken emissions rules for coal-fired power. OTTAWA — After a year of tough negotiations with companies and premiers that tested Ottawa’s resolve to fight climate change, Environment Minister Peter Kent is finally ready to present the final version of regulations to curtail greenhouse gas emissions from the coal-fired electricity sector.
Kent is travelling to Saskatoon Wednesday to present a weaker version of the regulations he drafted a year ago, The Canadian Press has learned. Multiple sources say the new performance standard for coal plants will not be as strict as initially proposed. In draft regulations put forward for discussion in August 2011, Kent proposed that new coal plants only be allowed if they can emit less than 375 tonnes of carbon dioxide per gigawatt hour of electricity generated. What's the fracking problem with natural gas? Low water levels in the Great Lakes are raising concerns. This undated photo provided by the city of Racine shows North Beach in Racine, Wis., on Lake Michigan.Water levels in the Great Lakes are nearing record lows this year.
Jim Biddle, the owner of Biddle Marine Services in St. Williams, Ont. told The Star that boaters on Lake Erie were "playing Russian roulette", adding that "boaters are running into rocks a mile off shore. " According to Environment Canada, Lakes Michigan, Huron and Superior were already running below the 100-year average last year, and now all the Great Lakes are running below that average — Lake Erie at 22 cm below average, Lake Ontario at 23 cm below average, Lakes Michigan-Huron at 63 cm below average and Lake Superior at 34 cm below average.
‘Secret’ Environment Canada study warns of oil sands’ impact on habitat. ‘Secret’ Environment Canada study warns of oil sands’ impact on habitat Facebook | Twitter | Email | Instapaper Postmedia NewsThursday, Dec. 22, 2011 Mikael Kjellstrom/Postmedia News By Mike De Souza OTTAWA — Contamination of a major western Canadian river basin from oil sands operations is a “high-profile concern” for downstream communities and wildlife, says a newly-released “secret” presentation prepared last spring by Environment Canada that highlighted numerous warnings about the industry’s growing footprint on land, air, water and the climate. The warnings from the department contrast with recent claims made by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Environment Minister Peter Kent that the industry is being unfairly targeted by environmentalists who exaggerate its impacts on nature and people. Stephen Harper wants to streamline environmental oversight. MINTO MINE, YUKON—Prime Minister Stephen Harper expanded his vision of resource riches fuelling Canada’s future and he’s vowing to streamline environmental approvals to make those projects a reality.
Harper made the remarks Tuesday as he signed a revised resource royalty sharing agreement with the Yukon government that he said would ensure territory residents benefit from the “boom” in mineral exploration and development over the coming decades. “Northern development must mean northern prosperity,’ he said during a speech here. Harper kicked off his annual northern tour on Monday, touting the benefits of the resource economy to Canada’s North but said it requires changes to environmental oversight to ensure projects become a reality in a “responsible manner.” Harper government cancels 3,000 environmental reviews on pipelines and other projects.
Canada News: Ottawa quietly opens protected Arctic wilderness to proposed mining. Government Tries To Block MP's Questions At Pipeline Review. Harper deploys diplomats to counter U.S. climate change campaign. OTTAWA — The Harper government has deployed a network of Canadian diplomats to lobby Fortune 500 companies in the United States in order to counter a global warming campaign launched by an environmental advocacy group targeting the oilsands industry, says a newly-released internal memorandum from Natural Resources Canada.
Enbridge CEO says environmental groups have taken control of pipeline debate. Pipeline Accident Report: PAR-12-01. Marshall, Michigan July 25, 2010. Only 2% of Canadians deny climate change, suggests poll - Calgary. Tell Enbridge to pull its misleading ads. Enbridge Pipeline and Tankers: Competition Bureau Asked to Investigate Deceptive Northern Gateway Marketing by Enbridge.
Canadian Scientists 'Mourn Death of Evidence' under Harper Government. A funeral procession of scientists wearing white lab coats and mourners dressed in black will take to the streets of Ottawa today to "mourn the death of Evidence" and protest what they see as an attack on environmental science by the Harper government. Canada's prime minister Stephen Harper: his government is accused of jeopardizing Canada’s scientific reputation. Tides Canada Stands Up to Government Critics. Harper hurts science – again. Canada News: Tim Hudak: Ontario should develop Ring of Fire like oilsands. Canada upside-down. Redford calls Alberta oil spill an ‘exception’ as cleanup continues.
Chisholm questions site of DFO office consolidation-FISHERIES. First Nations. Foreign investment a threat to oilsands: Green Party leader - Fort McMurray Today - Alberta, CA. Canadian Oil Sands Flyover. 2011 Arctic Ice Minimum. Toxic substance found in snow near oilsands - Calgary. Canada asked to explain polar bear policies to international environmental group.