Art Sterritt and Coastal First Nations remain strongly opposed to Enbridge VANCOUVER – Opponents of any increase in oil tankers off the B.C. coast are marking the 25th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill by launching a renewed campaign against two major pipeline projects. Coastal First Nations are running
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The Common Sense Canadian: Crews work to clean up Texas oil spill
by Michael Graczyk, The Associated Press TEXAS CITY, Texas – The cleanup of an unknown amount of thick, sticky oil that spilled into the Galveston Bay blocked traffic Sunday between the Gulf of Mexico and one of the world’s busiest petrochemical transportation waterways, affecting all vessels, even cruise ships. A
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Arctic offshore drilling preparations concern communities
(Photo: Offshore Energy Today) by Bob Weber, The Canadian Press Governments, aboriginal groups and Arctic communities Growing industry interest in the offshore oil resources of Canada’s Arctic is forcing northerners from east to west to confront hard questions about development. No actual drilling is likely to happen for years. But major
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Nova Scotia approves LNG plant
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia granted conditional approval Friday to a proposed liquefied natural gas plant in Goldboro, clearing another hurdle for the terminal that’s slated to be operational in six years if Pieridae Energy Canada decides to proceed with the project. Environment Minister Randy Delorey said the Calgary-based company must
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Obama teams up with web companies to illustrate the effects of climate change
Observed changes in sea level relative to land elevation in the United States between 1958 and 2008 (Photo: USGCRP 2009). by Seth Borenstein, The Associated Press WASHINGTON — The Obama administration hopes to fight global warming with the geeky power of numbers, maps and even gaming-type simulations. Officials figure the more you
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Energy East pipeline would be for export, not local refining
Most of the oil from the proposed Energy East pipeline would be destined for export, says a new report by Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press CALGARY – The proposed Energy East pipeline won’t be the boon to Eastern Canadian refineries that supporters claim because the vast majority of the oil
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Democrat’s election-year debate over the Keystone XL pipeline
U.S. Senators from the Senate Climate Action Task Force urge action on climate change in Washington (Photo: Yuri Gripas, Reuters). by Matthew Daly, The Associated Press WASHINGTON — Democrats are grappling with an election-year dilemma posed by the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Wealthy party donors are funding candidates who oppose
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: CNRL faces charges over potentially deadly gas leak near First Nation
Canadian Natural Resources Limited’s Horizon oilsands upgrader By John Cotter in Edmonton FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. – Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. is facing 11 environmental charges over the release of a potentially deadly gas near an aboriginal community in northern Alberta. The Alberta government said the charges stem from the release
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Nova Scotia LNG plant wins conditional approval
HALIFAX – An environmental panel has given conditional approval to a proposed liquefied natural gas plant on Nova Scotia’s east coast. The panel says the plant planned for Goldboro by Calgary-based Pieridae Energy Canada can proceed. The panel assessed a number of environmental and socio-economic factors including the effects on
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Energy Board approves Enbridge Line 9 reversal
The National Energy Board has approved energy giant Enbridge’s plan to reverse the flow and increase the capacity of a pipeline that has been running between southern Ontario and Montreal for years. The green light for the Calgary-based company is subject to certain conditions and requirements. A statement from the National Energy Board
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: US judge blocks $9 Billion judgement against Chevron over lawyers’ illegal conduct
Photo: Teun Voeten/Reporters/Redux by Larry Neumeister, The Associated Press NEW YORK – A federal judge on Tuesday blocked U.S. courts from being used to collect a $9 billion Ecuadorean judgment against Chevron for rainforest damage, saying lawyers poisoned an honourable quest with their illegal and wrongful conduct. “Justice is not
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Nova Scotia and UK team up to study tidal power
The world’s first commercial-scale tidal power generator, in Northern Ireland (Photo courtesy of Siemens) HALIFAX – Nova Scotia and the United Kingdom have agreed to work together on research aimed at generating electricity from high tides like those in the Bay of Fundy. Energy Minister Andrew Younger and Corin Robertson, the
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Peter Mansbridge tries to come clean on Oilsands talk
CBC anchor Peter Mansbridge giving a talk paid by CAPP (image: facebook) by Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press TORONTO – CBC News anchor Peter Mansbridge defended himself Thursday after a report that he made a paid speech to petroleum producers, saying he has never publicly promoted or opposed oilsands development. “If
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Joe Clark blasts PM Harper for attacks on environmentalists
On a US book tour, Joe Clark had some strong words from one Conservative PM to another by Alexander Panetta, The Canadian Press WASHINGTON – Former prime minister Joe Clark says he can’t understand why the Harper government would bar the opposition from a delegation to Ukraine and suggests its combative
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: NEB audit exposes gaps in TransCanada’s pipeline safety
TransCanada CEO Russ Girling announces Energy East pipeline on Aug. 1 (photo: (Jeff McIntosh / CP) CALGARY – Problems flagged in the National Energy Board’s audit of TransCanada Corp.’s pipeline safety practices should have Canadians worried, a group fighting that company’s proposed Energy East pipeline said Tuesday. The audit report,
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Beijing air pollution soars to alarming levels
by Didi Tang, Associated Press BEIJING – When the air gets really bad, Beijing says it has an emergency plan to yank half the city’s cars off the road. The only problem is: It may be difficult to ever set that plan in motion. It wasn’t triggered in January, when
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Oilsands tailings ponds leaking toxic chemicals: federal govt study
Syncrude tailings pond (David Dodge, Pembina Institute) Bob Weber, The Canadian Press EDMONTON – New federal research has strongly backed suspicions that toxic chemicals from Alberta’s vast oilsands tailings ponds are leaching into groundwater and seeping into the Athabasca River. Leakage from oilsands tailings ponds, which now cover 176 square
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Study: Arctic getting darker, making Earth warmer
Photo by Rear Admiral Harley D. Nygren, NOAA Corps, ret., courtesy Wikimedia Commons Seth Borenstein, The Associated Press WASHINGTON – The Arctic isn’t nearly as bright and white as it used to be because of more ice melting in the ocean, and that’s turning out to be a global problem,
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: TransCanada gas pipeline ruptures in Alberta
TransCanada gas pipelines ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE, Alta. – The National Energy Board says it is investigating a natural gas pipeline rupture in west-central Alberta. The federal regulator says the TransCanada (TSX:TRP) pipe broke this morning about 10 kilometres north or Rocky Mountain House. It says the pipe has been shut
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Giant Mine clean-up involves freezing underground arsenic
Photo: Wikimedia Commons By Bob Weber, The Canadian Press YELLOWKNIFE – Plans to clean up what may be Canada’s worst toxic site are moving ahead with changes suggested by those who live beside Yellowknife’s Giant Mine. Last summer, a northern environmental regulator told the federal cabinet that it wasn’t entirely
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