Given Calgary’s recent designation as the “greatest city in Canada” and the entire province enjoying sainthood status under the current Prime Minister, it is with some trepidation that I draw your attention to a story that could get me labelled as divisive and an environmental terrorist. In a column that
Continue readingTag: Enbridge
DeSmogBlog: Federal Investigation: "Complete Breakdown of Safety at Enbridge" Caused Kalamazoo River Tar Sands Oil Spill
Enbridge.jpg It was the most expensive pipeline oil spill in the country’s history, the fallout from which still plagues the local communities, and government investigators have found that it was entirely preventable. The National Transportation Safety Board released its findings from a two year investigation of the 2010 Enbridge tar
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Enbridge Mismanagement Caused Kalamazoo Tragedy, Says NTSB
Picture 2.png Enbridge, the Canadian company poised to build the controversial Northern Gateway Pipeline, received a scathing assessment this week from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) after an inquiry into a 2010 pipeline rupture in Michigan revealed the company’s mismanagement of what unfolded into a “tragic and needless” disaster.
Continue readingScott's DiaTribes: ‘It won’t happen here’ is the likely Conservative defence for Northern Gateway pipeline
The Conservative government can’t be liking this US preliminary report too much on the Enbridge oil spill in Michigan: Enbridge “employees performed like Keystone Kops” in addressing the spill, demonstrating “a culture of deviance,” whereby staff felt they could freely ignore company procedures and protocols. So lame was Enbridge’s response
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Rewards for success or failure
Paying Workers More to Fix Their Own Mess, David Leonhardt, New York Times, March 2009 ” ‘We cannot attract and retain the best and the brightest talent to lead and staff the A.I.G. businesses — which are now being operated principally on behalf of American taxpayers — if employees believe
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Trust in God, but not in Enbridge
Not long ago, an animated parody by editorial cartoonist Dan Murphy offended oil transporter Enbridge. The company tried to make Murphy’s troublesome work disappear by pumping up pressure in the Postmedia boardroom. That crude move simply ensured the cartoon enjoyed focused attention and wider distribution than if Enbridge had taken
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Wear This, Enbridge
“Trust Us.” That’s the theme behind Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline PR campaign. The company is desperate to get the public convinced they’re trustworthy. They’re pros, they know what they’re doing, they can handle any pipeline problems that come their way. Bollocks. At some point Enbridge is going to have to
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Vancouver voters dodged their own disaster
The November vote was not close but Vancouver and British Columbia dodged a disaster when Susan Anton’s mayoral campaign disappeared underwater. If you want to confirm that view, read David Beers July 4 article at The Tyee: NPA’s Anton pens love letter to the oil sands “…’Thomas Mulcair’s strong dislike,
Continue readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: Dogwood Initiative: Political Hardball Against Harper, Enbridge
We’re sending this e-mail because we want to make one thing crystal clear. Despite the best efforts of Canada’s federal government to fast track oil tanker and pipeline projects, we’re closer to stopping them than we’ve ever been. We’ve got a plan to play political hardball that can finish the
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: The DilBit Disaster: InsideClimate News’ Incredible In-Depth Report on Enbridge’s Kalamazoo Oil Spill
Ruptured-Enbridge-Pipeline-from-Kalamazoo-Spill-credit-NTSB.jpg By now, hopefully you've at least heard of the Kalamazoo River oil spill. read more
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Little research on effects of diluted bitumen
A Dilbit Primer: How It’s Different from Conventional Oil, Lisa Song, Inside Climate News, June 26, 2012 “Bitumen extracted from tar sands has the consistency of peanut butter and must be diluted to flow through pipelines. And that’s just the beginning. “When emergency responders rushed to Marshall, Mich. on July
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Video Enbridge (and Postmedia) wants hidden
Enbridge is presently engaged in an expensive advertising campaign. It serves two purposes. One aims at convincing Canadians that what they do is benign and beneficial. The other is to provide tangible rewards to the corporate media that repeatedly echoes the same message through content, either by supportive coverage or
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Rafe Mair raises his wise voice
No Souls but Lots of Cash, Rafe Mair, The Tyee, June 25, 2012 – BC’s crucial environmental battles pit citizens against politicians’ love of corporate money. “Corporations have a legal body but no conscience or soul. They look out for themselves alone and don’t give a rat’s posterior for anything
Continue reading350 or bust: Enbridge’s Slick New Ad Campaign Flounders
I spent last week taking an intensive course in citizen advocacy at the Canadian School of Peacebuilding in Winnipeg. It was a great week – I learned a lot and met some wonderful people. I’m home now, but brought home a souvenir that I’d rather do without – a very
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Enbridge Lobbyists Successfully Eliminated Fish Habitat Protections For Pipeline
Enbridge-Greenpeace.jpg Changes to the Fisheries Act limiting the protection of fish habitat did not, as it turns out, arise simply out of a series of complaints by disgruntled farmers hoping to fill in small patches of wetlands or municipalities seeking to repair bridges, as claimed by Minister Keith Ashfield. Briefing notes
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Nikiforuk examines Enbridge
Spill Crisis: ‘Whatever, We’re Going Home’, Andrew Nikiforuk, The Tyee “…damning U.S. regulatory reports portraying Calgary-based Enbridge as a company that ignored safety protocols and warning alarms as well as the recommendations of previous safety audits in what amounted to a botched response to one of the continent’s largest freshwater
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Trailbreaker Lives: How Plans to Bring Tar Sands Crude to the East Coast are "Going in Reverse"
With efforts to pump tar sands crude south and west coming up against fierce resistance, Canada’s oil industry is making a quiet attempt at an end run to the east. The industry is growing increasingly desperate to find a coastal port to export tar sands bitumen, especially now that the highly
Continue readingLeft Over: Aww,isn’t that just too Cute?
http://www.northerngateway.ca/news-and-media/northern-gateway-blogs Full of lies and pastel-soft illustrations, the Enbridge ‘blog’ is now being featured as a big ol’ ad in Hufpost Canada…pretty disgusting that they would even accept the money, but not much of a surprise.. You can go and look if you are feeling particularly masochistic – so far,
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Crude lies
Pipeline spill risks are low, Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines “… with modern pipeline design and mitigation measures, the risks are very low… “What we can say is that at Enbridge, we take our responsibility very seriously. An ounce of prevention may be worth a pound of cure, but we certainly
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: What is Harper Afraid Of? [Animated Video]
By Franke James Here is the animated video version of What Is Harper Afraid Of? See the cartoon from last week.
Continue reading