Yesterday I gave my testimony to the Joint Review Panel for the Northern Gateway Pipeline Project. Protesters in Vancouver January 2013 Some might argue it was an exercise in futility because ultimately Bill C-38 gives decision-making power for these projects to Cabinet. Perhaps. Yet yesterday on the fourth floor of
Continue readingTag: energy
Things Are Good: A Promising Biofuel
UC Berkeley chemical engineers have used an old way to make explosives to make biofuels more efficiently. They are using a technique that can turn sugar-rich plants (like corn and some grasses) into a liquid that acts like gasoline does know by providing a tiny explosive force when ignited. The
Continue readingEarthgauge Radio: Earthgauge Radio January 17: Keith Stewart of Greenpeace and Alex Hebert of SwitchHop.com
Download: earthgauge-podcast-jan17-2013.mp3 Earthgauge Radio returns this week with Keith Stewart of Greenpeace who will tell us about the December 2011 letter he obtained through an Access to Information request from oil companies to the Harper government. As it turns out, what the oil industry wants, the Harper government gives –
Continue readingEarthgauge Radio: Interview with Keith Stewart of Greenpeace
Download: keith-stewart-edited-forair.mp3 Roughly one year ago, the federal Minister of Natural Resources, Joe Oliver, issued an open letter attacking “environmental and other radical groups” that “threaten to hijack our regulatory system to achieve their radical ideological agenda.” Canada’s regulatory system was “broken”, he declared, and changing it was “an urgent matter of Canada’s
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Marc’s Enbridge Testimony
Testimony to the Joint Review Panel on the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project By Marc Lee, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives January 16, 2013 My name is Marc Lee, and I have served as an economist for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives for more than 14 years. Most recently I
Continue readingEarthgauge Radio: Tomorrow on Earthgauge Radio: what big oil wants, Harper gives, plus reducing your home energy bill with SwitchHop
Earthgauge Radio returns with our first show of 2013! Tomorrow on the program, we have an interview with Keith Stewart of Greenpeace who will tell us about the December 2011 letter he obtained through an Access to Information request from oil companies to the Harper government. As it turns out, what
Continue readingeaves.ca: The Northern Gateway Brief: Unhappy Political Options & Geo-Political Assessment
I spent much of last week in Alberta which, as anyone who has traveled across Canada knows, is a very different place from BC. While there, it became increasingly clear that talking about the oil sands in general, and the northern gateway pipeline in particular, was verboten. I spent my
Continue readingThings Are Good: Tidal Power in UK is Promising
The UK is looking into ways to make their power grid more environmentally sustainable and being an island nation they have looked into using tides. Tidal flows are predictable and reliable which means that power companies can predict energy generated from tide-powered turbines, unlike with unpredictable wind. A new study
Continue readingEclectic Lip: EV stats for British Columbia (2012)
The kind people at CEV for BC sent over some statistics on Clean Energy Vehicle rebates issued by the provincial government. While the CEV rebates were available for electric, natural gas, and fuel cell vehicles, my understanding is that the rebates break down as follows: – 308x EV’s – 0
Continue readingThings Are Good: Ontario Demands Less Energy Despite Economic Growth
The only region in North America that expects a decrease in power consumption is Ontario and it’s all thanks to energy conservation initiatives. This is really great because it proves that energy efficiency policies can make a difference in how much energy is required to power a growing economy. What’s
Continue readingEnvironmental Law Alert Blog: Raising your voice for the Enbridge JRP (in Victoria, Vancouver and Kelowna)
Thursday, January 3, 2013 Well, tomorrow (January 4th) the Enbridge Joint Review Panel arrives in Victoria. It’s in Vancouver on January 14th, and in Kelowna on the 28th. So this is a big month in the southern part of our province for those concerned about the Enbridge Pipeline and Tanker
Continue readingEclectic Lip: VEVA: end-of-2012 stats updates, and Vancouver area charging station updates
(Cross-posted from the VEVA mailing list and LinkedIn group) A few final updates, before the end of the year. 🙂 a) Metrotown’s charging stations — all 10 of them — should be up and running in January. I’ve been in touch with one of their project managers, who said he’d
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Deception and financial fakery for friends
A few days ago, I wrote Cronies, henchmen and the future and noted the loss of revenue government derives from natural resources, even though prices have risen dramatically in the past decade. BC Government revenue from natural resources, taken from annual public accounts, were these: 2001 = $3,975,000,000 2012 = $2,699,000,000
Continue readingEclectic Lip: Prius: a Crystal Anniversary (15 years)
A few Prius-inclined websites noted last week that Dec 10, 2012 marked the 15th anniversary of the Prius’ introduction in Japan. With the Prius (temporarily?) becoming the world’s 3rd-best-selling car brand in 2012, the anniversary probably deserves some reflection. 🙂 > As near as I can figure, Malcolm Gladwell-type book
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Marc’s Letter from 2040
The following comes from a short talk on a vision for a zero-carbon BC that I gave at a couple events this Fall. Many have asked for the text so I’ve posted it here, and we may try and turn it into a video. That said, I have been reluctant
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Peace region changes
Visit David Suzuki Foundation for links.
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Ottawa’s habitual condescension
A study conducted by UBC Fisheries Centre, funded by World Wildlife Fund Canada, notes in the summary abstract, “If [the economic value of social, cultural and environmental damages] are accounted for, all of the projected economic gains from the Enbridge Northern Gateway project could quickly turn into losses in the event of
Continue readingEclectic Lip: The US once was, but will never again be, the Saudi Arabia of oil
The idea that the US might one day produce more oil than Saudi Arabia, popularized by an International Energy Agency (IEA) report, has gone viral in recent weeks. It’s like the “Call Me Maybe” phenomenon, but for Very Serious People! 🙂 Alas, the idea that the US will out-produce Saudi Arabia
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Nexen & Progress Takeovers Approved: What Next?
The federal government’s announcement on Friday that it is approving two more big oilsands takeovers (by China’s CNOOC and Malaysia’s Petronas, both state-owned suitors) was political tap-dancing at its best. Prime Minister Harper’s speech listed several reasons why takeovers by foreign state-owned firms are a problem … but then proceeded
Continue readingEarthgauge Radio: Tomorrow on Earthgauge Radio: the Doha Climate Summit special!
Tomorrow on Earthgauge Radio on CKCU 93.1 FM, it’s our United Nations Doha Climate Summit special broadcast. We’ll hear audio from our correspondents on the ground in Qatar and a feature interview with the director of the remarkable new documentary film ‘Chasing Ice‘, which chronicles the astonishing changes currently taking
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