Protesting works! The absolutely foolish plan to make a massive pipeline to transport a heavily subsidized non-renewable energy source is dead. It is really dead. We’ve heard before that the project is over, only for it to come back to life. Obama and Trudeau both worked hard to ensure that
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Writings of J. Todd Ring: Big oil, pipelines, Trudeau, and energy security for Canada
Why does the Canadian government continue to subsidize the oil industry with billions of dollars a year when the environmental crisis demands the opposite, and when investment in energy efficiency, conservation and green energy create many more jobs? Why does Canada import 40% of the oil we consume when we
Continue readingThings Are Good: Keystone XL is Done, COP 21 Set to Start
You probably already heard the good news about the end of Keystone XL with Obama killing the proposal. This is a good symbolic step in ending the exploitation of the tar sands in Alberta, plus this comes just a few weeks before COP21. COP21 is the upcoming United Nations climate
Continue reading350 or bust: Pro-Keystone Vote Fails in US Senate
More good news on the climate front, after last week’s announcement of a US-China climate agreement. A few years ago, pro-Keystone XL pipeline legislation was depicted as a “no-brainer” by Washington insiders. It looks like our climate isn’t the only thing that’s changing; so is the political climate with regards
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: BC Ombudsperson slams province on environmental protection
Premier Clark’s chickens coming home to roost! The chickens are coming home to roost as Premier Christy Clark winds down the first year of her 4 year mandate to govern, protect and enhance life in BC. Have you noticed her low profile of late? If there are not any good
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Keystone: Harper & TransCanada asleep at the switch
Read this Bloomberg News article for an interesting analysis of the events behind the Obama stalling of the Keystone Pipeline approvals. Harper, a micro-manager at home, appears oblivious to how the environmental forces operate in the US, and TransCanada missed the boat, as well: On Aug. 31, just after the
Continue readingThe Ranting Canadian: The unholy trinity of the Alberta tarsands industry,…
The unholy trinity of the Alberta tarsands industry, the Conservative Party and the right-wing media has gone all-out in its attacks on Neil Young for his stance against their destructive policies and actions. One thing that these corporate wolves and subservient sheep overlook is that, of course, Neil Young
Continue readingLeft Over: Bitumen Off More Then They Can Chew…..
Northern Gateway pipeline to be running by 2018, says Enbridge Project will be approved in 2014 and moving oil by 2018, company says The Canadian Press Posted: Oct 02, 2013 6:46 AM PT Last Updated: Oct 02, 2013 7:44 AM PT Fascinating, isn’t it, how these oily creeps assume that they
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: Of Petrostates and Patriotism
If Alison Redford gets to define Canadian patriotism, then I don’t want to be patriotic. The Alberta premier yesterday accused federal NDP leader Thomas Mulcair of “a fundamental betrayal of Canada’s long-term economic interests” after the latter took a trip to DC in what is being widely interpreted as an
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: An Open Letter to Barack Obama and John Kerry
Dear President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry: As a concerned Canadian, I am writing to urge you to reject TransCanada’s application to build the Keystone XL pipeline for purposes of transporting dirty oil from Alberta’s tar sands to refineries in the United States. I assure you that
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Naomi Klein Speaks Out About The Kinder Morgan Pipeline To Vancouver
Here is a video taken over the Labour Day Weekend in North Vancouver. Naomi Klein may be best known for her book, ‘The Shock Doctrine.’ Well the good news is that she has joined the fight against reckless pipeline construction and increased tanker traffic through the port of Vancouver.
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Texas Refineries And Chemical Plants Releasing Tens Of Thousands Of Tons Of Pollution
gas-emissions_1.jpg A damning new report from the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) reveals some startling information regarding pollution in the state of Texas. According to the report, oil refineries and chemical plants in the state are releasing tens of thousands of tons of pollution every year, without as much as a
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: What To Expect When You’re Electing: Part 2 – Mitt Romney
Romney.jpg In Part 1 of this series, we explored the overall environmental issues that are facing the U.S., mostly as a part of coordinated attacks by politicians in Washington. In the next few articles, we’ll take a look at what each candidate has said or done in regards to both
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: B.C. Protest This Saturday to Stop Warren Buffett’s BNSF Coal Trains
shutterstock_14976709.jpg Warren Buffett, the third wealthiest man on the planet (net worth: $44 billion), often referred to as the "Oracle of Omaha," is the target of a May 5 action called for by Stop Coal B.C. Well, not Buffett directly, but a rail company he owns through his massive holding company, Berkshire
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Obama Sojourns to "Pipeline Crossroads of the World" for Campaign Speech
Cushing .jpg It's the multi-pronged fight that never seems to end. The Alberta Tar Sands have been near the forefront of the North American energy and climate debate, thanks in large part to growing public concern and grassroots efforts like Tar Sands Action, a campaign led by climate activists to block construction of the
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Warren Buffett Exposed: The Oracle of Omaha and the Tar Sands
Warren Buffett Barack Obama.png On January 23, Bloomberg News reported Warren Buffett's Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF), owned by his lucrative holding company Berkshire Hathaway, stands to benefit greatly from President Barack Obama’s recent cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline. If built, TransCanada's Keystone XL (KXL) pipeline would carry tar sands crude, or
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Demise of Keystone XL Means More Bakken Shale Gas Flaring
NA-Pipeline-Map-Theodora.png Damned if we do, damned if we don't – this is the CliffsNotes version of the ongoing Keystone XL pipeline debate. President Barack Obama recently halted TransCanada's proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline project, which would bring tar sands crude, or dilluted bitumen ("dilbit") from Alberta, B.C. through the heart of the U.S., to
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Without Facts on Their Side, Oil Shills Try to Buy Keystone Support on Twitter
As the internet reacts to the State Department's bold decision to deny the Keystone XL pipeline proposal, you're likely to come across the moans and cries of the stumbling Goliaths of Big Oil. Having lost the Keystone XL battle, the oil industry and its shills in Washington are falling back on
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Keystone XL Pipeline Would Increase Oil Prices in Midwest
Screen shot 2012-01-18 at 10.14.20 AM.png Twitter is ablaze with the news that the State Department will announce today that the original TransCanada presidential permit application is dead in the water. Details are murky, so stay tuned for more, but what this likely means is that the State Department will
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Bechtel Whistleblower Warns Against Keystone XL; Witnessed Shoddy Work on TransCanada’s Keystone I
Back in August, DeSmogBlog’s own Emma Pullman co-produced a startling infographic about how the first section of TransCanada’s Keystone pipeline system was “Built to Spill,” with a dozen spills recorded in the pipeline’s first year of operation. According to a must-read bombshell Op-Ed in the Lincoln Journal Star, these spills came
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