Oil companies have been up and down about investing more of their profits in green energy. Having made promises to do just that, recently they have backed off. The reason for the change of heart is simple. They make a lot more money investing in oil than they do in
Continue readingTag: oil and gas industry
Views from the Beltline: COP28 and the great transition
Maybe it took an oilman to do it. When Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber of the United Arab Emirates was appointed President of the UN Climate Change 2023 Conference (COP28), environmentalists threw up their hands in despair. Al Jaber was also head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. And the
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Public health and corporate iniquity
Forty-one states and the District of Columbia have sued Meta, owner of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, accusing it of using features that hook children to its platforms even as it claims its sites are safe for young people. According to Phil Weiser, Colorado’s attorney general, “Just like Big Tobacco
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The IPCC and the Alberta perspective
On March 20 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the final instalment of its Sixth Assessment Report. The report resulted from the work of 234 scientists on the physical science, 270 scientists on impacts, adaptation and vulnerabilities, and 278 scientists on mitigation. This is the bible on climate change. It isn’t
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The IPCC and the Alberta perspective
On March 20 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the final instalment of its Sixth Assessment Report. The report resulted from the work of 234 scientists on the physical science, 270 scientists on impacts, adaptation and vulnerabilities, and 278 scientists on mitigation. This is the bible on climate change. It isn’t
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: We are so very rich
The money just rolls in—$892 per second. We are wallowing in it. Alberta’s non-renewable resource revenue for the 2022/23 fiscal year is the highest in history, by far—40 percent higher than the previous high in 2005/05. Twenty-eight billion dollars. The windfall results from high oil prices, record production and higher
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Time to hit the oil companies up for some clean-up money?
The oil companies are rolling in it. According to the Pembina Institute their free cash flow will add up to $153-billion this year, the highest level of profits they have ever seen. And what are they doing with all this ready cash? Well, they aren’t investing it in new tar
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Finally, a true accounting from Alberta’s GHG emitters?
Alberta’s government and its oil companies are playing a bit of a shell game with GHG emissions. The story for the public is that the companies are shooting for net zero. They intend to effectively eliminate their carbon emissions. A commendable goal indeed. The problem with that very optimistic story
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Another dazzling bust to boom for Alberta
Having lived in Alberta on and off for over 60 years, I’ve seen my share of boom and bust cycles, perhaps our most well known economic phenomenon. But this last one has still surprised me. And for good reason. It is the largest in the province’s history. The driver, of
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Alberta—big winner of Covid relief
The Covid pandemic has, among other things, reminded us that we are indeed “all in it together,” requiring government leadership and assistance unprecedented in recent history. According to a report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, “federal and provincial governments have announced almost $600-billion in spending commitments across 849
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Albertans support net-zero by 2050, but …
A recent survey by Janet Brown Opinion Research, commissioned by the Pembina Institute, showed some encouraging attitudes of Albertans toward climate change. For example, two-thirds of those surveyed support the goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Albertans are not impressed by their government’s fight-back strategy in defending Alberta’s
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Research sheds light on dark corner of B.C.’s oil and gas industry
A field study by the David Suzuki Foundation and St. Francis Xavier University found methane pollution from B.C.’s oil and gas industry is at least 2.5 times higher than B.C. government estimates. The post Research sheds light on dark corner of B.C.’s oil and gas industry appeared first on The
Continue readingFinally, a voice Harper may listen to
A carbon tax is an eminently fair and sensible approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. And big oil agrees. At least Steve Williams, CEO of Canada’s largest oil and gas producer, Suncor Energy, does. Speaking to a downtown Calgary crowd on Friday, Williams stated, “We think climate change is happening.
Continue readingAlberta woes—It ain’t the economy, stupid
Here in Alberta, energy superpower, we are going through the bust part of one of our infamous boom and bust cycles. The premier is weighing the government’s options. Cutting MLA salaries, imposing health-care premiums and hiking post-secondary tuition are some of the ideas mentioned. He has even floated the possibility
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Harper Breaks Promise To Regulate Oil And Gas Emissions
In Parliament today, PM Stephen Harper said “it would be crazy economic policy” to regulate the Canadian oil and gas industry’s greenhouse gas emissions. The post Harper Breaks Promise To Regulate Oil And Gas Emissions appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingEnergy East—another reason why we need Quebec
Among the arguments that might be made to keep Quebec in Canada is simply that it’s our most progressive province. One can cite ample of evidence for this: it showed the strongest support for the Kyoto Accord and gay marriage, it has the most advanced child care program, it is
Continue readingThe folly of aping U.S. emissions policy
Our federal government’s policy on greenhouse gas emissions is simple: whatever the United States’ policy on greenhouse gas emissions is. And that means a target of reducing emissions by 17 per cent from 2005 to 2020. But, as the Pembina Institute pointed out this week, there is a very large
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: The Onion Skewers The Boom in Fracking PR Spin
theonion_logo.png In typically grand fashion, satirical news source The Onion has skewered the rise of misleading PR bankrolled by the oil and gas industry to defend the dangerous practice of fracking. Although the piece is not "real" news, anyone could be forgiven for taking it as fact since it isn't
Continue readingEnvironmental Law Alert Blog: Special treatment for oil industry means poor environmental laws
Thursday, May 3, 2012 The roll-back of Canada’s environmental laws – legal environmental protection that Canadians have worked for decades to put in place – give the oil and gas industry a host of changes that they've been asking for for years. While other industries will benefit, It may be
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Exposing the Gas Industry’s Myth of ‘Recycled Water’
fracking-photo-drink.jpg Reposted with permission from EcoWatch.org (a fantastic site that you should bookmark and visit often) Authored by Mackenzie Schoonmaker and Mike Dulong from Riverkeeper Every time the gas industry fracks, the public loses. We forfeit an enormous amount of fresh water from our rivers, lakes and streams, and we get
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