Mayor Gregor Robertson and Vancouver Council have some tough questions for Kinder Morgan (facebook) By Dene Moore, The Canadian Press VANCOUVER – Kinder Morgan has failed to answer many of the questions put to the company about its proposed Trans Mountain pipeline through the regulatory review process, charge a chorus
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The Common Sense Canadian: Rail expert: One year after Lac-Megantic, not much has changed
Emergency responders were unequipped to deal with Lac-Mégantic disaster, says a Quebec rail expert By Peter Rakobowchuk, The Canadian Press MONTREAL – An expert who examined the devastating train derailment in Lac-Megantic says no plans and equipment are in place to deal with a similar situation as the one-year anniversary
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Fracked wells emit 6 times more methane leaks: New Cornell study
By Seth Borenstein, The Associated Press WASHINGTON – In Pennsylvania’s gas drilling boom, newer and unconventional wells leak far more often than older and traditional ones, according to a study of state inspection reports for 41,000 wells. The results suggest that leaks of methane could be a problem for drilling
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Kinder Morgan bills customers for pipeline application
Artist’s rendering of proposed Kinder Morgan pipeline and tanker expansion Read this June 30 story from economist Robyn Allan on Kinder Morgan’s use of a special fee levied at its customers to fund its proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners Limited Partnership—a Texas based Master Limited Partnership—wants
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Kispiox Valley citizens band together against LNG pipelines
Some of the Kispiox Valley citizens opposed to LNG (Photo: NoMorePipelines.ca) A group of citizens from the Kispiox Valley – northwest of Smithers, BC – has signed a declaration “against the LNG projects proposed to pass through their community.” The approximately 160 signatures from local landowners and residents represents a
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: “BC LNG: Cold Gas, Hot Air” – video of Squamish presentation
Watch this video from last week’s “BC LNG: Cold Gas, Hot Air” presentation and discussion in Squamish – where the proposed Woodfibre project is currently in a public comment period. Featuring The Common Sense Canadian’s Damien Gillis on the 3 top myths surrounding BC LNG – that it’s a “clean” fossil fuel, that
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Shale oil highly volatile, experts confirm
The catastrophic explosion in Lac-Mégantic of a shale oil train brought the product’s volatility to the fore Read this June 24 story from the Wall Street Journal on the volatility of shale oil around the United States – making it challenging and dangerous to process and transport. Millions of barrels of crude
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Is Harper setting up BC govt to reject Northern Gateway?
Christy Clark photo: Darryl Dyck/CP) By Geoff Salomons To many, the recent decision by the Harper Government to approve the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline – a project it has so emphatically been pushing – is not surprising at all. What was surprising was the relative lack of fanfare in which
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Native law expert: First Nations hold power to stop Enbridge
Chiefs of the Tsimshian First Nation speak out against Enrbidge at a 2012 Prince Rupert rally Read this June 18 story by Carlito Pablo in the Georgia Straight, interviewing leading native law expert Jack Woodward on the ways in which First Nations-led lawsuits hold real power to stop Northern Gateway. The notion
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Fracking and earthquakes: US states mull new regulations
3.0-plus magnitude earthquakes in the midcontinental US. USGS By Emily Schmall And Kristi Eaton, The Associated Press AZLE, Texas – Earthquakes used to be almost unheard of on the vast stretches of prairie that unfold across the U.S. Midwestern states of Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma. But in recent years, they
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Gitga’at women erect symbolic blockade of Enbridge tanker route
Photo: Andrew Frank/Flickr By The Canadian Press HARTLEY BAY, B.C. – The women of the Gitga’at Nation of British Columbia planned to erect a symbolic blockade made of yarn across the Douglas Channel on Friday to protest the federal government’s approval of the Northern Gateway pipeline. The crochet chain was
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: CIBC: First Nations, lawsuits will block Enbridge for years
A Vancouver rally against proposed pipelines earlier this year (Damien Gillis) By Dene Moore, The Canadian Press VANCOUVER – One of the biggest hurdles for the Northern Gateway project is one the company has never had the means to address. Now that the project has received federal approval, the next
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Are pipeline spills good for the economy, as Kinder Morgan says?
Health concerns plague many who worked to clean up the BP oil spill (photo: Wikimedia Commons) Energy giant Kinder Morgan was recently called insensitive for pointing out that “Pipeline spills can have both positive and negative effects on local and regional economies, both in the short- and long-term.” The company
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: LNG: Cold Gas, Hot Air – June 27 event in Sqamish
Artist’s rendering of proposed Woodfibre LNG terminal in Howe Sound, BC In the midst of the public comment period for the proposed Woodfibre LNG project, My Sea to Sky is pleased to offer another opportunity to learn more about the natural gas industry – and dig deeper into the B.C.
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Woodfibre LNG: Public comment period begins for Squamish project
Citizens recently lined the highway outside Squamish to oppose Woodfibre LNG (My Sea to Sky) The BC Environmental Assessment Office is now open for public comment on the proposed Woodfibre LNG project near Squamish, BC. The comment period, which includes an open house session in Squamish on June 18, will run for
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Haida stand with Fort Nelson First Nation on LNG, fracking concerns
The Council of the Haida Nation (CHN) is vowing to support The Fort Nelson First Nation’s tough stand on proposed Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) development and the 600% increase in controversial shale gas fracking it would represent for their northeast BC territory. According to The Northern View, a recent visit to Haida
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Canada’s 500,000 leaky gas wells threaten groundwater, health, climate
Abandoned gas wells like this one can continue leaking methane for years (Photo: Wikimedia Commons) Read this June 5 story by Andrew Nikiforuk in The Tyee on a new report raising concerns about leakage from Canada’s 500,000 gas wells. The Common Sense Canadian reported recently on funding cutbacks by BC’s
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Enbridge battle far from over, even if Harper approves pipeline
By Dene Moore, The Canadian Press VANCOUVER – Some time in the next 10 days, the federal government is supposed to announce its final decision on the Northern Gateway pipeline — the multibillion-dollar political minefield dividing the West. Even detractors expect the federal government to give the $7-billion project the
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Pipeline debate gets truly “extreme” with police raid of suspected activists
An example of the “no pipeline” graffiti police were reacting to (gofundme.com crowdfunder) Read this June 5 story by The Tyee’s David Ball on the bizarre police raid of suspected pipeline protesters’ home over alleged graffiti. A crowdfunding campaign to cover legal expenses incurred by the arrested graffiti suspects surpassed its goal of $5,000 within
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Financial Post: Kinder Morgan pipeline now faces uphill battle
Kinder Morgan Canada President Ian Anderson at a Vancouver Board of Trade talk (photo: Kinder Morgan) Read this June 3 story from The Financial Post, detailing how Kinder Morgan’s plans to triple oil transport to its tanker terminal in Burnaby have gone from a “slam dunk” to an uphill battle. CALGARY —
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