Climate science deniers are becoming desperate as their numbers diminish in the face of incontrovertible evidence that human-caused global warming is putting our future at risk. Although most people with basic education, common sense and a lack of financial interest in the fossil fuel industry accept what scientists worldwide have proven through decades of research, […]
Oil
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SCIENCE MATTERS: True leaders work for us, not the fossil fuel industry
Some politicians believe protecting a sunset industry’s interests is more important than looking out for the citizens who elected them. In Australia, the coal industry holds sway over government policy. In Canada, bitumen and fracked gas rule. In the US, it’s all of the above. Fortunately, many people, especially youth, are heeding the rational voices […]
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SCIENCE MATTERS: As fracking booms, report finds we know little about impacts
Earthquakes, methane emissions, scarred landscapes, water depletion and contamination are just a few known effects of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. There’s also a lot we don’t know—but that hasn’t stopped governments and industry from throwing caution to the wind and fracking as if there’s no tomorrow. Fracking wells in Saskatchewan multiplied a hundredfold in 10 […]
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Know comment
The Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board has an extensive public relations department, yet it seemed determined to avoid relating with “How your paycheque supports fracking in Colorado.” The PR team did not respond to multiple phone messages, email requests for an interview or a list of emailed questions sent over the course of more than […]
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How your paycheque supports fracking in Colorado
I t’s a familiar story. A rich country develops oil fields in a heavily indebted nation with lax environmental rules. Local residents object, saying oil and gas extraction degrades their air, water, quality of life. Protests mount as the foreign energy company steamrolls the permitting process. The rich country tries to influence local elections in […]
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SCIENCE MATTERS: Government should heed Unist’ot’en message
I visited the Unist’ot’en camp near Kitimat, BC, a year ago. The people, led by Chief Freda Huson, are trying to re-establish a sustainable relationship with territory that has enabled them to flourish for millennia. Ever since colonization and settlement, much of that traditional way of life has been lost or seriously constrained. These are […]
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Offshore drilling a recipe for disaster
Robert Bea is a professor emeritus at the Center for Catastrophic Risk Management at the University of California Berkeley. He has five decades experience in engineering and management of design, construction, maintenance, operation and decommissioning marine systems including offshore platforms, pipelines and floating facilities. He was also one of several experts to provide analysis at […]
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In memoriam: Energy East (2013-2017)
Energy East, the gargantuan, $16-billion pipeline project that would have transported over one million barrels of oil a day from Alberta to New Brunswick, has died. It was four-years-old. Parent company TransCanada announced the death of its 4,500-kilometre pipeline baby on Thursday morning. Chief executive officer Russ Girling offered his thanks to the businesses, Irvings and […]
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SCIENCE MATTERS: Study finds Exxon misled the public by withholding climate knowledge
Coal, oil and gas are tremendous resources: solar energy absorbed by plants and super-concentrated over millions of years. They’re potent fuels and provide ingredients for valuable products. But the oil boom, spurred by improved drilling technology, came at the wrong time. Profits were (and still are) the priority—rather than finding the best, most efficient uses […]
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SCIENCE MATTERS: “World class” may not mean much when it comes to oil spill response
[Image-1] In July, a pipeline leak near Maidstone, Saskatchewan, spilled about 250,000 litres of diluted oil sands bitumen into the North Saskatchewan River, killing wildlife and comprising drinking water for nearby communities, including Prince Albert. It was one of 11 spills in the province over the previous year. In October, a tugboat pulling an empty […]
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Tuesday’s 7 things you need to know
1 Shell Canada has received the go-ahead to start exploratory oil drilling in the Shelburne Basin. Environment minister Leona Aglukkaq’s environmental assessment claims the nearly $1 billion energy project doesn’t pose a significant environmental threat. Milage on “significant” will vary. As John Davis points out in the Shelburne County Coast Guard, Stantec’s environmental assessment of […]
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Halifax Geared Up
Halifax’s environmental community has its eyes firmly on Copenhagen, where 15,000 representatives from 192 countries have gathered to negotiate the world’s response to climate change. Those who stayed home are finding other ways to make their voices heard, in a two-week series of protests, vigils, and workshops. The Ecology Action Centre and Sierra Club teamed […]