Even if twinning the Kinder-Morgan pipeline doesn’t go ahead, the Salish Sea will not be saved — unless something bold, principled and practical is done, and soon.
The endangered southern resident Orca whales, the depleting fisheries of Puget Sound, the sewage dumps into Juan de Fuca Strait, the toxic leachates from old mineshafts and coal-storage pits along the Island’s east coast, and the plans that would see industrial sites such as an LNG plant located in Howe Sound: these all point to incremental destruction. As it stands now a long, slow death awaits the Salish Sea.
Jan 2, 2017 - As oil prices rose and fell, the federal government somehow wrestled a national agreement on climate change — with two notable exceptions. The fates of pipelines that had consumed public interest for years were drawn, while others were punted into the future. Canada’s beleaguered oil and gas industry faced an uncertain year with a new Liberal government in Ottawa, and 2017 looks like it will have its own share of big shifts.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, B.C. Premier Christy Clark and Alberta Premier Rachel Notley have cooked up a sweet deal. Trudeau and Notley get their pipeline to tidewater, while Clark gets federal approval for the Site C dam and the Petronas liquefied fracked-gas plant.
The three-way political backscratching has a high price, and the people of British Columbia will be paying it.
[VESG member reports:"David Black of Black Press was on the CBC Early Edition this morning arguing against Kinder Morgan and for setting up a refinery on the north coast instead (Prince Rupert?). He had some interesting nuggets on the Exxon Valdez grounding.
1) The ship lost only 8% of its load. [Editor: Black said an eighth of its load]
2) The most intensive part of the cleanup took four years.
3) 11,000 workers and 1,400 vessels were involved.
4) Only 7% of the spill was actually able to be cleaned up.
As oil prices rose and fell, the federal government somehow wrestled a national agreement on climate change — with two notable exceptions. The fates of pipelines that had consumed public interest for years were drawn, while others were punted into the future. Canada’s beleaguered oil and gas industry faced an uncertain year with a new Liberal government in Ottawa, and 2017 looks like it will have its own share of big shifts. For the year that was, here are the top five energy stories.
Allow me to introduce myself. I am a lifelong, pretty old British Columbian who loves his province with the same passion I’m sure people in Trois Rivières love theirs. Your inferential calling BC’s patriotism into question because we will vigorously oppose your approval of the Kinder Morgan pipeline demonstrates clearly that you’re quite unable to understand this, your connections to BC notwithstanding.
Metro asked B.C. public figures for their resolutions for 2017 — and what keeps them hopeful after a year panned by many as a bit of a write-off.
Dec 30, 2016 - Ahead of New Year's Day, Metro asked several B.C. public figures and artists for some of their resolutions for 2017 — and what keeps them hopeful after a year that's been panned by many as a bit of a write-off.
Ottawa's move to ban offshore oil and gas licensing in Canadian Arctic waters prompted a shrugging of shoulders Tuesday from energy industry observers who point out there are no drilling plans in the region now, partly due to exorbitant costs.
The measure announced Tuesday by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was part of a joint announcement with the U.S. President Barack Obama.
When Stephanie Green and a team of seven other scientists first began their latest research study more than two years ago in Vancouver, she said they were driven by curiosity.
Green, a Canadian, is a Banting post-doctoral fellow at Stanford University in California. She specializes in marine ecology and conservation science.
OTTAWA - The federal government is seeking a way to regulate underwater shipping noise as part of its plan to protect an endangered group of killer whales from increased oil tanker traffic off Vancouver.
The news comes as environmental groups are poised to file a new lawsuit challenging the Liberal cabinet's approval of Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, alleging the government failed to mitigate the project's impact on the iconic southern resident killer whales.
