(Reuters) - More than 50 top European and U.S. scientists have written to the European Commission president urging him to press ahead with a plan to label tar sands as more polluting than other forms of oil, in defiance of intensive lobbying from Canada. The draft law was kept on ice during trade talks between the European Union and Canada, the world's biggest producer of oil from tar sands, which culminated in a multi-million-dollar pact signed earlier this year.
Vancouver: The Joint Review Panel (the Panel) for the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Project today recommended that the federal government approve the project, subject to 209 required conditions. Based on a scientific and precautionary approach to this complex review, the Panel found that the project, if built and operated in compliance with the conditions set out in its report, would be in the public interest.
A second pipeline proposal to transport oil to Asia was officially launched on Monday when Kinder Morgan filed a project application for its $5.4-billion Trans Mountain expansion. The project would nearly triple oil capacity to 890,000 barrels annually and bring about 400 more tankers a year into Burrard Inlet (up from about 80) if it is approved by the National Energy Board and subsequently by the federal government. The 1,150-kilometre pipeline will carry diluted bitumen from the Alberta oilsands, starting in Edmonton, through Jasper and across B.C.
The bills, though introduced in different states, all appear to have drawn their inspiration from the same source: the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a network of Republican lawmakers and big business that has been quietly effective in pushing its conservative agenda in states across the country. In the case of Keystone, few, if any, of the ALEC-inspired resolutions have passed.
VANCOUVER, COAST SALISH TERRITORIES – This morning, activists with Rising Tide-Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories dropped a banner reading “Coal, Oil, Gas: None Shall Pass” outside Port Metro Vancouver’s head office at Canada Place, in opposition to the proposed Fraser Surrey Docks coal terminal. “This coal export project is part of a push to make BC a gateway to profits for the fossil fuel industry.
. . . the past few months have also yielded rare glimpses into the preparations major oil and gas companies are making for a disorienting future. The four headline-making disclosures listed below show them reckoning like never before with increasingly powerful opponents, a global energy system in transition, the financial risk of rising carbon emissions and bitter economic rivalries.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - More allies are forming to fight against the Northern Gateway Pipeline project. A solidarity accord has now been launched, and it is being backed by some heavy hitters. The BCTF, Unifor, the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment are all on board. More than 130 First Nations have signed the ‘Save the Fraser’ declaration. Jim Dehart wit the BC Wilderness Tourism Association also maintains the project is simply too dangerous. “We feel a risk to our environment, to our homes and to our businesses is unacceptable.
Vancouver is looking at seeking intervenor status at National Energy Board hearings on Kinder Morgan's proposed expansion of the TransMountain pipeline. Mayor Gregor Robertson tabled a motion proposing the action today (December 4), following a report from deputy city manager Sadhu Johnston on the potential impacts of increased oil tankers in region. Kinder Morgan is expected to submit its formal application to the National Energy Board this month to twin its pipeline from Alberta to Burnaby.
