Shale Gas Issues From Various Jurisdictions ...... 6 Foreword ...... 6 Contamination and Science ...... 8 Thousands of area gas leaks poison environment, kill trees ...... 8 Landmark Paper Underestimated Methane Leaks from Gas Production, Study Says ...... 8 EPA Proposes New Rules to Cut Climate Change-Causing Methane Emissions ...... 9 One Year in FLIR: Exposing invisible fracking air pollution ...... 9 New technique shows shale-drilling additives in drinking-water taps near leak ...... 9 Marcellus Shale drillers fined for methane migration ...... 10 Renewable Energy ...... 11 Information Morning - NS - Pros and cons of solar power for homeowners ...... 11 Hawaii’s Governor Dumps Oil and Gas in Favor of 100 Percent Renewables ...... 11 Science and Health ...... 12 A Texas man left permanently disabled from burns after fracking causes water well to explode ... 12 Living near fracking wells raises risk of heart failure, nerve damage, cancer and more, study shows ...... 12 Food Irrigated With Fracking Water May Require Labels In California ...... 12 What Being “New Texas” really means for Pennsylvania ...... 13 Chemicals used for fracking may harm human development ...... 13 Economics, Legal, and Investigations ...... 14 Shale Gas Reality Check ...... 14 New UN report finds almost no industry profitable if environmental costs were included ...... 14 Jessica Ernst speaks about her water contamination to CBC at Calgary ...... 15 Colorado oil production on path to depletion, CU study warns ...... 15 Marcellus shale drillers, Pa. settle 3 cases of fouling water supplies, pay $374K ...... 15 Shale gas production expected to decline ...... 15 Environment and Enjoyment of Property ...... 17 The Point of No Return: Climate Change Nightmares Are Already Here ...... 17 The reality of global warming: We’re all frogs in a pot of slowly boiling water ...... 17 El Nino this year could be a record-breaker ...... 17 El Nino drought spurs new cargo limits in Panama Canal ...... 18 EcoAlert Magazine is transformed! ...... 18 Climate change: Municipalities unprepared for 'weather whiplash,' warns meteorologist ...... 18 Sea level has climbed 8 centimetres since 1992 ...... 19 Why solar may be the next shale Embedded video ...... 19 Ten years after Katrina, Gulf washing away Louisiana coast Embedded video ...... 19 Three Category 4 hurricanes have just hit the Pacific Ocean at the same time ...... 19 Obama on Climate Change: Act Now or Condemn World to a Nightmare Embedded video ...... 20 Government, Meetings, News, and Letters ...... 21 Lisa Harris refuses to participate at the Aug 8th Town Meeting - Miramichi ...... 21 Final Report of the Independent Review of Coal Seam Gas Activities in NSW ...... 21 7 times Stephen Harper misled Canadians during the debate ...... 21 NBASGA presentation to New Brunswick Commission on Hydraulic Fracturing ...... 22 The war on brains ...... 22 'A great silence is spreading over the natural world' ...... 22 Xiuhtezcatl, Indigenous Climate Activist at the High-level event on Climate Change ...... 23 Hey Steve: The Sequel ...... 23 New Brunswick News ...... 24 Maliseet clan mother: This is our territory and we’re not going to let anybody destroy it ...... 24 BC Lawyer Retained by IMW/Kopit Lodge at Elsipogtog to Protect Sikniktuk, Mi’kma’ki ...... 24 Saint John police respond to derailment on Bayside Drive ...... 24
1 Tobique flies the New Brunswick consultative coop, here comes TransCanada ...... 25 Elsipogtog group to make claim on large part of New Brunswick Embedded video ...... 25 Year of the Environment at Mount Allison: Speaker Series ...... 25 Maritime News ...... 27 Alton gas project report released ...... 27 Information Morning - Fredericton | Aug 12, 2015 - Elsibogtog Hires Lawyer ...... 27 The Piecemeal Infringement of Treaty Rights ...... 27 Government Too Slow on Response to Shoal Point Oil Leak: NDP Critic ...... 27 A Canadian Province Has Killed a Renewable Energy Program That Was the First of Its Kind ..... 28 Public input sought on BP drilling ...... 28 Bear Head LNG export licence approved by National Energy Board ...... 28 Canadian News ...... 30 Can First Nations Claim Aboriginal Rights and Title as well as Treaty Rights? ...... 30 Other News ...... 31 Indigenous Community Wins Land Rights Victory in Guatemala After 200 Years of Struggle ...... 31 Texas: Oil and Water Do Not Mix ...... 31 Italy’s Eni discovers ‘largest-ever’ gas field in Mediterranean Sea off Egypt ...... 31 Water ...... 32 Leaders in Hugo vote to terminate water contract with firm ...... 32 Activists Reclaim Water from Detroit Mayor’s Home and Redistribute it to the Community ...... 32 New Water Use Restrictions Highlight Influence of Climate on Oilsands, Need for Stronger Rules ...... 32 The phenomenon that can not be spoken in Florida continues as salt water intrusion moves inland ...... 33 Water wars? Devastating shortages will fuel MidEast conflicts for 25 yrs – report ...... 33 Fracking and Earthquakes ...... 35 Alberta Earthquakes Tied to Fracking, Not Just Wastewater Injection ...... 35 Fracking halted temporarily after 4.6-magnitude earthquake near Fort St. John ...... 35 B.C. LNG industry will increase fracking-caused earthquakes: expert ...... 35 Oil and Pipelines ...... 37 TransCanada Keystone XL Hits New Turbulence As South Dakota Permit Hearing Implodes Over Pipeline Corrosion, Market Demand ...... 37 Harper gov’t appoints Kinder Morgan consultant to NEB ...... 37 Zebra mussels corroding Straits of Mackinac oil pipeline, claims environmental coalition ...... 38 'Pinhole' leak in U.P. gas pipeline raises fears ...... 38 National Energy Board's impartiality over pipeline decisions questioned ...... 38 Shelburne Oil: Environmental Risk Understated ...... 39 Landowners unable to terminate aging pipeline contracts ...... 39 In Canada, officials keep close watch on environmental activists ...... 40 Shell given OK to take 21 days to cap a deep well oil blowout off N.S. coast ...... 40 Information Morning - NS What oil companies are required to do if there is a spill in the Shelburne Basin ...... 41 Activists Reclaim Water from Detroit Mayor’s Home and Redistribute it to the Community ...... 41 Capping oil well blowouts within 24 hours too expensive, says Ottawa ...... 41 Gas line explodes in Weld County Embedded video ...... 42 Information Morning - NS What oil companies are required to do if there is a spill in the Shelburne Basin ...... 42 What you should know about crude oil on trains coming through PA ...... 42 A Danger on the Rails - The New York Times ...... 43 Irving Oil tanker cars causing worries for some Saint John businesses ...... 43 Opinion: TransCanada shows lack of commitment on Energy East ...... 43
2 Energy East a waste: Let’s move from greed economy to green one ...... 44 Canada to US natural gas pipeline shut down due to hydrogen sulphide ...... 44 Oil Tain Blast Zone - Forest Ethics ...... 45 30 blue herons found dead at Syncrude Mildred Lake site ...... 46 Permits Required to Build TransCanada’s Keystone XL Pipeline in Jeopardy As Hearings Reveal Missteps ...... 46 Is the Oil Industry Off a Cliff or Just in a Down Cycle? ...... 46 A Massive Oil Pipeline Under the Great Lakes Is Way Past Its Expiration Date Embedded video . 47 Revealed: Canadian government spent millions on secret tar sands advocacy ...... 47 Filmmakers Connect Pipeline Opponents from BC to New Brunswick ...... 47 Hearing Into Allegations That CSIS Spied On Pipeline Opponents Set To Begin ...... 48 CSIS surveillance of pipeline protesters faces federal review ...... 48 Information Morning - Fredericton | Aug 12, 2015 - Elsibogtog Hires Lawyer ...... 48 Kinder Morgan pipeline review by NEB loses 35 participants over 'flawed' process ...... 48 Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion could cost Canada $22.1B, says SFU study . 49 Energy East Pipeline's Risks Outweigh Benefits, Ontario Energy Board Says ...... 49 Kinder Morgan stock under siege, pipeline expansion a shaky bet ...... 50 Moscow river catches fire after pipeline bursts – video ...... 50 TransCanada’s Energy East Pipeline: what you need to know ...... 50 Risk to our freshwater system ...... 50 Full list of NB waterways at risk by TransCanada’s Energy East Pipeline ...... 50 New Water Use Restrictions Highlight Influence of Climate on Oilsands, Need for Stronger Rules ...... 51 TransCanada’s Energy East Pipeline: Too Much Risk for the Bay of Fundy-Gulf of Maine ...... 51 TransCanada disputes claim that Energy East pipeline would stress whales ...... 51 Spin Cycle: Will all of the oilsands be developed? ...... 52 Irving Oil will announce massive refinery maintenance project ...... 52 Government Too Slow on Response to Shoal Point Oil Leak: NDP Critic ...... 53 Alberta Energy Regulator responds to 100,000-litre spill in northwestern Alberta ...... 53 Shouting whales, tar balls, fog and jobs - Report highlights all the reasons why not Energy East . 53 Maritime Noon - Energy East and the Bay of Fundy, Your Thoughts, … ...... 54 Shift - NB Energy East too big a risk? ...... 54 Enbridge Line 9 changing hands ...... 54 Art's Place ...... 54 Redacted diary reveals oil's hidden route to Harper ...... 55 Montrealers asked to weigh in on Energy East pipeline project ...... 55 Ontario prepares for Energy East hearings ...... 56 The Big Fix - BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Cover up ...... 56 NEB delays Kinder Morgan pipeline hearing due to conflict of interest issue ...... 56 Public input sought on BP drilling ...... 56 The Dry Weather That’s Hitting The Tar Sands Industry Is ‘A Preview Of The Future,’ Scientist Says ...... 57 National Energy Board hearings into Trans Mountain pipeline expansion postponed ...... 57 TransCanada's 54 year old time bomb explodes ...... 57 TransCanada's Energy East pipeline clears another hurdle ...... 58 Bear Head LNG export licence approved by National Energy Board ...... 58 Oil Field Workers Keep Dying, and the Feds Want to Know Why ...... 59 Canadian doctors divest from fossil fuels ...... 59 New Jersey’s $225 Million Settlement With Exxon Mobil Is Approved ...... 59 Photos of Ruptured Pipeline Finally Released ...... 60 This Map Shows Every Pipeline Spill In The U.S. For The Past 28 Years (VIDEO) ...... 61
3 Unmapped, unregulated maze of rural pipelines poses hidden risks ...... 61 TransCanada drilling boreholes in Bay of Fundy before project is approved ...... 61 Alarm sounded as TransCanada set to drill in Bay of Fundy ...... 62 Tobique flies the New Brunswick consultative coop, here comes TransCanada ...... 62 First Nations Group Occupy Lelu Island to Save Flora Banks ...... 62 Ombudsman investigating need for separate provincial environmental review of TransCanada’s Energy East Pipeline ...... 63 2015 Canaport Energy East Marine Terminal Geotechnical Program Information Package - Bore Holes ...... 63 Shell retiree sits on Board that will decide if company can wait weeks to cap offshore blowouts ... 63 Commentary: The Right Whale and The Wrong Company ...... 64 Saint John community group wants to stop TransCanada drill test ...... 64 RCMP planning mass arrest of indigenous activists under Bill C-51, supporters warn ...... 64 Raiding Unist'ot'en camp would be "disastrous", B.C. RCMP warned ...... 65 RCMP say they have no intention of "taking down" Unist'ot'en Camp ...... 65 Regulator orders Nexen Energy to suspend operation of 95 pipelines in Alberta ...... 66 RCMP planning mass arrests at pipeline protest camp, northern B.C chiefs fear ...... 66 Prime minister using national security to distract from faltering economy, says Grand Chief ...... 66 B.C. LNG industry will increase fracking-caused earthquakes: expert ...... 67 Environmental advocates take NEB fight to Supreme Court ...... 67 Court Challenges to National Energy Board or Governor in Council Decisions ...... 68 Mining ...... 69 Mining industry still horrified by Mount Polley tailings pond collapse: Bennett ...... 69 ‘A crime scene’: Mount Polley one year after mining disaster ...... 69 Animas River closed to public Embedded video ...... 69 EPA Crew Accidentally Turns Animas River Orange ...... 70 N.B. warned about smelter health hazards, documents show ...... 70 Toxic Fallout Continues as Colorado Mine Spill Declared Three Times Larger Than Stated ...... 70 AFNCNB Submission To the Sisson EIA Panel ...... 71 Submission To Sisson Review Panel From The Assembly Of First Nations’ Chiefs In New Brunswick ...... 71 Lakes across Canada face being turned into mine dump sites ...... 71 Sisson Mine Project Conservation Council of New Brunswick ...... 72 Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency Environmental Impact Assessment Report Sisson Brook MIne ...... 72 In Minnesota, fight between mining and environment gets personal ...... 72 Canadian Mining Undermines Democracy in Central America ...... 72 Forestry ...... 74 Glyphosate - IARC Monographs - 112 ...... 74 The government of NB is willing to abandon 160 jobs in the Miramichi ...... 74 This is how the government of NB is causing the demise of the Miramichi Lumber mill...... 74 Glyphosate testing now available! Glyphosate detected in human blood, urine and breast milk - are you contaminated? ...... 74 Miramichi people are pissed off! - produced by Charles Thériault ...... 74 MIramichi Jobs Protest CBC Atlantic Tonight - August 08, 2015 at 10 minutes 50 seconds ...... 74 Scrum at the end of the rally in Miramichi (Denis Landry) ...... 75 Men in New Brunswick have an exceptionally high rate of non-Hodgkins lymphoma...... 75 Dr. Cleary, NB’s Medical Officer of Health, to comment soon re: Kent County Glyphosate concerns ...... 75 Charles Thériault speaks at Miramichi Survival Town Hall meeting August 8th 2015 ...... 76 Miramichi rallies against job losses ...... 76
4 Wake up Miramichi by Charles Theriault ...... 76 Premier Gallant talks about jobs and forestry ...... 77 Stop the economic disaster on the Miramichi ...... 77 Activity Map - Crown Land, Herbicide Program 2015 ...... 77 Transcriptome profile analysis reflects rat liver and kidney damage following chronic ultra-low dose Roundup exposure ...... 77 Garth Hood from Fredericton reveals how few jobs are created from NB forest ...... 77 Maternal and fetal exposure to pesticides associated to genetically modified foods in Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada...... 77 Detection of Glyphosate Residues in Animals and Humans - Environmental & Analytical Toxicology ...... 78 Video Links ...... 79 Jessica Enst at Memramcook ...... 79 Jessica Ernst speaks about her water contamination to CBC at Calgary ...... 79 Lisa Harris refuses to participate at the Aug 8th Town Meeting - Miramichi ...... 79 The government of NB is willing to abandon 160 jobs in the Miramichi ...... 79 Information Morning - NS - Pros and cons of solar power for homeowners ...... 79 This is how the government of NB is causing the demise of the Miramichi Lumber mill...... 79 A Danger on the Rails - The New York Times ...... 79 EPA Crew Accidentally Turns Animas River Orange ...... 79 Miramichi people are pissed off! - produced by Charles Thériault ...... 80 Charles Thériault speaks at Miramichi Survival Town Hall meeting August 8th 2015 ...... 80 Miramichi Town Hall Meeting Aug, 8 2015 Parts 1 and 2 ...... 80 Miramichi Town Hall Meeting Aug, 8 2015 Parts 1 and 2 ...... 80 Wake up Miramichi by Charles Theriault ...... 80 Premier Gallant talks about jobs and forestry ...... 80 The Corporation Full Length ...... 80 Stop the economic disaster on the Miramichi ...... 80 The Big Fix - BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Cover up ...... 80 Garth Hood from Fredericton reveals how few jobs are created from NB forest ...... 81 This Map Shows Every Pipeline Spill In The U.S. For The Past 28 Years (VIDEO) ...... 81 First Nations Group Occupy Lelu Island to Save Flora Banks ...... 81 Xiuhtezcatl, Indigenous Climate Activist at the High-level event on Climate Change ...... 81
5 Shale Gas Issues From Various Jurisdictions
Foreword
The following documents have been collected by searching the web for information related to shale gas and from the Following web sites and
New Brunswick is NOT For Sale http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_132079906855023
New Brunswickers Concerned About Shale Gas http://www.facebook.com/ccnbshalegas
Ban Hydraulic Fracturing (hydro-fracking) In New Brunswick, Canada http://www.facebook.com/BanFrackingNB
Know Shale Gas NB – Support the legal action to stop Shale Gas in NB http://noshalegasnb.ca/news
NoShaleGasNB http://www.facebook.com/NoShaleGasNB
Shale Gas Info http://www.facebook.com/shalegas
Upriver Environment Watch http://www.facebook.com/groups/UpRiver/
Fracidental Drillers http://www.facebook.com/groups/133930663364584/
Fracking Research and New Brunswick, Canada http://nbfrackingresearch.com/
Facebook Groups: USA - A FACEBOOK FULL OF FRACTIVISTS: State-by-State Listings http://keeptapwatersafe.org/facebook-groups-usa/
Propublica – Links to many articles on Fracking http://www.propublica.org/series/fracking
Another good site: Fracking, Shale Gas and Health http://frackingandhealth.ca/
Is Our Forest Really Ours? http://isourforestreallyours.com/Isourforestreallyours/Welcome.html http://isourforestreallyours.com/Isourforestreallyours/Start_here.html https://www.facebook.com/groups/132079906855023/#!/groups/258525050949366/
More facebook information https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=617426124942641
6 United Opponents of Fracking International http://portjervisny.com/uaf.htm
SHALE GAS ALERTS NEW BRUNSWICK https://www.facebook.com/groups/112468105590081/? hc_location=stream#!/groups/112468105590081/
New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance / anti-gaz de schiste du N.-B http://www.noshalegasnb.ca/our-resources/
7 Contamination and Science
Thousands of area gas leaks poison environment, kill trees
Across the state, officials believe there are close to 25,000 leaks in natural gas lines. Most of them receive “grade three” legal status, which means the energy companies have no obligation to fix them. Unless it's concentrated in a way that could lead to explosions, the gas continues to spill into the ground and then the atmosphere unabated.
In 2014, when the state passed legislation aimed at fixing gas leaks, it relegated the leaks to three grades. Grade one indicates the risk of an explosion. These the gas companies need to fix right away. Grade two means the leak has less of a risk but could grow worse. Those the company has six months to fix. Grade three leaks can go on leaking forever, so long as the company monitors them. Of the 25,000 leaks, officials estimate only 2,000 are grade one or grade two.
In Natick, there are 147 unrepaired gas leaks, according to an Eversource report filed with the DPU in March. The oldest one has been leaking since 2011. In Framingham, there are 230. The oldest has leaked for 10 years. In both towns, that averages to eight every square mile. http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20150801/NEWS/150809580/?Start=1
Landmark Paper Underestimated Methane Leaks from Gas Production, Study Says
Since 2003, a commonly used methane detector has been underestimating leak rates that feed into the national greenhouse gas registry.
In a new report, Touché Howard, a methane gas expert and air quality consultant, says the flaws he found in a commonly used methane detector caused an acclaimed 2013 study to underestimate the amount of methane emitted by natural gas production. Howard's paper was published today in the peer-reviewed journal Energy Science & Engineering.
Led by David Allen, a chemical engineering professor at the University of Texas-Austin, the study's researchers sampled 150 natural gas production sites around the U.S and extrapolated their results to a national leak rate for the industry.
Much of the Allen team data, derived by monitoring methane leaks from pumps, valves and other equipment, came from the Bacharach Hi-Flow Sampler, a portable instrument that measures methane emissions.
In the study published today, Howard said the Bacharach device can fail to correctly identify the amount of natural gas leaking into the air. When the flaw occurs, it always results in an underestimate, he said, and it's nearly impossible to detect the problem while it's occurring. "It wasn't their fault" that this happened, Howard said of Allen's research team. http://insideclimatenews.org/news/04082015/landmark-paper-underestimated-methane-leaks-gas- production-study-says
8 EPA Proposes New Rules to Cut Climate Change-Causing Methane Emissions
The announcement is part of a continued White House effort to address climate change
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on proposed Tuesday dramatic cuts to methane gas emissions from the country’s oil and gas industry, part of a broader White House push to address climate change. The regulations, the first ever of their kind, play a key role in the Obama administration’s goal of cutting overall methane emissions by 40 to 45% over the next decade from 2012 levels.
The proposed rule will directly lead to a 20 to 30% reduction in methane emissions from the energy industry, Janet McCabe, acting assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, said on a conference call for journalists. The EPA did not specify how the U.S. plans to make the further methane cuts needed to reach Obama’s 40 to 45% goal. http://time.com/4001548/epa-methane-rules/
One Year in FLIR: Exposing invisible fracking air pollution
One year ago, thanks to the generous support of Earthworks members, we bought a FLIR Gasfinder camera to expose otherwise invisible air pollution from fracking and drilling operations.
With this camera, we are able see what industry is trying to hide, and show that fracking isn't clean or safe. We put the results of this technology in the hands of everyday citizens living with oil and gas in their backyard so they can see what's really going on and demand action.
We call it the Citizens Empowerment Project.
Today, we have almost 150 videos documenting fracking pollution in California, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. And that's just the beginning.
In our first year pounding the pavement, exposing pollution and listening to similar stories of nosebleeds, nausea, headaches and heartache across the country, we learned a lot. https://www.earthworksaction.org/earthblog/detail/one_year_in_flir_exposing_invisible_fracking_air_poll ution#.Vdax4Uu9Kc0
Citizens Empowerment Project by Earthworks• 146 videos• https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9BS7nDf-8tp79KUiH5wQQyuoiLt8C6UU
New technique shows shale-drilling additives in drinking-water taps near leak
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Substances commonly used for drilling or extracting Marcellus shale gas foamed from the drinking water taps of three Pennsylvania homes near a reported well-pad leak, according to new analysis from a team of scientists.
The researchers used a new analytical technique on samples from the homes and found a chemical compound, 2-BE, and an unidentified complex mixture of organic contaminants, both commonly seen in
9 flowback water from Marcellus shale activity. The scientists published their findings this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"These findings are important because we show that chemicals traveled from shale gas wells more than two kilometers in the subsurface to drinking water wells," said co-author Susan Brantley, distinguished professor of geosciences and director of the Earth and Environmental Institute at Penn State. "The chemical that we identified either came from fracking fluids or from drilling additives and it moved with natural gas through natural fractures in the rock. In addition, for the first time, all of the data are released so that anyone can study the problem." http://news.psu.edu/story/355988/2015/05/04/research/new-technique-shows-shale-drilling-additives- drinking-water-taps
Marcellus Shale drillers fined for methane migration
State environmental regulators say three natural gas drillers contaminated 17 separate drinking water wells in north central Pennsylvania and together the companies have paid close to $375,000 in fines. The Department of Environmental Protection blamed well construction for methane migrating into drinking water supplies. If methane builds up in an enclosed space like a house, the colorless, odorless gas can cause an explosion. The pollution incidents in Bradford, Lycoming and Tioga counties date back to 2011 and 2012. https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2015/08/25/marcellus-shale-drillers-fined-for-methane- migration/
10 Renewable Energy
Information Morning - NS - Pros and cons of solar power for homeowners
As we try to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels, there is no doubt that solar power is part of our future. Information Morning's Jerry West has been looking into the current viability of solar electricity in Nova Scotia. http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Local+Shows/Maritimes/ID/2673134365/
Hawaii’s Governor Dumps Oil and Gas in Favor of 100 Percent Renewables
An unlikely partnership between Hawaii’s local government and the US military makes the island a leader in energy policy. http://www.thenation.com/article/hawaiis-governor-dumps-oil-and-gas-in-favor-of-100-percent- renewables/
11 Science and Health
A Texas man left permanently disabled from burns after fracking causes water well to explode
Texas family suffered serious burns and injuries after a water well exploded because it was contaminated from a nearby fracking operation, according to a lawsuit filed in Dallas County Court.
Cody Murray, the 38-year-old husband of the family of four, sued EOG Resources, Fairway Resources LLC and three Fairway subsidiaries last week, according to Courthouse News Service.
The lawsuit states that Murray suffered severe burns on his arms, upper back, neck, forehead and nose along with “significant neurological damage” — leaving him permanently disfigured and disabled. Murray’s father, wife, and 4-year-old daughter were also injured in the explosion. https://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/texas-man-left-permanently-disabled-from-burns-after-fracking- causes-water-well-to-explode-suit/
Living near fracking wells raises risk of heart failure, nerve damage, cancer and more, study shows
A recent study, however, has shown a direct link between fracking activities and health problems in areas where the industry proliferates.
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University have published a report that is considered to be the "most comprehensive one to date to address the health impact of UGOD."
The findings indicated that there is an increased risk of heart disease, congenital heart defects, neurologic disorders, cancer, skin problems and urologic problems in areas where fracking operations are concentrated.
The study focused on three northeastern Pennsylvania counties in which the rate of health care use was compared to drilling well density in each zip code over a five year period from 2007 through 2011.
Two of the three counties experienced an increase in drilling activities during the study period, while the third was used as a control due to the fact that it had no drilling activity - its proximity to the Delaware River watershed exempted it from oil and gas drilling on environmental grounds. http://www.naturalnews.com/050782_fracking_Pennsylvania_health_problems.html
Food Irrigated With Fracking Water May Require Labels In California
A new bill proposed in California would require all produce irrigated with fracking wastewater to come with warning labels.
The bill, which Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D) introduced on Monday, would require any crops grown with water that had previously been injected into rock formations to free oil and gas reserves and sold to consumers in the state to be labeled. The warning would read, “Produced using recycled or treated oil-field wastewater.”
12 “Consumers have a basic right to make informed decisions when it comes to the type of food that ends up on the family dinner table,” Gatto said in a press release from his office. “Labeling food that has been irrigated with potentially harmful or carcinogenic chemicals, such as those in recycled fracking water, is the right thing to do.” http://lasunpost.com/2015/08/food-irrigated-with-fracking-water-may-require-labels-in-california/
What Being “New Texas” really means for Pennsylvania
An eight-month investigation by InsideClimate News, the Center for Public Integrity and the Weather Channel, examines the dangers of releasing a toxic soup of chemicals into the air and reveals in a five part series, how little the Texas government knows about drilling pollution in its own state.
Big Oil, Bad Air : Today, however, the ranch-style house she shares with her 66-year-old husband, Shelby, is at the epicenter of one of the nation’s biggest and least-publicized oil and gas booms. With more than 50 wells drilled within 2½ miles of their home, the days when the Buehrings could sit on the deck that Shelby built and lull away an afternoon are long gone. The fumes won’t let them.
Health Worries Pervade North Texas Fracking Zone: They all lived for years atop the gas-rich Barnett Shale in North Texas, birthplace of modern hydraulic fracturing. And they all believe exposure to natural gas development triggered their health problems. “I’ve been trying to sell my house,” said Williams, a registered nurse, “because I’ve got to get out of here or I’m going to die.” http://shalejustice.org/4675/what-being-new-texas-really-means-for-pennsylvania/
Chemicals used for fracking may harm human development
COLUMBIA, Mo., Aug. 28 (UPI) -- Researchers at the University of Missouri have called for new studies into the individual and total effects of the chemicals used in fracking on the endocrine system and human reproduction.
The researchers reviewed more than 100 studies on fracking and the chemicals used in the process. They found that fracking can lead to the release of a mixture of endocrine disrupting chemicals that can harm human development and reproduction.
In the review, researchers specifically considered studies of surface and ground water contamination by oil and gas extraction operations, as well as the effects of chemicals used in those operations. They found gaps in knowledge of exactly what effect the chemicals have on the endocrine system, however they call for studies to specifically look into it. http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2015/08/28/Chemicals-used-for-fracking-may-harm-human- development/2111440764332/
13 Economics, Legal, and Investigations
Shale Gas Reality Check
• The EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook 2015 is even more optimistic than the AEO2014, which we showed in Drilling Deeper suffered from a great deal of questionable optimism. The AEO2015 reference case projection of total shale gas production from 2014 through 2040 is 9%, or 36 tcf, greater than AEO2014. Cumulative production from the major plays in AEO2015, which account for 80% of this production, is 50% higher than Hughes’s “Most Likely” case in Drilling Deeper, and the projected production rate in 2040 is 170% greater. In AEO2015, the EIA is counting much more on unnamed plays or ones—like the Utica Shale—that aren’t as yet producing very much shale gas. • The only way to meet projections for most of these plays would be for production to ramp up massively years from now. But because the best wells are drilled first, and decline rates are so steep, this means that the EIA is likely counting on new technologies that aren’t yet proven or even developed. • It’s very difficult to see how unknown new technologies would be brought online, and be sufficient to overcome poorer and poorer quality drilling locations, without the price of natural gas going up well beyond what the EIA forecasts. • As it has acknowledged, the EIA’s track record in estimating resources and projecting future production and prices has historically been poor. Admittedly, forecasting such things is very challenging, especially as it relates to shifting economic and technological realities. But the below-ground fundamentals— the geology of these plays and how well they are understood— don’t change wildly from year to year. And yet the AEO2015 and AEO2014 reference cases have major differences between them; production rates have been revised both down and up by amounts exceeding 40% in some plays. http://shalebubble.org/shale-gas-reality-check/
New UN report finds almost no industry profitable if environmental costs were included
If you haven’t been paying attention, I don’t blame you for at first not believing this. After all, companies go to great lengths to greenwash their image and present themselves as progressive and environmentally responsible, even while they turn your land to deserts and your oceans into dead zones. Unfortunately, as Mark Twain once famously said: “It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.”
The truth is that our current system allows pretty much every corporation to externalize both environmental and social costs. In this article, we won’t even be touching on social costs. If you don’t know what cost externalization is, you can imagine it as making someone else pay part or all of your costs. For example, BP externalized the environmental costs of the Deepwater Horizon disaster by consuming all of the profits but making the government pay for anything beyond the most shoddy and superficial attempts at stopping the crisis. http://www.exposingtruth.com/new-un-report-finds-almost-no-industry-profitable-if-environmental-costs- were-included/
14 Jessica Ernst speaks about her water contamination to CBC at Calgary http://www.cbc.ca/radio/popup/audio/player.html?autoPlay=true&clipIds=2672772558
Colorado oil production on path to depletion, CU study warns
Unless more rigs start drilling, Colorado oil and gas production will fall sharply as fracked wells dry up
If all new drilling stopped, Colorado oil production would drop at a rate of 50 percent in the first year, 25 percent in the second year, and 19 percent in the third year, according to the study.
Wells drilled in more recent years via fracking deplete even faster. For wells drilled in 2014, output drops at a rate of 74 percent the first year, 44 percent the second and 32 percent the third.
"A steeper depletion curve means that Colorado will need more aggressive drilling in order to maintain current production levels," according to the report. http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_28679370/colorado-oil-production-path-depletion-cu-study- warns
Marcellus shale drillers, Pa. settle 3 cases of fouling water supplies, pay $374K
Pennsylvania environmental regulators said Tuesday they have settled citations against three Marcellus shale gas drillers and collected a combined $374,000 for water pollution cases dating to 2011 and 2012.
The citations involved faulty wells or equipment fouling water supplies in Bradford, Lycoming and Tioga counties with methane, the nontoxic but explosive gas that companies pull in record amounts from shale deep below the ground.
In one case, drillers at a Royal Dutch Shell-owned site in Tioga County hit an abandoned gas well, sending water 40 feet into the air from a former government seismic monitoring point. State officials have cited that incident as evidence of the need to require companies to take more steps to map such old wells, part of rule changes for drillers that the Department of Environmental Protection has proposed. http://triblive.com/business/headlines/8975488-74/gas-cases-wells? utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+triblivePennsylvania+ %28Pennsylvania+Stories%29#axzz3juop2ToZ
Shale gas production expected to decline
For the first time since the shale gas revolution began, natural gas production from shale formations in the U.S. will decline next month, according to the Energy Information Administration.
The reason for the overall dip is a decline in drilling rigs in gas-rich areas like the Marcellus Shale.
15 That means production from new wells will not be able to keep up with declining rates of gas production from older wells, which have been in production for the past few years. https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2015/08/26/shale-gas-production-expected-to-decline/
16 Environment and Enjoyment of Property
The Point of No Return: Climate Change Nightmares Are Already Here
On July 20th, James Hansen, the former NASA climatologist who brought climate change to the public's attention in the summer of 1988, issued a bombshell: He and a team of climate scientists had identified a newly important feedback mechanism off the coast of Antarctica that suggests mean sea levels could rise 10 times faster than previously predicted: 10 feet by 2065. The authors included this chilling warning: If emissions aren't cut, "We conclude that multi-meter sea-level rise would become practically unavoidable. Social disruption and economic consequences of such large sea-level rise could be devastating. It is not difficult to imagine that conflicts arising from forced migrations and economic collapse might make the planet ungovernable, threatening the fabric of civilization."
Eric Rignot, a climate scientist at NASA and the University of California-Irvine and a co-author on Hansen's study, said their new research doesn't necessarily change the worst-case scenario on sea- level rise, it just makes it much more pressing to think about and discuss, especially among world leaders. In particular, says Rignot, the new research shows a two-degree Celsius rise in global temperature — the previously agreed upon "safe" level of climate change — "would be a catastrophe for sea-level rise." http://commondreams.org/news/2015/08/05/point-no-return-climate-change-nightmares-are-already- here
The reality of global warming: We’re all frogs in a pot of slowly boiling water
In 2009, global leaders agreed to try not to let the world warm more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre- industrial times. This is sometimes seen as a rule of thumb for keeping on the right side of climate change, within “safe” territory.
But that’s not at all how scientists meant it, Professor Camille Parmesan, an expert in biodiversity at the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom said. Climate risks don’t begin at 2C, she said; it’s more like where they go from high to intolerably high.
“At more than 2C, we wouldn’t just face losing the most sensitive species but some common ones, too,” Parmesan said. “So it wouldn’t just be the polar bear and the Mountain Pika, but other species living in lowland and temperate habitats that aren’t necessarily at risk right now.”
But against this backdrop, the world’s carbon emissions have continued to rise and the task of staying below 2C looms ever larger. http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2015/08/07/before-the-century-ends-it-may-be-too-hot-for-people- to-work-outside/
El Nino this year could be a record-breaker
Nicknamed Bruce Lee, weather pattern could turn out to be strongest on record, meteorologists say
17 In May, experts blamed El Nino for speeding up nature's clock and forcing firefighters to deploy weeks ahead of normal to battle wildfires across rural Western Canada.
Drought-struck areas better not count on El Nino rescuing them like in a Bruce Lee action movie, experts said. CBC meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe said dry conditions could worsen in B.C.
"Even though no two El Ninos are same, the fact that we are already dealing with a warmer than normal area of warm ocean temperatures off the coast of B.C. will likely add to the outlooks of a warm and dry next few seasons for the western half of the country," she said.
"So, unfortunately, there is higher confidence that B.C. will have to deal with drier than normal conditions for a few months to come. And that will continue to have impacts on the already dire fire and drought situation." http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/el-nino-this-year-could-be-a-record-breaker-1.3190912
El Nino drought spurs new cargo limits in Panama Canal
If water levels in Gatun and Alhajuela lakes persist, authorities could impose more restrictions http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/el-nino-drought-spurs-new-cargo-limits-in-panama-canal-1.3184328
EcoAlert Magazine is transformed!
EcoAlert is the Conservation Council of New Brunswick’s quarterly membership magazine. It brings you environmental news, exciting stories, and important action alerts from across our province. We share stories of the work we’re doing in our program areas – including Forest Conservation, Freshwater Protection, Climate & Energy, and Marine Conservation – as well as updates on our Community Projects such as Buy Local NB and Learning Outside. See below for more on how to use our EcoAlert online edition. http://www.conservationcouncil.ca/eco-alert-the-magazine-for-environmentally-aware-new- brunswickers/
Click here to download a PDF version http://www.conservationcouncil.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ECOALERT-MAG-E-Web1.pdf
EcoAlert Magazine http://www.conservationcouncil.ca/publications/ecoalert-newsletter/
Climate change: Municipalities unprepared for 'weather whiplash,' warns meteorologist
Canadians can expect extreme shifts in weather from season to season
A top Canadian meteorologist warns that municipalities aren't prepared to deal with the impacts of an increasingly volatile climate that can bring devastating floods one season and a drought the next.
18 In the last five years, Canadian cities have been buried in record-breaking snowfall, scorched by unprecedented wildfires, blasted by tornadoes, hurricanes and lightning strikes, limping from one natural disaster to the next as the bills for emergency repairs climb.
• Boreal forest being driven to tipping point by climate change, study finds • Climate change is killing off bumblebees: study • Climate change 'disaster waiting to happen,' Toronto summit told
Yet a senior climatologist with Environment Canada says municipal officials continue to build infrastructure based on decades-old weather patterns that are no longer the norm, leading to potentially disastrous consequences.
"You've got to keep pace with it and we haven't kept pace with it," David Phillips said in a recent interview. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/climate-change-municipalities-unprepared-for-weather-whiplash-warns- meteorologist-1.3200332
Sea level has climbed 8 centimetres since 1992
Sea levels worldwide rose an average of nearly eight centimetres (3 inches) since 1992, the result of warming waters and melting ice, a panel of NASA scientists said on Wednesday.
In 2013, a United Nations panel predicted sea levels would rise from 0.3 to 0.9 metres (1 to 3 feet) by the end of the century. http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/sea-level-1.3204876 http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-science-zeros-in-on-ocean-rise-how-much-how-soon
Why solar may be the next shale Embedded video http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/video/video-why-solar-may-be-the-next- shale/article22759446/
Ten years after Katrina, Gulf washing away Louisiana coast Embedded video http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/news-video/video-10-years-after-katrina-gulf-eats-away-at- coast/article25964466/
Three Category 4 hurricanes have just hit the Pacific Ocean at the same time
For the first time in recorded history, three Category 4 hurricanes have appeared in the Pacific Ocean at the same time, and they’re inching ever-closer to the Big Island of Hawaii. The never-before-seen meteorological event involves the hurricanes Kilo, Ignacio, and Jimena, the latter of which has sustained winds of up to 225 km/h.
19 According to the US Weather Channel, we haven’t seen anything close to this event before - three simultaneous Category 3 hurricanes have yet to be recorded. While the most immediate threat is to the coast of Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan are also currently on watch. http://www.sciencealert.com/three-category-4-hurricanes-have-just-hit-in-pacific-ocean-at-the-same- time
Obama on Climate Change: Act Now or Condemn World to a Nightmare Embedded video
President Barack Obama challenged fellow world leaders in unusually blunt language Monday to act boldly on climate change or "condemn our children to a world they will no longer have the capacity to repair."
In a forceful address, Obama opened the "GLACIER" conference in Anchorage, Alaska, by declaring: "We are not moving fast enough. None of the nations represented here are moving fast enough."
That includes the U.S., which Obama said "recognizes our role in creating this problem and embraces our role in solving it."
He directly attacked politicians who argue that climate change isn't real, saying they "are on their own shrinking island."
"The time to heed the critics and the cynics and the deniers is past," the president said.
Unless the world acts more aggressively and more quickly, he said, "entire nations will find themselves under severe, severe problems: More drought. More floods. Rising sea levels. Greater migration. More refugees. More scarcity. More conflict."
In language unusual for a diplomatic setting, Obama contended, "Any leader willing to take a gamble on a future like that, any leader who refuses to take this issue seriously or treats it like a joke, is not fit to lead." http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/obama-use-alaska-backdrop-address-climate-change- n419071
20 Government, Meetings, News, and Letters
Lisa Harris refuses to participate at the Aug 8th Town Meeting - Miramichi https://vimeo.com/135176244
Final Report of the Independent Review of Coal Seam Gas Activities in NSW
Having considered all the information from these sources and noting the rapid evolution of technological developments applicable to CSG from a wide range of disciplines, the Review concluded that the technical challenges and risks posed by the CSG industry can in general be managed through:
• careful designation of areas appropriate in geological and land-use terms for CSG extraction • high standards of engineering and professionalism in CSG companies • creation of a State Whole-of-Environment Data Repository so that data from CSG industry operations can be interrogated as needed and in the context of the wider environment • comprehensive monitoring of CSG operations with ongoing automatic scrutiny of the resulting data • a well-trained and certified workforce, and • application of new technological developments as they become available. http://www.chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/56912/140930-CSG-Final-Report.pdf
7 times Stephen Harper misled Canadians during the debate
5. “Greenhouse gas emissions have actually gone down.” Until they went up again.
7. Northern Gateway's environmental assessment was so thorough, 300 scientists complained it was only "five short paragraphs"
Well, 300 scientists signed a letter that accused Northern Gateway's Joint Review Panel of only weighing the "economic benefits" while taking a "narrow view of the environmental risks and costs."
That and the Panel's review of the "environmental burdens" were only "five short paragraphs” long. http://www.pressprogress.ca/7_times_stephen_harper_misled_canadians_during_the_debate
The letter https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/86035149/JRP%20Letter%20to%20Federal%20Govt_May28_all %20signaturesKCASET%20%282%29.pdf
Conservatives tout fossil fuels as way to improve air and water quality http://www.pressprogress.ca/en/post/conservatives-tout-fossil-fuels-improve-air-water-quality
21 NBASGA presentation to New Brunswick Commission on Hydraulic Fracturing
On August 19, 2015 a delegation of three NBASGA members traveled to Fredericton to present our case against UNGOD (Unconventional Oil and Gas Development) to the New Brunswick Commission on Hydraulic Fracturing.
About the Commission
The commission was set up by the new Liberal Government in March 2015 to conduct an independent review of the practice and effects of a potential industry involving hydraulic fracturing in the province.
The Government of New Brunswick identified five key areas requiring more information and stated the moratorium would not be lifted unless there is a:
1. social license in place; 2. clear and credible information about the impacts of hydraulic fracturing on our health, environment and water, allowing us to develop country-leading regulatory regime with sufficient enforcement capabilities; 3. plan that mitigates the impacts on our public infrastructure and that addresses issues such as waste water disposal; 4. process in place to respect our obligations under the duty to consult with First Nations; and 5. mechanism in place to ensure that benefits are maximized for New Brunswickers, including the development of a proper royalty structure.
The Commission is to study each condition in a New Brunswick context and report its evidence-based findings directly to Cabinet. http://www.noshalegasnb.ca/nbasga-presentation-to-new-brunswick-commission-on-hydraulic- fracturing/
The presentation http://www.noshalegasnb.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web-version-NBASGA- Comments-for-NB-Commission-on-Hydrofracturing-final.pdf
The war on brains
In his new book Kill the Messengers, veteran Ottawa journalist Mark Bourrie details the all-controlling aspect of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government. In this excerpt, he assesses the Conservative crackdown on federal historians, researchers and librarians. http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2015/01/26/the-war-on-brains.html
'A great silence is spreading over the natural world'
Bernie Krause has spent 40 years recording nature's sounds. But such is the rate of species and habitat loss that his tapes may become our only record of the original diversity of life
22 Krause, whose electronic music with Paul Beaver was used on classic films like Rosemary's Baby and Apocalypse Now, and who worked regularly with Bob Dylan, George Harrison and The Byrds, has spent 40 years recording over 15,000 species, collecting 4,500 hours of sound from many of the world's pristine habitats.
But such is the rate of species extinction and the deterioration of pristine habitat that he estimates half these recordings are now archives, impossible to repeat because the habitats no longer exist or because they have been so compromised by human noise. His tapes are possibly the only record of the original diversity of life in these places http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/sep/03/bernie-krause-natural-world-recordings
Xiuhtezcatl, Indigenous Climate Activist at the High-level event on Climate Change
United Nations - Remarks by Xiuhtezcatl, indigenous climate activist and Youth Director of Earth Guardians at the opening segment of the High-level event of the United Nations General Assembly on Climate Change (29 June 2015). https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=27gtZ1oV4kw
Hey Steve: The Sequel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZLuAf6IB5U
23 New Brunswick News
Maliseet clan mother: This is our territory and we’re not going to let anybody destroy it
APTN National News
Complaints over consultation don’t appear to be slowing down major energy projects in New Brunswick. Both a pipeline and an open pit mine are proposed for Maliseet territory.
The grassroots, and some chief and councils, are opposed. Many are raising questions about the consultation process. http://aptn.ca/news/2015/07/30/maliseet-clan-mother-this-is-our-territory-and-were-not-going-to-let- anybody-destroy-it/
BC Lawyer Retained by IMW/Kopit Lodge at Elsipogtog to Protect Sikniktuk, Mi’kma’ki
“We are fighting for only one thing. As the most powerful Mi’kmaq community in Sikniktuk District, we have responsibility to protect our region’s water and try to ensure a healthy planet for future generations,” says Elsipogtog Elder Kenneth Francis, Speaker for the IMW Consultation Delegation. IMW stands for Iapjiw Maliaptasiktɨtiew Wskwitqamu (Protecting the Earth for Future Generations).
A March 26, 2015 Elsipogtog First Nation Band Council Resolution mandated the IMW Consultation Delegation to represent Elsipogtog community regarding resource extraction development and related matters. IMW is headquartered at Kopit Lodge, a community centre in Elsipogtog that is funded and managed by community volunteers. All members of the IMW Consultation Delegation are volunteers, and have no conflict or pecuniary interest in any resource extraction or related matters.
One item already addressed was to clarify that Dr. McIvor will be representing Elsipogtog as an Intervenor before the National Energy Board, regarding the Energy East pipeline proposal. As well, last month a letter outlining six priority consultation matters was sent to the Hon. Ed Doherty, New Brunswick’s Aboriginal Affairs Minister. Mr. Francis is still awaiting the materials requested in this correspondence. https://kentcountynbenvironmentwatch.wordpress.com/2015/08/11/bc-lawyer-retained-by-imwkopit- lodge-at-elsipogtog-to-protect-sikniktuk-mikmaki/
Saint John police respond to derailment on Bayside Drive
Four NB Southern Railway cars carrying gypsum rock to the nearby Atlantic Wallboard plant went off the tracks at around 3:30 p.m., blocking traffic.
"No person has been injured, no property damaged and no hazardous materials were being transported," company spokeswoman Mary Keith said in an emailed statement to CBC News. "Initial inspection of the tracks indicates a rail break may be the cause," she said. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/saint-john-police-respond-to-derailment-on-bayside- drive-1.3193994
24 Tobique flies the New Brunswick consultative coop, here comes TransCanada
As First Nation community leaves AFNCNB, Energy East borehole testing readies
The Assembly of Chiefs in New Brunswick Inc. (AFNCNB), just recently lost one of its last remaining Wolastoq clients, as Tobique (Neqotkuk) First Nation, with a 2008 population of just under 2,000 members, this month exited from under the AFNCNB's consultative umbrella.
"Tobique First Nation Chief and Council felt it was in the best interest of our community to withdraw from the Assembly of FN Chiefs NB. The Assembly of FN Chiefs NB did not progress or meet community expectations on various different files that are important to Tobique First Nation band members," reads a statement sent to the Halifax Media Co-op by Tobique Chief Ross Perley. Of six Wolastoq communities in New Brunswick, only two – Kingsclear and Oromocto – now remain allied to the AFNCNB. Wolastoqiyik territory is traditionally west of the Saint John river, while Mi'kmaq territory lies to the east.
Ron Tremblay, Tobique band member as well the spokesperson of the Wolastoq Grand Council, congratulates Chief Perley's decision. Tremblay alludes to the rift within the AFNCNB between the province's six Wolastoq communities and the nine Mi'kmaq communities east of the Saint John. Consultation over the Energy East pipeline, whose path will lead exclusively west of the Saint John river, has, to Tremblay, exacerbated the reality of the Wolastoq being outnumbered within a consultative group purporting to speak on behalf of them. http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/story/tobique-flies-new-brunswick-consultative-coop-here/33830
Elsipogtog group to make claim on large part of New Brunswick Embedded video
Mi’kmaq from Elsipogtog are raising money to pursue Aboriginal title in New Brunswick. APTN’s Trina Roache reports the ultimate goal is protecting the environment. http://aptn.ca/news/2015/08/28/elsipogtog-group-to-make-claim-on-large-part-of-new-brunswick/
Year of the Environment at Mount Allison: Speaker Series
This year’s President’s Speakers Series is celebrating the Year of the Environment on campus.
This year’s speakers are: • Mi’kmaw lawyer and professor Pamela Palmater(September 21) • Environmental activist and writer Tzeporah Berman(November 4) • Marine conservation biologist and Dalhousie University professor Boris Worm(November 16) • Award-winning journalist and best-selling author Naomi Klein(January 26)
The Year of the Environment will be marked at the annual Commencement Ceremony on Thursday, September 3. Mount Allison alumnus Scott Vaughan, President of the International Institute for Sustainable Development will be the guest speaker. https://nbharbinger.wordpress.com/2015/08/30/year-of-the-environment-at-mount-allison-speaker- series/
25 26 Maritime News
Alton gas project report released
A third-party review of the Alton natural gas project spotlights problems with the multimillion-dollar venture, the Sipekne’katik Band says in a news release.
“This report confirms that the process was flawed from the start,” the release said.
“However, Sipekne’katik is encouraged that some of our concerns are being addressed through the report recommendations.”
But an Alton Natural Gas Storage LP executive said Thursday the review commissioned by the Mi’kmaq Rights Initiative group and conducted by Conestoga-Rovers & Associates (now GHD Ltd.) shows that the work and the studies completed by the company over the last eight years were done properly.
The report authors made recommendations to offset what they considered potential data gaps specific to monitoring and measuring the effects of the project on fish and fish habitat.
They included further tests to measure the ion composition of the brine and brine-estuary water mixture, assessments of striped bass eggs and larvae to identify potential toxic effects to fish at early life stages and a monitoring plan to clearly define “peak spawning events” when the brining discharge would cease.
“No progress or permits should be issued until all recommendations from the report are addressed,” the band said in its release. http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1302366-alton-gas-project-report- released#.VbwJrfiN1Sw.facebook
Information Morning - Fredericton | Aug 12, 2015 - Elsibogtog Hires Lawyer
Lawyer Bruce McIvor has been hired by the Elsibogtog First Nation to represent its interests regarding the Energy East pipeline. http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/NB/Audio/ID/2673502352/
The Piecemeal Infringement of Treaty Rights
Case Comment on Yahey v. British Columbia, 2015 BCSC 1302 http://www.firstpeopleslaw.com/index/articles/184.php
Government Too Slow on Response to Shoal Point Oil Leak: NDP Critic
The NDP critic for environment and conservation is criticizing government's response time to an oil leak at Shoal Point.
27 It was confirmed this week that the oil seepage is coming from an abandoned and deteriorating well. George Murphy says, however, the problem was brought to the attention of government months ago - and he says that's when they should have acted. http://www.vocm.com/newsarticle.asp?mn=2&id=56787
A Canadian Province Has Killed a Renewable Energy Program That Was the First of Its Kind
Nova Scotia announced recently it will nix the small-scale feed-in tariff, arguing it put "pressure" on power rates in the small Atlantic province that is struggling economically.
Dubbed the first initiative of its kind in the world when it launched in 2010, the Community Feed-In Tariff Program, or COMFIT, mostly encouraged wind power projects, according to a list on the government website.
Like other feed-in tariffs, COMFIT guaranteed a rate of return for electricity generated from a renewable energy project. But this program was different in that it was specifically targeted at projects that were 50 percent owned by communities, such as First Nations, municipalities, schools, and co-ops. https://news.vice.com/article/a-canadian-province-has-killed-a-renewable-energy-program-that-was- the-first-of-its-kind
Public input sought on BP drilling
The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency is looking for public input on BP Canada Energy Group ULC’s proposal to drill exploratory wells in the Scotian Basin.
“It’s a great step forward,” Anita Perry, regional manager for Nova Scotia for BP Canada, said in an interview Friday.
The company is seeking to drill its first exploration well in 2017 off the southeastern coast of Nova Scotia, with plans for up to a total of seven wells depending on the results of the initial test well.
BP successfully bid $1.04 billion and was granted exploration licences for four parcels about 250 kilometres off Nova Scotia in 2013. http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/1306539-public-input-sought-on-bp-drilling
Bear Head LNG export licence approved by National Energy Board
The National Energy Board has approved export and import licences for a proposed liquefied natural gas facility in Cape Breton.
The Bear Head LNG Corporation wants to build a facility in Point Tupper, Richmond County.
On Friday, the board issued an import licence for natural gas and approved the plant to export liquefied natural gas.
28 Its ruling is subject to the approval from the governor in council.
Heritage Gas filed an official comment raising concerns how exporting liquefied natural gas could affect the supply in Canada and how it "flows into the Maritimes."
"We have determined that the quantity of natural gas proposed to be exported by Bear Head LNG is surplus to Canadian needs," wrote the board in its decision. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/bear-head-lng-export-licence-approved-by-national- energy-board-1.3190897
29 Canadian News
Can First Nations Claim Aboriginal Rights and Title as well as Treaty Rights?
Yes, said the Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Court) in its recent decision in Chartrand v. British Columbia (Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations). The Court found that the provincial Crown had not adequately consulted the Kwakiutl First Nation regarding provincial decisions between 2007 and 2012 to remove private lands from a Tree Farm Licence and to approve and renew a Forest Stewardship Plan in Kwakiutl traditional territory. The Crown consulted the Kwakiutl regarding their Douglas Treaty rights, but ignored their asserted aboriginal rights and title claims. The Court held that this was the wrong approach. http://www.blakes.com/English/Resources/Bulletins/Pages/Details.aspx?BulletinID=2177
30 Other News
Indigenous Community Wins Land Rights Victory in Guatemala After 200 Years of Struggle
Success is rare among indigenous peoples' struggles for land rights in Guatemala. But the nearly 300 Poqomchi' Maya families that make up the Primavera communities in the department of Alta Verapaz have just won a significant victory.
On July 14, community representatives and the Guatemalan Land Fund signed documents to officially recognize three communities that have called the land home for centuries. In the face of eviction, the communities negotiated a settlement with the Guatemalan Minister of the Interior, the Secretary of Agrarian Affairs, and representatives from Maderas Filips Dias/Eco-Tierra, the logging business seeking to harvest the land's forests.
In the end, the logging company ceded nearly 800 hectares of land, with the Guatemalan secretary of agrarian affairs overseeing the titling of the land to the families of the communities. https://intercontinentalcry.org/indigenous-community-wins-land-rights-victory-in-guatemala-after-200- years-of-struggle/
Texas: Oil and Water Do Not Mix
The combination of drought and hundreds of millions of gallons of water taken out of the ground for fracking have dried up local rivers and lakes, leaving boat owners high and dry. http://www.dearpresidentobamafilm.com/slide/azle/
Italy’s Eni discovers ‘largest-ever’ gas field in Mediterranean Sea off Egypt
Italian energy giant Eni has announced on its website that it has found a “supergiant” gas field at their Zohr Prospect in the deep waters of Egypt in the Mediterranean, claiming it “could become one of the world’s largest natural-gas finds.”
The field is located about 80 miles (129 kilometers) off the Egyptian coast, 1,450 meters below the surface.
According to Eni’s press-release, the discovered gas field, which covers an area of around 100 square kilometers, could contain about “30 trillion cubic feet of lean gas” (849 billion cubic meters of gas or 5.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent). http://www.rt.com/business/313850-eni-gas-field-mediterranean/
31 Water
Leaders in Hugo vote to terminate water contract with firm
HUGO, Okla. (AP) - A company's failure to properly disinfect Hugo's water supply left an estimated 7,000 residents in the Hugo area without safe drinking water for months.
The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality discovered Severn Trent Services didn't use enough chlorine for more than 300 days over the course of two years. Agency inspectors found in February that chlorine equipment was broken and unsafe for workers.
The Journal Record (http://bit.ly/1M4XPU9 ) reports that the company could face heavy fines for a series of violations that have occurred since 2013.
The town outsourced control of its drinking water, raw water pump stations and wastewater to Severn Trent in 2007. http://www.news9.com/story/29717222/leaders-in-hugo-vote-to-terminate-water-contract-with-firm
Activists Reclaim Water from Detroit Mayor’s Home and Redistribute it to the Community
Today, following our 3rd annual Rooting Resistance action camp, people from both Detroit and Michigan Coalitions Against Tar Sands (DCATS/MICATS) took water from Mayor Duggan’s residence, the Manoogian Mansion and redistributed it to residents facing water shutoffs. Folks attached a hose to the Mansion’s external spigot and filled jugs of water. Participants say they are taking today’s action because of Mayor Dugan’s refusal to support a “Water Affordability Plan”.
“While real Detroiters live in a crisis, the Mayor lives in a city-owned Mansion. Today we’re forcing Mayor Dugan to share his water with the people of Detroit,” Said Detroit Resident Valerie Jean.
It’s important to note that Marathon Refinery receives free water to refine tar sands from the Detroit River, which they contaminate beyond use. http://earthfirstjournal.org/newswire/2015/08/04/activists-reclaim-water-from-detroit-mayors-home-and- redistribute-it-to-the-community/
New Water Use Restrictions Highlight Influence of Climate on Oilsands, Need for Stronger Rules
The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) is restricting water withdrawals for oil and gas operators in several river basins across the province due to extremely dry summer conditions and low water levels. Restrictions have been put in place for the Upper Athabasca Region but not the Lower Athabasca Region where several major oilsands companies operate.
The regulator is also asking oil and gas companies to voluntarily limit their water consumption for dry areas not currently under withdrawal bans.
Climate Change Limiting Water for Oilsands Operators, New Study Finds
32 According to a new article in the journal Climactic Change, climate change, induced by activities in the oilsands region, has the ability to limit streamflow in the Athabasca River Basin.
The reduced water flow will affect not only ecosystems, but also future oilsands operations, something the study’s authors, Doris Leong and Simon Donner, say industry and policy makers may need to consider going forward. http://www.desmog.ca/2015/08/18/new-water-use-restrictions-highlight-influence-climate-oilsands- need-stronger-rules
The phenomenon that can not be spoken in Florida continues as salt water intrusion moves inland
The densely populated megalopolis of South Florida is losing it's water wells as sea water intrudes into the Biscayne Aquifer. Salt water has already moved 6 miles inland in Broward County and is likely to continue to creep westward. Ninety percent of South Florida gets its drinking water from underground supplies, most from the Biscayne aquifer. This inland movement observed in Broward County is due to urban withdrawals from the Biscayne Aquifer, ocean water moving sideways into the aquifer and seepage of saltwater from surface sources.
Governor Scott, this is threatening the habitability of a region of close to 6 million of your fellow Floridians. Your inaction and hostility towards climate issues and sustainability now threatens funds and other aid from FEMA as they will not give money to any state that does not plan for climate change. Where is the disaster relief going to come from if not from Federal sources?
A report titled Climate Change AND Sea-Level Rise IN Florida notes the hellish calamity that will affect Florida's urban populations, economy, ecosystems and coasts. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/03/19/1372031/-The-phenomenon-that-can-not-be-spoken-in- Florida-continues-as-salt-water-intrusion-moves-inland?detail=emailclassic
Water wars? Devastating shortages will fuel MidEast conflicts for 25 yrs – report
In a worrying global trend, the Middle East is set for a record water shortage to strike over the next 25 years. The global fallout from the recent record heatwaves will force more and more people into overcrowded cities and stagnate economic growth.
Worse still, according to scientists with the World Resource Institute (WRI), water shortages will exacerbate existing conflicts – and the factor is considered to have contributed to the rising violence in Syria that erupted in 2011.
“Drought and water shortages in Syria likely contributed to the unrest that stoked the country’s 2011 civil war. Dwindling water resources and chronic mismanagement forced 1.5 million people, primarily farmers and herders, to lose their livelihoods and leave their land, move to urban areas, and magnify Syria’s general destabilization,” a new WRI report says. http://www.rt.com/news/313729-water-drought-middle-east/
The report http://www.wri.org/blog/2015/08/ranking-world%E2%80%99s-most-water-stressed-countries-2040
33 34 Fracking and Earthquakes
Alberta Earthquakes Tied to Fracking, Not Just Wastewater Injection
While most fracking-related earthquakes in the U.S. are pegged to wastewater injection, Canadian scientists believe fracking itself is to blame in Alberta.
Fox Creek, an oil town of nearly 3,000 residents in western Alberta, recently experienced its third earthquake of at least magnitude 4.0 this year. The difference between this one and many of the quakes felt in fracking country in the U.S., however, is that Canadian researchers are attributing the cause to fracking itself, not just the wastewater disposal process. http://insideclimatenews.org/news/05082015/alberta-earthquakes-tied-fracking-not-just-wastewater- injection-canada
Fracking halted temporarily after 4.6-magnitude earthquake near Fort St. John The B.C. Oil and Gas Commission is investigating the cause of a 4.6 magnitude earthquake earlier this week that triggered the shutdown of a major fracking operation just a few kilometres away.
The earthquake struck on Monday afternoon, some 110 kilometres north of Fort St. John, and was felt in Charlie Lake, Fort St. John and Wonowon.
The earthquake's epicentre was just three kilometres from Progress Energy's fracking site, which the company immediately shut down, even though their activities have not been linked to the quake. After shutting down, Progress Energy notified the commission of the quake, as it is required to do under B.C. regulations.
Those rules also say fracking must halt if an operation triggers an earthquake greater than magnitude 4.0, and cannot resume until a mitigation plan is put in place. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/fracking-halted-temporarily-after-4-6-magnitude- earthquake-near-fort-st-john-1.3198704
B.C. LNG industry will increase fracking-caused earthquakes: expert
If the liquefied natural gas industry proceeds as the British Columbia government hopes, there could be five times as many fracking-caused earthquakes, warns one expert.
But the company that would provide gas to a major LNG terminal — the same company found responsible for a 4.4 magnitude tremor last year — claims it won't ramp up drilling. Progress Energy said it doesn't need to increase the number of wells it drills each year to supply Pacific NorthWest LNG's planned liquefaction and export terminal near Prince Rupert.
"Our upstream drilling activity will remain relatively consistent with current levels over the life of the LNG project or may even decline and therefore pose no incremental risk," said spokeswoman Stacie Dley in an email. http://www.nationalobserver.com/2015/08/30/news/bc-lng-industry-will-increase-fracking-caused- earthquakes-expert
35 36 Oil and Pipelines
TransCanada Keystone XL Hits New Turbulence As South Dakota Permit Hearing Implodes Over Pipeline Corrosion, Market Demand
Holes too big to fix were poked in TransCanada’s narrative that its Keystone XL tar sands pipeline will be the safest pipeline ever built. And questions were raised about how the pipeline company’s financial dealings are set up during Public Utilities Commission hearings in Pierre, South Dakota this week where state regulators are tasked to decide if the company is capable of following the rules the state set when the original Keystone pipeline permit was granted in 2010.
A team of lawyers representing Native American tribes and the grassroots group Dakota Rural Action took the upper hand during the proceedings as they tried to have a TransCanada executive’s testimony impeached. The proceedings took on a circus-like atmosphere when TransCanada was unable to prevent lines of questioning it didn’t like.
The commissioners seemed unsure of its own procedures. At one point, Commissioner Gary Hanson expressed frustration that he was having trouble drawing a distinction between TransCanada’s evidence and its advertising statements.
When Goulet was questioned about the significant corrosion discovered on the Keystone 1 pipeline in Missouri in 2012 — when the pipeline’s wall had corroded in one spot to the thickness of a dime — he downplayed the incident, claiming that none of the defects were close to rupturing.
“None of the defects, in my experience in 30 years of pipelines, would be injurious from the perspective of being close to rupturing. Therefore the only problem would have been the depth of corrosion,” Goulet testified. (Audio of Goulet testimony, relevant corrosion section at ~ 32:45 – 33:40)
Bruce Ellison, one of the lawyers for the interveners, had handed Goulet a copy of the company’s root cause analysis report of the incident, before pointing out the corrosion area was much larger than Goulet had described. One of the defects involved a section of pipe where the wall had eroded 96.8 percent, which Ellison noted was close to a rupture incident.
TransCanada lawyers objected to any reference to the report because Goulet claimed he had never seen it and that it was classified. But since the report had already been entered into evidence, the interveners’ lawyers were allowed by the Commission to continue questioning him. http://www.desmogblog.com/2015/07/30/keystone-xl-hits-new-turbulence-south-dakota-permit-hearing- implodes-over-pipeline-corrosion-market
Harper gov’t appoints Kinder Morgan consultant to NEB
The Harper government chose the Friday afternoon of a long weekend, just before an expected federal election, to appoint a paid Kinder Morgan consultant to the National Energy Board (NEB) in a timed press release that critics say was an attempt to bury the news.
Conservative Minister of Natural Resources Greg Rickford issued a Friday 12:30pm EST news release announcing that Calgary-based petroleum executive Steven Kelly will become a full-time board member of the federal agency that helps cabinet decide if oil and gas pipelines go forward.
37 Mr. Kelly's consulting firm was hired by Kinder Morgan two years ago to prepare an economic analysis justifying the $5.4-billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. Mr. Kelly himself, in his capacity of vice president of IHS Global Canada, authored and submitted the 203-page Kinder Morgan report to the National Energy Board. http://www.nationalobserver.com/2015/08/01/news/harper-gov%E2%80%99t-appoints-kinder-morgan- consultant-neb
Zebra mussels corroding Straits of Mackinac oil pipeline, claims environmental coalition
MACKINAC ISLAND, MI — Shut down the pipeline pending a full public review.
That's the underlying recommendation from a third party report on the condition of Enbridge Energy's twin Line 5 oil pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac, released on Wednesday, May 27, by coalition of environmental groups.
"It's the only option at this time to prevent a catastrophic oil spill," said Dave Holtz, chairman of the Michigan Sierra Club chapter, which has been working with the Traverse City-based For Love of Water nonprofit.
The report suggests that integrity of the twin 62-year-old pipeline has been compromised by acidic zebra mussel secretions, a corrosive element not anticipated by engineers who oversaw pipeline installation in 1953. http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/05/shut_down_line_5_enbridge.html
'Pinhole' leak in U.P. gas pipeline raises fears
A pinhole leak in a controversial petroleum pipeline running through the Upper Peninsula released an undetermined amount of natural gas liquid that dispersed into the atmosphere north of Manistique, near the Indian River, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced Tuesday.
A spokesman for Canadian oil transport giant Enbridge, which operates the Line 5 pipeline, however, said it was not a leak, but a "pinhole-sized defect, observed in the weld of the pipe," during a planned investigation of the pipeline Dec. 8.
Leak or defect, the incident heightened concerns among some people about a 61-year-old stretch of the pipeline that runs underwater through the Straits of Mackinac, and what a spill there could do to the Great Lakes. http://www.freep.com/story/money/business/michigan/2014/12/17/enbridge-pipeline-gas-oil-leak-straits- mackinac/20500397/
National Energy Board's impartiality over pipeline decisions questioned
Andrew Nikiforuk, an author and journalist who has written extensively about the NEB and its rulings, said most board members are lawyers or engineers with ties to the oil and gas industry.
38 “But there's no public health expert. There is no expert in environmental assessment, there is no pipeline safety expert, there is no representative from First Nations, there's no representative or expert from fisheries, no oil spill or contaminant expert," he said.
"It's a very striking board, it's a board of white people, mostly Conservatives, all based in Calgary, all with very similar backgrounds, whose job is largely to facilitate the pipeline approval in the country.”
The composition of the NEB is "intentional," Nikiforuk said.
Members of the board apply for the position and are then appointed by the federal government. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/national-energy-board-s-impartiality-over-pipeline- decisions-questioned-1.2824507
Shelburne Oil: Environmental Risk Understated
An article on the CBC says, “The federal government says it may require further authorization from the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board and from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.” Mark Butler, policy director at the Ecology Action Centre said in an interview with the CBC, “the outcome cannot help but be influenced by the federal government’s agenda, which is to streamline resource development and to get more projects through environmental assessments.” Part of the streamlining is due in part to numerous research scientists and facilities that have been shut down or had their funding reduced. There is less opposition to oil and gas development.
Some concerns have arisen over the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board assessment process since it’s the same board that grants exploration licenses. They are also responsible for reporting any spill accidents. They failed to report on May 7th, 250,000 litres of contaminated water near Sable Island, a national park southeast of Halifax. The spill from an offshore gas rig operated by Encana Ltd. was reported to the House of Commons and confirmed by the fisheries department and Environment Canada. The board as late as June 25 claimed no spill occurred. http://savethebayoffundy.ca/shelburne-oil-environmental-risk-understated/
Landowners unable to terminate aging pipeline contracts
About half of the state’s extensive network of oil and gas pipelines were built before 1970, according to Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration data. Some, like the one under Birkner’s property, haven’t had product sent through them for years.
Three feet below the earth’s surface, they’ve been out of sight and out of mind. But Texas pipeline companies said landowners aren’t in the clear. Legal experts say the companies are using the law to redefine use to hold on to the pipelines and the thin strips of land that run over them.
As a result, landowners are finding themselves battling over easements that they thought was rightfully theirs.
Birkner’s family and neighbors have built their homes and livelihood on top of the 30-something mile pipeline, which they believed was abandoned. The landowners say the pipeline company didn’t keep
39 brush and trees down or maintain signage posted above the line. The company also didn’t respond to requests to build or dig over the top of the pipeline, landowners say.
Yet, two years ago, landowners were told because the company kept an electrical current on the pipeline to prevent corrosion, the company’s ownership of the line and the land over it remained intact http://marcellus.com/news/id/126800/landowners-unable-to-terminate-aging-pipeline-contracts/
In Canada, officials keep close watch on environmental activists
Newly released documents show that police in British Columbia are monitoring opponents of oil pipeline development
An RCMP internal document dated December 2012 compares the First Nations movement Idle No More to “bacteria,” warning, “it has grown a life all of its own all across the nation.”
“There is a high probability that we could see flash mobs, round dances and blockades become much less compliant to laws,” it continues. “The escalation of violence is ever near.”
Two years later, a separate RCMP intelligence assessment warns, “violent anti-petroleum extremists will continue to engage in criminal activity to promote anti-petroleum ideology.” The 44-page document, made public by Greenpeace in February, calls attention to British Columbia, saying, “there is a coalition of like-minded violent extremists who are planning criminal actions to prevent the construction of the pipeline.” Yet with rare exceptions, there are almost no reports of existing environmental groups engaging in illegal actions. When asked for examples, RCMP representatives usually cite a series of attacks that occurred in the 1990s. (These were the actions of one man, Wiebo Ludwig, who in 2000 was convicted of sabotaging oil and gas infrastructure in northern Alberta.) http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/8/5/canada-keeps-eye-on-environmental-activists.html https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2195711-rcmpinternaldoc.html https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2193837-rcmp-greenpeace-feb.html http://www.macleans.ca/general/macleans-interview-wiebo-ludwig/ https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2192521-goc-riskforecast.html https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2192551-goc-800demonstrations.html http://aptn.ca/news/2014/10/17/rcmp-tracked-movements-indigenous-activist-extremist-group- documents/
Shell given OK to take 21 days to cap a deep well oil blowout off N.S. coast
Environmentalist says it's 'almost inconceivable' to give oil giant that much time to act
Federal Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq has signed off on Shell Canada's plan for dealing with a potential deep-well blowout on the Shelburne Basin.
40 Under its Well Containment Plan, Shell says it can have a primary capping stack in place within 12 to 21 days after a blowout.
Stark contrast to U.S. regulation
Davis says the decision to allow Shell up to 21 days to cap a blowout on the Shelburne Basin is in stark contrast to what U.S. regulators are requiring from Shell for an exploratory drilling project in the Chukchi Sea in Alaska. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/shell-given-ok-to-take-21-days-to-cap-a-deep-well-oil- blowout-off-n-s-coast-1.3179496
Information Morning - NS What oil companies are required to do if there is a spill in the Shelburne Basin
Environmentalists are worried about how the federal government is regulating Shell Canada's exploratory drilling off Nova Scotia. The agreement states that if there is a blow-out during that drilling, the company has up to 21 days to cap it http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Local+Shows/Maritimes/Information+Morning+-+NS/ID/2673138790/
Activists Reclaim Water from Detroit Mayor’s Home and Redistribute it to the Community
Today, following our 3rd annual Rooting Resistance action camp, people from both Detroit and Michigan Coalitions Against Tar Sands (DCATS/MICATS) took water from Mayor Duggan’s residence, the Manoogian Mansion and redistributed it to residents facing water shutoffs. Folks attached a hose to the Mansion’s external spigot and filled jugs of water. Participants say they are taking today’s action because of Mayor Dugan’s refusal to support a “Water Affordability Plan”.
“While real Detroiters live in a crisis, the Mayor lives in a city-owned Mansion. Today we’re forcing Mayor Dugan to share his water with the people of Detroit,” Said Detroit Resident Valerie Jean.
It’s important to note that Marathon Refinery receives free water to refine tar sands from the Detroit River, which they contaminate beyond use. http://earthfirstjournal.org/newswire/2015/08/04/activists-reclaim-water-from-detroit-mayors-home-and- redistribute-it-to-the-community/
Capping oil well blowouts within 24 hours too expensive, says Ottawa
The federal government says it is agreeing to an offshore drilling plan that allows up to 21 days to bring in capping technology for a subsea well blowout because requiring a shorter response time would be too expensive for Shell Canada Ltd.
Meanwhile, the most recent U.S. ruling in Alaska — where Shell wants to conduct an exploratory drilling project — requires a capping stack to be on hand for a blowout within 24 hours.
41 Nova Scotia environmentalists are questioning why the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency has signed off on a plan that allows between 12 and 21 days for the multinational company to bring a vessel and a capping system to the Shelburne Basin offshore site, about 250 kilometres off the southwestern coast of Nova Scotia.
In an email sent late Wednesday night, a spokesman for Environment Canada said the Alaska plan to have a vessel and capping system on call was based on the harsh environment in the area and the long distances a vessel would have to travel to get there. https://nbharbinger.wordpress.com/2015/08/06/capping-oil-well-blowouts-within-24-hours-too- expensive-says-ottawa/
Gas line explodes in Weld County Embedded video
WELD COUNTY, Colo. — Flames and smoke could be seen from miles around following a gas line explosion in Weld County Thursday afternoon.
The Weld County Sheriff’s Office said the explosion happened at Highway 392 and Weld County Road 68. That’s northeast of Greeley. They ordered people within a 2-mile radius of the scene to evacuate. http://kdvr.com/2015/08/06/gas-line-explodes-in-weld-county-flames-and-smoke-seen-for-miles/
Information Morning - NS What oil companies are required to do if there is a spill in the Shelburne Basin
Environmentalists are worried about how the federal government is regulating Shell Canada's exploratory drilling off Nova Scotia. The agreement states that if there is a blow-out during that drilling, the company has up to 21 days to cap it That means http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Local+Shows/Maritimes/Information+Morning+-+NS/ID/2673138790/
What you should know about crude oil on trains coming through PA
In 2013, U.S. railroads carried more than 40 times what they carried in 2008. Without pipelines to move the oil, much of it has been pushed onto the rails.
There have been at least 12 significant derailments involving crude since May 2013 in North America. Some involved explosions, evacuations, environmental damage and injuries. The most devastating was in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, in July 2013, when 47 people died after a train carrying Bakken crude exploded. Since January, Pennsylvania has had derailments involving crude in Philadelphia, Vandergrift and McKeesport. There were no injuries in any of the accidents.
Investigations found that the Bakken crude that exploded in Quebec was classified as a less dangerous type of oil. In February, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued an emergency order requiring testing of all Bakken crude to determine its explosive nature. Sometimes referred to as the “Ford Pinto of railcars,” the DOT-111 tank cars used to ship crude have been known to be a safety hazard for decades, according to federal safety investigators. Designed in
42 the 1960s, they are prone to puncture and “catastrophic loss of hazardous materials” when trains derail, according to the NTSB.
The derailments have caused an outcry by state and federal officials and safety groups demanding that the cars be taken off the tracks. Canada has already ordered railroads to stop using them by 2017, but U.S. regulators have been slow to act. The U.S. DOT did advise railroads in May to stop using the cars to carry crude oil. http://publicsource.org/investigations/what-you-should-know-about-crude-oil-trains-coming-through- pa#.VcXOxsLbJjr
A Danger on the Rails - The New York Times
This short documentary warns about the dangers posed by trains that transport explosive oil across North America. http://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000003639391/a-danger-on-the-rails.html
Irving Oil tanker cars causing worries for some Saint John businesses
People on Rothesay Avenue say they have noticed a big increase in the number of tanker cars in recent years Business owners on Rothesay Avenue in Saint John say they are concerned about the tanker cars that sit in their backyard.
Just don't ask them to speak on the record about it.
The cars rumble past daily, many on their way to the Irving Oil refinery. Sometimes, one business owner said, they stay parked for days at a time.
Another employee said he was worried about the condition of the track. He pointed out missing spikes and what looked like old wood. He said he can feel every time the trains go by because they shake his entire workplace.
The people CBC spoke with said the tankers rolling through are nothing new, but many referenced the Lac-Mégantic disaster as something they still think about. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/irving-oil-tanker-cars-causing-worries-for-some-saint- john-businesses-1.3184062
Opinion: TransCanada shows lack of commitment on Energy East
TransCanada Corp.’s commitment to Energy East is in question, particularly after its unsatisfactory explanation for the recently announced two-year delay in its completion from 2018 to 2020.
The reason given by TransCanada, the cancellation of the Cacouna marine terminal because of its potential impact on beluga whales, doesn’t hold water. That is because Energy East’s proposed
43 expansion of the Saint John, N.B. Canaport crude export marine terminal is in equally-sensitive right whale habitat in the Bay of Fundy.
It is not widely known that Energy East was dreamed up in a fit of anger just days after President Obama’s Nov. 10, 2011, phone call informing Prime Minister Harper that Keystone XL was on hold. Frank McKenna, former premier of New Brunswick, former ambassador to the U.S., and deputy- chairman of TD Bank, and the individual given most credit for giving life to the Energy East proposal, has been quoted as stating: “The best way to get Keystone XL built is to make it irrelevant.”
It is worrisome that the plan all along may have been to use the threat of Energy East to get Keystone XL built because that is the best way to make Keystone XL look irrelevant. http://montrealgazette.com/news/national/opinion-transcanada-shows-lack-of-commitment-on-energy- east
Energy East a waste: Let’s move from greed economy to green one
Your Aug. 1 story, “Cost of Energy East may rise past $12b, says TransCanada” fits like a glove with the hand that Jeff Rubin is dealing us.
As reported in the Tesla Motors Club website, the former chief economist with CIBC World Markets has been saying that “Canada’s oil sands are stranded assets.” The article backs him up with 20 sets of convincing statistics, all of them the product of credible, thorough research.
The first of these states “two thousand per cent is the typical cost disadvantage of oil sands production, as noted by Timothy Lane, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada, at the Madison International Trade Association on January 13, 2015.”
Premiers surely can see the score: the gargantuan cost of developing this resource divided by a market in which an Energy East pipeline that can no longer compete because the oil price has fallen by more than 50 per cent.
But at their recent conference, the premiers took the easy way out. They presented a strategy of garbled talk, a consensus cake of many colours, but one that won’t rise, unless you settle for pie in the sky.
On the greed economy side, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall and New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant were still cheerleading for the “Oilers” and “jobs.” http://thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/1303638-energy-east-a-waste-let%E2%80%99s-move-from-greed- economy-to-green-one
Canada to US natural gas pipeline shut down due to hydrogen sulphide
Natural gas pipeline shut down expected to last for indeterminate amount of time
CALGARY – Alliance Pipeline says it has shut a major Canada-U.S. natural gas pipeline while it handles dangerous hydrogen sulphide gas that entered the system.
44 The closure of the nearly 4,000-kilometre pipeline, jointly owned by an Enbridge affiliate (TSX:ENB) (TSX:ENF) and Calgary-based Veresen (TSX:VSN), is expected to last for an indeterminate amount of time. “Our chief concern now is to ensure the safety of the public, employees and the environment. We are working to remove the H2S from the pipeline in a controlled and safe manner,” said Daniel Sutherland, Vice President, Commercial Operations. http://beaconenergynews.ca/energy-news/canada-to-us-natural-gas-pipeline-shut-down-due-to- hydrogen-sulphide/
Oil Tain Blast Zone - Forest Ethics
When oil trains derail we all pay the price. How close are you and your family to a disaster waiting to happen? Use the blast zone map below to find out and take action.
http://explosive-crude-by-rail.org/ca/
45 30 blue herons found dead at Syncrude Mildred Lake site
The province is investigating after around 30 blue herons were killed at an oilsands mine in northern Alberta.
Alberta's Energy Regulator (AER) says it is looking into what killed the birds at Syncrude's Mildred Lake facility, about 40 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, Alta.
Bob Curran, a spokesman for the agency, says a Syncrude worker found one of the heron Wednesday. The animal was alive, but had to be euthanized. After the company searched the area, they found the rest of the birds dead in a run-off pond.
"It would contain mostly rainwater but there was some bitumen in there as well," Curran said. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/30-blue-herons-found-dead-at-syncrude-mildred-lake-site- 1.3184410
Permits Required to Build TransCanada’s Keystone XL Pipeline in Jeopardy As Hearings Reveal Missteps
TransCanada’s decision to purchase all of the pipe needed to complete the Keystone XL Pipeline before receiving a presidential permit could prove a costly mistake.
Not only is President Obama expected to reject the permit TransCanada needs in order to cross the U.S.-Canadian border, the company must recertify an expired permit before it can install the pipeline though South Dakota as well.
At a hearing that began on July 29 in Pierre, South Dakota, the state Public Utilities Commission (PUC) is tasked to decide if it should recertify the company’s permit to build the Keystone XL pipeline through the state. Those opposing the Keystone XL, referred to as interveners, are making the case that TransCanada is not up to the job. http://www.desmogblog.com/2015/08/03/permits-required-build-transcanada-s-keystone-xl-pipeline- jeopardy-hearings-reveal-missteps
Is the Oil Industry Off a Cliff or Just in a Down Cycle?
Low prices are forcing companies to curtail exploration and borrow to sustain dividends and stock value as the world looks to curtail emissions.
With the oil industry facing what could be its worst downturn in more than 45 years, the major companies are taking extraordinary, perhaps even desperate, measures to preserve their dividends. This is raising the question of whether the current price slump is just another in a long history of down business cycles, from which oil companies always emerge victoriously, or a sign of more deeply troubled times ahead. http://insideclimatenews.org/news/04082015/oil-downturn-could-become-cliff-prices-low-exxon- chevron-climate-green-energy
46 A Massive Oil Pipeline Under the Great Lakes Is Way Past Its Expiration Date Embedded video
The Straits of Mackinac connect Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, and divide Michigan’s lower peninsula from its upper peninsula. But the gorgeous blue expanse of this part of the Great Lakes region is threatened by a danger lurking just beneath its surface: two degrading oil pipelines.
Motherboard correspondent Spencer Chumbley went to Michigan to investigate the situation, and the research is alarming. If just one of the pipelines ruptured, it would result in a spill of 1.5 million gallons of oil—and that’s if Enbridge, the company that owns them, is able to fix the pipeline immediately. UMich research scientist Dave Schwab says, “I can’t imagine another place in the Great Lakes where it’d be more devastating to have an oil spill.” http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-aging-oil-pipelines-below-the-great-lakes
Revealed: Canadian government spent millions on secret tar sands advocacy
Canada’s Conservative government spent several million dollars on a tar sands advocacy fund as its push to export the oil faltered, documents reveal.
In its 2013 budget, the government invested $30 million over two years on public relations advertising and domestic and international “outreach activities” to promote Alberta’s tar sands.
The outreach activities, which cost $4.5 million and were never publicly disclosed, included efforts to “advance energy literacy amongst BC First Nations communities.”
The Harper government has been trying to ship tar sands to the British Columbia coast via two pipelines, Northern Gateway and Kinder Morgan, which scores of First Nations communities have pledged to block because of environmental and economic concerns.
With Canada’s federal election in full swing, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been on the defensive over his backing of the tar sands, which have derailed the country’s emissions reduction targets and, since the crash of oil prices, destabilized its economy. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/true-north/2015/aug/11/canadian-government-spent-millions- on-secret-tar-sands-advocacy
Filmmakers Connect Pipeline Opponents from BC to New Brunswick
Just under a year ago, a battle in a Burnaby Mountain conservation area began.
Mayor Derek Corrigan launched legal action against Kinder Morgan for cutting down a small stand of "ecologically significant" trees, while a small group of young activists pitched a land-defending camp opposing the company's pipeline survey work. Over a few short months, that camp escalated into the Burnaby Mountain showdown that saw over 100 Trans Mountain pipeline expansion opponents arrested.
By then filmmakers Zack Embree and Devyn Brugge had already released the above short film Directly Affected, which gives voice to a diverse cross-section of experts, residents, fishers and farmers rooted
47 along the proposed pipeline route. The team is now taking the film across Canada, and raising funds to produce a nation-wide version of the film that uncovers stories about Energy East. http://thetyee.ca/Video/2015/08/11/Directly-Affected/?utm_source=editor- tweet&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=110815
Hearing Into Allegations That CSIS Spied On Pipeline Opponents Set To Begin
A hearing into allegations the Canadian Security Intelligence Service spied on people opposed to the Northern Gateway pipeline project will begin Wednesday in downtown Vancouver – and two of the people who will testify say the allegations have had a chilling effect on environmental advocates.
The BC Civil Liberties Association filed a complaint with the Security Intelligence Review Committee, which oversees CSIS, in February of last year. The civil liberties association alleged that CSIS spied on community groups and First Nations opposed to the pipeline, and that CSIS then shared at least some of that information with the National Energy Board and the oil industry.
Josh Paterson, the civil liberties association’s executive director, in an interview Tuesday said it is illegal for CSIS to gather intelligence on law-abiding groups. He said documents released through Freedom of Information indicate CSIS was spying on people who were acting in an entirely peaceful manner – such as those who met in a church basement to paint signs and even a First Nations basketball tournament. https://redpowermedia.wordpress.com/2015/08/11/hearing-into-allegations-that-csis-spied-on-pipeline- opponents-set-to-begin/ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/hearing-into-allegations-that-csis-spied-on- pipeline-opponents-set-to-begin/article25935074/
CSIS surveillance of pipeline protesters faces federal review
B.C. Civil Liberties Association alleges spy agency broke the law with its surveillance http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/csis-surveillance-of-pipeline-protesters-faces-federal- review-1.3188231
Information Morning - Fredericton | Aug 12, 2015 - Elsibogtog Hires Lawyer
Lawyer Bruce McIvor has been hired by the Elsibogtog First Nation to represent its interests regarding the Energy East pipeline. http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/NB/Audio/ID/2673502352/
Kinder Morgan pipeline review by NEB loses 35 participants over 'flawed' process
'We can't abide by the system any more. It's too flawed,' says former participant
48 Dozens of participants have dropped out of the controversial National Energy Board review of Kinder Morgan's proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, saying they can no longer support a "biased" and "unfair" process.
Thirty-five commenters and interveners, including the Wilderness Committee and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, sent a letter to the board Wednesday announcing their immediate withdrawal.
"It's a sad day. We do not like to fly in the face of regulatory processes," said Wilderness Committee climate campaigner Eoin Madden in a phone interview. "But we can't abide by the system any more. It's too flawed." http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/kinder-morgan-pipeline-review-by-neb-loses-35- participants-over-flawed-process-1.3189123
Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion could cost Canada $22.1B, says SFU study
Study says excess pipeline capacity not needed, project not in public interest
A new study from Simon Fraser University and Living Oceans Society says Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project does not meet the National Energy Board's requirement of being in the public interest.
The study says the project, which would triple Kinder Morgan's capacity to carry oil between Alberta and Burnaby, B.C., could come at a net cost to Canada of between $4.1 billion and $22.1 billion. Those costs are associated, not only with damage to the environment in the form of oil spills and greenhouse gas emissions, but also with building too much pipeline capacity, it says.
"Right now if you look at the projects that the National Energy Board has approved or is under consideration, these pipeline projects will exceed demand by about 2.5 million barrels per day by 2020," said Tom Gunton, SFU Director of the Resource and Environmental Planning Program, who led the study. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/kinder-morgan-trans-mountain-pipeline-expansion- could-cost-canada-22-1b-says-sfu-study-1.3095622
Energy East Pipeline's Risks Outweigh Benefits, Ontario Energy Board Says
TORONTO — The Ontario Energy Board says there is an imbalance in the environmental and economic risks of the Energy East pipeline project and the expected benefits.
The board says its primary concerns are about pipeline safety and the impact on lakes, rivers and drinking water in the event of an oil spill, and wants it routed away from environmentally sensitive areas. It says Ontario residents are also concerned about the impact on natural gas supplies and prices when the pipeline is converted to carry oil. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/08/13/ontario-says-economic-environment-risks-of-energy-east- project-outweigh-benefits_n_7982854.html
49 Kinder Morgan stock under siege, pipeline expansion a shaky bet
Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI-NYSE) bills itself as “the largest midstream and third largest energy company (based on enterprise value) in North America.” Enterprise value is a fancy term for the market value of the whole company — it’s an estimate analysts like to use to measure how much a buyer would have to fork over to purchase the entire enterprise. Think of it as equity plus debt minus available cash. Last December, it would have cost $144 billion (US) to buy KMI, now it's 20-per-cent cheaper; KMI’s selling price is $115 billion (US). http://www.nationalobserver.com/2015/08/13/opinion/kinder-morgan-stock-under-siege-pipeline- expansion-shaky-bet
Moscow river catches fire after pipeline bursts – video
Amateur footage shows a large oil fire on the surface of the Moscow river after an underwater pipeline reportedly burst on Wednesday. The Moscow oil refinery, owned by Gazprom Neft, told Reuters it was unaffected by the fire, and did not own the pipeline where the incident occurred. Local news agencies reported that one child and two adults suffered burns from the incident http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2015/aug/13/river-fire-burst-pipeline-moscow-russia-video? CMP=fb_gu
TransCanada’s Energy East Pipeline: what you need to know
The Energy East Pipeline is a proposal of Alberta-based TransCanada Corp. to pump up to 1.1-million barrels per day of bitumen from the oil sands in Alberta and Saskatchewan to export terminals in Eastern Canada, including Saint John. If built, it would be the largest oil pipeline in North America and would facilitate a 40 per cent expansion of the oil sands in western Canada. This would increase national greenhouse gas emissions by 32 million tonnes — more emissions currently generated by all four of the Atlantic provinces combined.
The project involves the construction of 1,400-kilometres of new pipeline in New Brunswick. This would be the first oil pipeline to span the length of our province, snaking its way from the border at Edmundston, down the St. John River Valley through the farms of Carleton County, crossing Grand Lake cottage country, the fertile plains of Hampton, and ending beside the majestic Bay of Fundy, where tankers will carry the vast majority of product for export to foreign markets. http://www.conservationcouncil.ca/our-programs/climate-and-energy/energy-east-pipeline-what-you- need-to-know/
Risk to our freshwater system http://www.conservationcouncil.ca/risk-to-our-freshwater-system/
Full list of NB waterways at risk by TransCanada’s Energy East Pipeline http://www.conservationcouncil.ca/full-list-of-nb-waterways-at-risk-by-transcanadas-energy-east- pipeline/
50 New Water Use Restrictions Highlight Influence of Climate on Oilsands, Need for Stronger Rules
The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) is restricting water withdrawals for oil and gas operators in several river basins across the province due to extremely dry summer conditions and low water levels. Restrictions have been put in place for the Upper Athabasca Region but not the Lower Athabasca Region where several major oilsands companies operate.
The regulator is also asking oil and gas companies to voluntarily limit their water consumption for dry areas not currently under withdrawal bans.
Climate Change Limiting Water for Oilsands Operators, New Study Finds
According to a new article in the journal Climactic Change, climate change, induced by activities in the oilsands region, has the ability to limit streamflow in the Athabasca River Basin.
The reduced water flow will affect not only ecosystems, but also future oilsands operations, something the study’s authors, Doris Leong and Simon Donner, say industry and policy makers may need to consider going forward. http://www.desmog.ca/2015/08/18/new-water-use-restrictions-highlight-influence-climate-oilsands- need-stronger-rules
TransCanada’s Energy East Pipeline: Too Much Risk for the Bay of Fundy-Gulf of Maine
The Conservation Council of New Brunswick has released a report on the potential impacts of TransCanada’s Energy East pipeline project on the Bay of Fundy and Gulf of Maine. The report explores the many risks to whales and other wildlife in the Bay of Fundy as well as the risk to sustainable jobs in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Maine from increased tanker traffic and the increased risk of oil spills. http://www.conservationcouncil.ca/transcanadas-energy-east-pipeline-too-much-risk-for-the-bay-of- fundy-gulf-of-maine/
The report English http://www.conservationcouncil.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Bay-of-Fundy-Report-Eng.pdf
French http://www.conservationcouncil.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Bay-of-Fundy-Report-fre-2015.pdf
TransCanada disputes claim that Energy East pipeline would stress whales
The company planning to build the Energy East pipeline says concerns about the potential impact of the project on whales and some fisheries in the Bay of Fundy are unfounded.
A report released Wednesday by the Conservation Council of New Brunswick said noise from tanker traffic causes heightened levels of stress for the North Atlantic right whale, the most endangered large whale in the world.
51 The council’s 22-page report said the Bay of Fundy’s world-famous tides and thick fog would make it difficult to clean up oil spills quickly. It provides examples of past spills in the Bay of Fundy, including an incident in February 2007 that was not assessed or tracked due to adverse weather and fog. It said bitumen is likely to form into tarballs when mixed with salt water and sink, which could harm bottom- feeding lobster and scallop.
But Mr. Duboyce said the company will have emergency plans in place. “The fact of the matter is, what we’re doing is putting in place measures to try to ensure that a situation like that never happens in the first place. Zero incidents is our aim.” http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/energy-east- pipeline-would-stress-whales-conservation-group-warns/article26014175/
Spin Cycle: Will all of the oilsands be developed?
Alberta's oilsands seem to always be a contentious issue both nationally and internationally. It was likely only a matter of time before it became a hot topic on the federal campaign trail.
Comments by an NDP candidate for the riding of Toronto Centre are causing a stir and putting the spotlight on Alberta's bitumen.
Linda McQuaig, a well-known author and journalist, told a panel discussion on CBC News Network's Power & Politics Friday that for Canada to meet its climate change targets much of the oilsands may have to be left in the ground.
Fossil fuels around the world are at growing risk of being stranded, according to a report this spring by HSBC Global Research. The firm proposed three reasons for why some will never be extracted: climate change regulations, the economics of low global oil prices and innovations taking place in the renewable energy sector, such as wind energy, solar energy and battery storage.
Economics could be the biggest factor for the oilsands.
Extracting bitumen is more expensive than other forms of oil production. With oil prices having fallen substantially in the last year, some companies have postponed new projects.
"This is basic economics. We have an oil industry, particularly in publicly traded Western companies, that was built for a $100 barrel world and now faces a future where we may not see that price anytime soon, if ever again," said Andrew Logan, director of the oil and gas industry program at Ceres, a non- profit that advocates for sustainable business practices. Logan made the comments while speaking at an investment conference in Banff earlier this summer. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/spin-cycle-will-all-of-the-oilsands-be-developed-1.3185553
Irving Oil will announce massive refinery maintenance project
Saint John-based oil refinery is set to undergo its largest maintenance project in its history
The company is billing it as one of the largest private sector investments in Canada this year and the biggest maintenance project in its history. Several sources say the work is expected to last eight weeks.
52 The announcement will be made at 10 a.m.
Along with maintenance work, the company is known to be preparing for new American vehicle emission and fuel standard rules. The vast majority of the refinery's product is exported to the United States. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/irving-oil-will-announce-massive-refinery-maintenance- project-1.3197180
Government Too Slow on Response to Shoal Point Oil Leak: NDP Critic
The NDP critic for environment and conservation is criticizing government's response time to an oil leak at Shoal Point.
It was confirmed this week that the oil seepage is coming from an abandoned and deteriorating well. George Murphy says, however, the problem was brought to the attention of government months ago - and he says that's when they should have acted. http://www.vocm.com/newsarticle.asp?mn=2&id=56787
Alberta Energy Regulator responds to 100,000-litre spill in northwestern Alberta
CALGARY -- A pipeline in northwestern Alberta has spilled about 100,000 litres of a mixture of wastewater, oil and gas.
Calgary-based NuVista Energy (TSX:NVA) owns the six-inch diameter oil emulsion pipeline, which leaked on the Hay Lake First Nation, about 100 kilometres northwest of High Level, Alta.
On Friday afternoon, a helicopter crew doing regular daily inspection and maintenance work saw a "small area of stressed vegetation" along the pipeline route and the line was shut down immediately, NuVista said in a statement Wednesday. http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/alberta-energy-regulator-responds-to-100-000-litre-spill-in- northwestern-alberta-1.2524325
Shouting whales, tar balls, fog and jobs - Report highlights all the reasons why not Energy East
A new report issued by the Conservation Council of New Brunswick suggests that TransCanada's proposed Energy East pipeline has the potential to have various, serious, impacts to the Bay of Fundy ecosystem and those who currently live in it, and benefit from it.
Penned by longtime 'Fundy Baykeeper' Matthew Abbott, the report paints a picture of a unique ecosystem, where industry and sustainability have struck an extremely fine balance. A mega-project such as the Energy East pipeline, which will potentially see an increase in traffic of between 115-290 new mega-tankers shipping unrefined bitumen for export, is simply too much for the Bay of Fundy to handle.
53 The fact that very little baseline data exists to measure the impact of current industrial stressors in the Bay, coupled with an incomplete and highly questionable mitigation plan in case of an environmental emergency in what is a highly complex marine ecosystem, makes Energy East, to Abbott, simply too big a risk to accept. http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/story/shouting-whales-tar-balls-fog-and-jobs/33822
Maritime Noon - Energy East and the Bay of Fundy, Your Thoughts, … http://www.cbc.ca/maritimenoon/2015/08/19/energy-east-and-the-bay-of-fundy-your-thoughts-wedding- etiquette/
Shift - NB Energy East too big a risk?
The Conservation Council's new report says we don't know enough about the impact of increased tanker traffic in the Bay of Fundy, and a spill could destroy fishing and tourism. http://www.cbc.ca/player/AudioMobile/Shift%2B-%2BNB/ID/2673954531/
Enbridge Line 9 changing hands
A controversial plan to ship oil sands bitumen across southern Ontario through a leak-prone pipeline took a new twist when the project changed ownership.
Ownership of the Enbridge Line 9 route was transferred from its parent company to the Enbridge Income Fund, at the same time when 60 kilometres of this route is undergoing hydrostatic testing to ensure its structural integrity.
“At a time when safety should be first and foremost on the minds of everyone involved with the Line 9 project, I find this ownership transfer timing is highly questionable,” said anti-Line 9 activist Louisette Lanteigne, a Waterloo resident who lives near the pipeline’s route.
Enbridge is proposing to reactivate the 38-year-old Line 9 pipeline, currently inactive since last year, to ship oil sands bitumen east from the U.S. via Sarnia to Quebec. Prior to being shut down, Line 9 carried lighter Middle East crude west from the Montreal Terminal, via North Westover Station, to either the Sarnia or Westover Terminals. http://www.nationalobserver.com/2015/08/20/news/controversial-pipeline-changing-hands
Art's Place
Comment on facebook from Art MacKay
"Art MacKay Actually we know a lot about tankers in the Bay from the many detailed studies that go back over many many years and and the many development proposals including: FDRs tidal proposal in 1936, the Pittston Refinery in Eastport, and the LNG proposals there, the Bilcon proposal in NS and the New England Aquarium study and followup that moved the shipping lanes. In every case but one
54 these led to the refusal of these projects by both Canada and the US or some action to mitigate. The common thread has been the impact on the unique biodiversity of the Bay endangered species (whales in particular) and eco-industries that depend on the Bay. That said, the increased traffic and the higher toxicity of the product will only raise the stakes. CCNBs excellent report is vital to raise the awareness of those who are only now becoming concerned about current proposals. Some of these studies are available here: https://www.scribd.com/artmackay"
Art MacKay is a developer, writer, artist and a marine biologist who has been on, over, and under the North Atlantic region for over 40 years. He lives and works near St. Andrews, NB. https://www.scribd.com/artmackay#
Redacted diary reveals oil's hidden route to Harper
Redacted entries in Mike Duffy’s diary suggest he was in regular undisclosed contact with pipeline giant Enbridge during the height of the federal government's scorching attacks on environmental activists and charities in 2012.
The suspended senator’s journal shows a flurry of conversations and emails with or about top-level Enbridge executives, then PMO chief of staff Nigel Wright and the Prime Minister between January and June of 2012, just as the National Energy Board started its hearings on the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline proposal.
During this period, the federal government launched three parliamentary hearings, a senate inquiry and a major Canada Revenue Agency audit initiative focused on the activities of environmental charities, many of which opposed Northern Gateway. http://www.nationalobserver.com/2015/04/21/news/redacted-diary-reveals-oils-hidden-route-harper
Montrealers asked to weigh in on Energy East pipeline project
Montreal’s environmental consultation board is calling on people in and around the city to weigh in on the $12-billion Energy East pipeline project.
Beginning next month, the Commission de l’environment de la communautée urbaine de Montréal (CMM) will hold a series of public hearings into the 4,600-kilometre pipeline — which will carry oil from Alberta and Saskatchewan to terminals in Quebec and New Brunswick.
Following the town hall-style hearings, the CMM will submit a report to the National Energy Board and Quebec’s environmental consultation board.
The Energy East project involves converting aging infrastructure initially designed to transport natural gas as well as the construction of more than 1,000 kilometres of new pipeline. Environmental and First Nations groups worry what effect a potential rupture in the pipeline would cause on lakes, rivers and wildlife. http://montrealgazette.com/business/energy/montreal-public-asked-to-weigh-in-on-energy-east- pipeline-project
55 Ontario prepares for Energy East hearings
TransCanada PipeLines Limited shouldn’t expect a great deal of love from the province of Ontario once hearings begin before the National Energy Board on its proposed Energy East pipeline. Ontario asked the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) to study the Energy East proposal and to brief the province on key issues that would shape its position. The OEB has responded with something far short of a ringing endorsement.
Evidence and hearings is the next stage of the National Energy Board’s review of Energy East. Those hearings have not yet been scheduled. http://www.ecolog.com/issues/ISArticle.asp?aid=1003770988&PC=EN&issue=08212015
The Big Fix - BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Cover up
A documentary that examines the April 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico following the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KgFBciS_X0
NEB delays Kinder Morgan pipeline hearing due to conflict of interest issue
Less than a month after the Harper government received scalding criticism for appointing a Kinder Morgan consultant to the National Energy Board, the NEB announced Friday it will postpone the public hearings into the Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline expansion to deal with the conflict of interest about the hire.
The National Observer originally broke news of the conflict of interest in a story that went viral.
Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford chose the the August long weekend on July 31st, just before the Sunday launch of a federal election, to announce the controversial appointment of Steven Kelly. http://www.nationalobserver.com/2015/08/21/news/neb-delays-kinder-morgan-pipeline-hearing- following-outcry
Public input sought on BP drilling
The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency is looking for public input on BP Canada Energy Group ULC’s proposal to drill exploratory wells in the Scotian Basin.
“It’s a great step forward,” Anita Perry, regional manager for Nova Scotia for BP Canada, said in an interview Friday.
The company is seeking to drill its first exploration well in 2017 off the southeastern coast of Nova Scotia, with plans for up to a total of seven wells depending on the results of the initial test well.
BP successfully bid $1.04 billion and was granted exploration licences for four parcels about 250 kilometres off Nova Scotia in 2013.
56 http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/1306539-public-input-sought-on-bp-drilling The Dry Weather That’s Hitting The Tar Sands Industry Is ‘A Preview Of The Future,’ Scientist Says
Dozens of tar sands developers in Alberta’s tar sands have been suspended from taking water — needed for their operations — out of local rivers, after a low flow advisory was issued.
The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) suspended 73 licenses to temporarily divert water (TDLs) from the Athabasca, Peace, and Wabasca rivers on July 24, after unusually dry weather caused water to fall to at or below healthy maintenance levels. Now, scientists are saying this could become a regular issue for Alberta’s tar sands industry.
As global warming worsens, some regions, including Alberta, can expect more and more dry summers, scientists say.
“This is absolutely a preview of the future,” Simon Dowell, a climate scientist at the University of British Columbia, told ThinkProgress.
Earlier snow melt and drier conditions due to climate change are “exactly what all the models predict,” he said. In fact, the AER suspensions came the same week a paper Dowell co-authored was accepted for publication. In the paper, Dowell and lead author Doris Leong found that, by mid-century, there could be two-month interruptions in tar sands development due to lack of water. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/08/21/3693873/alberta-drought-affecting-tar-sands-operators/
National Energy Board hearings into Trans Mountain pipeline expansion postponed
A National Energy Board panel has postponed hearings that were supposed to begin next week into the Trans Mountain expansion because a consultant who prepared evidence in favour of the project will soon work for the regulator.
Kinder Morgan Canada, the company behind the project, filed evidence with the board in late 2013 that was prepared by Steven Kelly, a consultant with IHS Global Canada at the time. The report touted the project’s economic benefits.
In July, federal Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford announced Kelly had been appointed to a seven-year term on the board starting Oct. 13.
“There can be no question that public confidence in the impartiality of tribunal decision-makers is integral to the administration of justice. The dual role of Mr. Kelly, as a person who prepared evidence in this proceeding and as a future board member, may raise concerns about the integrity of this hearing process,” the three-member panel wrote in a letter to the company and intervenors on Friday. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/national-energy-board-hearings-into-trans- mountain-pipeline-expansion-postponed/article26059639/
TransCanada's 54 year old time bomb explodes
57 The Transportation Safety Board has released its report on the rupture and explosion of TransCanada’s pipeline in Otterburne, Manitoba in January of 2014. The report can be read here.
The pipeline was found to have ruptured due to a faulty weld created when it was built in 1960. The fatally flawed weld was not detected by any of TransCanada’s inspections over the last 54 years. It finally revealed its presence in a massive explosion that sent flames hundreds of metres into the winter skies over Otterburne.
TransCanada’s pipeline Integrity Management Program is supposed to prevent ruptures like this. It failed. Just like it has failed in the other eight pipeline ruptures the corporation has had in Canada since 2009- more ruptures than any other pipeline company according to National Energy Board statistics. http://canadians.org/blog/transcanadas-54-year-old-time-bomb-explodes
The report http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/pipeline/2014/p14h0011/p14h0011.asp#photo-01
NEB Statistics https://www.neb-one.gc.ca/sftnvrnmnt/sft/pplnrptr/index-eng.html https://www.neb-one.gc.ca/sftnvrnmnt/sft/pplnrptr/pplnrptr-eng.xls
TransCanada's Energy East pipeline clears another hurdle
TransCanada Corp. resolved a major challenge to its $12-billion Energy East project after reaching an agreement with three natural gas distributors who say the deal insulates customers from the additional costs of converting the pipeline.
Under the agreement announced Monday, customers in Ontario and Quebec won't be on the hook for extra construction and development costs and will save $100 million between 2018 and 2050, the natural gas companies said.
"Whoever will be using the system at that time will pay less than they would have otherwise if Energy East had not been going forward," Gaz Metro CEO Sophie Brochu said in an interview.
The company said the deal also includes a commitment to increase the size of its proposed Eastern Mainline Project pipeline in southern Ontario to fulfil all natural gas contracts, including new ones for 2016 and 2017, and add 50 million cubic feet per day of additional capacity. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/transcanada-s-energy-east-pipeline-clears-another-hurdle- 1.3201744
Bear Head LNG export licence approved by National Energy Board
The National Energy Board has approved export and import licences for a proposed liquefied natural gas facility in Cape Breton.
58 The Bear Head LNG Corporation wants to build a facility in Point Tupper, Richmond County.
On Friday, the board issued an import licence for natural gas and approved the plant to export liquefied natural gas.
Its ruling is subject to the approval from the governor in council.
Heritage Gas filed an official comment raising concerns how exporting liquefied natural gas could affect the supply in Canada and how it "flows into the Maritimes."
"We have determined that the quantity of natural gas proposed to be exported by Bear Head LNG is surplus to Canadian needs," wrote the board in its decision. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/bear-head-lng-export-licence-approved-by-national- energy-board-1.3190897
Oil Field Workers Keep Dying, and the Feds Want to Know Why
The oil boom in North Dakota and elsewhere has helped the US become the world's leading energy provider and has captured the attention of Hollywood producers. It also has claimed the lives of dozens of oil field workers.
Now, that fallout from the boom is drawing renewed attention from government scientists.
In the largest study of its kind, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which investigates the causes of workplace health problems, said it intends to examine the factors that cause injuries and accidents in the oil fields in an effort to improve safety.
Scientists from the institute will distribute questionnaires starting next year to 500 oil field workers in North Dakota, Texas and one other state that will be determined in the coming months. http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/08/oil-field-deaths
Canadian doctors divest from fossil fuels
According to the CMA's 2008 report "No Breathing Room: National Illness Costs of Air Pollution," every year air pollution across Canada sends 620,000 people to their doctor, 92,000 people to the emergency room, 11,000 people into a hospital bed and 21,0000 people to their graves. These numbers (which don’t include traffic accidents from the lack of accessible mass transit) and their costs (including $8 billion in financial costs) are steadily rising. http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/jesse/2015/08/canadian-doctors-divest-fossil-fuels
New Jersey’s $225 Million Settlement With Exxon Mobil Is Approved
New Jersey’s widely debated $225 million settlement of a pollution lawsuit with Exxon Mobil Corporation was approved on Tuesday by a state judge who called the deal fair, reasonable and in the public interest.
59 The ruling comes in a longstanding legal battle in which New Jersey demanded $8.9 billion in compensation for natural resource damage to more than 1,500 acres of wetlands, marshes and waters at refinery sites that Exxon once owned in Bayonne and Linden. Environmental groups, federal and state politicians, and others had sharply criticized the administration of Gov. Chris Christie for accepting just a small fraction of the damages that the state had long sought. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/26/nyregion/new-jerseys-225-million-settlement-with-exxon-mobil-is- approved.html?ref=energy-environment&_r=1
Photos of Ruptured Pipeline Finally Released
Somehow, in our collective imaginations, we could not conjure a credible scenario in which the release of such photos could possibly compromise any investigation. Fortunately, the hyperventilation was put to rest this week with the release of these photos — at the request of The Santa Barbara Independent — by Santa Barbara County Planning and Development director Glenn Russell.
No revelations are immediately apparent upon perusal of these images. Nor were any expected. They merely constitute a key ingredient of the factual record of what happened along the Refugio Coast despite Santa Barbara’s international reputation as one of the most environmentally hyper-protective places on Earth.
60 http://www.independent.com/news/2015/jun/08/photos-ruptured-pipeline-finally-released/ This Map Shows Every Pipeline Spill In The U.S. For The Past 28 Years (VIDEO)
The Center for Biological Diversity reports:
“This time-lapse video shows pipeline incidents from 1986 to 2013, relying on publicly available data from the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. Only incidents classified as “significant” by the agency are shown in the video. “Significant” incidents include those in which someone was hospitalized or killed, damages amounted to more than $50,000, more than 5 barrels of highly volatile substances or 50 barrels of other liquid were released, or where the liquid exploded or burned.
According to the data, since 1986 there have been nearly 8,000 incidents (nearly 300 per year on average), resulting in more than 500 deaths (red dots on the video), more than 2,300 injuries (yellow dots on the video), and nearly $7 billion in damage. http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/06/05/map-pipeline-spill/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3nJHzbR1yIE
California https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LEzVJu2nOVI
Unmapped, unregulated maze of rural pipelines poses hidden risks
The Wolf Administration says Pennsylvania will be getting tens of thousands of miles of new pipelines over the next couple of decades. Recently we reported on how poorly mapped some of these pipelines are. Many of those unmapped pipelines are also unregulated. These are rural gathering lines, or pipelines that take the gas from the wellhead to a larger transmission line, or gas processing facility. https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2015/08/04/unmapped-unregulated-maze-of-rural-pipelines- poses-hidden-risks/
TransCanada drilling boreholes in Bay of Fundy before project is approved
OTTAWA – The Energy East terminal project in the Bay of Fundy has not been approved, but that isn’t stopping TransCanada from moving ahead with disruptive borehole testing as early as today.
Borehole drilling creates marine noise and can result in flaring, both of which are detrimental to whales and other wildlife in the surrounding land and waters.
“TransCanada is testing in the Bay of Fundy precisely when migratory birds and endangered right whales are at their peak in this area,” says Lynaya McKinley, a resident of Red Head, the small community near Saint John where the Energy East terminal would be located. “Not only has the project not been approved, but National Energy Board hearings haven't even started. There must be community consultation before any work begins.”
61 The Red Head Anthony’s Cove Preservation Association, the New Brunswick Environmental Network, the Wolastoq First Nation, and four local Council of Canadians chapters are calling for an immediate halt to the testing. http://canadians.org/media/transcanada-drilling-boreholes-bay-fundy-project-approved
Alarm sounded as TransCanada set to drill in Bay of Fundy
‘No consent for Energy East’: New Brunswick groups say they weren’t consulted or warned https://ricochet.media/en/569/alarm-sounded-as-transcanada-set-to-drill-in-bay-of-fundy
Tobique flies the New Brunswick consultative coop, here comes TransCanada
As First Nation community leaves AFNCNB, Energy East borehole testing readies
The Assembly of Chiefs in New Brunswick Inc. (AFNCNB), just recently lost one of its last remaining Wolastoq clients, as Tobique (Neqotkuk) First Nation, with a 2008 population of just under 2,000 members, this month exited from under the AFNCNB's consultative umbrella.
"Tobique First Nation Chief and Council felt it was in the best interest of our community to withdraw from the Assembly of FN Chiefs NB. The Assembly of FN Chiefs NB did not progress or meet community expectations on various different files that are important to Tobique First Nation band members," reads a statement sent to the Halifax Media Co-op by Tobique Chief Ross Perley.
Of six Wolastoq communities in New Brunswick, only two – Kingsclear and Oromocto – now remain allied to the AFNCNB. Wolastoqiyik territory is traditionally west of the Saint John river, while Mi'kmaq territory lies to the east.
Ron Tremblay, Tobique band member as well the spokesperson of the Wolastoq Grand Council, congratulates Chief Perley's decision. Tremblay alludes to the rift within the AFNCNB between the province's six Wolastoq communities and the nine Mi'kmaq communities east of the Saint John. Consultation over the Energy East pipeline, whose path will lead exclusively west of the Saint John river, has, to Tremblay, exacerbated the reality of the Wolastoq being outnumbered within a consultative group purporting to speak on behalf of them. http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/story/tobique-flies-new-brunswick-consultative-coop-here/33830
First Nations Group Occupy Lelu Island to Save Flora Banks
Sm'oogyet Yahan (Don Wesley Sr.) from Lax Kw'alaams has announced that a group of people have occupied Lelu Island to stop Petronas from developing LNG facilities on their land. https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=10&v=Ke5PVpwRntc
62 Ombudsman investigating need for separate provincial environmental review of TransCanada’s Energy East Pipeline
The New Brunswick ombudsman is now looking into whether the provincial government should conduct its own environmental impact assessment of TransCanada’s proposed Energy East bitumen pipeline, like the province of Quebec is doing.
The office of the Ombudsman will investigate why jurisdictions like Quebec are doing their own independent environmental assessment of the mega project while New Brunswick has deferred its responsibility to the National Energy Board.
As a result of the investigation, Ombudsman Charles Murray could recommend that the provincial government conduct its own study and require TransCanada to register the project for a review specific to the concerns of New Brunswickers.
Quebec has already decided to conduct its own environmental review of the project separate from the National Energy Board process. http://www.conservationcouncil.ca/ombudsman-investigating-need-for-separate-provincial- environmental-review-of-transcanadas-energy-east-pipeline/
2015 Canaport Energy East Marine Terminal Geotechnical Program Information Package - Bore Holes
https://app.box.com/s/kmgui7l2ferdevjp04tci79jwr8cwuow
Shell retiree sits on Board that will decide if company can wait weeks to cap offshore blowouts
KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) -- The final decision on if Shell Canada is allowed to wait 21 days before capping any blowouts at a deep-water drilling site off the coast of Nova Scotia will be made by the CEO of a board that includes a former Shell employee as one of its members.
A federal appointee to the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NSOPB), Doug Gregory, was employed by Shell for over 30 years, and opened the company's Halifax exploration office, where he focused on deep-sea exploration.
A spokesperson for the Board said they could not comment on "conflict-of interest matters”, directing questions to the federal government, who in turn directed questions back to the Board. http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/story/21-days-later/33829
63 Commentary: The Right Whale and The Wrong Company
The North Atlantic Right Whale is a symbol of the biodiversity and fragility of the Bay of Fundy. It is a magnificent marine mammal and it is also the most endangered whale in the world. August and September are the months when these and other whales come into the Bay of Fundy in the largest numbers, attracted to the rich biodiversity of the Bay of Fundy that rivals the Great Barrier Reef and the Amazon rainforest.
It is also a critical feeding stopover area along the eastern seaboard of North America for 34 species of fall migrating birds on their way to Central and South America, including hundreds of thousands of sandpipers and plovers, making it one of 6 Canadian sites in the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. These birds come to the salt marshes, and vast stretches of mudflats of the Bay of Fundy exposed twice a day during low tide.
So what does TransCanada do at this critical time? They bring in a barge into the Bay of Fundy to do borehole drilling at this time. Why would TransCanada conduct this work just as whales and migratory birds are coming into the Bay of Fundy in increasing numbers in August & September? This type of borehole testing generates continuous noise which has the potential to adversely affect whale behaviour several dozens of kilometres from the source.
And to create additional public uproar, TransCanada planned this work and towed the barge into the harbour without consulting the residents. http://canadians.org/blog/commentary-right-whale-and-wrong-company
Saint John community group wants to stop TransCanada drill test TransCanada Corporation says the work will not be invasive
"We're asking that the work be stopped," said Lynaya Astephen, a spokesperson for the Red Head Anthony's Cove Preservation Association.
"Some of us are still waiting to become intervenors through the National Energy Board, yet this work is being done beforehand."
Astephen said the community group should have been consulted before test drilling was approved.
She says there are questions about noise, traffic, impact on wildlife and what permits were obtained. She also wants to know if First Nations groups have consented to the work. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/saint-john-community-group-wants-to-stop- transcanada-drill-test-1.3206364
RCMP planning mass arrest of indigenous activists under Bill C-51, supporters warn
The RCMP are preparing to carry out a mass arrest operation against the indigenous Unist’ot’en Clan of the Wet’suwet’en Nation in northwestern BC under Harper government’s Bill C-51 labelling as terrorists First Nations activists exercising their Aboriginal Title and Rights to protect their lands from oil and gas development, according to a joint statement by the groups supporters.
64 The Conservatives’ controversial anti-terror act criminalizes protests that may be seen as interfering with ‘the economic or financial stability of Canada’ and opponents of the bill had long feared that it would be used to stifle opposition to oil pipelines aggressively promoted by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Today over fifty individuals and organizations have issued a letter to the provincial government, federal government and RCMP to express support for the Unist’ot’en Camp.
“The courageous stand taken by the Unist’ot’en and their supporters must not be criminalized by the RCMP nor targeted by government,” states Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians. “Through the draconian Bill C51, the federal government is attempting to brand people defending the land and water as ‘security threats.’ The Unist’ot’en are heroes, while the real threat is this government destroying the planet and economy.” http://thinkpol.ca/2015/08/28/rcmp-planning-mass-arrest-of-indigenous-activists-under-bill-c-51- supporters-warn/
Raiding Unist'ot'en camp would be "disastrous", B.C. RCMP warned
The B.C. Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) has sent a letter to the RCMP warning against “an impending, and possibly large-scale, RCMP action in relation to the Unist'ot'en camp”. “We understand that the RCMP may have already taken a decision, or be about to take a decision, that the RCMP will move in and remove people from the Unist'ot'en camp by force if necessary,” the BCCLA letter reads. “If we are mistaken in this, we hope that the RCMP will clarify this with the public immediately. We are deeply concerned that such an approach would be disastrous and would not respect the constitutionally-protected Title and Rights of the Unist'ot'en, as well as their rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”
The letter goes on to present a legal argument that outlines the Wet’suwet’en’s right to occupy the area in question. http://www.straight.com/news/518381/raiding-unistoten-camp-would-be-disastrous-bc-rcmp-warned
RCMP say they have no intention of "taking down" Unist'ot'en Camp
British Columbia RCMP have "no intention of taking down the Unist'ot'en Camp" according to an official press release issued early Friday evening. The statement was made in response to rumours and media reports that residents of the northwestern B.C. encampment faced threat from an imminent "mass arrest operation" co-ordinated by RCMP near Smithers, Houston, and surrounding detachments.
“The BC RCMP respects the rights of individuals to peacefully protest” said Cpl. Janelle Shoihet, on behalf of North District RCMP in the release. “To clarify, the BC RCMP has no intention of ‘taking down the camp’ set up by the Unist’ot’en. We value the Wet’suwet’en culture, the connection to the land and traditions being taught and passed on at the camp, and the importance of the camp to healing.” http://www.vancouverobserver.com/news/breaking-rcmp-have-no-intentions-taking-down-unistoten- camp http://bc.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=2087&languageId=1&contentId=43148
65 Regulator orders Nexen Energy to suspend operation of 95 pipelines in Alberta
CALGARY -- Alberta's energy regulator has ordered Nexen Energy to immediately cease operations of 95 pipelines in northeastern Alberta.
It issued the order late Friday due to what it calls non-compliance surrounding pipeline maintenance and monitoring in its Long Lake oilsands project.
Alberta Energy Regulator spokesman Bob Curran said every oil and gas company is required to monitor, inspect and maintain records for all of their pipelines
Nexen couldn't demonstrate that those activities have occurred on those lines, which carry several products including crude oil, natural gas, salt water, fresh water and emulsion, Curran said.
"What we need from them now is that assurance that those lines have been properly checked and that they are in compliance with the Pipeline Act."
Until then, the pipelines will stay shut, Curran added. http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/regulator-orders-nexen-energy-to-suspend-operation-of-95-pipelines- in-alberta-1.2538815
RCMP planning mass arrests at pipeline protest camp, northern B.C chiefs fear
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip said RCMP told First Nations leaders earlier this week of plans for "a massive arrest procedure utilizing a very, very large force of RCMP officers."
He says the UBCIC leadership was outraged, telling police, "That would be an incredibly provocative idea."
Phillip said he doesn't know why RCMP want to act now. He said the camp has been operating for several years and that low oil and gas prices mean some of the energy projects proposed for the area might be shelved.
"What's the great urgency to mass the large force of RCMP to go in and take down the camp? he said. "I'm rather curious. Are they undertaking a test drive of Bill C-51 or exactly what's going on here?"
CBC News has learned of a larger RCMP presence in Smithers, Burns Lake and Houston, the towns closest to the protest camp. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/rcmp-planning-mass-arrests-at-pipeline-protest-camp- northern-b-c-chiefs-fear-1.3207717
Prime minister using national security to distract from faltering economy, says Grand Chief
Concern that Harper may be ‘desperate enough to deliberately provoke a conflict’ with Aboriginal peoples
66 “We’re in the middle of an election,” says Stewart Phillip, the grand chief of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, and “we’re dealing with a very dangerous government.”
As the economy falters, Prime Minister Stephen Harper is trying to turn national security into an election issue, says Phillip.
Indigenous peoples, land and resource extraction fall squarely on Harper’s security agenda.
“I’m really concerned that the Harper government is desperate enough to deliberately provoke a conflict, a fight, with us over these issues,” says Phillip. “I know that the RCMP have been asking a lot of questions about Unist’ot’en.” https://ricochet.media/en/546/prime-minister-using-national-security-to-distract-from-faltering-economy- says-grand-chief
B.C. LNG industry will increase fracking-caused earthquakes: expert
If the liquefied natural gas industry proceeds as the British Columbia government hopes, there could be five times as many fracking-caused earthquakes, warns one expert.
But the company that would provide gas to a major LNG terminal — the same company found responsible for a 4.4 magnitude tremor last year — claims it won't ramp up drilling.
Progress Energy said it doesn't need to increase the number of wells it drills each year to supply Pacific NorthWest LNG's planned liquefaction and export terminal near Prince Rupert.
"Our upstream drilling activity will remain relatively consistent with current levels over the life of the LNG project or may even decline and therefore pose no incremental risk," said spokeswoman Stacie Dley in an email. http://www.nationalobserver.com/2015/08/30/news/bc-lng-industry-will-increase-fracking-caused- earthquakes-expert
Environmental advocates take NEB fight to Supreme Court
An environmental organization and a group of concerned citizens are asking the Supreme Court of Canada to hear a complaint that the National Energy Board is violating their rights to free speech.
ForestEthics Advocacy Association, and several individuals who live near the route of Kinder Morgan’s proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project, say the NEB is acting unfairly in limiting who can speak at the public hearings and in restricting the topics to be discussed
In setting the Trans Mountain hearing schedule, the NEB rejected several hundred people who’d applied to be heard and in a ruling said it would not receive submissions concerning the broader environmental impacts related to the extraction of heavy oil in Alberta, or its use in downstream markets.
“We are appealing to the Supreme Court to hear this challenge because Canadians … deserve the right to bring forward evidence of environmental impact and to speak about climate change. We
67 deserve the right not to be silenced,” said Tzeporah Berman, one of the applicants and a spokesperson for ForestEthics Advocacy. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/environmental-advocates-take-neb-fight-to- supreme-court/article23589027/
Court Challenges to National Energy Board or Governor in Council Decisions
The following information includes the status of litigation, appeals, and judicial reviews related to NEB or Governor in Council decisions, dating back to January 2014. At this time, the database does not include pre-2014 decisions. Where possible, the database provides a link to an external third-party controlled website, such as the Court database or an online version of the decision. It does not include civil claims or judicial reviews of administrative decisions. The database is searchable by project name, parties or filing date. https://www.neb-one.gc.ca/pplctnflng/crt/index-eng.html
68 Mining
Mining industry still horrified by Mount Polley tailings pond collapse: Bennett
KAMLOOPS, B.C. – British Columbia’s mines minister says the mining industry remains horrified a year after a tailings pond collapsed at the Mount Polley mine northwest of Williams Lake.
Bill Bennett said no one thought a crisis on such a scale was possible but that even now he can’t guarantee that another breach of a tailings pond won’t happen because only some of the risk factors can be eliminated.
“We didn’t eliminate enough of the risk and we have to figure out, and we are figuring out, how to eliminate the rest of that risk,” he said of the Aug. 4, 2014 accident. http://www.680news.com/2015/08/04/mining-industry-still-horrified-by-mount-polley-tailings-pond- collapse-bennett/
‘A crime scene’: Mount Polley one year after mining disaster
Last month B.C. quietly allowed Imperial Metals to resume operations. We share exclusive footage of the mess left behind by the Aug. 4, 2014 spill
Ricochet has provided extensive coverage of the aftermath of last summer’s environmental disaster at Mount Polley, B.C. Today we have a new report from on the ground, looking at the toxic scene left behind by the massive tailings breach that occurred exactly one year ago.
Despite two ongoing investigations, an incomplete clean up, and lingering concerns about architectural flaws, the Imperial Metals Mount Polley mine, site of one of the worst environmental disasters in Canadian history, has reopened.
Last month the B.C. government approved a limited permit to reopen the mine not even a year after its tailings facility failed, releasing 10 billion litres of contaminated water and 4.5 million cubic metres of toxic waste into the surrounding environment.
The province, for their part, knew of potential safety risks but was not obliged to inform the public, according to a report published by the B.C Information Privacy Commissioner. https://ricochet.media/en/539/a-crime-scene-mount-polley-one-year-after-mining-disaster https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyROvJZetBE&feature=player_embedded
Animas River closed to public Embedded video
EPA investigation team accidentally releases gallons of contamination from Gold King Mine
The Animas River was closed to tubers, rafters and swimmers Thursday as toxic waste from a mine in Silverton made its way through Durango.
69 City residents are being asked to conserve water for the next few days.
The city of Durango stopped pumping water out of the Animas River on Wednesday to make sure none of the waste could be sucked up into the city reservoir. http://www.durangoherald.com/article/20150806/NEWS01/150809765/River-users-warned-of-mine- waste-
EPA Crew Accidentally Turns Animas River Orange https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH2jMj46Gfw
N.B. warned about smelter health hazards, documents show
Thousands of documents tracing the secret history of the Belledune smelter in northeastern New Brunswick show scientists repeatedly warned the province that heavy metal contamination posed a potential danger to people's health.
Noranda's smelter in northeastern New Brunswick has generated controversy for decades, amid fears that lead and cadmium contamination was causing more health problems than normal — including higher cancer rates— and lowering property values.
But even though provincial officials continue to insist there is no known link between heavy metal contamination and high cancer rates in the Belledune area, the documents — which span the past 25 years — show that federal and provincial scientists believed the lead and cadmium that is still present in many backyards could pose a health risk.
EIA full of 'deficiencies,' committee finds
But one year later, a joint committee of federal and provincial scientists reviewed the EIA and criticized it as being full of "deficiencies," both in assessing the potential impact of zinc and the existing contamination.
It said the Belledune area is "highly contaminated" and the EIA does not give the reader an "honest appreciation of the gravity of the situation." http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/n-b-warned-about-smelter-health-hazards-documents-show-1.608366
Toxic Fallout Continues as Colorado Mine Spill Declared Three Times Larger Than Stated
The spill which sent toxic waste from an abandoned mine into a Colorado waterway last week released three million gallons of contaminates into the state's 126-mile Animas River—not one million, as previously announced, according to new estimates by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
As the orange-hued sludge kept flowing through Colorado and into the San Juan River in New Mexico on Monday, the fallout from the massive accident continued to spread, with communities declaring states of emergency and the Navajo Nation vowing to take action against the EPA, which caused the spill.
70 The county of La Plata and the city of Durango, both in Colorado, each declared a state of emergency at noon on Sunday. http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/08/10/toxic-fallout-continues-colorado-mine-spill-declared- three-times-larger-stated? utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork
AFNCNB Submission To the Sisson EIA Panel
As part of the EIA process related to Sisson Brook Mine the Assembly has prepared and submitted its review of the proposed mine. The full submission and all appendicies are listed below. To read them simply click on the link.
The main points are these: http://www.chiefsnb.ca/index.php/news/item/afncnb_submission_to_the_sisson_eia_panel
Submission To Sisson Review Panel From The Assembly Of First Nations’ Chiefs In New Brunswick July 2015 http://www.chiefsnb.ca/uploads/general/Sisson%20- %20AFNCNB_Submission_to_the_Sisson_EIA_Panel-July17,2015.pdf
Lakes across Canada face being turned into mine dump sites
Lakes are in B.C., Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, NWT and Nunavut
CBC News has learned that 16 Canadian lakes are slated to be officially but quietly "reclassified" as toxic dump sites for mines. The lakes include prime wilderness fishing lakes from B.C. to Newfoundland.
Environmentalists say the process amounts to a "hidden subsidy" to mining companies, allowing them to get around laws against the destruction of fish habitat.
Under the Fisheries Act, it's illegal to put harmful substances into fish-bearing waters. But, under a little- known subsection known as Schedule Two of the mining effluent regulations, federal bureaucrats can redefine lakes as "tailings impoundment areas."
That means mining companies don't need to build containment ponds for toxic mine tailings.
CBC News visited two examples of Schedule Two lakes. In Newfoundland and Labrador, the Vale Inco company wants to use a prime destination for fishermen known as Sandy Pond to hold tailings from a nickel processing plant. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/lakes-across-canada-face-being-turned-into-mine-dump-sites- 1.733972
71 Sisson Mine Project Conservation Council of New Brunswick
Conservation Council of New Brunswick’s review of the Sisson mine project Provincial Environmental Impact Assessment report http://www.conservationcouncil.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/CCNB-comments-on-Sisson-Brook- EIA_July-17.pdf
Conservation Council of New Brunswick’s Review of Sisson mine project Federal Environmental Impact Assessment Report http://www.conservationcouncil.ca/sisson-mine-project/
Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency Environmental Impact Assessment Report Sisson Brook MIne
Summary http://www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/documents/p63169/93969E.pdf
Full http://www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/document-eng.cfm?document=93967
In Minnesota, fight between mining and environment gets personal
One doesn’t have to search hard to find copper sulfide-ore mining disasters. In August 2014, the dam of the tailings pond at British Columbia’s Imperial Metals Mount Polley Mine burst, causing 14.5 million cubic meters of contaminated slurry and water to flow into area lakes and rivers. It has been billed as the largest mining disaster in Canadian history. A year later none of the sludge, containing mercury, copper, arsenic, selenium, and other heavy metals that leached into Hazeltine Creek and on to Quesnel Lake, has been recovered from the lake bottom.
The U.S. track record isn’t any better. According to Earthworks, an environmental organization based in Washington, D.C., all 14 copper sulfide mines in the U.S. (which represented 89 percent of U.S. copper production in 2010) have experienced pipeline spills or accidental releases of acid mine drainage. From Montana to New Mexico, there’s a sulfide-ore mine that has wreaked havoc on an ecosystem. http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/8/23/in-minnesota-fight-between-mining-and-environment- gets-personal.html? utm_content=main&utm_campaign=ajam&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=SocialFlow
Canadian Mining Undermines Democracy in Central America
Canadian mining companies account for 75 percent of the world’s extractive corporations. Canada is literally digging up the globe.
In Latin America,Canada and its extractive industry are viewed as the new conquistadors; they are thirsty for land and minerals and hungry for power. Canadian mining companies are often positioned at
72 the epicenter of community conflicts in both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, and linked with violence, environmental degradation, corruption and murder. Research produced by Canada’s own Prospectors and Development Association of Canada (PDAC) found that Canadian mining companies accounted for the most human and environmental rights abuses globally. Harrowing examples in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras further erode Canada’s claims of bringing “good” to the world. http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Canadian-Mining-Undermines-Democracy-in-Central-America- 20150824-0010.html
73 Forestry
Glyphosate - IARC Monographs - 112
Full paper http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol112/mono112-02.pdf
The government of NB is willing to abandon 160 jobs in the Miramichi https://vimeo.com/135427075
This is how the government of NB is causing the demise of the Miramichi Lumber mill. Charles Thériault https://vimeo.com/135521614
Glyphosate testing now available! Glyphosate detected in human blood, urine and breast milk - are you contaminated?
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) -- the cancer evaluation unit of the World Health Organization -- set up an eight-day meeting with 17 scientific experts earlier this year to assess whether certain pesticides can cause cancer in humans. The IARC declared glyphosate to be "probably carcinogenic," but experts note that it probably should be listed in the "carcinogenic" category.
Recently, a pilot study from Moms Across America and Sustainable Pulse analyzed the samples of breast milk, urine and drinking water. Levels found in breast milk were up to 1,600 times higher than the maximum detectable limit allowed in drinking water in Europe. In the U.S., however, maximum allowance is set much higher by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), because of the assumption that glyphosate is not bio-accumulative.
Dr. Angelika Hilbeck, senior scientist at the Institute of Integrative Biology in Zurich, stated, "If confirmed in a full investigation, it seems that glyphosate has become a ubiquitous chemical in terms of presence and persistence. This data also offers a first indication of potential accumulation in the human body, giving newborns a substantial dose of synthetic chemicals as a 'gift' for their start into life, with unknown consequences. http://www.naturalnews.com/050658_glyphosate_testing_Roundup_contamination_carcinogen.html
Miramichi people are pissed off! - produced by Charles Thériault https://vimeo.com/135724598
MIramichi Jobs Protest CBC Atlantic Tonight - August 08, 2015 at 10 minutes 50 seconds http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/NB/ID/2673291450/
74 Scrum at the end of the rally in Miramichi (Denis Landry) https://vimeo.com/129274829
Men in New Brunswick have an exceptionally high rate of non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
The World Health Organization says that Glyphosate defoliant sprays, used “safely” on NB forests/fields/roadsides for decades, cause this rare cancer… Please read on to learn what valid science has uncovered about these herbicides…
August 3, 2015 Kent County NB Chapter, Council of Canadians transmitted by email from: [email protected]
Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health HSBC Place, P. O. Box 5100 Fredericton, NB E3B 5G8 also transmitted by email to: [email protected]
Re: Glyphosate-based Herbicides and Health/Environmental Concerns https://kentcountynbenvironmentwatch.wordpress.com/2015/08/09/men-in-new-brunswick-have-an- exceptionally-high-rate-of-non-hodgkins-lymphoma-the-world-health-organization-says-that-glyphosate- defoliant-sprays-used-safely-on-nb-forestsfieldsroadsides-for-d/
Dr. Cleary, NB’s Medical Officer of Health, to comment soon re: Kent County Glyphosate concerns
In collaboration with JDI and other major lumber companies, the Government of New Brunswick (GNB) kicks off its taxpayer-financed 2015 glyphosate spray program in our forests today. Commercial products based on glyphosate are used widely in New Brunswick for forestry management, and also for clearing roadsides and hydro-lines, and agricultural purposes. Relevant trade names include Forza, Vantage Forestry, Vision, Vision Max, and Roundup.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a scientific panel commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO), reported in March 2015 that glyphosate herbicides cause cancer in human beings. Yet, the GNB website still says that WHO believes these sprays “do not pose a risk to humans, wildlife or the environment.”
“The Government of New Brunswick seems to have its head stuck in the sand, denying the mounting evidence that these defoliants are not only carcinogenic but also dangerous in a multitude of other ways. Perhaps this is due to industry pressure,“ says Ms. Pohl. “I am scared by what I have recently learned about glyphosate, but I am truly alarmed about the health risks faced by my neighbours: the workers, mostly men, who are directly exposed to these chemicals. The Public Health Agency of Canada reports an exceptionally high incidence of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma among men in New Brunswick, the same exact “rare” cancer correlated by IARC/WHO with glyphosate herbicides.”
“I have written Dr. Eilish Cleary, GNB’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, to ask her “opinion on the risks of the continued use of glyphosate herbicidal products,” says Ms. Pohl. “I am delighted to say that Dr,
75 Cleary has already responded to my request to “acknowledge receipt” of my letter, and has said she “will reply in more detail in the not so distant future.”
A copy of the letter sent to Dr. Cleary is found here https://kentcountynbenvironmentwatch.wordpress.com/2015/08/10/breaking-news-dr-cleary-nbs- medical-officer-of-health-to-comment-soon-re-kent-county-glyphosate-concerns/?preview_id=773
Letter https://kentcountynbenvironmentwatch.wordpress.com/2015/08/09/men-in-new-brunswick-have-an- exceptionally-high-rate-of-non-hodgkins-lymphoma-the-world-health-organization-says-that-glyphosate- defoliant-sprays-used-safely-on-nb-forestsfieldsroadsides-for-d/
Charles Thériault speaks at Miramichi Survival Town Hall meeting August 8th 2015
A Town Hall Meeting was held on Aug 8th in Miramichi to discuss the economic crisis happening there all caused by stupid government inaction. Miramichi MLA's Bill Fraser and Lisa Harris never showed up. https://vimeo.com/135880266
Miramichi rallies against job losses
“If a company in the Miramichi can’t cut wood then no one should be cutting wood:”
About 400 people gathered in Miramichi August 8 for a march and town hall meeting to protest job losses in several industries, in a perfect storm of government inaction, industry interference and the privatization of seniors’ health care facilities.
Out of work are 147 workers at the Miramichi Lumber Mill; at least 40 workers at Hebert’s Recycling Inc. face a shutdown in the fall; and 300 public employees at two regional seniors care homes will be dismissed and told to reapply for fewer, lower paying jobs.
Speakers included company managers, union officials and representatives from the NDP and the Peoples Alliance Party, as well as local PC MLA Jake Stewart. Noticeably absent were local Liberal MLAs Bill Fraser and Lisa Harris, represented on the stage by two empty chairs that bared their names. http://nbmediacoop.org/2015/08/12/if-a-company-in-the-miramichi-cant-cut-wood-then-no-one-should- be-cutting-wood-miramichi-rallies-against-job-losses/
Wake up Miramichi by Charles Theriault https://vimeo.com/136336404
76 Premier Gallant talks about jobs and forestry https://vimeo.com/136411687
Stop the economic disaster on the Miramichi https://vimeo.com/136650687
Activity Map - Crown Land, Herbicide Program 2015 http://forestinfo.ca/new-brunswick/new-brunswick-activity-map/ http://forestinfo.ca/docs/NBHerbicidePlan2015.pdf http://geonb.snb.ca/herbicide
Transcriptome profile analysis reflects rat liver and kidney damage following chronic ultra-low dose Roundup exposure
Glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH) are the major pesticides used worldwide. Converging evidence suggests that GBH, such as Roundup, pose a particular health risk to liver and kidneys although low environmentally relevant doses have not been examined. To address this issue, a 2-year study in rats administering 0.1 ppb Roundup (50 ng/L glyphosate equivalent) via drinking water (giving a daily intake of 4 ng/kg bw/day of glyphosate) was conducted. A marked increased incidence of anatomorphological and blood/urine biochemical changes was indicative of liver and kidney structure and functional pathology. In order to confirm these findings we have conducted a transcriptome microarray analysis of the liver and kidneys from these same animals. http://www.ehjournal.net/content/14/1/70
Garth Hood from Fredericton reveals how few jobs are created from NB forest https://vimeo.com/137187664
Maternal and fetal exposure to pesticides associated to genetically modified foods in Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada.
Abstract
Pesticides associated to genetically modified foods (PAGMF), are engineered to tolerate herbicides such as glyphosate (GLYP) and gluphosinate (GLUF) or insecticides such as the bacterial toxin bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between maternal and fetal exposure, and to determine exposure levels of GLYP and its metabolite aminomethyl phosphoric acid (AMPA), GLUF and its metabolite 3-methylphosphinicopropionic acid (3-MPPA) and Cry1Ab protein (a Bt toxin) in Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada. Blood of thirty pregnant women (PW) and thirty- nine nonpregnant women (NPW) were studied. Serum GLYP and GLUF were detected in NPW and not
77 detected in PW. Serum 3-MPPA and CryAb1 toxin were detected in PW, their fetuses and NPW. This is the first study to reveal the presence of circulating PAGMF in women with and without pregnancy, paving the way for a new field in reproductive toxicology including nutrition and utero-placental toxicities. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21338670
Detection of Glyphosate Residues in Animals and Humans - Environmental & Analytical Toxicology
Abstract
In the present study glyphosate residues were tested in urine and different organs of dairy cows as well as in urine of hares, rabbits and humans using ELISA and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS). The correlation coefficients between ELISA and GC-MS were 0.96, 0.87, 0.97and 0.96 for cattle, human, and rabbit urine and organs, respectively. http://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/detection-of-glyphosate-residues-in-animals-and-humans- 2161-0525.1000210.pdf
78 Video Links
Jessica Enst at Memramcook https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xRQt3Q0xPc
Jessica Ernst speaks about her water contamination to CBC at Calgary http://www.cbc.ca/radio/popup/audio/player.html?autoPlay=true&clipIds=2672772558
Lisa Harris refuses to participate at the Aug 8th Town Meeting - Miramichi https://vimeo.com/135176244
The government of NB is willing to abandon 160 jobs in the Miramichi https://vimeo.com/135427075
Information Morning - NS - Pros and cons of solar power for homeowners
As we try to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels, there is no doubt that solar power is part of our future. Information Morning's Jerry West has been looking into the current viability of solar electricity in Nova Scotia. http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Local+Shows/Maritimes/ID/2673134365/
This is how the government of NB is causing the demise of the Miramichi Lumber mill. Charles Thériault https://vimeo.com/135521614
A Danger on the Rails - The New York Times
This short documentary warns about the dangers posed by trains that transport explosive oil across North America. http://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000003639391/a-danger-on-the-rails.html
EPA Crew Accidentally Turns Animas River Orange https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH2jMj46Gfw
79 Miramichi people are pissed off! - produced by Charles Thériault https://vimeo.com/135724598
Charles Thériault speaks at Miramichi Survival Town Hall meeting August 8th 2015
A Town Hall Meeting was held on Aug 8th in Miramichi to discuss the economic crisis happening there all caused by stupid government inaction. Miramichi MLA's Bill Fraser and Lisa Harris never showed up. https://vimeo.com/135880266
Miramichi Town Hall Meeting Aug, 8 2015 Parts 1 and 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXhAd00XHz8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1OPCkEwMFg&feature=share&app=desktop
Miramichi Town Hall Meeting Aug, 8 2015 Parts 1 and 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXhAd00XHz8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1OPCkEwMFg&feature=share&app=desktop
Wake up Miramichi by Charles Theriault https://vimeo.com/136336404
Premier Gallant talks about jobs and forestry https://vimeo.com/136411687
The Corporation Full Length https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4ou9rOssPg
Stop the economic disaster on the Miramichi https://vimeo.com/136650687
The Big Fix - BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Cover up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KgFBciS_X0
80 Garth Hood from Fredericton reveals how few jobs are created from NB forest https://vimeo.com/137187664
This Map Shows Every Pipeline Spill In The U.S. For The Past 28 Years (VIDEO) https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3nJHzbR1yIE
California https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LEzVJu2nOVI
First Nations Group Occupy Lelu Island to Save Flora Banks
Sm'oogyet Yahan (Don Wesley Sr.) from Lax Kw'alaams has announced that a group of people have occupied Lelu Island to stop Petronas from developing LNG facilities on their land. https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=10&v=Ke5PVpwRntc
Xiuhtezcatl, Indigenous Climate Activist at the High-level event on Climate Change
United Nations - Remarks by Xiuhtezcatl, indigenous climate activist and Youth Director of Earth Guardians at the opening segment of the High-level event of the United Nations General Assembly on Climate Change (29 June 2015). https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=27gtZ1oV4kw
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