Shale Gas Issues From Various Jurisdictions ...... 10 Foreword ...... 10 Calls for Moratoriums and Bans ...... 11 Pennsylvanians Demand Senators Declare Independence from Fracking ...... 11 Anti-Frackers Turn Focus On State Of Colorado After Win At Boulder County Level ...... 11 French president vows no fracking while he is president ...... 11 Dear Governor Cuomo - New Yorkers Against Fracking Embedded Video ...... 12 Fracking ban is about our water ...... 12 Gas drillers cancel lease with NE Pa. landowners ...... 12 Kent mayors vote for shale gas moratorium ...... 12 Contamination and Science ...... 14 Fracking near Shafter raises questions about drilling practices - Embedded video ...... 14 RED WATER AND FOAM: FRACKING POLLUTION NEAR RICHWOOD, WEST VIRGINIA ...... 14 MARCELLUS SHALE REALITY TOUR - EPA TESTIING WATER IN DIMOCK PA ...... 14 Dimock, Pennsylvania Fracking Rollercoaster Continues As Health Experts Push EPA ...... 14 COMMUNICATION DURING FRACTURE STIMULATION ...... 15 A Tainted Water Well, and Concern There May Be More ...... 15 LEAKED FRACKING FLUID CONTAMINATED GROUNDWATER NEAR GRANDE PRAIRIE: .... 15 EPA's Water Contamination Investigation Halted In Texas After Range Resources Protest ...... 16 Canadian Government Confirms Contamination of Groundwater from Hydraulic Fracturing ...... 16 U.S. well sites in 2012 discharged more than Valdez ...... 17 Map of most of the permanent shale gas industrial installations in NE Fracksylvania ...... 17 Natural gas well leaking in Gulf ...... 17 Gas drilling taints groundwater ...... 17 Fracking Contaminates US Water Wells ...... 18 Increased stray gas abundance in a subset of drinking water wells near Marcellus shale gas extraction ...... 18 Fracking in Sussex - England ...... 18 DIMOCK GAS WELL SHUT DOWN DUE TO WELL WATER CONTAMINATION ...... 18 EPA Says Dimock Water OK To Use As Lighter Fluid ...... 19 So, Is Dimock’s Water Really Safe to Drink? ...... 19 Letter to the Morrow County Fairboard Executive Committee Members - Brine ...... 19 Fracking Can Be Done Safely, but Will It Be? ...... 20 First-ever federal study finds natural gas fracking chemicals didn't spread ...... 20 Treatment Plants Accused of Illegally Disposing Radioactive Fracking Wastewater ...... 20 BREAKING NEWS: Industry cannot control hydraulic fractures!!! ...... 21 Spill Baby Spill ...... 21 Hazmat Crews Clean Up After Tanker Leaks Onto I-70 ...... 21 Potential Well Water Contaminants Highest Near Natural Gas Drilling, UT Arlington Study Says . 22 DOE: Fracks Can Hit Aquifers ! ...... 22 Sunday Times review of DEP drilling records reveals water damage, murky testing methods ...... 22 Leaked Report Shows EPA Censored Dimock’s Fracking Water Contamination Study ...... 23 Questionable Science ...... 24 'Frackademia': how Big Gas bought research on hydraulic fracturing ...... 24 Fracking Up Our Water, Hydro Power and Climate ...... 24 Renewable Energy ...... 25 A Sustainable Energy Future Is Within Our Grasp ...... 25 Renewable Energy Will Exceed Natural Gas Use Worldwide By 2016 ...... 25 Cornell University and Verdant Power Ink MoU for MHK Technologies ...... 25 Governor Cuomo Awards $54 Million to Fund Large Solar Power Projects Across the State ...... 25 SunPower CEO: N. America Solar Demand `Phenomenal' - Embedded video ...... 26

1 German Scientists Create Lithium Ion Battery that Can Charge an Electric Car for 27 Years ...... 26 Solar Power: Why You Should Invest Now ...... 26 Record-Thin Light Absorber Offers New Solar Hope ...... 26 Solar power will no longer be Alternative - Will be seen as normal ...... 27 A CANADIAN ENERGY STRATEGY: Why should local governments care? ...... 27 On Rooftops, a Rival for Utilities ...... 27 Science, Health and Accidents ...... 28 Be aware of health problems near fracking sites ...... 28 37% CANCER RATE WHERE BENZENE FROM FRACK-WASTE ...... 28 Spill Baby Spill ...... 28 Cleary uncomfortable with shale gas blueprint ...... 28 Rejected radioactive waste remains in Greene ...... 29 Fracking a Flock of Pandoras ...... 29 Explosion at West Virginia frack site seriously injures four ...... 30 EPA to Allow Consumption of Toxic Fracking Wastewater by Wildlife and Livestock ...... 30 OIL AND GAS EXTRACTION - Inputs: Occupational Safety and Health Risks ...... 30 Fracking and Water: E.P.A. Zeroes In on 7 Sites ...... 30 Taking a Harder Look at Fracking and Health ...... 31 Blood tests show Barnett Shale drilling chemicals ...... 31 Drilling injury lawsuit settled for $12 million ...... 32 Sick From Fracking? Doctors, Patients Seek Answers - Audio ...... 32 Cancer Concerns With Colorado's Drilling, Fracking Boom ...... 32 Worker Exposure to Silica during Hydraulic Fracturing ...... 32 Casing collapse in Corsicana fracking well - Embedded video ...... 33 Blue Rhino propane gas plant in Tavares, Florida gas plant explosions: 8 hospitalized ...... 33 Home distance from benzene sites linked to lymphoma risk ...... 33 Economics, Legal, and Investigations ...... 35 Global financial services provider Rabobank: ‘no money for fracking’ ...... 35 Divestment From Fossil Fuel Investments Gains Momentum ...... 35 How Does The Shale Gas Scam Work? ...... 35 AN INVESTOR GUIDE TO DISCLOSING RISKS FROM HYDRAULIC FRACTURING OPERATIONS ...... 36 Gas prices set to triple in coming years ...... 36 The Law, The Police and You: Your Rights When Questioned, Detained or Arrested ...... 36 EnCana takes over Funding of Govt Study into Fracking Water Contamination ...... 36 Title, Real Estate Top List of US Shale Challenges ...... 37 New Brunswick - Shale gas investment to hit 6-year low ...... 37 How Does The Shale Gas Scam Work? ...... 38 Behind Veneer, Doubt on Future of Natural Gas ...... 38 Liability Bombshell: Must-Read Letters From PA and WI Fracking Victims to Illinois Lawmakers .. 38 U.S. oil hoarding will choke global recovery ...... 39 Supply of natural gas on province’s radar Nova Scotia and NB ...... 39 States Turn Blind Eye as Fracking Industry Routinely Violates Laws ...... 39 The Costs of Fracking ...... 40 Who Pays the Cost of Fracking? ...... 40 New Analyses Show Oil and Gas Industry Is Inflating the Job-Creating Potential of Shale Gas Development ...... 40 Shale Skeptics Take On Pickens as Gas Fuels Policies ...... 41 Blasts to wake the dead - SWN Resources Canada's ordinance sits behind a New Brunswick cemetery ...... 42 Landowner disputes with Chesapeake hit a boiling point in northern Pa...... 42

2 New report exposes billions per year in new fossil fuel subsidies ...... 42 Louisiana Agency to Sue Energy Companies for Wetland Damage ...... 43 Photographing and filming police officers in Canada ...... 43 11 Reasons to Divest from the Fossil Fuel Industry ...... 43 Feds Frack Frackers For Contaminating Groundwater ! ...... 44 Legislation Introduced to Eliminate Fracking Industry Loophole ...... 44 Obama disputes job projections for Keystone XL pipeline ...... 45 U.S. launches antitrust inquiry of fracking firms ...... 45 Halliburton says it also is part of U.S. fracking antitrust probe ...... 45 Alberta’s new energy problem: Natural gas is on the discount rack ...... 45 Regulations ...... 47 Fracking, Fracking and More Fracking ...... 47 Mid-Hudson News Network - Fracking waste prohibition ...... 47 Safety rules lag as oil transport by train rises ...... 47 “Frack off Gasholes”: New Brunswickers are against Hydraulic Fracking ...... 48 Little environmental enforcement in oilsands incidents, study finds ...... 48 Fracking Company Ignores High Fire Risk as Gas Flares in Michigan State Forest ...... 48 Environment and Enjoyment of Property ...... 49 Oct 12, 2012 - Scientists uncover diversion of Gulf Stream path in late 2011 ...... 49 Unprecedented climate extremes marked last decade, says UN ...... 49 Food and Climate: A New Warning ...... 49 IEA: World on Pace for 11°F Warming ...... 50 GreenPeace on Greenwashing ...... 50 Gaseous carbon dioxide and methane, as well as dissolved organic carbon losses ...... 51 System Change not Climate Change ...... 51 New Brunswick slow on creating protected areas ...... 51 Natural Gas Health and Environmental Hazards ...... 51 Snow and Arctic sea ice extent plummet suddenly as globe bakes ...... 52 The Great Arctic Flush By Paul Beckwith ...... 52 Polar Thaw Opens Shortcut for Russian Natural Gas ...... 53 Norilsk breaks records for Arctic heat in a new sign of changing weather patterns ...... 53 Map: Wisconsin’s frac sand industry ...... 54 Gangplank to a Warm Future - By ANTHONY R. INGRAFFEA ...... 54 Response to Professor Anthony Ingraffea’s “Gangplank to a Warm Future.” ...... 54 The Fracking Boom: Do We Want to Leave Our Children an Industrialized Landscape? ...... 55 Consensus: 97% of climate scientists agree ...... 55 Snow and Arctic sea ice extent plummet suddenly as globe bakes ...... 55 NOAA - National Climatic Data Center - Global Analysis - June 2013 ...... 55 New Zealand's Whanganui River Gains A Legal Voice ...... 56 Bolivia passes law recognizing Mother Nature's rights! ...... 56 Government, Meetings, News, and Letters ...... 57 Terror is in the Eye of the Beholder: ...... 57 New Brunswick Oil and Natural Gas Blueprint - Wishful Thinking about Our Future ...... 57 Windsor Energy gets new shale gas exploration lease - Apr 17, 2012 ...... 57 Idle No More: Canada Escalates War on First Nations ...... 58 NDP call for investigation into federal government’s conduct at human rights tribunal ...... 58 Top government brass gain from layoffs ...... 58 The Irvings Overview ...... 59 RCMP ‘to ease Canadians into the idea’ of U.S. agents in Canada ...... 59 Confirmed: Canada 2011 polls fraudulent ...... 59

3 New Brunswick Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health to be presented with Prestigious Environmental Health Award ...... 59 Dr. Eilish Cleary Interview ...... 60 CBC Information Morning interviews Dr. Eilish Cleary ...... 60 CCNB extends congratulations to Dr. Eilish Cleary ...... 60 Ministerial staff asked to develop blacklists in lead-up to shuffle: source ...... 60 Point Lepreau faces new problems, NB Power reveals ...... 61 PERMIT FOR WATERCOURSE AND WETLAND ALTERATION ...... 61 Scientific advisory council members, fellows to energy institute named ...... 61 Government appointed New Brunswick Energy Institute scientists mandated to research fracking ...... 61 Watch the anti-Harper ad CBC refuses to air ...... 61 The Path Forward - Shaping New Brunswick's Energy Future ...... 62 Final Report New Brunswick Energy Commission 2010-2011 ...... 62 Wind power falls short of targets ...... 63 Former top Mountie says political control over RCMP doesn’t bode well for Senate investigation . 63 Science Under the Censor ...... 63 New Brunswick News ...... 65 Shawn Atleo speaks at Sacred Fire Encampment ...... 65 Everything you ever wanted to know about the 'Duty to Consult' process ...... 65 SWN Corporate Giving and Partnerships in New Brunswick ...... 65 THE ASSEMBLY OF FIRST NATIONS’ CHIEFS IN NEW BRUNSWICK INC...... 65 Summer of Solidarity - A view from the sacred fire encampment in Elsipogtog ...... 66 Interview with Cecilia Brooks, AFNCNB's Science Adviser ...... 66 SWN set to resume seismic testing tomorrow - July 3, 2013 ...... 66 Seismic testing opens door not easily shut ...... 66 RCMP arrest Media Co-op Journalist in New Brunswick ...... 67 RCMP arrest reporter, war chief at ongoing anti-fracking protest in New Brunswick ...... 67 Shale gas tensions flare with another arrest in Kent County ...... 68 Media Co-op reporter Miles Howe released from custody; says police trying to restrict his reporting ...... 68 Elsipogtog War Chief John Levi jailed until Monday ...... 69 Reporter arrested by RCMP alleges he turned down offer to become paid informant ...... 69 Elsipogtog chief appoints 'peacekeeper' in shale gas dispute ...... 69 Two Rogers radio stations in New Brunswick being sold to separate buyers ...... 70 ABORIGINAL JUSTICE: Warrior Chief John Levi released from custody ...... 70 Aboriginal anti-shale gas advocate released from jail ...... 70 Professor says Atlantic region needs to reduce oil use, not build pipeline ...... 71 Cornhill residents upset by seismic testing plans ...... 71 CAJ upset RCMP arrested working journalist in New Brunswick ...... 72 The problem with Line 5 ...... 72 CJFE concerned by arrest of New Brunswick journalist ...... 72 New Brunswick arrests in fracking standoff ...... 73 "The Great Spirit will look after people that look after water." ...... 74 John Levi, war chief, speaks to APTN about anti-fracking protest - Embedded Video ...... 74 A train that goes rogue and a pipeline that isn't needed ...... 74 Wetlands taking a blasting ...... 74 SWN Resources given permit to test in wetlands - Embedded video ...... 75 Concerns raised in N.B. over seismic shale testing in wetlands ...... 75 CAEPLA’s Dave Core on CBC Radio New Brunswick ...... 75

4 SWN drills more wetlands shot-holes, security guard finds prayer and white doves in the morning ...... 76 CTV News Video related to protests ...... 76 New Brunswick Minister of Transportation spotted at weekend Anti-shale gas rally ...... 76 Undercover RCMP crash anti-shale gas press conference, activists remain in woods on 'Line 5' . 76 Earth First! Calls On Activists to “Disrupt the Chain of Supply” for Oil and Gas Industry ...... 77 ABORIGINAL JUSTICE: Video shows Elsipogtog community undoing police harassment ...... 77 Activist ties self to geo-phone bags, SWN refuses Sundance break, another illegal security blockade ...... 78 Shale gas protest moves deeper into N.B. woods ...... 78 Interview with District War Chief Jason Okay – Blockade July 27 ...... 78 SWN issued notice of eviction by Geptin of District Grand Council ...... 79 Gone for the summer - SWN Resources Canada folds 'til September - Embedded Audio ...... 80 FRACTURED FUTURE - Shale gas is a sorry choice ...... 80 Shale gas tests, protests suspended until September - Embedded video ...... 80 Maritime News ...... 81 Drilling could threaten businesses - Newfoundland ...... 81 Natural gas leak shuts down part of south end Halifax ...... 81 NDP Government Gives Fracking Waste Handler Free Ride: Colchester County Left Holding Bag ...... 81 Fracking Threatens Canadian UNESCO World Heritage Site, Report ...... 82 Windsor Looks at Taking What Colchester County Refused ...... 82 Fracking proposal divides residents near Gros Morne ...... 82 The Future of Natural Gas Supply for Nova Scotia ...... 83 Canadian News ...... 84 Submissions in for Canadian plant ...... 84 B.C.'s Hupacasath First Nation challenges Canada-China free trade agreement ...... 84 Community-supported agriculture a recipe for success in Quebec ...... 84 Lac-Mégantic: It’s not trains vs. pipelines, but why we’re relying on oil ...... 85 After Lac-Mégantic, how should we regulate risk? ...... 85 Technically Recoverable Shale Oil and Shale Gas Resources: ...... 85 EIA/ARI World Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resource Assessment - Canada ...... 85 A Primer for Understanding Canadian Shale Gas - Energy Briefing Note ...... 86 Corridor Resources - Shale Gas Exploration and Potential Development ...... 86 Russia’s potash breakup a ‘game-changer’ for Canadian industry ...... 86 Other News ...... 87 Fractured Lives - Detritus of Pennsylvania's Shale Gas Boom ...... 87 Tsunami of Public Outrage Against Fracking in Colorado ...... 87 Watch Shale Truth Interview of Energy Expert on Fracking Industry’s Misleading Claims ...... 87 New Website Challenges Industry Spin on Fracking ...... 87 Sandra Steingraber’s Manifesto: Illinois Fracking Rules a Betrayal of Democracy and Science .... 88 Opposition to fracking is not leftist or anti-development ...... 88 No free speech in fracking country? ...... 89 Fracking opposition stepped up in N.E...... 89 Fracking: A cure or a curse? Video embedded ...... 89 Bill Moyers Essay: The Hypocrisy of ‘Justice for All’ ...... 90 Hundreds of Protesters Shut Down Oil & Gas Chemical Supplier to Protest Fracking ...... 90 Environmental Must-Reads – July 9, 2013 ...... 90 White paper reveals gas industry scared of global protests ...... 91 Military Report: America Has 'Misguided' Fixation With Domestic Drilling ...... 91

5 Josh Fox on Gasland Part 2, the Fracking-Earthquake Link & the Natural Gas Industry’s Use of PSYOPs Embedded Video ...... 92 Tax breaks to kickstart the fracking revolution: Bid to make Britain world leader in new dash for gas ...... 92 Former Mobil VP Warns of Fracking and Climate Change ...... 92 Sustainability Perspectives, Winning the Social License to Operate Resource Extraction ...... 93 USA Sues Exxon Fracker in Pennsylvania ...... 93 Fire Breaks Out on Evacuated Gulf Gas Well ...... 93 Hercules Jack-Up Rig Catches Fire Following Loss of Well Control - Photos ...... 94 Anti-fracking protesters halt Sussex shale gas operation ...... 94 With Fukushima nuclear plant still leaking, Japan clean-up bill soars to $50bn ...... 94 This Is Your Town on Fracking - Williston North Dakota ...... 94 Trafficking of Native women begins in fracking towns after influx of oil workers - Williston ...... 95 Natural Gas Drilling in the Marcellus Shale Uncovered: Community, Environment, and Law ...... 95 Fracking Isn't a Fairytale, It's a Nightmare ...... 96 MPs protest over Arctic oil drilling ...... 96 Some say industry arrogance fueled fracking anger ...... 96 Ideological activists 'risk gas future' ...... 97 Taxpayers' bill of £1million to police West Sussex anti-fracking protests ...... 97 Balcombe protests lead to threat of countrywide rebellion against fracking ...... 97 Mark Ruffalo on the Gulf Gas-Well Blowout and Why We Need to Kick Fossil Fuels to the Curb .. 97 Sierra Club Takes on Fracking and LNG Exports ...... 98 The Silent Partner Behind the Shale Energy Boom – Taxpayers ...... 98 Obama admin may have interfered with fracking studies ...... 98 Water ...... 99 Global threat to food supply as water wells dry up, warns top environment expert ...... 99 The Growing Evidence of the Threat of Fracking to the Nation’s Groundwater ...... 99 Peak Water: What Happens When the Wells Go Dry? ...... 99 Rural groundwater 'vulnerable,' study finds ...... 100 Dianne Feinstein: California needs more water storage to end conflicts, bolster its economy ..... 100 Why California Is Running Dry ...... 100 ECOSYSTEM OVERVIEW OF THE RICHIBUCTO WATERSHED IN NEW BRUNSWICK ...... 101 World on course to run out of water - Embedded video ...... 101 The Big Picture Where It All Begins North America From Space ...... 101 Where Is All Of The Water Going? A Look At Which Energy Resources Are Gulping Down Our Water ...... 101 Unlimited Arsenic and Other Poisons Dumped Daily Into U.S. Waters ...... 102 Water quantity FAQ Frequently Asked Questions ...... 102 Alward government’s flip-flop on provincial wetlands triggers outrage across Richibucto River Basin ...... 102 Fracking and Earthquakes ...... 103 Study raises new concern about earthquakes and fracking fluids ...... 103 Distant Earthquakes Trigger Tremors at U.S. Waste-Injection Sites, Says Study ...... 103 Injection-Induced Earthquakes ...... 103 Geological and site specific factors influencing earthquake hazard assessment for New Brunswick ...... 103 Special Investigation: Fracking in the Ocean Off the California Coast ...... 104 Oil and Pipelines ...... 105 Health Problems Arise in Mayflower ...... 105 Two Major Lawsuits Filed Against ExxonMobil for Arkansas Tar Sands Spill ...... 105 Huge Alberta Pipeline Spill Raises Safety Questions As Keystone Decision Looms ...... 105

6 Quebec town rocked by explosions, fire after derailment ...... 106 UPDATE: Fort Chipewyan member reports oil spill ...... 107 RPT-Canada's energy sector taps bitumen, sticky rival to oil sands ...... 107 Oil-sands expansion conditionally approved despite ‘significant’ effects on wildlife ...... 107 Shell Canada's oilsands expansion approved amid environmental concerns ...... 108 Paul Beckwith ~ Climate change fighting town savaged by runaway oil train ...... 108 Quebec oil-train tragedy triggered oil spill that threatens water supplies ...... 108 Lessons to be learned from the Lac-Mégantic tragedy ...... 108 Look what the gas and oil industry did to the Gulf of Mexico — again ...... 109 CBC Information Morning 111 Tankers - an unacceptable risk ...... 109 CBC Information Morning Rail rules ...... 109 Residents say no to proposed pipeline to run through Ottawa ...... 109 Exxon Secrecy Over Ruptured Pipeline May Mask National Danger ...... 110 Gas distributors sour over TransCanada’s mainline conversion plan ...... 110 Claims that landlocked oil costing Canada billions in revenue are ‘bogus’, economists say ...... 110 ‘Nobody understands’ spills at Alberta oil sands operation ...... 111 40 Hectares Affected, And They Have No Clue How Much Leaked ...... 111 Railway company has stopped paying for Lac-Mégantic disaster cleanup: mayor ...... 112 Canadian Natural restricts operations after bitumen leak ...... 112 Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline shut after second leak in month ...... 112 Oil spill in Lac-Mégantic: a disaster beyond our worst fears ...... 112 TransCanada pitches west-east pipeline ...... 113 Proposed west-east pipeline route hinted at by meetings ...... 113 Enbridge’s Line 9 pipeline reversal plan runs up against skeptical public ...... 113 ExxonMobil ending housing assistance for Mayflower spill victims ...... 114 Update: Exxon reverses decision to cut housing assistance Sept. 1 ...... 114 Slide show of 18 oil spills since the Gulf disaster ...... 114 Protesters march on Canadian Natural offices ...... 114 Lloydminster Train Derailment: Oil Tanker Cars Contained, But Diesel Fuel Spills ...... 115 New Beer Lawsuit Could Spell Trouble For Keystone XL Pipeline ...... 115 Grandparents Arrested Protesting Keystone XL ...... 115 Environmental Incidents in Northeastern Alberta’s Bitumen Sands Region, 1996-2012 ...... 116 'Best Practices?': Mississippi, Alabama Ask Canada for Tar Sands Advice ...... 116 CNRL's Ongoing Cold Lake Spill Puts World Scrutiny On Alberta's New Regulator: Critic ...... 116 Devastating Photos of the 13,200 Gallon Oil Spill in Thailand ...... 116 White Paper: Climate Impacts from the Proposed Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline ...... 117 Demonstrators Stage Road Blockade and Prayer Ceremony at Site of Proposed Tar Sands Strip Mine in Utah ...... 117 Pipelines, Oil, Landowners and Legal Issues ...... 118 TransCanada Already in New Brunswick for Eastern Pipeline ...... 118 PROPERTY ISSUES | NOVA - INDUSTRY SPIN - Re Pipelines and Land Owners ...... 118 Land Access ...... 118 When the Landman Comes Calling ...... 119 Canadian Association of Energy and Pipeline Landowner Associations ...... 119 This land is my land…or is it? ...... 119 Gulf oil spill: Halliburton to plead guilty to destroying evidence ...... 120 Exxon Still Owes Government Nearly $100 Million for Valdez Clean-up Almost 25 Years Later .. 120 Mining ...... 121 75% of the World's Mining Companies Are Based in Canada ...... 121 Mining giant Vale accused of dumping lethal waste into Labrador bay ...... 121 CBC video - Protected areas, mines, forestry and Sisson Brook mine ...... 121

7 The New Conquistadors: Canadian Mining Companies Battle for Panama's Natural Resources . 121 Panama: The New Conquistadors ...... 122 Nature vs. economic nuturing divides Nashwaak Valley ...... 122 Forestry ...... 123 Save half of boreal forest from development, scientists urge ...... 123 CBC Information Morning - Forestry Investment ...... 123 CBC Information Morning - Miramichi Mill ...... 123 Miramichi calls for emergency meeting over mill closure ...... 123 GOVERNMENT LOSES MILLIONS EACH YEAR FROM PUBLIC FORESTS IN N.B...... 124 Miramichi mill closure requires action 'really fast' ...... 124 Charles Theriault, Is Our Forest Really Ours - Link to the interview I did this morning ...... 124 Video Links ...... 125 Chris Hayes talks to director Josh Fox about his new fracking documentary Gasland Part II...... 125 Charles Leblanc and Miles Howe of Halifax MediaCoop interview Roger Augustine...... 125 Fracking near Shafter raises questions about drilling practices ...... 125 Comedy Network - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart : Josh Fox Extended Interview ...... 125 AFN National Chief speaks at the Sacred Fire ...... 125 Rachelle Van Zanten - My Country (Official Video) HD ...... 125 Kanada Day - Crime Minister ...... 125 37% CANCER RATE WHERE BENZENE FROM FRACK-WASTE ...... 125 CBC: TV report on anti-fracking protests in NB, July 1 ...... 125 Shawn Atleo speaks at Sacred Fire Encampment ...... 125 Miramichi Police Force comes face to face with Anti Shale Protesters June 30 ...... 126 Stealing Africa - Why Poverty? ...... 126 Watch Shale Truth Interview of Energy Expert on Fracking Industry’s Misleading Claims ...... 126 New Brunswick Premier David Alward comes face to face with Angry Female Natives Protesters ...... 126 Summer of Solidarity - A view from the sacred fire encampment in Elsipogtog ...... 126 Fukushima Now ...... 126 We're Here by Voni Mann, an anthem for a revolution...... 126 The Big Fix - BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Cover up ...... 126 Bruce Northrup on leases ...... 126 Midnight Oil - River Runs Red ...... 126 Mark D'Arcy, Willi Nolan, Amy Sock and Miles Howe after leaving court ...... 127 STANLEY N.B. SEISMIC TESTING BLOCKADE - 2011 ...... 127 R.C.M.P. Officer comes in peace at the blockade in Stanley ...... 127 St.Mary's First Nation Native Alma Brooks speaks with Blogger ...... 127 WARRIOR CHIEF JOHN LEVI ELSIPOGTOG IS JAILED TILL MONDAY!!! ...... 127 CTV Atlantic video at Sacred Fire July 6 ...... 127 WARRIOR CHIEF JOHN LEVI ELSIPOGTOG IS JAILED TILL MONDAY ...... 127 Runaway Canada oil train explosion destroys town center, forces evacuation ...... 127 Fracking creates UK fissures ...... 127 Bill Moyers Essay: The Hypocrisy of ‘Justice for All’ ...... 127 North American Drilling Corporation: Video tour of drilling rig ...... 128 Alma Brooks: Declaration of Unity and Solidarity from the Maliseet Grand Council July 6 ...... 128 July 8 - Charles Leblanc - A lot of John Levis at the legislature waiting for court results ...... 128 Charles Leblanc interviews Chief AAron Sock of Elsipogtog ...... 128 July 8 - Charles Leblanc - A lot of John Levis at the legislature waiting for court results ...... 128 GreenPeace on Greenwashing ...... 128 Rethink Alberta - Tar (Oil) Sands Pollute Athabasca River ...... 128 Protecting the Sacred One Step at a Time - Tar Sands Healing Walk 2013 ...... 128

8 CBC Information Morning interviews Dr. Eilish Cleary Audio ...... 128 CBC Information Morning 111 Tankers - an unacceptable risk Audio ...... 128 CBC Information Morning Rail rules Audio ...... 129 Dr. Cleary in Enniskillen Fermanagh Ireland ...... 129 System Change not Climate Change, Economics of Endless Growth - Naomi Klein ...... 129 CBC video _ Protected areas, mines, forestry and Sisson Brook mine ...... 129 The New Conquistadors: Canadian Mining Companies Battle for Panama's Natural Resources . 129 Dear Governor Cuomo - New Yorkers Against Fracking ...... 129 What are Roundup Ready & Bt Pesticide GMO crops? You need to know! ...... 129 Secret of the Seven Sisters - EP1: Desert Storms ...... 129 "Time is Running Out: Ecology or Economics?" - David Suzuki - May 6, 2013 ...... 129 Blogger goes to Blackville to visit Councilor Chris Hennessy ...... 130 Charles Leblanc Premier David Alward continue to listen to the Anti-Shale Protesters ...... 130 Don't FRACK Our Future - Doreen's Story ...... 130 The Price of Sand ...... 130 Vermont senator Bernie Danders - Through the Looking Glass Climate Change ...... 130 Kanada Day - Crime Minister ...... 130 Water in the Anthropocene from WelcomeAnthropocene on Vimeo ...... 130 Elsipogtog: Undoing RCMP Harassment July 22, 2013 ...... 130 Watch the anti-Harper ad CBC refuses to air ...... 130 Petropolis Arial Perspectives on the Alberta Tar Sands ...... 130 Solar Energy Documentary ...... 131 Nahko Bear (Medicine for the People) ღ Aloha Ke Akua ...... 131 Gulf of Mexico Gas Well Blowout - AssociatedPress ...... 131 Evacuated Gulf of Mexico Gas Well on Fire ...... 131 Hydrogeological risks occurring whilst extracting gas using the method of hydraulic fracturing .. 131 Psywar - The Real Battlefield is in the mind ...... 131 Elsipogtog:I am protecting the land and waters July 24, 2013 ...... 131 Elsipogtog: Prevention at Meadow Brook July 23, 2013 ...... 131 Elsipogtog: An offering and a promise July 24, 2013 ...... 131 Fracking up America | Interview with Tyson Slocum ...... 131 Scientist Have Evidence Pollution Levels Near Alberta Oil Sands Have Increased Significantly 132 To the Last Drop: Canada's Dirty Oil Sands - Part 1 ...... 132 To the Last Drop: Canada's Dirty Oil Sands - Part 2 ...... 132 Dr. Adam Law, Endocrinologist responds to panel ...... 132 Ian R Crane explains FRACKing Dangers to Police ... they have families too! ...... 132 Human Resources - Social Engineering In The 20th Century ...... 132 Airport Road 2 ...... 132 ANTI SHALE PROTEST IN KENT COUNTY IS OVER!!!! ...... 132 Common Ground - "Perspectives" ...... 132 Common Ground Grabbing the Rope ...... 132 Series Of Explosions At Gas Plant In Lake County, Florida ...... 133 Watch Split Estate Online ...... 133 Crossroads: Labor Pains of a New Worldview ...... 133 Reckless fracking supported by corpocracy govt pigs ...... 133

9 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/

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

Is Our Forest Really Ours? 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

Another good site: Fracking, Shale Gas and Health http://frackingandhealth.ca/

Open debate on Hydraulic Fracturing https://www.facebook.com/groups/151783478344947/permalink/161615387361756/#!/groups/1517834 78344947/

10 Calls for Moratoriums and Bans

Pennsylvanians Demand Senators Declare Independence from Fracking

A week after millions of Americans celebrated our nation’s independence, Pennsylvanians held “Independence from Fracking” rallies outside key state senator’s offices, including Sen. Browne.

The rallies are part of a growing momentum for a moratorium in Pennsylvania. After a coalition of environmental and health groups submitted 100,000 signatures for a moratorium in April, Sen. Ferlo (D- Allegheny) introduced legislation that will put our health and environment first by halting fracking permits in the Commonwealth.

“Senator Pat Browne and all other PA Senators need to think long and hard about aligning themselves with the will of 59 percent of Pennsylvania citizens who support a moratorium,” said Julie Edgar of Lehigh Valley Gas Truth. “Our need to stop this slow-motion train-wreck of gas industry domination of PA on hold before it is too late—it should be non-partisan, and non-negotiable.” http://ecowatch.com/2013/pennsylvanians-demand-independence-from-fracking/

Anti-Frackers Turn Focus On State Of Colorado After Win At Boulder County Level

The 20 or so people who volunteered to be in a group focusing on a statewide ballot initiative found there is a steep mountain to climb before such a vote could be held, though.

Organizers said that before November 2014, petitioners would need to collect about 86,000 signatures to get a measure on the state ballot. They would need to have ballot language approved by the state and overcome any legal challenges the language may raise.

Most of all, they want something on the ballot that more than 50 percent of Colorado voters would support. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/10/coming-off-win-at-boulder_n_3572334.html

French president vows no fracking while he is president

President Francois Hollande said on Sunday that France would maintain its ban on the exploration for shale gas throughout his five-year term.

“As long as I am president, there were will be no exploration for shale gas,” Hollande said during a Bastille Day interview with top television channels.

He said the fracking technique used to extract shale gas presented too many “risks to groundwater”. http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/07/14/french-president-vows-no-fracking-while-he-is-president/

11 Dear Governor Cuomo - New Yorkers Against Fracking Embedded Video

On a rainy night in May of 2012 a coalition of musicians, scientists and activists gathered in Albany on the governor’s front doorstep, calling for a ban on hydraulic-fracturing.

With the news that Governor Andrew Cuomo might lift the moratorium on fracking in New York any day, the event was assembled in less than a month. Two rehearsals in 24 hours and it was showtime! http://www.dear-governor-cuomo.com/about/

Fracking ban is about our water

The eleventh-hour surprise decision by Pennsylvania lawmakers to ban natural-gas exploration across a swath of suburban Philadelphia is another sign that the region isn't ready for drilling rigs. It's possible that it never will be.

In pushing through a drilling ban across a little-known rock formation in Bucks and Montgomery Counties, State Sen. Charles McIlhinney (R., Bucks) said he wanted to assure that communities were protected while experts evaluate a new report that identifies gas reserves under the two counties.

The local ban's most important impact could be that it reinforces a region-wide drilling moratorium put in place by the multistate agency governing the Delaware River basin. http://articles.philly.com/2012-07-11/news/32633463_1_drilling-ban-gas-drilling-limit-drilling

Gas drillers cancel lease with NE Pa. landowners

Two energy companies are pulling out of northeastern Pennsylvania, where a three-year moratorium on gas drilling has infuriated landowners who say it’s now cost them a windfall of more than $187 million.

Hess Corp. and Newfield Exploration Co. sent a letter to landowners that notified them their leases are no longer in effect, according to the Northern Wayne Property Owners Alliance, which negotiated a master lease on behalf of more than 1,300 families and businesses.

“The lease is gone. It is no longer in force. They are releasing the properties,” the group’s spokesman, Peter Wynne, said Monday. http://www.ithacajournal.com/viewart/20130715/NEWS11/307150054/Gas-drillers-cancel-lease-NE-Pa- landowners

Kent mayors vote for shale gas moratorium

Kent Regional Service Commission voted 16-1 for a shale gas moratorium

A group of eastern New Brunswick mayors are asking for a moratorium on shale gas exploration and a meeting with the province’s energy minister.

12 The Kent Regional Service Commission voted 16-1 on Thursday night in favour of imposing a moratorium.

Marc Henrie, the chairman of the commission, said the group hopes seismic testing work in the area can be put on hold.

He said the mayors would like more consultation and better communication between the communities, the provincial government and SWN Resources Canada, which is conducting seismic testing in the area.

Henrie said regional service comissions usually do not intervene in this manner, but he said they have a moral mandate to speak up on this issue.

The commission covers the municipalities, including Bouctouche, Rexton, Richibucto, Rogersville, St.- Antoine and St.-Louis-de-Kent, as well as several local service districts. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2013/07/19/nb-shale-gas-kent-mayors-1215.html

13 Contamination and Science

Fracking near Shafter raises questions about drilling practices - Embedded video

Workers shuffled amid trucks and drilling equipment, preparing the site for hydraulic fracturing – fracking, for short – the controversial drilling method that has the potential to spark an economic boom in California and perhaps even free the state from foreign oil.

But Frantz recorded something less promising: oily-brown waste spilled from a pipe into an unlined pit near an almond grove, followed by a stream of soapy-looking liquid.

"That was kind of shocking," said Frantz, 63, a fourth-generation farmer. "We can't live without fresh groundwater. It doesn't take much to ruin that. http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/30/5534452/fracking-near-shafter-raises-questions.html

RED WATER AND FOAM: FRACKING POLLUTION NEAR RICHWOOD, WEST VIRGINIA

A series of pictures showing foam on water. http://nofrackingwaywestvirginia.blogspot.ca/2012/02/red-water-and-foam-fracking-pollution.html

MARCELLUS SHALE REALITY TOUR - EPA TESTIING WATER IN DIMOCK PA

If you remember, Dimock is the town in PA where around 70 wells have been contaminated by fracking. Right now, the EPA has moved in and is conducting extensive testing on residents' water wells. It seems that an entire aquifer has been contaminated. Some residents HAVE accepted payoffs from the gas companies to shut up and keep quiet. Those who bravely refuse to accept payoffs KNOW that wrong has been done, that their water has been poisoned forever.. and refuse to bow down without a fight. http://nofrackingwaywestvirginia.blogspot.ca/2012/02/marcellus-shale-reality-tour-epa.html?spref=fb

Dimock, Pennsylvania Fracking Rollercoaster Continues As Health Experts Push EPA

Dimock, Pennsylvania residents may be on the least fun roller-coaster ride ever.

For nearly three years, 11 families with tainted water wells in the small town received daily deliveries of bulk and bottled water from Cabot Oil & Gas Corp.

The natural gas company began arranging for the water deliveries after it was blamed for polluting the families' drinking water. But back in November, the payments stopped, leaving residents fending for water on their own. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/10/dimock-pennsylvania-fracking-epa_n_1197361.html

14 COMMUNICATION DURING FRACTURE STIMULATION

A large kick (1) was recently taken on a well being horizontally drilled for unconventional gas production in the Montney formation. The kick was caused by a fracturing operation being conducted on an adjacent horizontal well. Fracture sand was circulated from the drilling wellbore, which was 670m from the wellbore undergoing the fracturing operation.

To date, the BC Oil and Gas Commission (Commission) is aware of 18 fracture communication incidents in B.C. and one in Western Alberta as follows:

• Five incidents of fracture stimulation resulting in communication with an adjacent well during drilling.

• Three incidents of drilling into a hydraulic fracture formed during a previous stimulation on an adjacent well and containing high pressure fluids.

• Ten incidents of fracture stimulations communicating into adjacent producing wells.

• One incident of fracture stimulation communication into an adjacent leg on the same well for a multi- lateral well. http://www.bcogc.ca/document.aspx?documentID=808&type=.pdf

A Tainted Water Well, and Concern There May Be More

But there is in fact a documented case, and the E.P.A. report that discussed it suggests there may be more. Researchers, however, were unable to investigate many suspected cases because their details were sealed from the public when energy companies settled lawsuits with landowners.

Current and former E.P.A. officials say this practice continues to prevent them from fully assessing the risks of certain types of gas drilling.

“I still don’t understand why industry should be allowed to hide problems when public safety is at stake,” said Carla Greathouse, the author of the E.P.A. report that documents a case of drinking water contamination from fracking. “If it’s so safe, let the public review all the cases.” http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/us/04natgas.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

LEAKED FRACKING FLUID CONTAMINATED GROUNDWATER NEAR GRANDE PRAIRIE: ERCB – EDMONTON JOURNAL

EDMONTON - Leaked fracking fluid has contaminated groundwater after a “serious” incident at a well site near Grande Prairie in September 2011, according to an investigation by the Energy Resources Conservation Board which regulates the energy industry.

Calgary-based Crew Energy “inadvertently” released toxic fluids at too shallow a level in a natural gas well and then failed to realize the leak was occurring underground, said the ERCB report released Thursday.

15 “There were multiple opportunities to recognize that a problem existed which could have prevented or at least minimized the impact of hydraulic fracturing operation above the base of groundwater protection,” says the report. http://www.nofracking.com/blog/leaked-fracking-fluid-contaminated-groundwater-near-grande-prairie- ercb/

EPA's Water Contamination Investigation Halted In Texas After Range Resources Protest

At first, the Environmental Protection Agency believed the situation was so serious that it issued a rare emergency order in late 2010 that said at least two homeowners were in immediate danger from a well saturated with flammable methane. More than a year later, the agency rescinded its mandate and refused to explain why.

Now a confidential report obtained by The Associated Press and interviews with company representatives show that the EPA had scientific evidence against the driller, Range Resources, but changed course after the company threatened not to cooperate with a national study into a common form of drilling called hydraulic fracturing. Regulators set aside an analysis that concluded the drilling could have been to blame for the contamination. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/16/epa-water-contamination-investigation- fracking_n_2484568.html

Canadian Government Confirms Contamination of Groundwater from Hydraulic Fracturing

The Canadian investigation was conducted by the Energy Resources Conservation Board(ERCB). The report states:

“On September 22, 2011, Crew Energy Inc. was performing a hydraulic fracturing operation on the Caltex…well and inadvertently perforated above the base of groundwater protection at a depth of 136 metres measured depth.”

So it is clear that the company made a significant error in its operations. But what is more disturbing is that the crew was apparently unaware of its mistake. According to ERCB :

“Hydraulic fracturing operations were subsequently conducted using gelled propane as a carrier fluid…”

Clearly, “high operating standards” were lacking in this incident. In actual fact, the “high operating standards” were apparently almost non-existent. According to the investigation notes, ERCB stated:

“The possibility that the perforating gun had fired at this depth while running in was not considered at this point. Consequently, the cause for the premature firing of the perforating gun was also not observed at this point.” http://energypolicyforum.org/2013/01/04/canadian-government-confirms-contamination-of-groundwater- from-hydraulic-fracturing/

16 U.S. well sites in 2012 discharged more than Valdez

It went up orange, a gas-propelled geyser that rose 100 feet over the North Dakota prairie.

But it was oil, so it came down brown. So much oil that when they got the well under control two days later, crude dripped off the roof of a house a half-mile away. "It had a pretty good reach," said Dave Drovdal, who owns the land where the Bakken Shale oil well, owned by Newfield Exploration Co., blew out in December near Watford City, N.D. "The wind was blowing pretty good. Some of it blew 2 miles."

It was one of the more than 6,000 spills and other mishaps reported at onshore oil and gas sites in 2012, compiled in a months-long review of state and federal data by EnergyWire.

That's an average of more than 16 spills a day. And it's a significant increase since 2010. In the 12 states where comparable data were available, spills were up about 17 percent. http://www.eenews.net/stories/1059983941

Map of most of the permanent shale gas industrial installations in NE Fracksylvania https://maps.google.com/maps?q=http:%2F%2Ftinyurl.com%2FNEPAGasImpacts&ll=41.566142,- 76.118774&spn=1.267888,2.15332&t=h&z=9

Natural gas well leaking in Gulf

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Natural gas leaked Tuesday from a well at a platform producing oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico about 75 miles off the Louisiana coast after a crew working to temporarily plug the well lost control of it, the Coast Guard said. Coast Guard Lt. Lily Zepeda said the well did not blow out and there was no explosion or fire on the platform. People on the platform were evacuated, but it wasn't immediately clear how many.

Zepeda said a mixture of water and gas is leaking from the well, which is in water 144 feet deep. An aerial survey on Tuesday revealed a rainbow sheen four miles wide and three-quarters of a mile long on the Gulf surface, she said. http://www.fox8live.com/story/22797333/natural-gas-well-leaking-in-gulf

Gas drilling taints groundwater

Now researchers have traced low levels of methane and other contaminants to a source of shale gas: the sprawling Marcellus Formation, which lies beneath much of New York state, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio (see ‘On tap’) .

The study, led by researchers at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, expands on an earlier analysis of drinking water in northeastern Pennsylvania, where energy companies have used hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to crack the Marcellus Formation and release gas. http://www.nature.com/news/gas-drilling-taints-groundwater-1.13259

17 Fracking Contaminates US Water Wells

Drinking water is being contaminated by fracking for natural gas a new US study revealed Monday. More than 80% of drinking water wells at homes within 1 kilometre of active gas drilling operations had an average of 6 times more methane than those further away. The study also found more ethane and propane in water wells. http://desmog.ca/2013/06/25/new-study-fracking-contaminates-us-water-wells

Increased stray gas abundance in a subset of drinking water wells near Marcellus shale gas extraction

We analyzed 141 drinking water wells across the Appalachian Plateaus physiographic province of northeastern Pennsylvania, examining natural gas concentrations and isotopic signatures with proximity to shale gas wells. Methane was detected in 82% of drinking water samples, with average concentrations six times higher for homes <1 km from natural gas wells (P = 0.0006). Ethane was 23 times higher in homes <1 km from gas wells (P = 0.0013); propane was detected in 10 water wells, all within approximately 1 km distance (P = 0.01). http://www.pnas.org/content/110/28/11250

Fracking in Sussex - England

Fracking has been described by an eminent scientist as the most effective way to poison a population through it’s water supply. Among the risks are:

Millions of gallons of fracking fluid, pumped into the ground, containing over 600 chemicals: 25% of which are linked with cancer and mutations 37% affect hormones 40-50% affect kidneys and nervous, immune and cardiovascular systems 75% affect respiratory and gastrointestinal systems and sensory organs

Toxic, radioactive wastewater is stored in open pits and sprayed to evaporate quickly before being trucked away. This process releases lethal radon into the air which carries for miles. 60% of wells leak Toxic fluids seeping through natural fractures can reach drinking water aquifers in as little as 3 years 30-70% of fracking fluid is not recovered and stays in the ground http://philipcarrgomm.wordpress.com/2013/07/07/fracking-in-sussex/

DIMOCK GAS WELL SHUT DOWN DUE TO WELL WATER CONTAMINATION

This week, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has determined a natural gas well is not viable due to leaking methane. Two properties have been effected. One is receiving water supplied by Cabot, and Cabot has installed a water filtration system in the second residence. http://blog.shaleshockmedia.org/2013/07/14/dimock-gas-well-shut-down-due-to-well-water- contamination/

18 EPA Says Dimock Water OK To Use As Lighter Fluid

When the Environmental Protection Agency announced last week that tests showed the water is safe to drink in Dimock, Penn., a national hot spot for concerns about fracking, it seemed to vindicate the energy industry’s insistence that drilling had not caused pollution in the area.

But what the agency didn’t say – at least, not publicly – is that the water samples contained dangerous quantities of methane gas, a finding that confirmed some of the agency’s initial concerns and the complaints raised by Dimock residents since 2009.

The test results also showed the group of wells contained dozens of other contaminants, including low levels of chemicals known to cause cancer and heavy metals that exceed the agency’s “trigger level” and could lead to illness if consumed over an extended period of time. The EPA’s assurances suggest that the substances detected do not violate specific drinking water standards, but no such standards exist for some of the contaminants and some experts said the agency should have acknowledged that they were detected at all. http://blog.shaleshockmedia.org/2012/03/21/epa-tests-show-that-dimock-water-ok-to-light-or-use-as- lighter-fluid/ http://www.scribd.com/doc/65577477/How-Gas-Wells-Leak

So, Is Dimock’s Water Really Safe to Drink?

The test results also showed the group of wells contained dozens of other contaminants, including low levels of chemicals known to cause cancer and heavy metals that exceed the agency’s “trigger level” and could lead to illness if consumed over an extended period of time. The EPA’s assurances suggest that the substances detected do not violate specific drinking water standards, but no such standards exist for some of the contaminants and some experts said the agency should have acknowledged that they were detected at all.

“Any suggestion that water from these wells is safe for domestic use would be preliminary or inappropriate,” said Ron Bishop, a chemist at the State University of New York’s College at Oneonta, who has spoken out about environmental concerns from drilling. http://www.propublica.org/article/so-is-dimocks-water-really-safe-to-drink

Letter to the Morrow County Fairboard Executive Committee Members - Brine

This letter was submitted by environmental activist, Donna Carver of Morrow County P.O.W.E.R. (Protecting Our Water and Environmental Resources) to the Morrow County Fairboard Executive Committee Members, requesting they stop the use of brine on the county fairgrounds, see photos here.

I sent an email on 9-4-2012 to ODNR to request the medical research they used to determine that “brine: was safe to use for dust and ice control on roads, this was the reply: Ms. Carver, Thank you for writing. There is no medical research conducted on brine spreading for dust and ice control. However, I am sending a copy of the OSU study that was done in the 1980’s for your review. Jocelyn Kozlowski, Public Information Officer, Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management, 2045 Morse Road, Bldg. I- 2, Columbus, Ohio 43229

19 I was able to locate a medical study conducted in 1986 titled “Toxicological Analysis of Ohio Brine Constituents and their Potential Impact on Human Health. This study was conducted by Dr. Gerald Poje for Governor Dick Celeste’s Oil and Gas Review Commission. A few of the inorganic compounds found in the brine include arsenic, barium, lead, mercury and uranium. A few of the organic compounds include benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene and xylene. The health effects these components can cause include leukemia, neurological disorders, respiratory system irritation, cancerous tumors, birth defects and other developmental disorders. Considering the possible side effects of using brine and the absence of medical safety research, I urge the board to reconsider using brine on the Morrow County Fairgrounds for dust control. http://frackthemedia.com/letter-to-morrow-county-fairboard-committee-members/

Fracking Can Be Done Safely, but Will It Be?

Out of sight (and smell), natural gas slowly bubbled up into Norma Fiorentino’s private water well near the town of Dimock in northeastern Pennsylvania—in the heart of the new fracking boom in the U.S. Then, on New Year's Day 2009, when a mechanical pump flicked on and provided the spark, Fiorentino's backyard exploded.

"This is an industry that's in its infancy, so we don't really know a lot of things," explains environmental engineer Radisav Vidic of the University of Pittsburgh, who led this review. "Is it or isn't it bad for the environment? Is New York State right to ban fracking, and is Pennsylvania stupid for [allowing it]?"

According to the review, the answer is no. "There is no irrefutable impact of this industry on surface or groundwater quality in Pennsylvania," Vidic says. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=can-fracking-be-done-without-impacting-water

First-ever federal study finds natural gas fracking chemicals didn't spread

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A landmark federal study on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, shows no evidence that chemicals from the natural gas drilling process moved up to contaminate drinking water aquifers at a western Pennsylvania drilling site, the Department of Energy told The Associated Press.

After a year of monitoring, the researchers found that the chemical-laced fluids used to free gas trapped deep below the surface stayed thousands of feet below the shallower areas that supply drinking water, geologist Richard Hammack said. http://ca.news.yahoo.com/first-ever-federal-study-finds-natural-gas-fracking-063025821.html

Treatment Plants Accused of Illegally Disposing Radioactive Fracking Wastewater

A Pennsylvania industrial wastewater treatment plant has been illegally accepting oil and gas wastewater and polluting the Allegheny river with radioactive waste and other pollutants, according Clean Water Action, which announced today that it is suing the plant.

20 “Waste Treatment Corporation has been illegally discharging oil and gas wastewater since at least 2003, and continues to discharge such wastewater without authorization under the Clean Water Act and the Clean Streams Law,” the notice of intent to sue delivered by Clean Water Action reads. http://ecowatch.com/2013/treatment-plants-illegally-disposing-radioactive-wastewater/

BREAKING NEWS: Industry cannot control hydraulic fractures!!!

A new “study” of a single, carefully controlled fracking site was released today. It shows that fracking chemicals from that one single, carefully controlled frack site did not contamination any groundwater. Yet.

Seismic monitoring determined one hydraulic fracture traveled 1,800 feet out from the well bore; most traveled just a few hundred feet. That’s significant because some environmental groups have questioned whether the fractures could go all the way to the surface. The breaking news here is that industry cannot control their fractures as we knew all along and as industry has admitted. The not breaking news is that a single, highly controlled frack job came out okay.

I guess this industry statement about fractures From Schlumberger Clearly the industry has much to learn about hydraulic fractures.All hydraulic fracture models fail to predict fracture behavior precisely and in many cases, models fail completely ...Was more correct than this industry statement about fractures http://www.texassharon.com/2013/07/19/breaking-news-industry-cannot-control-their-fractures/

DOE Study: Fracking Chemicals Didn't Taint Water http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/ap-study-finds-fracking-chemicals-spread-19709037

Spill Baby Spill

As fracking and its ancillary operations are charging full steam ahead across Butler County, we are seeing almost daily reports of high profile and high volume spills, explosions, accidents, deaths, reported violations and aknowledgement of old and continuing violations. We thought that we would highlight a few to give you a sense of the destruction that fracking leaves in its path. This is by no means a full list. Feel free to add any that we might be missing in the comments section. http://www.marcellusoutreachbutler.org/2/post/2013/06/spill-baby-spill.html

Hazmat Crews Clean Up After Tanker Leaks Onto I-70

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Hazmat crews worked to clean up a spill in Westmoreland County Sunday afternoon. It was initially reported that the tanker was carrying hydrochloric acid, but a spokesperson for Halliburton, which owns the truck, said it was primarily carrying water with traces of the acid. http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2013/07/21/hazmat-crews-clean-up-after-tanker-leaks-onto-i- 70/#.Ue0lju3ZF1Q.facebook

21 Potential Well Water Contaminants Highest Near Natural Gas Drilling, UT Arlington Study Says

A new study of 100 private water wells in and near the Barnett Shale showed elevated levels of potential contaminants such as arsenic and selenium closest to natural gas extraction sites, according to a team of researchers that was led by UT Arlington associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry Kevin Schug.

The results of the North Texas well study were published online by the journal Environmental Science & Technology Thursday. The peer-reviewed paper focuses on the presence of metals such as arsenic, barium, selenium and strontium in water samples. Many of these heavy metals occur naturally at low levels in groundwater, but disturbances from natural gas extraction activities could cause them to occur at elevated levels.

Researchers believe the increased presence of metals could be due to a variety of factors including: industrial accidents such as faulty gas well casings; mechanical vibrations from natural gas drilling activity disturbing particles in neglected water well equipment; or the lowering of water tables through drought or the removal of water used for the hydraulic fracturing process. Any of these scenarios could release dangerous compounds into shallow groundwater. http://www.uta.edu/news/releases/2013/07/Schug-water-well-contaminants-study.php http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130726121612.htm

DOE: Fracks Can Hit Aquifers !

A DOE test well in Pennsylvania has proven that a frack can travel up to almost 2,000 feet. Which means that a frack can contaminate an aquifer – if the separation between the two is less than 2,000 feet. Immediately.

That means that any fracked horizontal lateral that is closer than 2,000 feet to any aquifer may have already contaminated that aquifer. No longer a matter of “if” – just how many have been contaminated and by how much.

“Seismic monitoring determined one hydraulic fracture traveled 1,800 feet out from the well bore. That’s significant because some environmental groups have questioned whether the fractures could go all the way to the surface. The researchers believe that fracture may have hit naturally occurring faults.” http://blog.shaleshockmedia.org/2013/07/20/doe-study-proves-fracks-can-contaminate-aquifers/

Sunday Times review of DEP drilling records reveals water damage, murky testing methods

State environmental regulators determined that oil and gas development damaged the water supplies for at least 161 Pennsylvania homes, farms, churches and businesses between 2008 and the fall of 2012, according to a cache of nearly 1,000 letters and enforcement orders written by Department of Environmental Protection officials and obtained by The Sunday Times.

The Sunday Times requested the records in late 2011, and received access to them late last year after a state appeals court ruled that the DEP had to release the documents regardless of whether it was hard for the agency to find them in its files.

22 Using its definition of incidents, DEP counted 83 cases of drilling-related impacts on water supplies between 2008 and 2012, roughly the same period covered by the records released to The Sunday Times. The state has confirmed water supply impacts in 128 broad cases since 1987, he said. http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/sunday-times-review-of-dep-drilling-records-reveals-water-damage- murky-testing-methods-1.1491547

Leaked Report Shows EPA Censored Dimock’s Fracking Water Contamination Study

The Los Angeles Times published a story yesterday reporting on a leaked document that indicates that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has never conveyed to the public the possibility that methane released during drilling “and perhaps during the fracking process” resulted in “significant,” and possibly long-term, “damage to the water quality” of a drinking water source for 19 families in Dimock, PA, even though some staff believed this was the case.

But when the EPA released the results of its investigation, effectively declaring Dimock’s water safe, it failed to share two important pieces of information.

First, it did not share that Cabot had contaminated the water with dangerously high levels of methane.

Second, it limited the scope of its discussion to whether certain federal standards for specific contaminants—not including methane—were exceeded. http://ecowatch.com/2013/epa-censored-dimocks-fracking-water-study/

23 Questionable Science

'Frackademia': how Big Gas bought research on hydraulic fracturing

Thanks to fossil fuel industry sponsorship, we know all about the benefits of natural gas – but we don't have the data on its risks

Last week, the oil company Chevron took out a full-page ad in the Atlantic Monthly to say – seemingly innocuously – that hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking, needs to be "good for everyone".

Chevron's ad in the Atlantic is co-signed by Bruce Niemeyer, a vice-president of the corporation and Radisav Vidic, a professor of environmental engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. Professor Vidic's office sits a stone's throw from the Chevron Science Center, a 15-storey state-of-the-art chemistry laboratory and teaching facility made possible by the philanthropically-minded corporation. I asked him if he saw any conflict in interest in signing an ad paid for by an energy company, when academics are expected to be impartial arbiters. He replied by email:

"I don't since I agree that the shale gas should be good for everyone or not developed at all." http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/09/fracking-big-gas-university-research

Fracking Up Our Water, Hydro Power and Climate

BC’s Reckless Pursuit of ShalE Gas by Ben Parfitt http://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/BC%20Office/2011/11/CCPA- BC_Fracking_Up.pdf

24 Renewable Energy

A Sustainable Energy Future Is Within Our Grasp he staggering growth in renewable energy has the potential to fundamentally change the way we generate and use power. Previously dismissed as marginal technologies, renewables have become "increasingly mainstream and competitive with conventional energy sources." This is the conclusion of a new report on the global status of renewable energies by the REN21 Network.

The report http://www.ren21.net/Portals/0/documents/Resources/GSR/2013/GSR2013_lowres.pdf

Renewable Energy Will Exceed Natural Gas Use Worldwide By 2016

A new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), stating that global power generation from hydro, wind, solar and other renewable sources will exceed that of gas and be twice that of nuclear by 2016, is receiving widespread news coverage.

Renewable power is expected to increase by 40 percent in the next five years, according to the IEA’s second annual Medium-Term Renewable Energy Market Report launched last Wednesday in New York. http://ecowatch.com/2013/renewable-energy-exceed-natural-gas/

IEA Report http://www.iea.org/textbase/npsum/mtrenew2012Sum.pdf

Cornell University and Verdant Power Ink MoU for MHK Technologies

Cornell University and Verdant Power Inc., signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the intention of entering into a long-term relationship centered on research and other activities related to Marine & Hydrokinetic (MHK) technologies. http://subseaworldnews.com/2013/07/15/usa-cornell-university-and-verdant-power-ink-mou-for-mhk- technologies/

Governor Cuomo Awards $54 Million to Fund Large Solar Power Projects Across the State

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that $54 million has been awarded under his NY-Sun initiative for 79 large-scale solar energy projects across the state. The new projects will add 64 megawatts to the state’s solar capacity.

“With these major investments through the NY-Sun initiative, New York State is leading the nation in solar energy generation, addressing climate change and growing our clean energy economy,” Governor Cuomo said. “Not only will these projects benefit our environment by reducing dependence on fossil

25 fuels and using renewable energy, but they are also creating well-paying jobs for New Yorkers. These are necessary investments for a bright future in our state.” http://www.governor.ny.gov/press/07092013-ny-sun-initiative

SunPower CEO: N. America Solar Demand `Phenomenal' - Embedded video http://www.bloomberg.com/video/sunpower-ceo-n-america-solar-demand-phenomenal- t7TE8MMkQ~~n_M6W4D0pUA.html

German Scientists Create Lithium Ion Battery that Can Charge an Electric Car for 27 Years

Scientists at the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Wurttemburg (ZSW) have developed one of the most efficient lithium-ion batteries yet. The super li-on batteries herald a bright future for energy storage systems, and in an electric vehicle they’re expected to retain 85% of their capacity after being charged every day for “about 27.4 years.” http://inhabitat.com/german-scientists-create-lithium-ion-battery-that-can-charge-an-electric-car-for-27- years/

Solar Power: Why You Should Invest Now

That being said, I have an extensive background in solar energy and I possess a grasp of what factors into the success or failure of a solar business. Therefore, this article will focus on the factors that are making a number of solar companies seem like good investment options.

First, the biggest news in the solar industry: MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., is purchasing two solar farm projects from SunPower [NASDAQ:SPWR] for a whopping $2.5 billion. These projects are projected to have a capacity of 579 megawatts, which is more than half of SunPower's entire installation total for 2012 of 936 MW.

This has not been the only investment in solar by the Oracle of Omaha; MidAmerican bought a 49% stake in a 290 MW Arizona solar plant from NRG Energy and also purchased First Solar's 550 MW Topaz Solar Farm in California in 2011. These are huge purchases from a man who takes investing seriously and will not make a purchase just for the sake of appearing environmentally friendly. http://www.policymic.com/articles/28606/solar-power-why-you-should-invest-now

Record-Thin Light Absorber Offers New Solar Hope

Thin is in, from the peel-and-stick thin-film solar cells that Stanford University scientists described last year, to the super-thin, stackable solar cells MIT researchers recently conceptualized. Now Stanford is back with “the thinnest, most efficient absorber of visible light on record.”

It’s a wafer dotted with trillions of round particles of gold, nanodots about 14 nanometers tall and 17 naonmeters wide (a nanometer is a billionth of a meter).

26 “We chose gold because it was more chemically stable for our experiment,” Hagglund said. “Although the cost of the gold was virtually negligible, silver is cheaper and better from an optical point of view if you want to make a good solar cell. Our device represents an orders-of-magnitude reduction in thickness. This suggests that we can eventually reduce the thickness of solar cells.” http://www.earthtechling.com/2013/07/record-thin-light-absorber-offers-new-solar-hope/

Solar power will no longer be Alternative - Will be seen as normal

This graphic that comes from the Economist, indicates the great decline of solar power‘s price. According to this chart the price of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells has fallen from $76.67 per watt in 1977 to $.74 per watt in 2013.

This is a decrease of 99 percent. Alternative, renewable power will start to be seen as normal. http://myscienceacademy.org/2013/06/07/solar-power-will-no-longer-be-alternative/

A CANADIAN ENERGY STRATEGY: Why should local governments care? by James Glave, John Chapman, Robert Duffy and Charley Beresford - May 2013

87% of Canadians support a national energy strategy

A July 2012 Harris-Decima poll found that 87% of Canadians strongly or somewhat agree that “We need a Canadian energy strategy to plan our nation’s energy future.” A majority also indicated that the following should be “top” or “high” priorities for a national energy strategy:

• Reducing our reliance on fossil fuels like oil, gas, and coal – 66% • Creating more jobs in clean energy – 74% • Reducing Canada’s carbon pollution to slow down climate change – 67% • Improving energy efficiency – 82% http://www.civicgovernance.ca/sites/default/files/publications/Columbia_energy_strategy_web_final.pdf

On Rooftops, a Rival for Utilities

For years, power companies have watched warily as solar panels have sprouted across the nation’s rooftops. Now, in almost panicked tones, they are fighting hard to slow the spread.

Alarmed by what they say has become an existential threat to their business, utility companies are moving to roll back government incentives aimed at promoting solar energy and other renewable sources of power. At stake, the companies say, is nothing less than the future of the American electricity industry. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/27/business/energy-environment/utilities-confront-fresh-threat-do-it- yourself-power.html?src=recg&_r=1&

27 Science, Health and Accidents

Be aware of health problems near fracking sites

Las Vegas -- The introduction of hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," in an Appalachian region in southwestern Pennsylvania has created a variety of medical problems for the surrounding community and healthcare providers should be ready to recognize symptoms, according to two speakers at the American Association of Nurse Practitioners 2013 National Conference.

The region's abundance of Marcellus Shale, sedimentary rock that contains an estimated 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, has attracted gas companies seeking to extract the precious resource, but the negative health effects of the industry are not yet fully understood, Lenore K. Resick, PhD, CRNP, FNP-BC, NP-C, FAANP, of Duquesne University School of Nursing in Pittsburgh and Joyce M. Knestrick, PhD, CRNP, FAANP, of Frontier Nursing University in Washington, Penn., explained during a poster presentation. http://www.clinicaladvisor.com/be-aware-of-health-problems-near-fracking-sites/article/300741/

37% CANCER RATE WHERE BENZENE FROM FRACK-WASTE

FRACK-WASTE IS LEAKING INTO THE SOIL FROM POROUS POLYETHYLENE PIPELINES

Contains video in German with English subtitles.

37% of households in one gasfield have at least one person with cancer. Folks, there is *NO* SAFE LEVEL FOR BENZENE! Deadly Benzene migrates through polythene piping and it seems that the industry has known this for many years. What pipeline is being used in West Virginia? PA? TX? WY? A multi-layer pipeline IS available with a protective aluminum layer but is much more expensive and there is no legal requirement to use it. Are the likes of Chesapeake Energy, Cabot etc KNOWINGLY poisoning the environment? http://nofrackingwaywestvirginia.blogspot.ca/2012/02/37-cancer-rate-where-benzene-from-frack.html? spref=fb

Spill Baby Spill

As fracking and its ancillary operations are gearing up across the county, we are seeing almost daily reports of high profile and high volume spills, explosions, accidents, deaths, and reported violations. We thought that we would highlight a few to give you a sense of the destruction that fracking leaves in its path. This is by no means a full list. Feel free to add any that we might be missing in the comments section. http://www.marcellusoutreachbutler.org/2/post/2013/06/spill-baby-spill.html

Cleary uncomfortable with shale gas blueprint

Health officer surprised policy document doesn't include health as a key objective

28 'I would say that for virtually all of my recommendations that there is substantive work to be done before we can say that they have been implemented in a satisfactory manner.' http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2013/05/10/nb-cleary-reax-blueprint.html

Rejected radioactive waste remains in Greene

On April 19, a Rice Energy Inc. truck, originating from the Thunder II well pad in Greene County, set off the radioactivity alarms at a disposal site in Yukon. The truck was quarantined on site and tested. It was determined the drill cuttings inside contained Radium 226 at a level of 96 microrem (mrem) above background. The standard for Pennsylvania is 10 mrem above background.

John Poister, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, said 96 mrem is in the middle area, making it too high for acceptance at a landfill in the state.

As it turned out, this was just one of many loads that have triggered the radiation monitoring alarms at landfills in the state that were returned to the originating well site.

With loads being rejected at a steady rate, well pads across the state are becoming temporary storage facilities until dump sites capable of accepting these levels are found.

In 2012 there were 1,325 total incidents of disposal facilities in the commonwealth reporting various loads above the 10 mrem limit, according to Poister. http://www.observer-reporter.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID= %2F20130708%2FNEWS02%2F130709434#.Ud8qF5zD_IW

Fracking a Flock of Pandoras

As we've all heard, hydraulic fracturing releases natural gas contained in deeply buried shale formations. I wondered about the association between shale and natural gas. In researching that connection, I came across something unexpected. This section describes the shale-gas connection and the next reveals its largely understated threat.

Uranium, shale, and gas have a long history together. Almost all sedimentary rocks contain low-level radioactivity because of the radioactive isotope potassium-40 scattered throughout clays, feldspars, micas, and other common silicate minerals. Shales, containing their share of clay, tend to higher concentrations of potassium-40-bearing minerals. And shales that are rich in organics, which concentrate radioactive ions, have yet greater levels of radioactivity.

After the second world war the Atomic Energy Commission declared that the shale deposits, some of which are even now being fracked, are the largest uranium resource in the US. Dr. V. E. Swanson, author of Oil Yield and Uranium Content of Black Shales, estimates the "amount of uranium in these shales is extremely large reckoned in billions of tons of metallic uranium". http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/Fracking-a-Whole-Flock-of-by-j-dial-130710-646.html

29 Explosion at West Virginia frack site seriously injures four

Federal investigators are trying to figure out what caused an explosion at a West Virginia fracking site over the weekend. The blast injured at least seven people, including four workers who were sent to a hospital with life-threatening burns. Residents and activists have long complained about safety practices by frackers operating in the state, where they draw natural gas from the Marcellus shale formation. Traffic accidents involving trucks traveling to and from frack sites in the state are common, and explosions can be deadly. http://climate-connections.org/2013/07/11/explosion-at-west-virginia-frack-site-seriously-injures-four/

EPA to Allow Consumption of Toxic Fracking Wastewater by Wildlife and Livestock

Millions of gallons of water laced with toxic chemicals from oil and gas drilling rigs are pumped for consumption by wildlife and livestock with the formal approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), according to public comments filed yesterday by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Contrary to its own regulations, EPA is issuing permits for surface application of drilling wastewater without even identifying the chemicals in fluids used for hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, let alone setting effluent limits for the contaminants contained within them. http://www.nationofchange.org/epa-allow-consumption-toxic-fracking-wastewater-wildlife-and-livestock- 1373811581

OIL AND GAS EXTRACTION - Inputs: Occupational Safety and Health Risks Center for Disease Control and Prevention

The oil and gas extraction industry has an annual occupational fatality rate of 27.5 per 100,000 workers (2003-2009) - more than seven times higher than the rate for all U.S. workers. The oil and gas extraction industry employed approximately 435,000 workers in 2010. The annual occupational fatality rate in this industry is highly variable; this variation is correlated with the level of drilling activity in the industry (Figure 2). Fatality rates are higher when there is an increased number of active drilling and workover rigs. This could be a result of an increase in the proportion of inexperienced workers, longer working hours (more overtime), and the utilization of all available rigs (older equipment with fewer safeguards). http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/programs/oilgas/risks.html

Fracking and Water: E.P.A. Zeroes In on 7 Sites

Last year Congress mandated that the Environmental Protection Agency study whether the drilling is damaging the environment and to what extent. After a public review process in which 40 places were considered, the agency chose the case study sites by considering the proximity of drinking water supplies to the fracking activity and by striving for geographic diversity. The E.P.A. says the results will be peer-reviewed and made public, and that the data will be contribute to computer modeling and other efforts to evaluate the drilling’s impact. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/23/fracking-and-water-e-p-a-zeroes-in-on-7-sites/?smid=fb- share

30 Taking a Harder Look at Fracking and Health

Some five years after the controversial combination of fracking and horizontal drilling in the gas-rich Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania and surrounding states got under way, a team of toxicologists from the University of Pennsylvania is leading a national effort to study the health effects of fracking.

The university’s Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology has organized a working group with researchers at other top universities including Columbia, Johns Hopkins and the University of North Carolina to investigate and analyze reports of nausea, headaches, breathing difficulties and other ills from people who live near natural gas drilling sites, compressor stations or wastewater pits. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/21/taking-a-harder-look-at-fracking-and-health/?smid=fb-share

Blood tests show Barnett Shale drilling chemicals

When your blood tests are positive for (EDITS below. I read the results wrong.) ■Benzene ■Ethylbenzene ■Styrene ■Toluene ■m,p-Xylene ■o-Xylele

…and the TCEQ testing shows those same chemicals coming from the gas well near you, it’s pretty obvious how the chemicals got in your blood.

And, when your breath shows your lungs contain ■Hexane ■Pentane ■Dimethyldecane ■Butane ■etc.

…and the TCEQ testing shows all those same chemicals coming from the gas well near you, it’s pretty obvious how the chemicals came to be in your lungs. http://www.texassharon.com/2010/09/14/blood-tests-show-barnett-shale-drilling-chemicals/

Toxic & Dirty Secrets: The Truth about Fracking and Your Family's Health

This week, CEH has released a report that clarifies how fracking can affect the health of mothers and children. http://ceh.org/what-we-do/eliminating-toxics/current-work/623

The report

This paper focuses on three ways in which fracking affects the health of mothers, children, and their communities:

31 • exposure to toxic fracking chemicals and byproducts of the fracking process via air pollution; • exposure to toxic fracking chemicals and byproducts of the fracking process via water contamination; and • social stressors associated with the heavy industrial activities that accompany tight oil and shale gas development. http://ceh.org/storage/documents/Fracking/fracking_final-low-1.pdf

Drilling injury lawsuit settled for $12 million

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A lawsuit was settled last week in Harrison County for $12 million against drilling companies after an incident left a worker paralyzed.

The lawsuit against Frontier Drilling and Antero Resources claimed unsafe working conditions at a job site in Salem.

During a deposition, Jason Ware, a safety coordinator with Antero, according to transcripts, said that in the 36 months he had worked at the rig, 25 to 30 work-related accidents occurred that resulted in broken bones or surgeries, not counting stitches. http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201307220099#.Ue5dr4EjND4

Sick From Fracking? Doctors, Patients Seek Answers - Audio http://www.npr.org/2012/05/15/152268475/sick-from-fracking-doctors-patients-seek-answers

Cancer Concerns With Colorado's Drilling, Fracking Boom

A former president of the Colorado Medical Society calls the current hydraulic fracturing boom in the state’s oil and gas industry an “experiment in motion” for the public at large. One that could lead to higher rates of cancer and other illnesses over the next 10 to 15 years.

Dr. Michael Pramenko, a Grand Junction family physician, says he isn’t as worried about acute cases of exposure to carcinogens in “fracking” fluid – although he has treated a patient who accidently guzzled cancer-causing benzene. Pramenko says he is more concerned with long-term exposure from tainted water.

“Are there people out there being exposed to low quantities [of carcinogens] that we won’t ever know about? Sure,” he said. “Are there going to be some cancers down the road that come about across the United States? I think that’s true.” http://www.kunc.org/post/cancer-concerns-colorados-drilling-fracking-boom

Worker Exposure to Silica during Hydraulic Fracturing

This Hazard Alert discusses the health hazards associated with hydraulic fracturing and focuses on worker exposures to silica in the air.

32 Hydraulic fracturing sand contains up to 99% silica. Breathing silica can cause silicosis. Silicosis is a lung disease where lung tissue around trapped silica particles reacts, causing inflammation and scarring and reducing the lungs' ability to take in oxygen.ii Workers who breathe silica day after day are at greater risk of developing silicosis. Silica can also cause lung cancer and has been linked to other diseases, such as tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and kidney and autoimmune disease. https://www.osha.gov/dts/hazardalerts/hydraulic_frac_hazard_alert.html

Casing collapse in Corsicana fracking well - Embedded video

This is yet another one of those “rare” fracking accidents. There were others today but I can’t keep up. The well is located about 1/2 mile off of South U.S. Highway 287 on SECR 3100.

One person was injured in the incident but the person’s condition is unknown, he said. About four gallons per minute of a combination of injection fluid and drilling mud are leaking from the well, an emergency services spokesman said.

The casing collapse was reported to local authorities about 6 a.m. Thursday. Fracking fluid is reported to be leaking at a rate of 3 to 4 gallons per minute from the well. A crew from Houston has been dispatched to attempt to cap the well, operated by Obrien Energy. http://www.texassharon.com/2013/07/25/casing-collapse-in-corsicana-fracking-well/

Blue Rhino propane gas plant in Tavares, Florida gas plant explosions: 8 hospitalized all workers accounted for – Embedded video

TAVARES, Fla. -- A series of explosions rocked a central Florida propane gas plant and sent "boom after boom after boom" through the neighbourhood around it. Eight people were injured, with at least three in critical condition. John Herrell of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said early Tuesday there were no fatalities despite massive blasts that ripped through the Blue Rhino propane plant late Monday night. Officials initially scrambled to find more than a dozen employees after the explosions.

Keith said the explosions shook his house several miles from the plant. "It truly sounded like a car hit our house," he said. Herrell said about 50 homes were evacuated Monday night but residents were allowed back in about four hours later. http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/florida-gas-plant-explosions-8-hospitalized-all-workers-accounted-for- 1.1389878

Home distance from benzene sites linked to lymphoma risk

(Reuters Health) - How far a person lives from a manufacturing plant that releases the chemical benzene into the environment may determine their risk of developing immune system cancer, a new study suggests.

33 Researchers in Georgia looking at rates of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in that state found that risk for the disease fell with every mile between a person's home and facilities that release benzene. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/29/us-home-distance-from-benzene-sites-link- idUSBRE96S0ZJ20130729

Residence proximity to benzene release sites is associated with increased incidence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncr.28083/abstract;jsessionid=5408E0B32B9FBDFEE25855 9B66098218.d04t01

34 Economics, Legal, and Investigations

Global financial services provider Rabobank: ‘no money for fracking’

Unless it can be proven that fracking does not harm the environment, the Netherlands’ largest bank will not finance any projects, including those in the already established and reputedly thriving US market.

Marie-Christine Reusken, press officer at Rabobank confirmed to RTCC that its North America office will also “not lend to any entity engaged in fracking”. http://tvnewslies.org/tvnl/index.php/news/environment/28892-global-financial-services-provider- rabobank-no-money-for-fracking.html

Divestment From Fossil Fuel Investments Gains Momentum

Two major financial institutions and a church are the latest institutions to announce their divestment from fossil fuel investments.

Dutch bank Rabobank - the country's largest - is taking a strong stand against natural gas fracking. Not only will it not lend money to companies involved in natural gas fracking, it also will not give loans to farmers who rent their land to those companies.

Meanwhile, in Norway, Storebrand - a major pension fund and life insurance firm, has pulled investments from 13 coal producers and the six oil companies most heavily involved in tar sands.

And in the US, the United Church of Christ passed a resolution that sets a "strategy to attack climate change," including a path to divest from fossil fuel companies. The church says it is the first major religious body in the US to vote for divestment. http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/25031

How Does The Shale Gas Scam Work?

The hype surrounding shale gas development has rivaled that which accompanied the "dot-com" boom & bust, and the Housing Bubble. This is not surprising considering that some of the same flim-flam was involved. However, as with the internet, the shale gas resource is real and it is large. The problem with shale gas is twofold: 1) the gas will be expensive, and is not profitable to produce at current prices; and 2) as respected Canadian geologist Dave Hughes explains, there may be 100 years of gas in these tight shale reservoirs, but it will likely take 800 years to produce it—you've got to poke a lot of very expensive holes in the ground to get the gas. Production decline rates are steep, which is another way of saying that shale gas wells deplete rapidly. http://www.declineoftheempire.com/2011/07/how-does-the-shale-gas-scam-work.html http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/inside_job_2010/

35 AN INVESTOR GUIDE TO DISCLOSING RISKS FROM HYDRAULIC FRACTURING OPERATIONS

CONTENTS:

Executive Summary: Recommended Goals, Practices, and Indicators

1. Manage Risks Transparently and at Board Level 2. Reduce Surface Footprint 3. Assure Well Integrity 4. Reduce and Disclose All Toxic Chemicals 5. Protect Water Quality by Rigorous Monitoring 6. Minimize Fresh Water Use 7. Prevent Contamination From Waste Water 8. Minimize and Disclose Air Emissions 9. Prevent Contamination from Solid Waste and Sludge Residuals 10. Assure Best In Class Contractor Performance 11. Secure Community Consent 12. Disclose Fines, Penalties and Litigation http://www.iehn.org/documents/frackguidance.pdf Gas prices set to triple in coming years

WHOLESALE gas prices could be set to triple as Queensland LNG exports ramp up in coming years, research by The Australia Institute showed on Friday.

The research said that as gas exports increase, the domestic cost of gas would rise to keep pace with the higher international costs.

"Once gas from eastern Australia is being sold overseas, consumers will be at the mercy of world prices and domestic production will have little impact," he said.

"The only answer is to access broader supply from as many sources as possible, as soon as possible." http://www.gladstoneobserver.com.au/news/Gas-prices-set-to-triple-in-coming-years/1934268/

The Law, The Police and You: Your Rights When Questioned, Detained or Arrested

The purpose of this booklet is to provide a general outline of your rights and responsibilities when you come into contact with the police in public. What should you do or say - and, not do or say - when you are questioned or detained by the police? What are your rights if the police arrest you? Many people are convicted of criminal offences by statements they give voluntarily. http://www.legal-info-legale.nb.ca/en/law_police_you_rights

EnCana takes over Funding of Govt Study into Fracking Water Contamination

What promised to be a ground-breaking report into the effects of natural gas hydraulic fracturing on groundwater has devolved into a classic case of the fox in charge of the hen house.

36 The US Environmental Protection Agency's hotly anticipated study into links between fracking and water contamination in Wyoming has been co-opted by the very company whose activities it was investigating - Canadian natural gas titan, EnCana.

ProPublica is reporting that the Wyoming study - a draft of which was published in 2011, stirring up significant controversy and opposition from industry - has been abandoned by the EPA to Wyoming state authorities and will now be funded by EnCana.

EnCana is also at the centre of a high-profile lawsuit regarding water contamination being brought in Alberta court by Jessica Ernst, an environmental consultant with 30 years experience working in oil and gas. Ernst herself released a landmark compendium of evidence regarding water contamination from fracking last month. http://thecanadian.org/item/2193-encana-to-fund-government-study-of-water-contimation-from-fracking- oil-gas-epa

Title, Real Estate Top List of US Shale Challenges

Title and real estate issues top the list of issues faced by oil and gas companies in shale production, according to a new study commissioned by the law firm Steptoe & Johnson.

Ninety-four percent of respondents reported that title and real estate matters presented the greatest challenge to shale activity, in a survey conducted for Steptoe & Johnson by The Brand Research Company. Survey results also found that:

"Environmental lawsuits are the most concerning to shale developers," said Steptoe & Johnson. "This concern is likely related to unpredictability, cost complexity and public relations." http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?hpf=1&a_id=127588

New Brunswick - Shale gas investment to hit 6-year low

$779K expected from petroleum licences and leases this year down 30% from last year

Investment in New Brunswick shale gas licences and leases is expected to decline to a six-year low this year, figures show, as exploration companies move slower than expected to lock up rights to provincial gas resources. Despite the optimistic outlook of government officials, companies still aren't clear if the province has enough accessible natural gas to warrant development, said Sheri Somerville, a natural gas adviser with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

"When they find out what's below there, below the ground, below the earth's surface — what kind of reserves we're looking at — at that time, they will make decisions on how they'll move forward," Somerville told CBC News. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2013/04/11/nb-shale-gas-investment.html

37 How Does The Shale Gas Scam Work?

The hype surrounding shale gas development has rivaled that which accompanied the "dot-com" boom & bust, and the Housing Bubble. This is not surprising considering that some of the same flim-flam was involved. However, as with the internet, the shale gas resource is real and it is large. The problem with shale gas is twofold: 1) the gas will be expensive, and is not profitable to produce at current prices; and 2) as respected Canadian geologist Dave Hughes explains, there may be 100 years of gas in these tight shale reservoirs, but it will likely take 800 years to produce it—you've got to poke a lot of very expensive holes in the ground to get the gas. Production decline rates are steep, which is another way of saying that shale gas wells deplete rapidly. http://www.declineoftheempire.com/2011/07/how-does-the-shale-gas-scam-work.html

Behind Veneer, Doubt on Future of Natural Gas

Energy companies have worked hard to promote the idea that natural gas is the fossil fuel of tomorrow, and they have found reliable allies among policy makers in Washington.

In its annual forecasting reports, the United States Energy Information Administration, a division of the Energy Department, has steadily increased its estimates of domestic supplies of natural gas, and investors and the oil and gas industry have repeated them widely to make their case about a prosperous future.

But not everyone in the Energy Information Administration agrees. In scores of internal e-mails and documents, officials within the Energy Information Administration, or E.I.A., voice skepticism about the shale gas industry. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/27/us/27gas.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1

Email documents http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/us/natural-gas-drilling-down-documents-5-intro.html

Liability Bombshell: Must-Read Letters From PA and WI Fracking Victims to Illinois Lawmakers

As the Illinois General Assembly votes this week on the state's increasingly suspect fracking bill, residents affected by similar operations in Pennsylvania and frac sand mining in Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota took the extraordinary step today of releasing unprecedented letters warning of a "public health disaster" in the making, and called on Illinois lawmakers to set aside the flawed bill and "swiftly enact a moratorium."

"We have learned the hard way that regulations -- no matter how strict they sound on paper -- do not provide adequate protection to human health or property, especially in tough economic times when the state agencies charged with enforcing the regulations are understaffed and underfunded," states the letter signed by impacted Pennsylvania residents, released publicly this morning, along with links to a eye-opening "List of the Harmed" health registry of fracking-related afflictions. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-biggers/liability-bombshell-must_b_3346204.html

38 PA Fracking Victims Letter to Illinois http://www.scribd.com/doc/144163638/PA-Fracking-Victims-Letter-to-Illinois

U.S. oil hoarding will choke global recovery

But these are minor bumps compared to the looming crevasse on the horizon: America's continuing ban on the export of U.S. crude oil. This flagrant example of U.S. trade protectionism distorts oil prices, promotes inefficiency and denies the world the benefit of cheaper energy.

Even OPEC is beginning to factor in the U.S. oil production surge into its analysis of supply and demand. The cartel's monthly report conceded that a non-OPEC crude output surge of 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) next year would cut into the appetite for OPEC crude, reducing demand for the cartel's output by 300,000 bpd.

Unfortunately, after decades of berating OPEC for rigging the oil market, Americans have failed to learn their own lesson and the federal government continues to prohibit crude exports, pandering to the notion that U.S. crude oil is for Americans only. https://secure.globeadvisor.com/servlet/ArticleNews/story/gam/20130713/RBINSIGHTTRADEDEAL071 2GLOBEWEBATL

Supply of natural gas on province’s radar Nova Scotia and NB

Once Sable’s problems are fixed, expected to occur later this year, the province’s offshore will be turning out 500 million cubic feet — more than enough for the local market.

But a regional energy think-tank says the Maritime provinces and the oil and gas industry can’t rest on their laurels, since that amount of gas will only be produced for five years, at best.

In a 2012 report, the Atlantica Centre for Energy said Sable will likely run out within the next five years. Deep Panuke, the smaller of the two projects, only has an eight- to 13-year life, the Saint John, N.B.- based centre says.

“It’s a very valuable source of supply but it has a limited shelf life,” says John Herron, the centre’s president. http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/1141697-supply-of-natural-gas-on-province-s-radar

States Turn Blind Eye as Fracking Industry Routinely Violates Laws

A scathing new investigation from EnergyWire confirms the worst fears of citizens across the country who live near fracking sites: state regulators are not doing everything they can to prevent oil and gas companies from repeatedly violating the law. EnergyWire spent months analyzing state records.

Texas: In the last fiscal year there were 55,000 violations. If that weren’t shocking enough, the state only sought enforcement for two percent of them.

39 Pennsylvania: In 2012, state regulators levied fines for only 13 percent of violations. http://ecowatch.com/2013/states-turn-blind-eye-fracking-industry-violates-laws/ http://www.eenews.net/stories/1059984342

The Costs of Fracking The Price Tag of Dirty Drilling's Environmental Damage

Over the past decade, the oil and gas industry has fused two technologies – hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling – to unlock new supplies of fossil fuels in underground rock formations across the United States. “Fracking” has spread rapidly, leaving a trail of contaminated water, polluted air, and marred landscapes in its wake. In fact, a growing body of data indicates that fracking is an environmental and public health disaster in the making. http://www.pennenvironmentcenter.org/reports/pac/costs-fracking

The report http://www.pennenvironmentcenter.org/sites/environment/files/reports/The%20Costs%20of %20Fracking%20vPA_0.pdf

Who Pays the Cost of Fracking? Weak Bonding Rules for Oil and Gas Drilling Leave the Public At Risk

"Fracking” operations pose a staggering array of threats to our environment and health – contaminating drinking water, harming the health of nearby residents, marring forests and landscapes, and contributing to global warming. Many of these damages from drilling have significant “dollars and cents” costs.

To the extent that this dirty drilling is allowed to continue, policymakers must require, among other things, that the oil and gas industry provide up front financial assurance commensurate with the potential for damage. http://www.pennenvironmentcenter.org/reports/pac/who-pays-cost-fracking

The report http://www.pennenvironmentcenter.org/sites/environment/files/reports/Who%20Pays%20the%20Cost %20of%20Fracking.pdf

New Analyses Show Oil and Gas Industry Is Inflating the Job-Creating Potential of Shale Gas Development

Washington, D.C.— Will the oil and gas industry create 1 million new jobs for Americans, as its latest advertisement claims? The American Petroleum Institute and major oil and gas corporations are spending millions to convince Americans that with unrestricted access to natural resources, they can lift us from our economic slump in part by fracking our nation’s shale gas reserves. But Exposing the Oil

40 and Gas Industry’s False Jobs Promise for Shale Gas Development, a new set of analyses released today by the national consumer advocacy organization Food & Water Watch, finds that the oil and gas industry is exaggerating the capacity of shale gas development to generate jobs and economic opportunity for Americans, in one case exaggerating projected job creation by 900 percent.

-To date, over 1,000 cases of drinking water contamination have been reported near shale gas development sites around the U.S.

-In 2008, a fracking wastewater pit in Colorado leaked 1.6 million gallons of fluids, some of which contaminated the Colorado River.

-In Wise County, Texas, properties with fracking wells have lost 75 percent of their value.

-In 2009, Pennsylvania regulators ordered the Cabot Oil and Gas Corporation to cease all fracking in Dimock, Pa., after three spills at one well within a week polluted a wetland and endangered fish in a local creek. http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/pressreleases/new-analyses-show-oil-and-gas-industry-is-inflating- the-job-creating-potential-of-%E2%80%A8%E2%80%A8shale-gas-development/

The report http://documents.foodandwaterwatch.org/doc/FalseJobsPromiseReport.pdf

Shale Skeptics Take On Pickens as Gas Fuels Policies

Where others see a U.S. energy revolution of cheap and abundant fuel, David Hughes sees a short- term bubble that will bring higher economic and environmental costs.

Wells drilled into the hard rock of shale produce a burst of oil and gas after being hydraulically fractured -- a technique that cracks the rock to release hydrocarbons. The flow rapidly diminishes as gas must migrate farther through the rock to reach the fracturing site where it can enter the well. To counter the declines, companies drill more wells, longer wells and intensify the fracking process, all of which can raise costs.

About $42 billion must be spent every year just to offset decline rates in shale gas wells that generated revenue of about $33 billion in 2012, Hughes estimated in a report earlier this year for the Post Carbon Institute, which advocates options for a more sustainable world.

T. Boone Pickens, the billionaire who advocates a plan to replace imported oil with domestic gas, says it should become the preferred fuel in vehicles. At the same time, the continental U.S. may see as many as six gas export projects built, sending as much as 10 billion cubic feet a day by the end of 2022, the head of Freeport LNG Development LP said in an interview last month. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-14/shale-skeptics-take-on-pickens-as-gas-fuels-policies.html

41 Blasts to wake the dead - SWN Resources Canada's ordinance sits behind a New Brunswick cemetery

Interviews with family members of those buried at the Rogersville cemetery

ROGERSVILLE, NEW BRUNSWICK - On July 21st we learned that SWN Resources Canada had an undetermined amount of unexploded ordinance behind a cemetery on Pleasant Ridge Road, in Rogersville, New Brunswick.

The cemetery sits adjacent to SWN's 'Line 5', a 35.9 kilometer long seismic testing line that for weeks now has been heavily guarded by RCMP and private security firms.

It is important to note that the Rules for Industry section of the Responsible Environmental Managment of Oil and Natural Gas Activities in New Brunswick notes that the minimum setback for a cemetery from a seismic energy source is 50 meters. At this particular cemetery, seismic testing equipment was measured at under 2 meters away from the boundary line. http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/audio/blasts-wake-dead-swn-resources-canadas-ordinance-s/18340

Landowner disputes with Chesapeake hit a boiling point in northern Pa.

Local officials and landowners, including the Van Curens, are accusing Chesapeake Energy of cheating them out of royalty payments by imposing large fees for "post-production" costs. Since January, with gas prices remaining persistently low, the cash-strapped driller from Oklahoma City has sliced off more than 80 percent of the Van Curens' monthly royalties in the form of a fee for the cost of transporting gas through gathering pipelines.

County commissioners and state officeholders are being inundated with complaints about royalty stubs. In this, Chesapeake stands almost alone in taking criticism from people who signed leases in 2009 and 2010 and are finally seeing royalty checks for gas production. http://www.eenews.net/stories/1059984828

New report exposes billions per year in new fossil fuel subsidies

Today we’re releasing a new report with Earth Track that exposes some $4 billion per year in new fossil fuel subsidies which have gone unaccounted for in previous estimates. And what’s worse? It’s growing.

Our new analysis dives into a shady corporate structure called “Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs)” and seeks to do a more thorough job of quantifying the value of tax avoidance the fossil fuel industry is able to enjoy by utilizing these structures. http://priceofoil.org/2013/07/22/new-report-exposes-billions-per-year-in-new-fossil-fuel-subsidies-2/

The report http://priceofoil.org/content/uploads/2013/07/OCI_MLP_2013.pdf

42 Louisiana Agency to Sue Energy Companies for Wetland Damage

Louisiana officials will file a lawsuit on Wednesday against dozens of energy companies, hoping that the courts will force them to pay for decades of damage to fragile coastal wetlands that help buffer the effects of hurricanes on the region.

“This protective buffer took 6,000 years to form,” the state board that oversees flood-protection efforts for much of the New Orleans area argued in court filings, adding that “it has been brought to the brink of destruction over the course of a single human lifetime.” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/25/us/louisiana-agency-to-sue-energy-companies-for-wetland- damage.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0

Photographing and filming police officers in Canada

•There is no law in Canada that prevents a member of the public from taking photographs or video in a public place (other than some limitations related to sensitive defense installations); •There is no law in Canada that prevents a member of the public from taking photographs or video of a police officer executing his or her duties in public or in a location lawfully controlled by the photographer (in fact, police officers have no privacy rights in public when executing their duties); •Preventing a person from taking photos or video is a prima facie infrigement of a person's Charter rights; •You cannot interfere with a police officer's lawful execution of his or her duties, but taking photos or videos does not, in and of itself, constitute interference; •A police officer cannot take your phone or camera simply for recording him or her, as long as you were not obstructing; •These privileges are not reserved to media -- everyone has these rights; •A police officer cannot make you unlock your phone to show him or her your images; and •A police officer cannot make you delete any photos. http://blog.privacylawyer.ca/2012/08/photographing-and-filming-police.html

11 Reasons to Divest from the Fossil Fuel Industry

1. We Did the Climate Change Math: Now We Must Act 2. Time to Choose Sides: We Must Raise the Cost of Extracting and Burning Carbon 3. We Are All Responsible for Carbon Pollution, But the Fossil Fuel Industry Has a Disproportionate Responsibility for Climate Change 4. Fossil Fuel Profitability is Based on Rigging Our Political Systems 5. Investment Returns in Fossil Fuels Will Inevitably Decline 6. Divesting from Fossil Fuels Will Not Negatively Impact Return 7. The Fossil Fuel Sector Will Not Reform Itself 8. Support the Movement and an 'Outside Strategy' 9. Engaged Shareholder: You Can Still Work the "Inside Strategy" If You Want 10. The Moral Question Is Why Should Any Institution or Individual Stay Invested: This Is an Abolitionist Cause 11. We Can Divest from Fossil Fuels and Invest in the New Economy http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/07/23-7

43 109 Shareholder Resolutions Related to Climate Change and Fossil Fuel Use Yield Strong Results During 2013 Proxy Season

Investors achieved noteworthy victories during this year’s shareholder proxy season, with a near record 109 shareholder resolutions filed with 93 U.S. companies on hydraulic fracturing, flaring, fossil fuel reserve risks and other climate- and sustainability-related risks and opportunities. The majority of resolutions filed within the energy sector focus on strategies recently promoted by the International Energy Agency in its Redrawing the Energy-Climate Map report to reduce sector-wide greenhouse gas emissions at no net economic cost, and in some cases, economic gain.

Filers of the resolutions include some of the nation’s largest public pension funds, such as the California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) and the New York State and New York City Comptrollers’ Offices; socially responsible investors such as Green Century Capital Management and Trillium Asset Management; and religious, labor and other institutional investors, who collectively manage more than $500 billion in assets. http://www.trilliuminvest.com/news-articles-category/thinking-capital/109-shareholder-resolutions- related-to-climate-change-and-fossil-fuel-use-yield-strong-results-during-2013-proxy-season/? utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:trilliuminvesttrilliuminvest

List of Resolutions http://www.ceres.org/investor-network/resolutions

Feds Frack Frackers For Contaminating Groundwater !

In an unprecedented move, the Obama Administration actually did something to hold frackers accountable – by suing Exxon Mobil’s shale gas subsidiary for contaminating groundwater in Pennsylvania. (No, this is not an early April Fool’s joke). The suit accuses Exxon’s subsidiary XTO of polluting groundwater. Something Exxon says “never happens. Ever. Anywhere. Honest.” http://blog.shaleshockmedia.org/2013/07/25/obama-fracks-frackers/

Legislation Introduced to Eliminate Fracking Industry Loophole

Today, U.S. Rep. Cartwright (D-PA) introduced the Closing Loopholes and Ending Arbitrary and Needless Evasion of Regulations (CLEANER) Act. The legislation aims to eliminate a hazardous waste exemption that was added onto the RCRA in 1980. That amendment, which exempted oil and gas companies from having hazardous waste disposal standards, would be removed under the CLEANER Act.

Under current federal law, oil and gas companies do not even have to test their waste to see if it is toxic, leaving us with no way of knowing what is being disposed of and how it is being treated. It is time oil and gas companies comply with existing minimum standards and oversight. RCRA is meant to protect the public and the environment from hazardous waste. Toxins pose health and environmental risks no matter what industry produces them. It’s time to hold oil and natural gas producers to the same standards that other industries have complied with for over 30 years. http://ecowatch.com/2013/legislation-eliminate-fracking-industry-loophole/

44 Obama disputes job projections for Keystone XL pipeline

U.S. President Barack Obama called into question the number of jobs that would be created from the controversial Keystone XL pipeline in an interview with the New York Times released on Saturday.

“Republicans have said that this would be a big jobs generator,” Obama said, according to the newspaper.

“There is no evidence that that’s true. The most realistic estimates are this might create maybe 2,000 jobs during the construction of the pipeline, which might take a year or two, and then after that we’re talking about somewhere between 50 and 100 jobs in an economy of 150 million working people.” http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/obama-disputes-job-projections-for-keystone-xl- pipeline/article13471472/

U.S. launches antitrust inquiry of fracking firms

Halliburton and Baker Hughes, two of the largest providers of hydraulic-fracturing services, said the Justice Department is seeking documents for an antitrust investigation related to their business, also known as pressure pumping.

“The antitrust division is investigating the possibility of anti-competitive practices involving pressure- pumping services performed on oil and gas wells,” Justice Department spokeswoman Gina Talamona said. http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/07/25/5030226/us-launches-antitrust-probe-of.html

Halliburton says it also is part of U.S. fracking antitrust probe

(Reuters) - Halliburton Co, the largest provider of pressure pumping services used in hydraulic fracturing, said on Thursday it had also been contacted by the U.S. government regarding potential antitrust issues in the pressure pumping market.

Rival Baker Hughes Inc disclosed the receipt of a civil investigative demand from the DOJ on May 30 in a quarterly filing late on Wednesday. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/07/25/business-us-usa-fracking-antitrust-idUKBRE96O11N20130725

Alberta’s new energy problem: Natural gas is on the discount rack

Alberta’s energy industry has gone from battling a bitumen bubble to grappling with a gas-price gap – a deep discount on the province’s natural gas that threatens new cuts in drilling activity and production levels.

Alberta gas for August delivery is selling for about $2.48 per gigajoule, down 25 per cent from the beginning of June. At Henry Hub, the equivalent amount of gas sells for about $3.50.

45 One cause of the gap: the cost of moving the fuel to Ontario and Quebec via TransCanada Corp. has surged for shippers without long-term contracts. That is making Alberta producers reluctant to send gas east. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/albertas- new-energy-problem-natural-gas-is-on-the-discount-rack/article13517662/

46 Regulations

Fracking, Fracking and More Fracking

Big news last week was the announcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that it’s delaying from 2014 to 2016 the release of its study on the impact of fracking. In 2010, at the request of Congress, the U.S. EPA was mandated to conduct a study to better understand potential impacts of fracking on drinking water and groundwater. The scope of the research is to include the full lifespan of water in fracking.

The delay of this report is significant because many local and state governments have placed a moratorium on fracking while waiting for guidance from the U.S. EPA on the impacts of oil and gas extraction. Communities in states where fracking is already taking place—including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Wyoming and North Dakota—are greatly concerned by the delay as reports of water and air contamination, earthquakes and health problems, as well as issues with the disposal of toxic radioactive fracking wastewater, abound. http://ecowatch.com/2013/fracking-fracking-and-more-fracking/

Mid-Hudson News Network - Fracking waste prohibition http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2013/July/02/RC_frack_waste_law-02Jul13.html

Safety rules lag as oil transport by train rises

In late 2011, the auditor general released a report that concluded, "Transport Canada has not designed and implemented the management practices needed to effectively monitor regulatory compliance" when it comes to the transportation of dangerous goods as defined by the ministry.

"I think most Canadians would be surprised to hear that rail companies are left to inspect themselves and Transport Canada goes over the paperwork," says Olivia Chow, NDP transportation critic.

"Shouldn't there be spot-checks by the government to see whether what is on paper is actually what's happening in the field?"

According to E. Wayne Benedict, a labour lawyer and a former locomotive engineer who spent 15 years working for CP Rail and B.C. Rail, attempts at reducing enforcement costs has resulted in alarming deregulation in the industry.

"When I first started in the late '80s, there was active enforcement by Transport Canada. You never knew when they were going to show up, they'd be climbing all over the trains," says Benedict.

"By the time I left the railway industry in 2003, you could practically see tumbleweeds blowing across the tracks. You almost never saw the regulators." http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/07/08/f-lac-megantic-oil-rail.html

47 “Frack off Gasholes”: New Brunswickers are against Hydraulic Fracking

Re seismic testing outside leases

In addition to the main issue of many NBers being against the whole fracking process, some seismic test trucks have been found outside of the designated province-approved boundaries for gas exploration.

Official government response? Anne Bull Monteith, a spokeswoman with the Department of Natural Resources, says, “An operator may choose to conduct exploration activity outside of their licence-to- search or lease boundaries.” http://www.thepaltrysapien.com/2011/08/new-brunswickers-against-fracking/

Little environmental enforcement in oilsands incidents, study finds

EDMONTON -- A survey of thousands of environmental problems in Alberta's oilsands attacks the province's claims to having strict control over the industry's environmental impact.

Fewer than one per cent of likely environmental infractions have drawn any enforcement, says the survey. It also says the province's records are incomplete and riddled with errors, so there is no way to really understand industry's impact on the region.

And the authors found the same problems recurring time and time again, suggesting environmental improvement in some areas isn't happening. http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/little-environmental-enforcement-in-oilsands-incidents-study-finds- 1.1379406

Fracking Company Ignores High Fire Risk as Gas Flares in Michigan State Forest

The Garfield Fire Department responded to a call at 11:00 p.m., July 20, from a local resident alarmed by the flames. Fire department officials state they had not been informed prior to flaring by Encana, nor have they received any specialized training in connection with fire suppression on a frack pad—which may contain hazardous chemicals, some of which are deemed to be “proprietary” and are not disclosed —even to first responders. There is a high fire danger rating for Kalkaska County, and burning permits are prohibited at the present time in Garfield Township.

Encana plans an additional 500 wells in Michigan, and a second well in Garfield Township, to originate in Section 23. The well is permitted and staked but construction of the pad has not yet begun. An additional 13 wells are currently permitted or applied for on Sunset Trail in Oliver and Excelsior Townships. http://ecowatch.com/2013/encana-ignores-risk-fracked-gas-flares-michigan-forest/

48 Environment and Enjoyment of Property

Oct 12, 2012 - Scientists uncover diversion of Gulf Stream path in late 2011

(Phys.org)—At a meeting with New England commercial fishermen last December, physical oceanographers Glen Gawarkiewicz and Al Plueddemann from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) were alerted by three fishermen about unusually high surface water temperatures and strong currents on the outer continental shelf south of New England.

The result of his investigation was a discovery that the Gulf Stream diverged well to the north of its normal path beginning in late October 2011, causing the warmer-than-usual ocean temperatures along the New England continental shelf.

The researchers' findings, "Direct interaction between the Gulf Stream and the shelfbreak south of New England," were published in the August 2012 issue of the journal Scientific Reports. http://phys.org/news/2012-10-scientists-uncover-diversion-gulf-stream.html

Unprecedented climate extremes marked last decade, says UN

The World Meteorological Organization says the planet "experienced unprecedented high-impact climate extremes" in the ten years from 2001 to 2010, the warmest decade since the start of modern measurements in 1850.

Those ten years also continued an extended period of accelerating global warming, with more national temperature records reported broken than in any previous decade. Sea levels rose about twice as fast as the trend in the last century.

A WMO report, The Global Climate 2001-2010, A Decade of Climate Extremes, analyses global and regional temperatures and precipitation, and extreme weather such as the heat waves in Europe and Russia, Hurricane Katrina in the US, tropical cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, droughts in the Amazon basin, Australia and East Africa, and floods in Pakistan. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jul/03/unprecedented-climate-extremes-last-decade-un

The report http://library.wmo.int/pmb_ged/wmo_1119_en.pdf

Food and Climate: A New Warning

Now comes an interesting new entry in the literature. Kees Jan van Groenigen, a scientist at Trinity College in Dublin, and colleagues synthesized the results of 63 studies to determine what would happen to rice cultivation on a warming planet.

Their paper was released over the weekend in the journal Nature Climate Change. (A summary is here, the full paper is here for those with access to the journal, and the associated news release is here.) If growing practices and rice varieties remained the same, they found, rising carbon dioxide levels would

49 not entirely offset the effects of heat -– and would, moreover, contribute to increased releases of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from rice paddies.

The study found that rice yields would likely fall by a third by the end of the century, while methane emissions from rice cultivation would jump 58 percent. Put those factors together and, for a given level of output, greenhouse gas emissions from rice production would more than double, the study found. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/23/food-and-climate-a-new-warning/?smid=fb-share

The report http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/v3/n3/pdf/nclimate1712.pdf

IEA: World on Pace for 11°F Warming “Even School Children Know This Will Have Catastrophic Implications for All of Us”

The International Energy Agency was once a staid and conservative organization that people ignored because it was staid and conservative.

Now people ignore the IEA because it has become a blunt truth teller on oil and climate (see World’s top energy economist warns peak oil threatens recovery, urges immediate action: “We have to leave oil before oil leaves us”).

Last November, Climate Progress blogged on the IEA’s 2011 World Energy Outlook [WEO] bombshell warning: We’re Headed Toward 11°F Global Warming and “Delaying Action Is a False Economy.” http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/01/04/379694/iea-world-11-degree-warming-school-children- catastrophic/

See: IEA’s Bombshell Warning: We’re Headed Toward 11°F Global Warming and “Delaying Action Is a False Economy” http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2011/11/09/364895/iea-global-warming-delaying-action-is-a-false- economy/

GreenPeace on Greenwashing

There is no throne so high that it cannot be shaken by laughter from beneath.

The Harper government is spending $16 million of our money on a greenwashing ad campaign to paint the tar sands as environmentally friendly.

What this ad campaign doesn’t tell you is how the Harper government gutted Canada’s environmental laws in order to fast-track new tar sands mines and pipelines as part of the omnibus budget bills. And it certainly doesn’t tell you that tar sands development has made Canada one of the world’s biggest polluters and contributors to climate change. http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/stopgreenwash/

50 Gaseous carbon dioxide and methane, as well as dissolved organic carbon losses from a small temperate wetland under a changing climate

Temperate forests can contain large numbers of wetlands located in areas of low relief and poor drainage. These wetlands can make a large contribution to the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) load of streams and rivers draining the forests, as well as the exchange of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) with the atmosphere. We studied the carbon budget of a small wetland, located in Kejimkujik National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada. The study wetland was the Pine Marten Brook site, a poor fen draining a mixed hardwood-softwood forest. We studied the loss of DOC from the wetland via the outlet stream from 1990 to 1999 and related this to climatic and hydrologic variables. http://geog.mcgill.ca/faculty/moore/EnvPoll_116_S143.pdf

System Change not Climate Change

The Council of Canadians’ “System Change not Climate Change” project launched September 2011 to support a growing and vibrant global movement for climate justice. Learn more about this project and get involved!

Systemchange.ca is a free, public, interactive website – it is a multi-media tool for climate justice. It is our sincere hope that these speakers’ messages will be shared broadly. We invite and encourage the use of the videos in any setting or context.

Systemchange.ca is about raising awareness and transforming this awareness into action. The project aims to inspire collective actions to advance climate justice in communities across Canada and the world. http://systemchange.ca/

New Brunswick slow on creating protected areas

A group promoting Canada's wilderness says New Brunswick is lagging behind other parts of the country in creating natural protected areas and parks, according to a new report.

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society's annual report says New Brunswick has only three per cent natural areas protected and the plans to increase that slightly have been delayed.

Roberta Clowater, the executive director of the New Brunswick branch of the society, said she believes the provincial government is more concerned about development than protection. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2013/07/15/nb-protected-areas-1028.html

Natural Gas Health and Environmental Hazards

Natural gas is a fossil fuel that is often promoted as "cleaner" than coal, but which has its own serious environmental hazards. Natural gas is NOT a "transition" fuel. Natural gas extraction threatens ecosystems from northern Alaska and Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, including drilling on farms, public lands, forests and parks, in the Rocky Mountains and other coal-field communities, off of U.S. coastal

51 waters and possibly even under the Great Lakes. Deep drilling technologies such as "hydraulic fracturing" or "fracking" have recently opened areas of the U.S. to drilling, leaving a legacy of groundwater pollution.

Pipelines and compressor stations add to the harms, crossing all sorts of ecosystems. Even water bodies like Lake Erie and the Long Island Sound have faced proposals to bury pipelines in underwater trenches that involve stirring up toxic sentiment accumulated on lake/sound floors. http://www.energyjustice.net/naturalgas

Snow and Arctic sea ice extent plummet suddenly as globe bakes

NOAA and NASA both ranked June 2013 among the top five warmest (NOAA fifth warmest, NASA second warmest) Junes on record globally (dating back to the late 1800s). But, more remarkable, was the incredible snow melt that preceded the toasty month and the sudden loss of Arctic sea ice that followed.

In April, hefty Northern Hemisphere snow cover ranked 9th highest on record (dating back to 1967), but then turned scant, plummeting to third lowest on record during May. Half of the existing snow melted away.

“This is likely one of the most rapid shifts in near opposite extremes on record, if not the largest from April to May,” said climatologist David Robinson, who runs Rutgers University Global Snow Lab. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2013/07/18/snow-and-arctic-ice-extent- plummet-suddenly-as-globe-bakes/

The Great Arctic Flush By Paul Beckwith

A massive cyclone is forecast to develop in the Arctic, as shown on the image below, from the Naval Research Laboratory.

Within 2 weeks the Arctic Ocean will be completely transformed. The cyclone that appears 6 days out on both the US and European ten day forecasts will massacre the sea ice in what I call "The Great Arctic flush".

The image below is a forecast for Arctic sea ice speed and drift on July 27, 2013.

More images, including animations, on Arctic sea ice can be viewed at http://www7320.nrlssc.navy.mil/hycomARC/arctic.html

Last August, a massive cyclone formed over the Arctic Ocean and destroyed 800,000 square km of ice in about a week. The predicted cyclone looks to be as strong as the one in early August, 2012. Problem is, the ice is much weaker, thinner and fractured this year; including all the ice just north of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago that is 4 or 5 meters thick; this ice is mobile, broken, fractured ice piled up into ridges; it is not multiyear ice (MYI) at all. http://arctic-news.blogspot.ca/2013/07/the-great-arctic-flush.html

52 Polar Thaw Opens Shortcut for Russian Natural Gas

YURKHAROVSKOYE GAS FIELD, Russia — The polar ice cap is melting, and if executives at the Russian energy company Novatek feel guilty about profiting from that, they do not let it be known in public.

From this windswept shore on the Arctic Ocean, where Novatek owns enormous natural gas deposits, a stretch of thousands of miles of ice-free water leads to China. The company intends to ship the gas directly there. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/25/business/energy-environment/polar-thaw-opens-shortcut-for- russian-natural-gas.html?emc=eta1&_r=0

We Are All One – An Inspiring Short Film of Native American Prophecy and Insight [video and transcript]

The structure of the world itself is such that it functions on natural law. And natural law is a powerful regenerative process. There is a process of regeneration that continues and grows and is endless. It is absolutely endless, if everyone agrees to the law and follows the law. But if you challenge the law, and you think you’re going to change the law, then you are bound to failure. And in that failure will be a lot of pain, because the natural law has no mercy. It is only the law.

And if it comes to the point where if you destroy yourselves as human beings, and you destroy life and finally leave this Earth, the Earth is not going to disappear. It’s not going to be the end of the world. That’s really a very interesting concept to us. No, the world won’t end. People’s life on it will. So it’s not the end of the world, it’s the end of us. And the world, no matter what damage you think you’ve done to it, will regenerate — will re-green. Will redo everything that was here at one time, except there won’t be any people. Because it’s got all the time in the world. http://consciouslifenews.com/all-one-short-film-native-american-prophesy-video-transcript/1135230/

Norilsk breaks records for Arctic heat in a new sign of changing weather patterns

Recent days have seen Siberia's nickel capital hotter than Nice and on a par with Naples.

Norilsk has hit 32C in recent days with some forecasts predicting a blistering 35C by the weekend as the Arctic competes with the Mediterranean. The tundra turned hot as the Kransnoyarsk region industrial city - where foreigners are restricted from visiting - smashed records for heat established in 1979.

Norilsk - above the Arctic Circle - is known as one of the world's coldest cites, and is built on permafrost. Frosty weather is a reality for 280 days a year. In summer time, average air temperatures are 14.6 degrees, before this year when Norilk finds itself in the furnace. http://siberiantimes.com/ecology/casestudy/news/norilsk-breaks-records-for-arctic-heat-in-a-new-sign- of-changing-weather-patterns/

53 Map: Wisconsin’s frac sand industry

Frac sand mining and processing operations double from 2011 to 2012

Five years ago, Wisconsin only had a handful of industrial sand facilities. Over the past two years, the increased demand for frac sand drove explosive growth in the state’s sand industry. Frac sand operations, including mining sites, processing plants and loading stations where the sand is poured into rail cars for transport, more than doubled from the summer of 2011 to the summer of 2012. Some companies operate all-in-one facilities where the sand is mined, processed and loaded into rail cars at one contained site. Click on a dot for description http://www.wisconsinwatch.org/viz/fracmap/

Gangplank to a Warm Future - By ANTHONY R. INGRAFFEA

A 2011 study from the National Center for Atmospheric Research concluded that unless leaks can be kept below 2 percent, gas lacks any climate advantage over coal. And a study released this May by Climate Central, a group of scientists and journalists studying climate change, concluded that the 50 percent climate advantage of natural gas over coal is unlikely to be achieved over the next three to four decades. Unfortunately, we don’t have that long to address climate change — the next two decades are crucial. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/29/opinion/gangplank-to-a-warm-future.html? emc=edit_tnt_20130728&tntemail0=y&_r=1&

Response to Professor Anthony Ingraffea’s “Gangplank to a Warm Future.”

The striking thing about Professor Ingraffea’s remarks is that, despite the fact that the science clearly shows the causal connection between methane emissions and climate change, there yet remain nay- sayers not only in the industry but among environmental organizations large and small and in the Obama administration.

To deny an obvious evil in the name of “moderation,” “compromise,” “maturity,” or even “compassion” is to at least concede to it.

To continue to deny, deflect, down-play, diminish that evil in the face of yet more and consistent evidence is to engage in collusion.

To collude knowingly with that evil all the while claiming the mantle of reason is a form of dishonesty worthy of contempt–and stalwart resistance.

It’s not surprising, of course, that Big Energy would ignore, deflect, and deny global warming. After all, their entire profit-driven gig depends on extracting every last bit of fossil energy from the shale–and apparently at virtually any cost–even into the bottom of the Arctic Ocean’s permafrost (Scientists Envision Fracking in Arctic and on Ocean Floor – WSJ.com). http://www.ragingchickenpress.org/2013/07/30/response-to-professor-anthony-ingraffeas-gangplank-to- a-warm-future/

54 The Fracking Boom: Do We Want to Leave Our Children an Industrialized Landscape?

America is in the midst of dramatic spike in oil and gas development. Aided by new fracking techniques, companies are drilling record-breaking amounts of land, including in our backyards and wild places. Once drill pads are built, these places become vulnerable to pollution, toxic spills, and permanent scarring. America has a choice to make. We can stand by and watch energy companies industrialize our beloved landscapes. Or we can create smart safeguards that hold companies accountable for pollution and put sensitive places off-limits. But we have to decide quickly, before oil and gas companies make the choice for us. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frances-beinecke/the-fracking-boom-do-we-w_b_3671672.html? utm_hp_ref=green

Consensus: 97% of climate scientists agree

Ninety-seven percent of climate scientists agree that climate-warming trends over the past century are very likely due to human activities,1and most of the leading scientific organizations worldwide have issued public statements endorsing this position. The following is a partial list of these organizations, along with links to their published statements and a selection of related resources. http://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus Snow and Arctic sea ice extent plummet suddenly as globe bakes

NOAA and NASA both ranked June 2013 among the top five warmest (NOAA fifth warmest, NASA second warmest) Junes on record globally (dating back to the late 1800s). But, more remarkable, was the incredible snow melt that preceded the toasty month and the sudden loss of Arctic sea ice that followed. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2013/07/18/snow-and-arctic-ice-extent- plummet-suddenly-as-globe-bakes/

NOAA - National Climatic Data Center - Global Analysis - June 2013

•The combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces for June 2013 tied with 2006 as the fifth highest on record, at 0.64°C (1.15°F) above the 20th century average of 15.5°C (59.9°F). •The global land surface temperature was 1.05°C (1.89°F) above the 20th century average of 13.3°C (55.9°F), marking the third warmest June on record. For the ocean, the June global sea surface temperature was 0.48°C (0.86°F) above the 20th century average of 16.4°C (61.5°F), the 10th warmest June on record. •The combined global land and ocean average surface temperature for the January–June period (year- to-date) was 0.59°C (1.06°F) above the 20th century average of 13.5°C (56.3°F), tying with 2003 as the seventh warmest such period on record. http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/2013/6

55 New Zealand's Whanganui River Gains A Legal Voice

The Whanganui, the third longest river in New Zealand, will be recognized as a person under the law “in the same way a company is, which will give it rights and interests,” Christopher Finlayson, a spokesperson for the Minister of Treaty Negotiations, told the New Zealand Herald. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/18/new-zealand-whanganui-river_n_1894893.html

Bolivia passes law recognizing Mother Nature's rights!

The law defines Mother Earth as "...the dynamic living system formed by the indivisible community of all life systems and living beings whom are interrelated, interdependent, and complementary, which share a common destiny; adding that "Mother Earth is considered sacred in the worldview of Indigenous peoples and nations. In this approach human beings and their communities are considered a part of mother earth, by being integrated in "Life systems" defined as complex and dynamic communities of plants, animals, micro-organisms and other beings in their environment, in which human communities and the rest of nature interact as a functional unit, under the influence of climatic, physiographic and geologic factors, as well as the productive practices and cultural diversity of Bolivians of both genders, and the cosmovisions of Indigenous nations and peoples, intercultural communities and the Afro- Bolivians.

The law also establishes the juridical character of Mother Earth as "collective subject of public interest", to ensure the exercise and protection of her rights. By giving Mother Earth a legal personality, it can, through its representatives (humans), bring an action to defend its rights. http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/content/sarah-cunningham/bolivia-passes-law-recognizing- mother-natures-rights

56 Government, Meetings, News, and Letters

Terror is in the Eye of the Beholder: Alberta’s Counterterrorism Unit to Protect Oil and Gas Industry

In January, during the week before Canada’s federal hearing on the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline, the Harper government and Ethical Oil Institute launched an unprecedented attack on environmental organizations opposed to the pipeline and accelerated expansion of the tar sands. Resurrecting Cold War-style ‘terrorist’ rhetoric, conservative politicians like Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver referred to prominent environmental organizations as “radical groups” threatening “to hijack our regulatory system to achieve their radical ideological agenda” while using “funding from foreign special interests groups to undermine Canada’s national economic interest.”

The government and Ethical Oil singled out environmental organizations like the Sierra Club, ForestEthics, and the Pembina Institute, in an orchestrated effort to undermine the credibility of pipeline opponents and to cast doubt on their intentions for the Enbridge Pipeline hearings.

The rhetorical campaign against these alleged ‘environmental extremists’ moved from propaganda to policy last week when the RCMP announced the creation of a new counterterrorism unit in Alberta, designed to protect Canada’s energy infrastructure from so-called ‘security threats.’ http://www.desmogblog.com/terror-eye-beholder-alberta-s-counterterrorism-unit-protect-oil-and-gas- industry

New Brunswick Oil and Natural Gas Blueprint - Wishful Thinking about Our Future

The government’s blueprint is not a plan for the future; it is the history of a past to which we cannot return. It was forged in an alternate reality created by fossil fuel companies, banks and PR firms. No outside information may pass into this reality. How else can we explain the following about the plan?

It ignores the worldwide alarms from scientists, global financial and energy institutions, and the world’s military and intelligence establishments that climate change is the most serious threat to our existence, our financial systems, and our security. Yet, the blueprint bases our future on shale gas and tar sands, two of the worst emitters of greenhouse gases.

It ignores the lack of public health studies about shale gas, and disregards the serious warnings raised from the studies that do exist. http://www.nben.ca/en/collaborative-action/news-from-groups/item/469-community-groups-respond-to- governments-shale-gas-blueprint

Windsor Energy gets new shale gas exploration lease - Apr 17, 2012

Allows company to continue exploring for 5 years

Windsor Energy Inc. has been granted a five-year lease to continue exploring for oil and gas in southern New Brunswick.

57 Natural Resources Minister Bruce Northrup made the announcement Tuesday, just five months after he asked the RCMP to investigate the company for allegedly violating the Oil and Natural Gas Act.

"This has not been an easy decision for me but, legally, it is the only one that respects the contract with the former government," he said. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2012/04/17/nb-windsor-energy-lease-gas.html

Idle No More: Canada Escalates War on First Nations

Mi’kmaq and Maliseet reserves in Atlantic Canada are the sites of a new major battle between First Nation activists and the Canadian government that represents the next stage of the Idle No More movement. The flash point came when the Conservative government threw down the gauntlet with what some call sign-or-starve consent agreements presented to First Nations right across the country.

The government seems to be focused on getting de facto termination of many constitutionally and treaty protected rights of First Nations. Its first thrust in this battle was this past fall’s Bill C-45, which gutted most of Canada’s environmental laws and was the spur for last year’s Idle No More movement. “It took away a lot of the treaty muscle First Nations have,” says Nina Wilson, one of Idle No More’s founders, of that bill. http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/06/26/idle-no-more-canada-escalates-war-first- nations-150125

NDP call for investigation into federal government’s conduct at human rights tribunal

The federal New Democratic Party is calling for an independent investigation into the department of Aboriginal Affairs and Justice Canada’s conduct at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.

On Wednesday, the tribunal panel accused both departments of knowingly misleading the tribunal and the parties involved in a discrimination case against the government.

The controversy is around tens of thousands of documents relevant to the case that Canada failed to disclose to the tribunal and the parties involved. The discovery of the 50,000 documents only came after Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, became curious about the lack of information being disclosed by Canada at the hearing. http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2013/07/04/ndp-call-for-investigation-into-federal-governments-conduct-at- human-rights-tribunal/

Top government brass gain from layoffs

Federal deputy ministers received more than $50,000 each in bonuses and other performance rewards – a 12-per-cent hike – during the year they identified thousands of public-service positions for elimination, according to federal spending data on Ottawa’s top officials. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/top-government-brass-gain-from- layoffs/article12978666/

58 The Irvings Overview

The Irving Family is the dominant political, corporate and media force in Eastern Canada, particularly in their home province, New Brunswick. http://www.cwa-scacanada.ca/YourMedia/modules/irving/overview/overview.shtml

RCMP ‘to ease Canadians into the idea’ of U.S. agents in Canada

According to an article in Embassy Magazine, the Harper government is moving forward on several initiatives that could give U.S. FBI and DEA agents the ability to pursue suspects across the land border and into Canada. http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/canada-politics/rcmp-ease-canadians-idea-u-agents-canada- 201905380.html

And step 3, is to roll out cross-border policing over land.

Embassy also notes that the government is not ruling out U.S. aerial surveillance over Canadian territory. http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/canada-politics/rcmp-ease-canadians-idea-u-agents-canada- 201905380.html

Confirmed: Canada 2011 polls fraudulent

The Council of Canadians says that the non-cooperation, obstructionism, and attempts to disrupt the Federal Court case by the CIMS makes it look like Prime Minister Harper has something to conceal.”

The Canadian Federal Court has confirmed that the country’s 2011 federal election, which led to the victory of Stephen Harper’s government, was fraudulent.

The court emphasized in a Thursday ruling that it has found in no uncertain terms that widespread election fraud took place during the vote.

The ruling also stated that “there was an orchestrated effort to suppress votes during the 2011 election campaign by a person with access to the [Conservative Party's] CIMS database.” http://www.veteranstoday.com/2013/05/25/confirmed-canada-2011-polls-fraudulent

New Brunswick Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health to be presented with Prestigious Environmental Health Award

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eilish Cleary recognized for her leadership in presenting the potential health effects associated with shale gas development

Fredericton, NB – On June 25th, 2013 at the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors (CIPHI) 79th Annual National Educational Conference in Winnipeg, the Environmental Health Review (EHR)

59 Award was awarded to the New Brunswick Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health (NB OCMOH) under the leadership of Dr. Eilish Cleary. The EHR Award is a national award presented annually by CIPHI, to individuals or organizations for their outstanding contributions to the field of environmental health and to agencies that have been deemed to have made a significant contribution to the field of environmental health and / or the betterment of public health.

The NB OCMOH was recognized for its contribution to the field of public health for the research, development and communication of the shale gas report entitled: “Chief Medical Officer of Health’s Recommendations Concerning Shale Gas Development in New Brunswick”. Dr. Cleary’s report has provided New Brunswickers with an enhanced understanding of the potential health and environmental impacts related to the shale gas development. The report includes recommendations on how to protect the health of New Brunswickers and thereby has empowered citizens to engage in discussions and ask questions related to the protection of their own health.

Dr. Eilish Cleary Interview

Rachel Cave speaks to Dr. Eilish Cleary about receiving the Environmental Health Review Award. http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/NB/ID/2396387001/

CBC Information Morning interviews Dr. Eilish Cleary http://www.cbc.ca/informationmorningfredericton/2013/07/12/fracking-award/

CCNB extends congratulations to Dr. Eilish Cleary

Fredericton- The Conservation Council of New Brunswick would like to extend congratulations to Dr. Eilish Cleary, New Brunswick’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, on her reward received today by the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors. Dr. Cleary was awarded the prestigious Environmental health Review Award for 2013 for her work to bring public health to the debate on shale gas exploration and development in New Brunswick.

Ministerial staff asked to develop blacklists in lead-up to shuffle: source By Amy Minsky and Tom Clark Global News

OTTAWA – In the lead-up to Monday’s cabinet shuffle, ministerial staffers were asked to develop lists of troublesome bureaucrats and “enemy” stakeholders, Global News has learned.

The information was to be included in a transition binder traditionally prepared for incoming ministers.

Essentially, ministerial staff was asked to develop a “blacklist” of public servants and stakeholders, the source said. http://globalnews.ca/news/718943/ministerial-staff-asked-to-develop-blacklists-in-lead-up-to-shuffle- source/ http://htmlimg2.scribdassets.com/1ntywbf6o02m3iap/images/1-61ed86983d.jpg

60 Point Lepreau faces new problems, NB Power reveals

The Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station is experiencing new operational problems and is to be shut down for two weeks in late summer for repairs, documents filed with the Energy and Utilities Board reveal. According to the filings, Point Lepreau has developed a vibration in a non-nuclear pipe that transports steam, likely to the plant's turbines, and has been unable to achieve full power because of the problem.

The vibration problem appears to contradict claims made last week by Gaëtan Thomas, the president and chief executive officer of NB Power, that Point Lepreau was finally operating trouble free. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2013/07/17/nb-point-lepreau-problems-139.html

PERMIT FOR WATERCOURSE AND WETLAND ALTERATION (Regulations 90-80 under the Clean Water Act Chapter C-6.1, Act of New Brunswick 1989) ALT 31850'11 Revision

PERMITTEE SWN Resources Canada, Inc.

Conditions on page 2 http://www.conservationcouncil.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/WAWA-31850_SWN-Resources- Canada.pdf

Scientific advisory council members, fellows to energy institute named

FREDERICTON (GNB) – The first members of a scientific advisory council as well as the Science Fellows Program for the New Brunswick Energy Institute were announced today by Energy and Mines Minister Craig Leonard.

The institute will work to ensure credible, evidence-based research and monitoring in support of energy matters as the province develops the energy sector in line with the Energy Blueprint and the Oil and Natural Gas Blueprint. The institute's first chair is environmental science professor Louis Lapierre. http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/news/news_release.2013.07.0673.html

Government appointed New Brunswick Energy Institute scientists mandated to research fracking

Critics say the institute won’t change government policy or affect enforcement

Last week, Energy and Mines minister Craig Leonard named the seven research fellows to compose the New Brunswick Energy Institute unveiled by Premier David Alward in January of 2013. http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/story/government-appointed-new-brunswick-energy-institut/18385

Watch the anti-Harper ad CBC refuses to air

61 CBC has refused to air an advertisement critical of the Conservative government’s meddling in the public broadcaster’s affairs. The non-profit group, Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, have created an ad highly critical of Stephen Harper's government.

The ad, which comes in 30 and 60 second versions, attacks the most recent budget bill and runs down the list of scandals, oversights, muzzlings, and mysterious cash losses that are fast becoming the hallmarks of Harper's tenure as prime minister. http://www.straight.com/blogra/402951/watch-anti-harper-ad-cbc-refuses-air

The Path Forward - Shaping New Brunswick's Energy Future

A Discussion Paper on the Establishment of an Energy Commission and Energy Plan for New Brunswick Darrell J. Stephenson and Pierre-Marcel Desjardins - August 20, 2010

In April 2010, the authors were asked by Mr. Alward to:

(i) undertake a review of the challenges facing New Brunswick’s energy sector and identify potential solutions and action items; (ii) consult with New Brunswick residents, stakeholders and industry experts on a non-partisan basis to gain an understanding of the issues; (iii) make recommendations with respect to the establishment of the Energy Commission; and (iv) summarize the findings in a discussion paper which can serve as a foundation document for the Energy Commission when it begins work on an energy plan for New Brunswick. http://www.gnb.ca/Commission/pdf/PathForward.pdf

Final Report New Brunswick Energy Commission 2010-2011

The Energy Commission was appointed by Premier David Alward in October 2010 and given the mandate to recommend a progressive 10-year energy plan for the province. The 10-year strategy is based on a broad public engagement process that was carried out through the Internet, public meetings, public presentations and meetings with interested parties, utilities and governments.

The public engagement process identified objectives for the Energy Commission to use in developing the 10-year plan. The objectives are:

• develop a plan for low and stably-priced energy; • ensure the security of energy supplies; • set high standards of reliability in the generation and delivery of electricity; • produce, transmit and distribute energy in an environmentally responsible manner; • strengthen and expand the role of the independent energy and utility regulator. http://www.gnb.ca/commission/pdf/FinalReport2010-2011.pdf

62 Wind power falls short of targets

It is the fifth year in a row wind has failed to produce as much power as expected in the province.

In filings with the Energy and Utilities Board earlier this month, NB Power, which buys 100 per cent of the power produced by the three privately-owned farms, says it was supplied just below 694,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of wind generated power last year.

That's about 210,000 MWh below output levels envisioned when the farms were agreed to. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2013/07/24/nb-wind-power-targets.html

Personal Submission to Dr. Louis LaPierre and the Natural Gas Group June 19 2012 Hillsborough, New Brunswick

Dr. LaPierre and members of the Shale Gas Group, I would like to express my concern with shale gas development as informed by my experience assessing the environmental impacts of major infrastructure projects from both the proponent’s and regulator’s perspectives.

After twelve years in environmental assessment and policy in the Ontario government, I moved here and since 1996 have worked for the Nature Trust of New Brunswick, fourteen of which as Executive Director. I currently chair the Canadian Land Trust Alliance, an umbrella group for conservation trusts across this country. I am on the Minister’s Advisory Committee on Protected Natural Areas in New Brunswick because I care about the future of this province’s wild spaces and species. I speak as an individual, not as a representative of any group. http://www.nben.ca/en/collaborative-action/news-from-groups/item/388-personal-submission-to-dr- louis-lapierre-and-the-natural-gas-group-june-19-2012-hillsborough-new-brunswick

Former top Mountie says political control over RCMP doesn’t bode well for Senate investigation

OTTAWA — A former RCMP superintendent says he’s never seen the degree of political control over the Mounties that exists now, and says it “does not bode well” for an objective police investigation of the Senate expense scandal. http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/05/26/former-top-mountie-says-political-control-over-rcmp-doesnt- bode-well-for-senate-investigation/

Science Under the Censor

Hundreds of scientists clad in white lab coats paced mournfully, lamenting what they were calling 'the death of science in Canada'. They were responding to alarming reports of government interference in the communication of scientific findings. Last week Canada's Information Commissioner, who provides arms-length oversight of the federal government's access to information practices, announced that seven government departments are now under investigation for censoring scientists.

63 The first accusations of censorship started in early 2008, when the Conservative Party of Canada gave the directive that anyone employed with Environment Canada would now need permission from the Minister's office to speak with the media. http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/gates-cambridge-scholars/science-under-the-censor_b_3019565.html

64 New Brunswick News

Shawn Atleo speaks at Sacred Fire Encampment

ELSIPOGTOG, NEW BRUNSWICK - As promised, on July 1st Shawn Atleo paid a visit to the sacred fire encampment outside of Elsipogtog First Nation, which is now entering its fourth week of protest against SWN Resources Canada's shale gas exploration of the region.

Atleo's speech is here in its entirety. Of note, Atleo promises a joint statement with Elsipogtog Chief Arren Sock within "the next day." Chief Sock has gone on record as being anti-shale gas for New Brunswick. http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/video/shawn-atleo-speaks-sacred-fire-encampment/18153

Everything you ever wanted to know about the 'Duty to Consult' process

Interview with Michael Scully, AFNCNB's liaison for community consultation with SWN Resources Canada

ELSIPOGTOG, NEW BRUNSWICK - Michael Sully is the Assembly of First Nations' Chiefs in New Brunswick's liaison in the community consultations that have taken place in relation to SWN Resources Canada's desire to seismic test in Kent County, New Brunswick.

Information circulating at the sacred fire encampment in Elsipogtog First Nation - now entering it's fourth week of protest against SWN's presence in traditional Mi'kmaq territory - suggests that Elders were brought to these sessions, paid $200 and were given SWN information pamphlets. These sessions, for the moment, are taken to comprise a significant portion of the Crown's 'Duty to Consult' when Aboriginal rights or treaty rights are potentially impacted. http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/audio/interview-michael-scully-afncnbs-liaison-community/18162

SWN Corporate Giving and Partnerships in New Brunswick http://www.swnnb.ca/community.html#local-programs-events

THE ASSEMBLY OF FIRST NATIONS’ CHIEFS IN NEW BRUNSWICK INC. STATEMENT ON ENERGY , September 30, 2010

Our First Nations are extremely concerned by the inappropriate development of Natural Resources and the irresponsible production and use of energy. Habitat loss, pollution, the burning of fossils fuels and the emissions of greenhouse gases are causing massive damage. Climate change and global warming continue to increase, with major impacts on the loss of biodiversity on the planet. http://www.chiefsnb.ca/uploads/first-nations-rights/Assembly-Statement-on-Energy-30-09-2010.pdf

65 Summer of Solidarity - A view from the sacred fire encampment in Elsipogtog

ELSIPOGTOG, NEW BRUNSWICK - The sacred fire encampment in Elsipogtog, New Brunswick, has now entered its fourth week. United in their protest against SWN Resources Canada's seismic testing, the sacred fire has drawn together a wide swath of the population, both Indigenous and non- Indigenous.

While there has been understandable focus on arrests, threats, disregard for culture and tradition, and the destruction of SWN property, in this video we take a quick look at a day at the sacred fire where conversation, not confrontation, took precedence. http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/video/summer-solidarity-view-sacred-fire-encampment-elsi/18167

Interview with Cecilia Brooks, AFNCNB's Science Adviser Indigenous Knowledge Specialist and Research Director

ELSIPOGTOG, NEW BRUNSWICK - Cecilia Brooks, member of the Sitansisk Wolastoqiyik community in Fredericton, wears a few different hats. As the Canadian Rivers Institute's 'Water Grandmother', her bio notes that she engages in relationship building with community elders, youth and leaders of surrounding First Nation communities, especially as it relates to issues surrounding water safety.

From 2007-2010, she was also the Science Director at the Maliseet Nation Conservation Council, where a quick internet search suggests that, among other duties, she raised concerns about the potential of environmental risks of resource extraction projects. http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/ceciliabrooksinterview

SWN set to resume seismic testing tomorrow - July 3, 2013

Efforts apparently will focus on 'Line 5', clearcut road west of Rogersville.

Despite the talks between the AFN, ostensibly the representatives of the First Nations peoples of the area, and SWN, leadership at the sacred fire encampment is resolute in its stance against shale gas exploration.

"What we've decided is that we're going to move in and try to put a stop to it again tomorrow," says John Levi, Elsipogtog war chief. "I'm just hoping [the AFN] listens to somebody. We've been crying here, hoping that they hear our cries, before they start poisoning our waters." http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/story/swn-set-resume-seismic-testing-tomorrow/18171

Seismic testing opens door not easily shut

Fredericton – Community-led protests in Kent County this summer over SWN Resources Canada’s exploratory program have come under fire by critics as being an over reaction to seismic testing.

66 Conservation Council of New Brunswick contends that while seismic testing is a proxy for a larger and more concerning issue of widespread drilling and hydraulic fracturing, seismic testing also opens a legal door that cannot be easily shut.

“We are at a critical time in the exploration of further shale gas development in New Brunswick” says Stephanie Merrill, spokesperson on shale gas for the Conservation Council of New Brunswick. “Seismic testing may seem benign, however, recent history tells us government is obligated to convert licenses to explore into leases for drilling as long as companies fulfill their financial obligations”, says Merrill. http://www.conservationcouncil.ca/seismic-testing-opens-door-not-easily-shut-2/

RCMP arrest Media Co-op Journalist in New Brunswick

Arrest a blatant attempt to silence grassroots voices

In a blantant effort to silence his ongoing coverage of the struggle against seismic testing related to shale gas exploration in New Brunswick, a senior RCMP officer arrested Halifax Media Co-op reporter Miles Howe this afternoon.

"Miles was arrested while I waited with him to get permission to go see exploration site," tweeted APTN reporter Jorge Barrera, who was standing beside Miles when he was arrested. "Miles was arrested for allegedly 'uttering death threats' against senior RCMP officer who made the arrest after shaking Miles' hand."

Miles has been covering the anti-fracking story from the front lines for weeks, posting his reports on the Halifax Media Co-op. http://www.mediacoop.ca/newsrelease/18174

Update http://www.mediacoop.ca/newsrelease/18174

RCMP arrest reporter, war chief at ongoing anti-fracking protest in New Brunswick

Tensions flared again in New Brunswick where anti-fracking protestors have been holding camp when a reporter was arrested and a war chief charged for allegedly obstructing police in connection.

Police arrested reporter Miles Howe Thursday afternoon after walking up to him and shaking his hand. They then told him he was under arrest for allegedly making death threats against an RCMP officer.

War Chief John Levi was charged with obstruction in connection to Howe’s arrest.

Howe, who works for Media Co-op, an independent media organization, has been covering the ongoing protests since the middle of last month when they began. http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2013/07/04/rcmp-arrest-reporter-war-chief-at-ongoing-anti-fracking-protest- in-new-brunswick/

67 Halifax co-op reporter @MilesHowe arrested by RCMP blocking logging road leading to shale gas exploration. https://twitter.com/JorgeBarrera/status/352825826489815040/photo/1

Shale gas tensions flare with another arrest in Kent County

Halifax man, identified as reporter, accused of uttering threats to police

A 35-year-old man from Halifax was arrested Thursday near Harcourt in connection with ongoing anti- shale gas protests in Kent County.

The man was arrested without incident for allegedly uttering threats against a police officer on June 21 in the Rogersville area, said RCMP Cpl. Chantal Farrah.

He has not been charged, but remains in custody, she said.

Media Co-op, an independent media organization, has identified the man as being one of its reporters, who has been covering the ongoing protests against seismic testing by SWN Resources Canada. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2013/07/04/nb-shale-gas-arrest-reporter.html http://www.cpt.org/cptnet/2013/07/05/aboriginal-justice-elsipogtog-warrior-chief-john-levi-remanded- custody

Media Co-op reporter Miles Howe released from custody; says police trying to restrict his reporting

Mi'kmaq war chief also arrested in connection with Howe

ELSIPOGTOG, NB - Media Co-op reporter Miles Howe has been released from police custody after being detained near Elsipogtog, New Brunswick yesterday afternoon – but Howe says he thinks police are trying to prevent him from reporting news from a controversial shale gas exploration site.

According to Howe, the timing of the arrest is odd, since he has been in contact with police in New Brunswick twice since the alleged June 21st incident without being notified that police wanted to arrest him.

Howe also notes that his charges changed over the several hours he was in custody, from resisting arrest to evading arrest to obstruction of justice. He had no comment on the charges themselves.

Howe expressed concern for Mi’kmaq war chief John Levi, who was also charged today with obstruction in relation to Howe’s own arrest.

“He’s basically been charged with abetting me [over the past several days]," Howe said, despite Levi not knowing until yesterday that Howe was accused of a crime. http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/story/media-co-op-reporter-miles-howe-released-custody-s/18178

68 http://www.care2.com/news/member/710521859/3605620# Elsipogtog War Chief John Levi jailed until Monday

Charges related to June 21st protest, breach of probation related to attempt to assert Treaty fishing rights

MONCTON, NEW BRUNSWICK - Elsipogtog War Chief John Levi was today sent to jail until Monday morning at 9:30am, which, according to the presiding judge, was the "earliest convenient time" to set bail.

Levi stands accused of two charges, both related to an anti-shale gas action that took place on June 21st. The first, mischief, is most likely related to the actions of four people, three of whom went out onto highway 126 into the path of SWN Resources Canada's seismic testing trucks. These four people were arrested - along with eight others on that day - and Levi stands accused of telling protesters to "stand their ground".

Levi also stands accused of obstructing justice, which, actually, is allegedly related to him and I leaving highway 126 together in his truck on June 21st. For that day, I stand accused of 'threatening' an RCMP officer. Yesterday, when I was first charged at RCMP 'Codiac' station in Moncton, I was also charged with 'resisting arrest'. This was later changed to 'evading arrest' and then subsequently to 'obstruction of justice' for alllegedly walking away from the officer that I allegedly threatened, who then allegedly arrested me.

That I was not charged with anything until yesterday, July 4th, suggests that officer Richard Bernard, who allegedly did the arresting, kept the matter of my charges - and subsequently at least one of John Levi's charges - totally to himself. http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/story/elsipogtog-war-chief-john-levi-jailed-until-monday/18184

Reporter arrested by RCMP alleges he turned down offer to become paid informant http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2013/07/05/reporter-arrested-by-rcmp-alleges-he-turned-down-offer-to- become-paid-informant/

Elsipogtog chief appoints 'peacekeeper' in shale gas dispute

Elsipogtog First Nation Chief Arren Sock has appointed a "peacekeeper" to deal with growing tensions over shale gas exploration in his eastern New Brunswick community.

SWN Resources Canada, which is conducting seismic testing in the area, has been met by nearly four weeks of protests.

"We will continue to say no to shale gas," Sock told a news conference on Thursday.

Sock again called for a moratorium on shale gas exploration, but said something had to be done now because the possibility for violence has escalated. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2013/06/27/nb-shale-gas-elsipogtog-1217.html

69 Two Rogers radio stations in New Brunswick being sold to separate buyers

Newfoundland Capital Corp. (TSX:NCC.A) says it has signed a deal to buy the radio broadcasting licence for CHNI-FM in Saint John from Rogers Broadcasting Ltd. (TSX:RCI.B).

Meanwhile Irving-owned Acadia Broadcasting Ltd. has announced plans to buy CKNI-FM in Moncton from Rogers. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/newfoundland-capital-to-buy-chni-fm-radio-licence-in-saint- john-nb-214282381.html

ABORIGINAL JUSTICE: Warrior Chief John Levi released from custody

Warrior Chief John Levi is free on his own recognizance. After a hearing held on the Crown’s request to have him remain incarcerated, the presiding Judge ordered his immediate release with the stipulation that he remain 100 meters away from SWN corporation equipment or any of its subcontractors’ machinery and equipment.

Many native and non-native people packed the courtroom to show their support; court officials permitted people to stand in the back as the seats filled up. When Levi's case was called, and as he entered the courtroom, people stood in unison. His supporters had also done so on Friday, 5 July, at the initial hearing.

The Crown prosecutor attempted to show that should the court release Levi, a substantial likelihood of future criminal conduct existed and that detention was necessary to maintain “confidence and administering justice.” The Crown’s own witness, Levi’s supervising probation officer, testified to the contrary.

The Crown even asked that the judge order Levi not give advice to anyone in the community. The judge was not amused with this request.

The Crown’s entire presentation demonstrated a fundamental lack of awareness and knowledge pertaining to traditional Mi’kmaq practices, especially as it relates to the title “Warrior Chief,” the nature of leadership within the community, the ceremonial practice of smudging, and the forthcoming Sundance ceremony. http://www.cpt.org/cptnet/2013/07/08/aboriginal-justice-warrior-chief-john-levi-released-custody

Aboriginal anti-shale gas advocate released from jail

An Elsipogtog First Nations warrior chief facing charges in connection with ongoing anti-shale gas protests in Kent County has been released from jail on conditions.

John Levi, 45, pleaded not guilty on Monday to obstructing police and mischief in relation to a June 21 demonstration on Highway 126, where SWN Resources is conducting seismic testing.

Levi, who took the stand in his own defence, said as the warrior chief he is to lead peaceful protests and traditional ceremonies.

70

He was appointed warrior chief by the Mi'kmaq Grand Council, which is made up of chiefs and elders, he said.

"We are peaceful people and we do peaceful protests. It's not like we go there and have a war. It's nothing like that," Levi told reporters outside the courtroom.

Some people have credited Levi with helping to keep the peace in the eastern First Nations community. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2013/07/08/nb-levi-elsipogtog-shale-protest.html

Professor says Atlantic region needs to reduce oil use, not build pipeline

FREDERICTON -- The derailment in Quebec of a train carrying crude destined for the Irving Oil refinery in New Brunswick is raising questions about the security of Atlantic Canada's energy supply, with one expert saying it highlights the need to reduce the region's reliance on oil.

Larry Hughes, a professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax who studies energy issues, said he is concerned the disaster in Lac-Megantic, Que., will be used to help advance a proposal to ship oil through a pipeline from Alberta to the refinery in Saint John, N.B., on the premise that would be safer.

"There have been a spate of accidents moving oil products by rail and there have been pipeline accidents too," Hughes said Monday.

"Rather that bringing (oil) here for the longer term, how can we get off of it? That's what we need to be asking ourselves."

Hughes said it would make more sense to have tanker ships bring oil to the Irving Oil refinery from Quebec, rather than building a 1,400-kilometre extension into Saint John as TransCanada Corp. (TSX:TRP) is considering, because that would be safer as they are required to have double hulls.

It would also give the region more flexibility to diversify its energy supply, especially as the use of alternative resources such as solar, wind and biofuels increase over the next 20 years, he said. http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/professor-says-atlantic-region-needs-to-reduce-oil-use-not-build-pipeline- 1.1358293

Cornhill residents upset by seismic testing plans

The Cornhill area is the latest community to voice frustration over the exploration for shale gas.

People in the Cornhill area, which is in southeastern New Brunswick near Petitcodiac, are worried about plans by Corridor Resources to start searching for natural gas.

Graham Waugh has spent the last four weeks trying to stop Corridor Resources from undertaking any seismic testing in his community.

"No one in Cornhill wants this. We have created a petition asking for a moratorium," Waugh said.

71 http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2010/11/10/nb-cornhill-drilling-623.html CAJ upset RCMP arrested working journalist in New Brunswick

OTTAWA, July 5, 2013 /CNW/ - The Canadian Association of Journalists is calling on the RCMP to offer a better explanation for why it arrested a journalist working in New Brunswick on July 4.

According to reports from another journalist present, Media Co-op journalist Miles Howe was arrested in Elsipogtog, N.B. RCMP have said Howe was arrested for uttering death threats on June 21 in the Rogersville, N.B. area. Howe has been covering the contentious anti-fracking protests taking place in these communities as exploration for shale gas continues in the area.

"It's inexcusable police would detain any journalist for doing their jobs," CAJ president Hugo Rodrigues said. "If Mr. Howe has broken any laws that would require his arrest, that information should be put before the public as quickly as possible as it comes before the courts. If as is suggested by some there was no valid reason for the arrest, the charges should be dropped." http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20130705-906782.html

The problem with Line 5

Aerial surveillance shows SWN's bush-cut seismic test line slashes through hunting grounds, sensitive areas

ELSIPOGTOG - Large caravans of pick up trucks, fuel trucks, security trucks and a variety of other equipment continue to depart from the Moncton Holiday Inn on a daily basis. SWN's contracted workers, the majority of whom are currently employed by Houston-based company Geokinetics, have been residing at the Holiday Inn for weeks now.

The majority, as of July 10th, now take the Collette road exit. Equipment is usually flanked by security trucks, who, despite the illegality of the action, have been known to block Collette road against any non- SWN associated traffic. The majority of the security force is at the moment employed by Irving-owned Industrial Security Limited.

The northern section of the line also appears to have some sizeable wetlands in it, and the line itself is on the Northern tip of the Richibucto River watershed. The Richibucto watershed, according to a 2008 Ecosystem Overview published by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, is the fourth largest river basin in Eastern New Brunswick.

The watershed is also not particularly well-suited to industrial incursions. The peat moss industry, by no means comparable to the water-intensive process of hydraulic fracturing, has notably caused chemical and heavy metal contamination of the watershed, as well as threats to the ecosystem productivity, threats to aquatic fauna and changes to behaviour in aquatic species. http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/story/problem-line-5/18217

CJFE concerned by arrest of New Brunswick journalist

72 TORONTO, July 11, 2013 /CNW/ - Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) is deeply concerned about the RCMP's arrest under unusual circumstances of New Brunswick-based journalist Miles Howe. CJFE is also troubled by several aspects of the policing methods used in the case, including: • the two-week delay between the alleged incident and the arrest; • the arrest being carried out by the officer claiming to have been threatened; • the confusion over the charges given the time elapsed since the alleged incident; • the seizure of Howe's equipment, enabling police to search images and text at will, without any warrant or other justification.

Taken together, these elements strongly suggest an attempt either to gather information from Howe about the protests and related incidents or to stop him from reporting about a controversial situation involving the RCMP. Howe has been covering the protest for over a month.

CJFE calls for all charges against Miles Howe to be dropped. Additionally, CJFE calls for a full and transparent investigation into this incident and additional training for police officers on how to deal with the media. http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1197483/cjfe-concerned-by-arrest-of-new-brunswick-journalist

New Brunswick arrests in fracking standoff

Those of you who read the Comments posted to this blog will be familiar with the name of Dallas McQuarrie, who frequently responds to what I have written or what others have to say in their Comments. Dallas and his wife Susan are at this moment involved in an intense and profound non- violent action in New Brunswick, where they live. Dallas writes about it below.

Tensions between rural residents and the first-term Conservative provincial government of David Alward began ratcheting up in June when the province decided to get tough with protestors and have the RCMP arrest them.

Protestors know that the province contracts for RCMP policing from the federal government, and there is anger that the Alward government decided to throw people in jail rather than talk with them.

The ‘Say NO to shale gas’ protest has united English, French and First Nations peoples around a single issue, something rarely seen here. Many businesses have anti-shale gas signs in their windows. The Catholic church where I attend in St. Ignace (about 50 kilometers from Rogersville) has ‘stop shale gas’ signs on its doors. The New Brunswick College of Family Physicians is calling for a moratorium on shale gas development. The province’s Chief Medical Officer of Health has expressed serious concern. People clearly believe their doctors, not Premier Alward.

My wife Susan and I were among 12 protesters arrested June 15 by 63 RCMP officers just after dawn. Like the Maliseet First Nation Elder who became my cell-mate, we were praying on the highway when arrested. We’re both senior citizens who have never been arrested before. A surreal moment occurred when an RCMP officer, who had taken my cane while I was on my knees praying, had to help me up before he could arrest me and put me in the paddy wagon. http://www.dennisgruending.ca/2013/07/new-brunswick-arrests-in-fracking-standoff/

73 "The Great Spirit will look after people that look after water."

Interview with AFN Regional Chief for NB and PEI, Roger Augustine http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/audio/great-spirit-will-look-after-people-look-after-wat/18226

John Levi, war chief, speaks to APTN about anti-fracking protest - Embedded Video

He says he’s a warrior chief defending the land from environmental destruction.

John Levi leads a group from Elsipogtog First Nation in New Brunswick who are fighting against a fracking company looking for shale gas.

The battle may be unwinnable, but Levi isn’t giving up. http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2013/07/12/john-levi-war-chief-speaks-to-aptn-about-anti-fracking-protest/

A train that goes rogue and a pipeline that isn't needed

There is a train that didn’t arrive at the Irving refinery with crude from out west. That train left the tracks and most of its cargo in Lac Mégantic when it moved from a parked position on the main line in Quebec, with no human supervision during the night, and slowly gathered speed on a downhill grade into the town.

In the aftermath of a great tragedy, those who couldn’t predict the event (Transport Canada) and those who have no expertise (politicians) will confidently suggest measures for preventing future disasters. As well, we can expect to see groups with a financial interest (pipeline companies, railway executives, or their pet journalists) suggest that pipelines are safer than rail or the contrary.

As a resident of New Brunswick, is it too much to ask that our politicians provide us with the necessary information before they impose a corporate decision on a pipeline? Will corporate greed, which was likely the underlying cause of the oil bomb in Quebec, surface again when a pipeline decision is made for New Brunswick? https://monctonfreepress.ca/post/17711

Wetlands taking a blasting

Shale gas exploration gets green light in wetlands, around watercourses

Fredericton – After being alerted to the fact that seismic testing and related work for shale gas exploration is happening in wetlands and around significant watercourses in Kent County, the Conservation Council of New Brunswick (CCNB) has learned that government has granted a blanket permit to do work across wetlands and watercourse buffers in 8 provincial counties.

74 CCNB requested, and the Department of Environment and Local Government has shared, the wide- sweeping Wetland and Watercourse Alteration (WAWA) permit granted to SWN Resources Canada in April for their seismic exploration program to do work in “various” wetlands and watercourse buffers throughout Albert, Kent, Kings, Northumberland, Queens, Sunbury, Westmorland and York counties. http://www.conservationcouncil.ca/wetlands-taking-a-blasting/

SWN Resources given permit to test in wetlands - Embedded video

Tina Beers, a Kent County resident, was fishing in the Harcourt area recently when she found seismic testing equipment stuck in a wetland, located in the Richibucto River system.

She took pictures of the equipment and forwarded those images to Stephanie Merrill of the Conservation Council, who asked the Department of Environment for the company’s permit.

The provincial government released a permit that gives SWN Resources Canada the right to test in a wide area.

“The company is allowed to go into wetlands and buffers of watercourses in eight counties across the province. So I think that was a bit of a shock, even to me,” she said. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2013/07/17/nb-shale-gas-wetlands-632.html

Concerns raised in N.B. over seismic shale testing in wetlands

An environmental group in New Brunswick is raising concerns about the provincial government’s decision to allow seismic testing in wetlands by an energy company, but Premier David Alward says environmentalists have nothing to fear.

Mr. Alward said in an interview Wednesday that provincial regulations will protect the environment from shale gas exploration. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/concerns- raised-in-nb-over-seismic-shale-testing-in-wetlands/article13289312/

CAEPLA’s Dave Core on CBC Radio New Brunswick

CAEPLA’s Dave Core on CBC Radio Regina talking about how TransCanada could turn urban areas in to “brown spaces”.

We get some advise from Dave Core, a property rights advocate on what to do them the pipeline surveyors come calling. http://pipelineobserver.ca/caeplas-dave-core-on-cbc-radio-new-brunswick/ http://www.cbc.ca/informationmorningfredericton/2013/07/16/pipeline-surveyors-1/

75 SWN drills more wetlands shot-holes, security guard finds prayer and white doves in the morning Line 5 work continues, Holiday Inn action draws 35 women in white.

ELSIPOGTOG, NEW BRUNSWICK - Yesterday, a group of anti-shale gas activists stumbled across a team of SWN-contracted workers laying a string of ‘geophones’ – the equipment used to received seismic data created when an area is tested – on a walking trail bordering a settler cemetery at 2304 Pleasant Ridge Road. SWN Resources Canada continues to seismic test ‘Line 5’, a 35.9 km north- south line that cuts through sensitive wetlands and traditional Mi’kmaq hunting grounds west of highway 126.

Continuing along the workers’ path, the activists discovered a drilled shot-hole – a hole bored into the ground that contains an explosive charge that will later be set off to gather seismic data – directly in a wetlands area. This falls in line with an earlier discovery of SWN Resources Canada circumventing registered wetlands regulations further south along Line 5. http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/story/swn-drills-more-wetlands-shot-holes-security-guard/18314

CTV News Video related to protests http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=969147&binId=1.1145463&playlistPageNum=1

New Brunswick Minister of Transportation spotted at weekend Anti-shale gas rally

Interview with Claude Williams, MLA for Kent South

COCAGNE, NEW BRUNSWICK - Yesterday, July 20th, saw dozens of anti-shale gas activists stage a rally in the seaside community of Cocagne, New Brunswick. The high-spirited action brought together representatives from Acadian, Anglophone and First Nations Communities.

Also in attendance was lifetime Kent County resident and provincial Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Claude Williams.

I caught up with Williams and spoke with him about recent developments within the growing anti-shale gas movement in the province. http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/audio/new-brunswick-minister-transportation-spotted-week/18333 http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/sites/mediacoop.ca/files2/mc/audio/miles_howe/claudewilliams.mp3

Undercover RCMP crash anti-shale gas press conference, activists remain in woods on 'Line 5'

Nightfall finds unknown number of activists still in woods along SWN's woodland testing line.

DIEPPE, NEW BRUNSWICK - Yesterday, Upriver Environment Watch called a press conference at the Super 8 motel in Dieppe, New Brunswick. Attended by about 50 people, including 4 representatives from the media, the anti-shale gas action group from Kent County hosted a panel of speakers with a variety of expertise and experience.

76 "We feel it is time for your government to stop directing the RCMP to harass us and to throw us in jail," read the open letter to Premier Alward from the Upriver Environment Watch.

"It is time for your government to start talking with us. We have been trying to communicate with you for a long time. We have tried petitions, letters, requests for meetings, protests and everything else we could think of to get your attention. Your avoidance of us has been complete. We are extremely disappointed in your government's failure to respond and acknowledge our concerns. We ask for you to respect and recognize the legitimacy of our concerns."

Chris Sabas, one of two members of the Christian Peacemakers Team that has been invited to document the anti-shale actions by Elsipogtog War Chief John Levi, was the first presenter.

Ann Pohl spoke about the difficulty of having the concerns of the citizens of New Brunswick properly heard and represented by a mainstream media almost completely controlled by the powerful Irving empire. Pohl noted that Irving, who stands to benefit from shale gas extraction in any number of ways; from trucking, to shipping, to processing, and on, was knowingly marginalizing the message of those opposed to shale gas extraction, often framing it as a 'Native issue'.

As if on cue, as one woman was describing the difficulties of trying to continue to live alongside a pot ash mine in Penobsquis, it became apparent that two undercover RCMP officers had been taking notes throughout the entire press conference. When asked what they were doing, constable Dave Matthews noted that he was taking notes on "the mood" of the press conference. When cameras were trained on the officers, they quickly fled the conference.

Today, only two days after the RCMP lied to activists attempting to park on parish land adjacent to their cemetery, telling those attempting to gather that it was private property, an emboldened crowd of about 60 Acadians, Anglophones and Indigenous people - united in their purpose - gathered in the pouring rain next to an active testing line. http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/story/undercover-rcmp-crash-anti-shale-gas-press-confere/18362

Earth First! Calls On Activists to “Disrupt the Chain of Supply” for Oil and Gas Industry

A similar style of resistance to fracking is under way this summer on First Nations land in New Brunswick, Canada, where fracking equipment was set on fire, amidst a campaign of protests and blockades.

Tsolkas continues, “These companies will see blockades and sabotage increase as communities are left with no other means of defending their families. Industry heads said they were preparing for an insurgency against fracking—it appears that has begun.” http://earthfirstnews.wordpress.com/2013/07/22/earth-first-calls-on-activists-to-disrupt-the-chain-of- supply-for-oil-and-gas-industry/

ABORIGINAL JUSTICE: Video shows Elsipogtog community undoing police harassment

On 21 July 2013, members of the Elsipogtog community who are trying to protect their traditional lands from fracking discovered that SWN Resources Canada had an unknown amount of unexploded ordinance behind a cemetery, located on Pleasant Ridge Road, Rogersville, New Brunswick.

77 The cemetery, owned by the local Catholic diocese, borders a seismic testing line known as “Line 5” that Canadian police have been heavily guarding. The video shows police trying to prevent Elsipogtog members from parking in a lot located directly across the street from the cemetery where a Catholic church had once stood. The police told protectors the lot was private property and the landowner had not given permission for "protesters" to be on site, where at least a dozen police and private security vehicles had parked. Lorraine Claire of the Elsipogtog First Nation had, however, obtained permission from caretakers of the property to park there. Watch how she and other protectors of the land peacefully confront the police. http://www.cpt.org/cptnet/2013/07/25/aboriginal-justice-video-shows-elsipogtog-community-undoing- police-harassment

Activist ties self to geo-phone bags, SWN refuses Sundance break, another illegal security blockade

Interview with 'Pochahontas', Elsipogtog resident who tied herself to heli bags

ELSIPOGTOG, NEW BRUNSWICK - An early morning discovery of SWN Resources Canada's helicopter launching area - where bags of used and unused geo-phones are pick up from already tested areas and dropped at areas yet to be tested - led to a temporary work stoppage, as a woman identifying herself as 'Pochahontas' tied herself to several of the helicopter bags.

In what is now recognized as common practice among activists familiar with the anti-shale gas protests in Kent County, late last night two Industrial Security Limited trucks performed an illegal roadblock on a woman driving alone in a car along a pubic roadway. Serena Francis, an Elsipogtog elder - having already been given permission by Officer Brian Paul to meet other activists stationed further down a dirt road - was arbitrarily halted and boxed in by two Industrial Security Limited trucks. Francis, fearing for her own safety, immediately called 911. This morning Francis filed another in what is becoming a growing stack of complaints against the Irving-owned security service. http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/audio/activist-ties-self-geo-phone-bags-swn-refuses-sund/18384

Shale gas protest moves deeper into N.B. woods

Demonstrators are stationing themselves closer to a shale gas exploration site off Route 116, and so are police, who have blocked a dirt logging road deep in the woods of Kent County.

Ann Gregoroff came from Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley to support the protesters.

Demonstrators say, as long as shale gas exploration continues in Kent County, they will continue to protest. http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/shale-gas-protest-moves-deeper-into-n-b-woods-1.1383787#ixzz2a6eJM1J5

Interview with District War Chief Jason Okay – Blockade July 27

ELSIPOGTOG, NEW BRUNSWICK - Last night, July 27th, about 35 anti-shale gas activists blockaded a 20 ton truck, subcontracted to SWN Resources Canada, for over 8 hours. The truck, filled with

78 helicopter bags - each containing dozens of geophones - was attempting to exit southward along Irving Road, a back road west of highway 126 in New Brunswick. The truck, as well as eight other equipment trucks subcontracted to SWN, were conducting seismic testing in the hopes of finding shale gas deposits along a 35.9 kilometer north-south line known as 'Line 5'. All the equipment and workers were halted until about 3:30am Atlantic Time.

RCMP negotiators noted that they would not arrest anyone that night, but made no guarantees that future days might not see activists picked off one by one in house arrests. As has been the case since early June when active protests began against shale gas exploration in Kent County, yesterday police made no secret of their heavy surveillance of the action. At 3:30am, as activists moved their trucks and cars off the road, it became clear that an entire SWN work crew had been stopped. With a heavy police escort, eight SWN trucks emerged from a side road and quickly sped past the gathered crowd. With no equipment or SWN workers left to guard, the RCMP quickly left the scene as well. http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/audio/all-night-anti-shale-gas-truck-seizure-road-block/18408

SWN issued notice of eviction by Geptin of District Grand Council

ELSIPOGTOG, NEW BRUNSWICK - Noel Augustine, Geptin of the Migmag Grand Council of the Signigtog District, has issued a notice of eviction to SWN Resources Canada. The district of Signigtog comprises much of southern New Brunswick and part of northern Nova Scotia. As Geptin, Augustine represents the traditional form of government for the area.

The people of the sovereign Mi'kmaq Nation in the Territory of Signigtog do hereby serve this NOTICE OF EVICTION to Southwestern Energy Company, SWN Resources Canada, and any affiliated subsidiary company or contractor engaged in shale gas exploration or development in the Territory of Signigtog. Any permit, lease, license, agreement or authorization of any kind issued by the Province of New Brunswick or Government of Canada related to shale gas exploration in the Signigtog District is VOID and illegal.

On May 14, 2013 the Band Council of Elsipogtog First Nation passed a resolution opposing shale gs exploration and development within Elsipogtog First Nation and the Province of New Brunswick citing concerns about the environment and the need for direct consultation by the Crown. On May 30, 2013, the Migmag Grand Council of the Signigtog District issued a notice prohibiting all "shale gas exploration and/or development" without the "expressed written consent and full participation of the Migmag Grand Council and the Migmag people of the Signigtog District."

The Migmag Grand Council are the signators of all the Migmag peace and friendship treaties and holds title to all lands in the Signigtog District. From time immemorial, the people of the Signigtog District governed y the Grand Council, have lived upon our traditional lans, governed by our own political system, language, culture, spiritual and diverse means of livelihood. We have never surrendered our sovereignty or jurisdiction over our lands. Our laws are as valid and binding today as in the time of our ancestors. New Brunswick is unceded land and subject to Migmag jurisdiction.

Sincerely, Geptin Noel J. Augustine Migmag Grand Council http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/story/swn-issued-notice-eviction-geptin-district-grand-c/18423

79 Gone for the summer - SWN Resources Canada folds 'til September - Embedded Audio

Shale gas company allowed to detonate 11 more un-exploded shot holes - charges against 25 of 35 will be dropped.

ELSIPOGTOG, NEW BRUNSWICK - Minutes ago, afternoon negotiations between the RCMP, Elsipogtog Chief Arren Sock, Elsipogtog War Chief John Levi, former Elsipogtog Chief Susan Levi- Peters, Mi'kmaq Warrior Society Chief 'Seven' and others concluded with a few key announcements. http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/audio/gone-summer-swn-resources-canada-folds-til-septemb/18445

FRACTURED FUTURE - Shale gas is a sorry choice

My curiosity was piqued at the mention of benzene, both in fracturing fluid and as an air emission of gas processing facilities. Working five years in a research laboratory at McGill University, I used benzene and other chemical solvents on a daily basis. Laboratory safety measures were rigid to avoid breathing vapours from even test tube amounts of the highly carcinogenic benzene.

How do you combine even small percentages of chemicals like benzene in millions of gallons of water and control the ultimate destination of the fluids? At the very weakest percentage claimed by industry, one fracturing could involve three million gallons of water, containing 15,000 gallons of chemicals, all seeking the path of least resistance underground. How do essential gas processing facilities vent benzene combined with other volatile organic chemicals into the air, without creating a health hazard? I have not found those answers. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2011/11/13/nb-f-shale-gas-lynda-murray-625.html

Shale gas tests, protests suspended until September - Embedded video

John Levi, a vocal opponent against shale gas testing, says an agreement was reached with police and SWN Resources to halt exploration until September.

He also says charges against 25 of the 35 people arrested have been dropped, but that the opposition is just getting started.

“When the drilling comes, of course, it is going to be more aggressive,” says Levi. “We can’t allow the actual drilling to go on.” http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/shale-gas-tests-protests-suspended-until-september-1.1392588

80 Maritime News

Drilling could threaten businesses - Newfoundland

The following is an open letter to Premier Dunderdale, members of her cabinet and the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Dear premier, cabinet ministers and fellow citizens: In the early 1970s, the visionaries of the day solidified what mankind had known for generations when they chose to protect Bonne Bay as part of Gros Morne National Park.

Now, with a few simple bureaucratic decisions, this one government could end up erasing that progress and turn Bonne Bay into an industrial truck route.

Government is considering allowing oil exploration, using fracking, inside the park boundaries in Trout River or even Chimney Cove. http://www.thewesternstar.com/Opinion/Letter%20to%20the%20Editor/2013-07-05/article- 3301898/Drilling-could-threaten-businesses/1

Natural gas leak shuts down part of south end Halifax

More than 7,300 customers without power while crews work to contain leak

Halifax Regional Police have shut down part of south end Halifax because of a natural gas leak.

Halifax Fire Chief Doug Trussler said crews were working on a gas line when the it was struck and ruptured. He said there is a two-inch gas in the pipe.

The gas has been shut off but officials on the scene say it could take a few hours to purge the pipe and repair the hole.

All pedestrian and vehicle traffic is shut down in the area from Morris to Victoria Road and from Tower Road to Queen Street.

Power has been shut off in the area as a precautionary measure to reduce the risk of fire. More than 7,300 Nova Scotia Power customers are without power this afternoon. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2013/07/16/ns-gas-leak.html http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/two-natural-gas-leaks-in-halifax-force-evacuations-1.1369080

NDP Government Gives Fracking Waste Handler Free Ride: Colchester County Left Holding Bag

Out of Control: Province Abdicates as Regulator

The thread in all this willful abdication of regulatory responsibility is that the government of Nova Scotia decided early on that, “As the Department did not attribute a significant risk associated with these

81 (Kennetcook) ponds and the water contained in them, the Department had no reason to verify where the water was ultimately disposed.”

Department of Environment spokesperson Lori Errington followed up that the department was unable to release the data that this decision was based on, even through Freedom of Information [FOIPOP], because it was ‘proprietary information’. But the list of chemical compounds used in the fracking compound did make it into NOFRAC’s Freedom of Information trove, and the documented correspondence establishes that the Department simply accepted Triangle Petroleum’s assertion that the amounts used were “minimal.” [pages 183-5] http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/story/ndp-government-gives-fracking-waste-handler-free-r/17148

Fracking Threatens Canadian UNESCO World Heritage Site, Report

A world heritage site in Newfoundland is under extreme threat from fracking, according to a recent report by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS). The report, entitled “One Step Forward / Two Steps Back” says Gros Morne Park, along with several other nationally and provincially protected areas, is in danger from “inappropriate development.” http://desmog.ca/2013/07/17/fracking-threatens-canadian-unesco-world-heritage-site-report

Windsor Looks at Taking What Colchester County Refused

The County of Colchester in May overturned it’s earlier approval for Atlantic Industrial Services to released processed hydraulic fracturing wastes into the municipal sewer system. After the Council opened the process to numerous presentations from citizens, the committee of Council charged with the decision decided that they did not want “the Bay of Fundy to be a petri dish for fracking wastewater."

Further down the Bay of Fundy, the Town of Windsor is considering accepting the same wastes for its sewage treatment. Chief Administrative Officer Luis Coutinho offered the accepting of the fracking wastes as possibly a potential new source of revenue. http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/story/return-banned-fracking-wastes/18426

Fracking proposal divides residents near Gros Morne

UNESCO recently expressed concern about proximity to World Heritage Site

Rendell set up her kayak and outfitting business in the 1990s, after UNESCO gave the park its global designation.

The number of annual visitors since then has steadily grown to about 120,000.

Walter Nicolle is the mayor of Rocky Harbour, one of the towns skirted by the boundaries of Gros Morne.

82 "When opportunity comes knocking on your door like that, you definitely [have] to stop and think about it," Nicolle said.

Kathy Lepold-Madigan divides her time between western Newfoundland and Pennsylvania.

Her home state welcomed shale gas exploration in rural areas where unemployment rivals the rate in Newfoundland.

But Lepold-Madigan says jobs and economic development were short-lived.

"Unskilled people were hired as flagmen and that type of thing," she said.

"They were offered very good salaries for that; they left their low-paying jobs to do that. And after six months they were done drilling and they all moved out. And people were without jobs, because their previous jobs were taken by somebody else." http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2013/07/29/nl-gros-morne-fracking- residents-divided-unesco-730.html

The Future of Natural Gas Supply for Nova Scotia

In 2011, Maritimes Canada gas consumption ranged from about 140 million cubic feet per day (MMcfd) in the shoulder months to over 230 MMcfd during peak winter periods. The largest gas consumers are Nova Scotia Power’s Tufts Cove generating station, Emera’s Bayside power plant, and the Irving Oil’s Saint John refinery. There are also two local distribution companies in Maritimes Canada, Enbridge in New Brunswick and Heritage in Nova Scotia. Other industrial concerns also receive gas from M&NP.

New England, which is currently the largest market into which Maritimes Canada gas is sold, is increasingly looking to the Marcellus Shale to fill its growing needs for natural gas. As Maritimes Canada gas production continues to decline, it will need to seek gas supplies from external sources, either LNG imports to Canaport or U.S. gas supplies delivered via M&NP. The purpose of this study is to examine the implications of these trends. http://novascotia.ca/energy/publications/The-Future-of-Natural-Gas-Supply-for-Nova-Scotia.pdf

83 Canadian News

Submissions in for Canadian plant

The designs under consideration for Darlington are Candu Energy's Enhanced Candu 6 (EC6) and Westinghouse's AP1000. The detailed submissions, commissioned by OPG twelve months ago, will now undergo a review by OPG and the Ontario ministries of energy, finance and infrastructure in a process OPG expects will take "a number of months" to complete.

In 2003, Ontario embarked on a long-term plan to phase out coal-fired power generation which has seen dramatic improvements to air quality in the province which is home to 40% of Canada's population and currently has 18 operating nuclear units. http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-Submissions_in_for_Canadian_plant-0107137.html

B.C.'s Hupacasath First Nation challenges Canada-China free trade agreement

VANCOUVER - Members of a small British Columbia aboriginal band are in a federal court room in Vancouver this week, as their 300-member community tries to stop the federal government from passing a free trade deal with China.

The Hupacasath First Nation has launched a court challenge to the Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, arguing that it infringes on aboriginal rights.

Critics of the Canada-China agreement fear the deal will give foreign corporations leverage over Canadian regulatory and resource decisions, allowing Chinese corporations to seek arbitration or even sue Canada for decisions that negatively affect their access to Canadian resources. http://www.vancouversun.com/Business/asia- pacific/Hupacasath+First+Nation+challenges+Canada+China/8484845/story.html

Community-supported agriculture a recipe for success in Quebec

CSA isn’t a new concept, but it’s allowing more and more small-scale Quebec farmers make a living by selling directly to consumers

To 30,000 Quebecers, grocery shopping doesn’t involve walking up and down store aisles, comparing produce for ripeness, examining ingredient labels and languishing in long lineups. Instead, it means meeting their local farmer at a neighbourhood drop-off point to receive a weekly basket of just-picked organic vegetables.

The program has come a long way since its first farm, Cadet-Roussel in Mont-St-Grégoire, began producing food baskets in 1995. Now, more than 100 farms take part, collectively bringing farm-fresh vegetables, fruit and even meat to 350 drop-off points, usually once a week. And the organization now boasts 41 employees, with four working exclusively on the CSA program. http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Community+supported+agriculture+recipe+success+Quebec /8593722/story.html

84 Lac-Mégantic: It’s not trains vs. pipelines, but why we’re relying on oil

I was shocked on Saturday to see that, only a few hours after the tragic incident in Lac-Mégantic, pipeline cheerleaders were already hard at work. But it’s not a question of trains versus pipelines, but why we need more of either option given North American oil demand is declining. Pipeline proponents are offering us a false choice. We don’t need to build more infrastructure to ship dangerous crude oil across the continent.

As for the oil already being moved around the continent, we need to ask who’s in the driver’s seat when it comes to safety: the federal government or the rail industry? Neither is taking responsibility for this tragic event. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/lac-megantic-its-not-trains-vs-pipelines-but-why-were- relying-on-oil/article13105827/

After Lac-Mégantic, how should we regulate risk?

The limited liability corporation is an effective mechanism for marshaling capital and efficiently organizing production. However, any belief that “corporate social responsibility” is an adequate substitute for rigorous regulation misapprehends the primacy of profit maximization in corporate decision-making. It then falls to government to safeguard the public interest and, with coherent standards and monitoring, to manage the trade-offs for society. This is not a costless task. Top-notch engineering expertise is pricey, and ongoing investments in scientific research are required to stay at the forefront. Since the benefits aren’t immediate and visible, fiscal pressures will always tempt the government of the day to see expenditures on technical regulation as extraneous.

Especially in the face of catastrophe, citizens have every right to ask how government is regulating particular risks on their behalf. And any government should stand prepared to honestly explain its management of those risks. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/after-lac-megantic-how-should-we-regulate- risk/article13241813/

Technically Recoverable Shale Oil and Shale Gas Resources:

An Assessment of 137 Shale Formations in 41 Countries Outside the United States This report provides an initial assessment of shale oil resources and updates a prior assessment of shale gas resources issued in April 2011. It assesses 137 shale formations in 41 countries outside the United States, expanding on the 69 shale formations within 32 countries considered in the prior report. http://www.eia.gov/analysis/studies/worldshalegas/

EIA/ARI World Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resource Assessment - Canada

Canada has a series of large hydrocarbon basins with thick, organic-rich shales that are assessed by this resource study. Figure I-1 illustrates certain of the major shale gas and shale oil basins in Western Canada.

85 Canada has four potential shale gas plays - - the Utica and Lorraine shales in the St. Lawrence Lowlands of the Appalachian Fold Belt of Quebec, the Horton Bluff Shale in the Windsor Basin of northern Nova Scotia, and the Frederick Brook Shale in the Moncton Sub-Basin of the Maritimes Basin in New Brunswick. These shale oil and gas formations and basins are in an early exploration stage. Therefore, only preliminary shale resource assessments are offered for the Utica and Horton Bluff shales. Insufficient information exists for assessing the Lorraine and Frederick Brook shales. http://www.eia.gov/analysis/studies/worldshalegas/pdf/chaptersi_iii.pdf

A Primer for Understanding Canadian Shale Gas - Energy Briefing Note http://www.neb-one.gc.ca/clf- nsi/rnrgynfmtn/nrgyrprt/ntrlgs/prmrndrstndngshlgs2009/prmrndrstndngshlgs2009-eng.html#f5

Corridor Resources - Shale Gas Exploration and Potential Development

Calgary based consultants GLJ have estimated a 59.1 trillion cubic feet (tcf) (net to Corridor) gas-in- place resource in the Frederick Brook formation in the Sussex and Elgin sub-basins. If only 10 percent of these resources are commercially recoverable, it provides a significant target for these shale gas exploration, appraisal and completion operations. http://www.corridor.ca/oil-gas-exploration/new-brunswick.html#shalegas

Russia’s potash breakup a ‘game-changer’ for Canadian industry

The dramatic breakup of the world’s largest potash oligopoly promises to reshape the industry and send prices tumbling, threatening the profit-making power of the marketing group that sells Saskatchewan potash to global customers. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/russias-potash-breakup-a-game-changer-for- canadian-industry/article13517575/

86 Other News

Fractured Lives - Detritus of Pennsylvania's Shale Gas Boom

The supple hills of southwestern Pennsylvania, once known for their grassy woodlands, red barns, and one-stoplight villages, bristle with new landmarks these days: drilling rigs, dark green condensate tanks, fields of iron conduits lumped with hissing valves, and long, flat rectangles carved into hilltops like overgrown swimming pools, brimming with umber wastewater. Tall metal methane flaring stacks periodically fill the night with fiery glares and jet engine roars. Roadbeds of crushed rock, guarded by No Trespassing signs, lie like fresh sutures across hayfields, deer trails, and backyards, admitting fleets of tanker trucks to the wellheads of America's latest energy revolution. http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/201207/pennsylvania-fracking-shale-gas-199.aspx

Tsunami of Public Outrage Against Fracking in Colorado

Most people might rather watch an evening of Survivor reruns than go to a council meeting in their city. But not anymore. Not in Colorado since the invasion—or threat of invasion—by the oil industry into cities and towns up and down the Front Range. Colorado city council chambers now are flooded with citizens outraged by the regal indifference of the industry and their swarm of drones who are found at every level of local government, right up to the Governor himself, John Hickenlooper, who bragged to Congress not long ago that fracking fluid was safe to drink. He knew because he had drunk some to no ill effect. This caused a local wag to proclaim, “the jury’s still out until somebody does an independent study of the Gov’s brain function, ’cause there’s obviously some crazy chemistry working up there.”

Guess what? The same oil company, Mineral Resources, Inc., is right back at it. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC), the state agency with dictatorial power over people and cities on all matters oil and gas, approved two new drilling proposals within the city, one for 67 horizontal wells on a pad, and another for 37 wells. A local company, Mineral Resources has been busy for a number of years buying the city out from underneath the residents, unbeknownst to most of them. http://ecowatch.com/2013/public-outrage-against-fracking-colorado/

Watch Shale Truth Interview of Energy Expert on Fracking Industry’s Misleading Claims

To offer different perspectives on shale gas extraction, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network is presenting the Shale Truth Interview series featuring experts talking about the impact of fracking on our environment and communities. The first segment features energy expert Arthur Berman discussing the actual supply of shale gas versus industry claims. http://ecowatch.com/2013/shale-truth-interview-energy-expert-fracking-industry-misleading-claims/

New Website Challenges Industry Spin on Fracking

Today, Food & Water Europe launched a new website, NGSFacts.com, to challenge the fossil fuel industry’s spin on NGSFacts.org that shale gas can be safely extracted. NGSFacts.com will redirect visitors to the Food & Water Europe website to offer a fact-based assessment of the environmental and health impacts of large-scale hydraulic fracturing. Food & Water Europe takes issue with industry’s

87 denial of strong links between shale gas extraction and water contamination in the U.S. In addition, self- regulation and voluntary disclosure mechanisms for chemicals used in fracking fluids are insufficient to monitor a high-risk activity such as hydraulic fracturing in a densely populated continent like Europe. Food & Water Europe works in Brussels, Belgium, on a campaign to ban fracking. http://ecowatch.com/2013/website-challenges-industry-spin-fracking/

Sandra Steingraber’s Manifesto: Illinois Fracking Rules a Betrayal of Democracy and Science

Within hours of the Illinois General Assembly’s vote on its controversial bill on hydraulic fracking last Friday night, the Associated Press‘s headline rippled across nationwide newspapers: “Illinois lawmakers approve nation’s toughest fracking regulations.”

Not so fast, says Dr. Sandra Steingraber, the renowned scientist whom Rolling Stone has called the “toxic avenger.” She returned to her native Illinois last week to join a growing citizens uprising against gas drilling and sand mining operations she defines as “an accident-prone, inherently dangerous industrial process with risks that include catastrophic and irremediable damage to our health and environment.”

Once hailed by the Sierra Club as the “new Rachel Carson,” Steingraber denounced Illinois’s bill as “the result of closed-door negotiations between industry representatives and compromise-oriented environmental organizations.”

Issuing a Fracking Manifesto, she has thrown down the gauntlet on Illinois’ regulatory fallout as a cautionary tale for citizens groups, environmental organizations and frackers across the nation. http://ecowatch.com/2013/sandra-steingraber-manifesto-illinois-fracking/

Opposition to fracking is not leftist or anti-development

SIMON Lincoln Reader has become the latest proponent of fracking. In his column on BDlive, he rails against environmentalists, bunching them all as left-leaning. His generalisations are quite a stretch.

As much as Jonathan Deal, chairman of the Treasure the Karoo Action Group — whom Reader criticises in one of his columns — is a public spokesman for anti-fracking activists, he is not exactly what leftists would call left. He has no tradition in leftist politics and would say so himself, even if some the issues he takes up are of interest to the left.

The anti-fracking movement is a mix of people from across the political spectrum with different ideological leanings and values. All they have in common is their opposition to fracking, for reasons that are more than just technical facts.

Reader offers nothing more to the debate than name-calling and trying to frame environmental activism as an outcrop of anti-market and anti-development attitudes.

Broader public interest values are important in debating public policies. They should not be belittled just because one disagrees with them. That would be undemocratic.

88 Environmental values do not flow from irrational premises. Trashing nature cannot be overlooked simply because of commercial or economic interests. Consideration must be given not only to the immediate interests of society but also to the interests of future generations that will bear the burden of our present choices. http://www.bdlive.co.za/opinion/2013/07/03/opposition-to-fracking-is-not-leftist-or-anti-development

No free speech in fracking country?

Fed up with the fracking messages dominating local media, Roter and her neighbors decided to lease their own billboard space, to host warnings about the impact of fracking. Now, she says, they're being censored by the billboard company.

Roter first purchased billboard space a few years ago to warn about effect of fracking on the local water supply and environment. One ad, with the slogan "Water is Life," ran for almost two years. But last spring, Roter says the billboard company, Park Outdoor Advertising, decided to take down the ad, which included an image of three glasses of discolored well water from local counties where drilling is underway, alongside the question: "Would you drink this gasfield tap water?" http://www.citypaper.net/blogs/nakedcity/No-free-speech-in-fracking-country.html

Fracking opposition stepped up in N.E.

Opposition to the drilling technique known as fracking is growing in New England as lawmakers consider banning it in their states and environmentalists escalate protests against the controversial practice.

Petroleum industry officials say there’s little chance of fracking taking place in New England, but some environmentalists and politicians say they’re taking no chances. Vermont recently became the only state to prohibit fracking, short for hydraulic fracturing, and similar legislation has come under consideration in Massachusetts, Maine, and Connecticut.

And opponents are not stopping there. They’re also pushing legislation that would ban the disposal in their states of waste water and chemicals from fracking operations in other parts of the country, such as in Pennsylvania and North Dakota. http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/07/04/fracking-opposition-growing-new- england/UgEF3YqAHJYwwHw2LlQzKO/story.html

Fracking: A cure or a curse? Video embedded

To some it is a cure for an energy-hungry country, to others a flawed process that endangers people and the environment.

Its backers say that hydraulic fracking is the answer to the US' energy crisis and a way to prise the US away from its dependency on foreign oil.

89 But there is increasing evidence that fracking comes at an enormous cost to health, with reports of highly toxic chemicals seeping into water supplies.

The industry has spent vast sums of money lobbying the US Congress to avoid government regulation of its practices.

But now there are even new doubts emerging over the much-touted positive economic benefits fracking brings to the communities it so profoundly affects. http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestoryamericas/2012/02/20122811854720826.html

Bill Moyers Essay: The Hypocrisy of ‘Justice for All’

Bill reports on the hypocrisy of “justice for all” in a society where billions are squandered for a war born in fraud while the poor are pushed aside. Turns out true justice — not just the word we recite from the Pledge of Allegiance — is still unaffordable for those who need it most. Bill says we’ve “turned a deaf ear” to the hopeful legacy of Gideon vs. Wainwright, the 50-year-old Supreme ruling that established the constitutional right of criminal defendants to legal representation, even if they can’t pay for it. http://billmoyers.com/segment/bill-moyers-essay-the-hypocrisy-of-justice-for-all/

Hundreds of Protesters Shut Down Oil & Gas Chemical Supplier to Protest Fracking

Morganton, NC – On the edge of the western mountain range, protesters with Croatan Earth First! are currently occupying an industrial manufacturing facility owned by Momentive and located at 114 Industrial Drive. North Carolinians, who have been fighting to prevent hydraulic fracturing from coming to central North Carolina are joined in this action by people from around the country who also oppose shale gas extraction nationwide. Momentive is one of the largest worldwide distributors of “resin coated proppants,” a necessary component for fracking. Each fracturing stage requires approximately 136 tonnes of proppants. http://earthfirstnews.wordpress.com/2013/07/08/breaking-hundreds-of-protesters-shut-down-oil-gas- chemical-supplier-to-protest-fracking/

Environmental Must-Reads – July 9, 2013

West Virginia Fracking Explosion Leaves At Least 5 People Injured An explosion over the weekend at a natural gas well site in West Virginia operated by Antero Resources injured at least five people, prompting state and federal investigations, local officials and Antero said on Monday.

Fracking The Wealthy In The UK 700 million barrels of recoverable shale oil, more than a year’s supply for Britain, has been found in an area south of London known as the “stockbroker belt” due to the high number of wealthy financiers that live there. Well guess what? London’s wealthy don’t want fracking in their backyard either http://www.stuarthsmith.com/environmental-must-reads-july-9-2013/

90 White paper reveals gas industry scared of global protests

The shale gas industry-commissioned white paper, The Global Anti-Fracking Movement: What it Wants, How it Operates and What’s Next, makes for some very interesting reading.

The white paper also reveals how the industry sees the anti-fracking movement. It is an image that the movement should find flattering. The movement is recognised as a serious threat. The white paper says: “As shown by local bans in the US and Canada, national moratoriums in France and Bulgaria, and tighter regulation in Australia and the UK, the global anti-fracking movement has mounted an effective campaign against the extraction of unconventional gas through hydraulic fracturing (‘fracking’). “Meanwhile, the oil and gas industry has largely failed to appreciate social and political risks, and has repeatedly been caught off guard by the sophistication, speed and influence of anti-fracking activists.” http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/53289

The paper http://www.controlrisks.com/Oversized%20assets/shale_gas_whitepaper.pdf

Military Report: America Has 'Misguided' Fixation With Domestic Drilling

The report, released quietly this month, says climate change is a bigger national security threat than the country's dependence on foreign oil.

WASHINGTON—A new report [3] from the U.S. Center for Naval Analyses [4] and the London-based Royal United Services Institute [5], two of the NATO alliance's front-line strategy centers, recommends putting more effort into fighting global warming than securing reliable supplies of fossil fuels.

The authors call the habitual American fixation on winning energy independence through expanded North American production of oil and natural gas "misguided." They say the "only sustainable solution" to the problem of energy insecurity is not through more drilling, but through energy efficiency and renewable fuels, like biofuels to replace oil.

And in blunt language, they criticize American policymakers and legislators for refusing to accept the "robust" scientific evidence that emissions of carbon dioxide are already causing harmful global warming, and for refusing to take actions that, if taken swiftly, could ward off its worst effects.

"Political leaders, including many in the United States, refuse to accept short-term costs to address long-term dangers even though the future costs of responding to disasters after they occur will be far greater," said their report, published this month. http://insideclimatenews.org/print/26482

CNA report http://www.cna.org/sites/default/files/research/ClimateEnergyNexusOnePager.pdf

91 Josh Fox on Gasland Part 2, the Fracking-Earthquake Link & the Natural Gas Industry’s Use of PSYOPs Embedded Video

Academy Award-nominated director Josh Fox has released the sequel to his highly acclaimed documentary "Gasland," which sparked a national discussion on fracking. The new film, "Gasland Part II," exposes how the gas industry and the government’s portrayal of natural gas as a clean and safe alternative to oil is highly suspect. He also discusses how drilling companies have admitted to having several former military psychological operations, or PSYOPs, specialists on staff, applying their skills in Pennsylvania to counter opponents of drilling. http://www.democracynow.org/2013/7/12/josh_fox_on_gasland_part_2

Tax breaks to kickstart the fracking revolution: Bid to make Britain world leader in new dash for gas

George Osborne is set to unveil the most generous tax breaks in the world to kickstart the ‘fracking’ of massive reserves of underground gas.

The Chancellor will launch what the Government believes will be an energy revolution to boost the economy and put an end to sky-high bills.

Scientists say the UK is sitting on shale deposits filled with enough gas to supply the whole country for at least 40 years. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2369786/Tax-breaks-kickstart-fracking-revolution-Bid-make- Britain-world-leader-new-dash-gas.html

Former Mobil VP Warns of Fracking and Climate Change

Few people can explain gas and oil drilling with as much authority as Louis W. Allstadt. As an executive vice president of Mobil Oil who ran the company's exploration and production operations in the western hemisphere before he retired in 2000.

We began by discussing fracking as part of what oil-scholar Michael Klare calls "the race for what's left. "

Louis Allstadt: The fracking that's going on right now is the real wake-up call on just what extreme lengths are required to pull oil or gas out of the ground now that most of the conventional reservoirs have been exploited - at least those that are easy to access.

EC: That's shocking! I know a lot has been discovered about the collusion between New York's DEC and the industry. Is this one big example?

LA: Yes, it is. To ignore the only direct evidence of fractures, or to remove it from public information, indicates that the industry was trying to hide something. The other point is that in terms of a turning point (in my thinking), here is evidence that the fractures go further and in patterns that were not expected. It showed that fractures could allow methane to reach drinking water aquifers or the atmosphere. http://truth-out.org/news/item/17605-former-mobil-vp-warns-of-fracking-and-climate-change

92 Sustainability Perspectives, Winning the Social License to Operate Resource Extraction with Free, Prior, and Informed Community Consent

In recent years, resource extraction companies have seen development projects evaporate as communities have found the capacity and the will to oppose and shut down operations.

Mining and energy companies have lost billions of invested dollars, had their reputations dragged through the mud, and watched in horror as share prices tumbled.

To secure project access and ensure that invested assets eventually see a return, leading companies recognize the need for community consultation and the delivery of tangible benefits to impacted communities. http://www.neiinvestments.com/neifiles/PDFs/5.4%20Research/FPIC.pdf

Social License to Operate: How to Get It, and How to Keep It http://nbr.org/downloads/pdfs/ETA/PES_2013_summitpaper_Yates_Horvath.pdf

USA Sues Exxon Fracker in Pennsylvania

In its recent complaint, the United States claims a state inspector observed and documented pollutants as they were released from XTO tanks and valves used in hydraulic fracturing, to flow through the aquifer into public water.

XTO Energy is based in Fort Worth, Texas.

In its lawsuit, the United States says a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit may be issued to authorize pollutant discharge into federal waters but only on the condition that all discharges meet applicable Clean Water Act requirements, which is not the case for the Lycoming County well.

Liquid injected into the wells during fracking generates a byproduct known as flowback fluid, and wastewater byproduct from the production of natural gas liquid is called produced fluid.

According to the complaint, "flowback fluid and produced fluid contain brine, proppant, hydraulic fracturing chemicals, dissolved solids, heavy metals and radionuclides." http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/07/22/59559.htm

Fire Breaks Out on Evacuated Gulf Gas Well

An out-of-control natural gas well off the Louisiana coast has caught fire, hours after a blowout that prompted the evacuation of 44 workers.

Meanwhile, officials stressed that Tuesday's blowout wouldn't be close to as damaging as the 2010 BP oil spill, in which an oil rig, the Deepwater Horizon, exploded off the Louisiana coast, killing 11 workers and eventually spewing millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/47-rescued-gulf-rig-natural-gas-leaking-19749054

93 Hercules Jack-Up Rig Catches Fire Following Loss of Well Control - Photos

A gCaptain source confirms that the well platform and the derrick on the jack-up rig have been destroyed due to the fire. The jack-up rig itself however is still standing. “The fire from the well is about as tall as the derrick would be if it were still standing,” our source noted.

In addition, a sheen on the ocean surface was reported a few miles to the north of the Hercules rig fire. It’s unclear however, whether or not the sheen and the blowout are related.

In a statement by BSEE, Walter Oil & Gas has begun preparations to drill a relief well to quell the blaze. No photos or video have yet been made public by BSEE. http://gcaptain.com/hercules-jackup-rig-catches-fire-loss-control/

Anti-fracking protesters halt Sussex shale gas operation

Anti-fracking protesters have halted a controversial shale gas operation in the home counties, chaining arms to prevent the arrival of essential drill parts.

The energy giant Cuadrilla was stopped early on Thursday morning from bringing equipment on to the rural site near the village of Balcombe.

A group of around a dozen protesters succeeded in blocking the lorry. They wrapped yellow and black crime scene tape around the equipment and hung on it a banner that read "no more dirty energy".

The action comes a week after the chancellor, George Osborne, announced major tax breaks for companies extracting shale gas. The rate will be lowered to 30% on profits from the controversial operations compared with more than 60% on North Sea oil. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jul/25/anti-fracking-protesters-sussex-shale?CMP=twt_gu

With Fukushima nuclear plant still leaking, Japan clean-up bill soars to $50bn

Japanese researchers say the cost of cleaning up from the Fukushima nuclear disaster could top $50bn (£32.6bn), more than four times the amount allocated by the government.

The figure does not include compensation for those affected by the explosion and the subsequent fallout, or the multibillion-dollar price tag for decommissioning the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which the government and regulators say will take at least 40 years to complete. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/with-fukushima-nuclear-plant-still-leaking-japan-cleanup- bill-soars-to-50bn-8730832.html

This Is Your Town on Fracking - Williston North Dakota

Energy independence sounds great—until you spend the night in a North Dakota Amtrak station and experience the boom’s dark side.

94 Not long ago I found myself stranded in Williston, North Dakota. You might have heard of it. Despite being the eighth-largest city in the 48th most-populous state, Williston has won some infamy in recent years. It's at the center of an oil boom that’s likely to make the United States a net exporter of fossil fuels in just a few short years, something that was unthinkable as recently as half a decade ago. North Dakota now produces more oil than any state except Texas, thanks to technical advances that let drillers hydraulically fracture (or frack) the Bakken shale formation two miles beneath the region’s surface.

The boom has introduced tens of thousands of newcomers to the area around Williston, jammed the dirt and gravel roads with heavy trucks, littered those byways with windshield-shattering debris, and clouded the air with dust. (Which also chokes livestock, smothers crops, and complicates dinner preparation. “I have to wash my dishes after taking them from the cupboard, they’re so coated in dust,” a local rancher told me.) http://www.onearth.org/articles/2013/07/fracking-boom-brings-pollution-health-problems-drunken- driving-and-other-problems-t

Trafficking of Native women begins in fracking towns after influx of oil workers - Williston

The buying and selling of Native American young people has increased in towns such as Williston, North Dakota. These sex slaves and others of different heritages began being pimped immediately following the colonization of “man camps” in Williston. These collections of trailers have cropped up as the demand for workers grows well beyond what towns are capable of handling.

Such man camps have been acknowledged by mass media sites such as Bloomberg, though the specific mention of their impact on violent crime is typically limited to local news sources such as the one cited above.

“When you have a big oil boom like this, it brings big city problems with it,” former Williston fixture Mike Bartel said to the the Williston Herald last year. Citing statistics linked to the trend and expressing a hope to work together with oil companies, he said the following:

There’s a need to protect our own kids in our schools… There’s just a vulnerability in 15-year-old girls when there’s so much money flowing into an area, and so many guys running around promising the world http://fatalsincerity.com/2013/04/09/trafficking-of-native-women-begins-in-fracking-towns-after-influx-of- oil-workers/

Natural Gas Drilling in the Marcellus Shale Uncovered: Community, Environment, and Law

This website, created by the 2010 Senior Capstone Seminar of the Environmental Studies department of Swarthmore College, seeks to become a resource for many of the issues surrounding drilling of the Marcellus Shale. The lack of information on these recent developments has prevented a full analysis of the situation. We seek to consolidate various aspects of the drilling process to so that they may be accessible to the community. http://www.swarthmore.edu/academics/environmental-studies-capstone.xml

95 Fracking Isn't a Fairytale, It's a Nightmare

Belief in "fairydust" - a magical solution to our energy needs - has been far too prevalent among far too many of our political leaders in recent months.

But today, as anti-fracking activists again attempted to block the delivery of machinery used to drill for shale oil at a site in Balcombe, East Sussex, and the facts about the natural costs, and financial costs, of fracking become clear, the "fairydust" is being shown to be thoroughly unmagical - in fact potentially disastrous, for our local and global environment, for our energy bills, and for our entire economic future.

First, consider the local environment. A study by Bloomberg found that to get the equivalent of 10 years' worth of North Sea gas, based on average US well yields, would require between 10,000 and 20,000 wells. They wouldn't be evenly spread across Britain - so some areas would find themselves packed with wells - packed into an already crowded landscape. (This map gives an idea of the areas most likely to be affected.) A still fairly green and pleasant land would become an industrial site, with huge impacts on tourism and farming, not to mentions people's lives.

Each one of those wells would require at least a million gallons of water to operate (UK Water, representing the nation's water suppliers has expressed grave concerns both about where this water will come from and the risk of contamination of drinking water supplies). The National Farmers Union has also expressed concern about the industry causing extra "water stress". And it would require thousands of lorry movements - lorry movements down narrow country lanes, through villages and towns. http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/natalie-bennett/fracking-nightmare_b_3658736.html?just_reloaded=1

MPs protest over Arctic oil drilling

A group of MPs has labelled the UK "complacent" over oil and gas drilling in the Arctic, calling for an environmental sanctuary instead. http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/28/arctic-drilling#./arctic-drilling

Some say industry arrogance fueled fracking anger

But some experts say arrogance, a lack of transparency and poor communication on the part of the drilling industry have helped fuel public anger over the process of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. “It’s a big issue for the industry. I have called for greater transparency. That is the only way to have an honest conversation with the public,” said John Hofmeister, a former Shell Oil Co. president and author of “Why We Hate Oil Companies.”

As an example, Hofmeister said, some industry leaders have suggested that the fracking boom has never caused water pollution. But while the vast majority of wells don’t cause problems, “everybody knows that some wells go bad,” Hofmeister said. http://trinitytoday.ca/2013/07/some-say-industry-arrogance-fueled-fracking-anger/ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/28/issues-with-fracking_n_3668512.html? ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

96 Ideological activists 'risk gas future'

TWO of Australia's business leaders have lashed anti-gas activists and their influence on government policy as the industry launches a multi-million-dollar campaign against "ideological opposition" to gas developments it warns could cost 150,000 jobs and $40 billion in exports.

Origin Energy managing director Grant King told The Australian last night that activism against the gas industry had "materially influenced public policy and resulted in more onerous and duplicative legislation which adds overall to unnecessary costs across the industry". http://m.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/ideological-activists-risk-gas-future/story-fn59niix- 1226687202684

Taxpayers' bill of £1million to police West Sussex anti-fracking protests

More than 100 riot officers arrived in a fleet of vans to the site near the village of Balcombe, in West Sussex, to make sure lorries carrying drilling equipment could get through up to 80 protesters.

A police helicopter also circled overhead and dog handlers patrolled the dense woodland around the site. http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/417979/Taxpayers-bill-of-1million-to-police-West-Sussex-anti- fracking-protests

Balcombe protests lead to threat of countrywide rebellion against fracking

The ongoing protests in Balcombe have sparked a countrywide rebellion against fracking as villages up and down the country vow they will also blockade any attempts to drill.

The “anti-fracking carnival”’ in the sleepy village of Balcombe, West Sussex, has now led to more than 20 arrests.

On Monday Marina Pepper, a former Page 3 Girl and veteran protester, was escorted off the site by police.

Now it is has emerged that the protest could be the first of many as energy companies plan to drill exploratory wells across Britain. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/10209693/Balcombe-protests-lead-to-threat-of- countrywide-rebellion-against-fracking.html

Mark Ruffalo on the Gulf Gas-Well Blowout and Why We Need to Kick Fossil Fuels to the Curb

The spinmeisters for the oil and gas industry sure earned their money this week. A natural-gas drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico has a catastrophic blowout, erupts into uncontrolled flames for days, and most of the media buys the industry's line that we should simply be glad that this disaster wasn't as serious as that other accident in the Gulf a couple of years ago. That would be the Deepwater Horizon blowout and spill, which killed 11 workers and dumped millions of barrels of crude oil into the Gulf.

97 Seriously, is this the new bar the fossil-fuel industry has set for itself—not to surpass the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history?

The scary thing is that the Deepwater Horizon disaster probably will be surpassed, because coal, oil, and gas producers have no problem embracing risk. After all, they're not the ones who stand to lose when things inevitably go south. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/07/29/mark-ruffalo-on-the-gulf-gas-well-blowout-and-why- we-need-to-kick-big-oil-to-the-curb.html

Sierra Club Takes on Fracking and LNG Exports

Fracking has become the f-word of our time. Massive drills force their way into the core of our planet like seething tentacles looking to collect natural gas by any means possible, ripping through shale rock formations and pumping millions of gallons of clean water to depths it can never be recovered from. The worst part is, much of the natural gas fracked on American soil isn't meant to power our homes. Proposals are gaining traction to export the fuel to other countries not willing or unable to access their own reserves, but are willing to pay top dollar for natural gas, generating huge profits for oil and gas companies. Welcome to the world of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. http://sierraclub.typepad.com/compass/2013/07/fracking-lng-exports.html

The Silent Partner Behind the Shale Energy Boom – Taxpayers

The U.S. federal government spent billions of dollars over three decades to make today’s shale gas revolution a reality. Our investigations and interviews at the Breakthrough Institute made this history abundantly clear, and the story has been underscored by independent reports by the American Energy Innovation Council, Resources for the Future, the New York Times, and the Associated Press. http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/31/the-silent-partner-behind-the-shale-energy-boom- taxpayers/?emc=edit_tnt_20130731&tntemail0=y&_r=1

Obama admin may have interfered with fracking studies

The American Traditional Institute (ATI) and the Free Market Environmental Law Clinic (FMELC) filed two Freedom of Information Act requests after receiving tips from two separate career EPA employees who charged that politics drove the EPA’s handling of a fracking study in Pennsylvania.

One source was close to a field team working near Dimock, Pennsylvania, and alleged that the administration got involved in the fracking studies as President Barack Obama started to tout natural gas drilling as an economic bright spot during the 2012 campaign.

“One of the EPA employee’s information, while not presenting evidence of any problem with fracking, is however quite striking evidence of political interference with career employees,” Horner added. “The other’s information proves that the issue drew uniquely high-level political attention.” http://dailycaller.com/2013/07/29/did-the-obama-admin-interfere-in-fracking-studies/

98 Water

Global threat to food supply as water wells dry up, warns top environment expert

Lester Brown says grain harvests are already shrinking as US, India and China come close to 'peak water'

Wells are drying up and underwater tables falling so fast in the Middle East and parts of India, China and the US that food supplies are seriously threatened, one of the world's leading resource analysts has warned. In a major new essay Lester Brown, head of the Earth Policy Institute in Washington, claims that 18 countries, together containing half the world's people, are now overpumping their underground water tables to the point – known as "peak water" – where they are not replenishing and where harvests are getting smaller each year. http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2013/jul/06/food-supply-threat-water-wells-dry-up

The Growing Evidence of the Threat of Fracking to the Nation’s Groundwater

Some of the most significant environmental concerns associated with fracking are related to impacts on water. In 2012, the Pacific Institute released a major study on these water-related risks. These risks include growing competition for limited water resources; the production of large volumes of contaminated wastewater that comes up with the oil or gas and must be treated, reinjected, or otherwise safely stored; truck traffic and its impacts on the water quality of streams; spills and leaks; and the risks of groundwater contamination from the drilling and fracking process or from surface seepage of improperly handled wastewater. Ceres recently released a map showing that many fracking operations are occurring in regions of the US where water stress is already a real problem. http://scienceblogs.com/significantfigures/index.php/2013/06/27/the-growing-evidence-of-the-threat-of- fracking-to-the-nations-groundwater/ http://www.pacinst.org/publication/hydraulic-fracturing-and-water-resources-separating-the-frack-from- the-fiction/

Peak Water: What Happens When the Wells Go Dry?

Peak oil has generated headlines in recent years, but the real threat to our future is peak water. There are substitutes for oil, but not for water. We can produce food without oil, but not without water. During the last half of the twentieth century, the world’s irrigated area expanded from close to 250 million acres (100 million hectares) in 1950 to roughly 700 million in 2000. This near tripling of world irrigation within 50 years was historically unique. But since then the growth in irrigation has come to a near standstill, expanding only 10 percent between 2000 and 2010.

Today some 18 countries, containing half the world’s people, are overpumping their aquifers. Among these are the big three grain producers—China, India and the U.S.—and several other populous countries, including Iran, Pakistan and Mexico. http://ecowatch.com/2013/peak-water-what-happens-when-wells-go-dry/

99 Rural groundwater 'vulnerable,' study finds

A new groundwater study shows a huge section of rural New Brunswick is “vulnerable” to contamination.

But the Aquifer Vulnerability Assessment, released Tuesday by the Royal District Planning Commission, does not address the possible impact of major industry, such as shale gas, on well water.

The study, being hailed as the first of its kind in the province, is meant only as an educational tool, according to the commission.

It's designed to help homeowners, farmers and business owners understand why they should monitor their own activities, such as pesticide use or flushing septic tanks. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2012/05/22/nb-aquifer-vulnerability-study.html

The study http://www.rsc8.ca/node/49

Dianne Feinstein: California needs more water storage to end conflicts, bolster its economy

The message is clear: We must do more to prepare for increasingly harmful dry years by capturing more water in wet years. In short, California needs a lot more water storage – and we need it now.

Farmers, of course, are acutely aware of the situation. Water allocations for some of the largest South- of-Delta Central Valley Project irrigation districts stand at just 20 percent of their contract amount. Declining reservoir levels suggest that next year will be even worse. http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/14/5495782/california-needs-more-water-storage.html

Why California Is Running Dry

Schwarzenegger says his state is in crisis. "We've been in crisis for quite some time because we're now 38 million people and not anymore 18 million people like we were in the late 60s. So it developed into a battle between environmentalists and farmers and between the south and the north and between rural and urban. And everyone has been fighting for the last four decades about water."

He took us to the San Luis Reservoir in California's farm country. "Everything that you see here was all full of water," he told Stahl.

He showed us how desperate things are: the drought that has affected the western part of the country has left its mark there - water levels are only half what they should be. It's like a bathtub ring, showing the previous water level. "It's a disastrous situation and we got to do something about that very quickly," he told Stahl. The reservoir is a key part of the water system that has kept southern California - and one of the most productive agricultural basins in the world - green and arable, until now. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-6014897.html

100 ECOSYSTEM OVERVIEW OF THE RICHIBUCTO WATERSHED IN NEW BRUNSWICK

Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Oceans and Science Branch, Gulf Region P.O. Box 5030, Moncton NB, E1C 9B6 http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Library/332729.pdf

World on course to run out of water - Embedded video

Water is essential for life. No living being on planet Earth can survive without it. According to United Nation’s Secretary General Ban Ki-moon: the world is on a crash course to run out of freshwater.

Ban Ki-moon speaking on the UN’s International Day of Biological Diversity, he said “world is on course to run out of freshwater unless greater efforts are made to improve water security.” “We live in an increasingly water insecure world where demand often outstrips supply and where water quality often fails to meet minimum standards. Under current trends, future demands for water will not be met. Although seemingly abundant, only a tiny amount of the water on our planet is easily available as freshwater.

Where once the focus was on trade-offs between water use and biodiversity, today we are coming to understand how biodiversity and water security are mutually reinforcing.” http://myscienceacademy.org/2013/06/01/world-on-course-to-run-out-of-water/

The Big Picture Where It All Begins North America From Space

The Abundance of Fresh Water in Canada Is A Business Problem

The body of water featured here is Williston Lake, British Columbia, the largest lake, a man made lake, in British Columbia. This lake re-fills itself from falling snow and rain every 2 years. By contrast, Lake Superior, one of the Great Lakes, re-charges itself every 180 years and Lake Okanagan, in the dry region of south central British Columbia, has a re-charge period of 80 years. Williston Lake sits at an elevation of 2200 feet above sea level (671 m). A properly constructed aqueduct would permit water to flow down hill to California without the aid of expensive energy consuming pumping stations.Ten feet of water, taken from the surface, every year, would provide approximately 4 million acre feet, annually, with minimal environmental impact in Canada. This is some of the purest, cleanest water in the world. If a fraction of the outflow of Williston Lake, 4 million acre feet, were diverted and sold in southern California for $1,000 per acre foot the annual revenue would be $4 billion. http://www.waterwarcrimes.com/the-big-picture---grand-plan-to-steal-canadas-water-resource-wealth--- the-traitors-within.html

Where Is All Of The Water Going? A Look At Which Energy Resources Are Gulping Down Our Water

The water intensity of these energy resources brings us face-to-face with the realities of energy and water overconsumption. High electricity consumption means more water withdrawals, placing extra strain on the water system. At the same time, emissions from power plants contribute to climate

101 change, which increases the amount of water required to produce energy and intensifies severe drought.

It’s important to realize that our energy choices have a part to play in these dire situations. Let’s look at a breakdown of how energy resources stack up in terms of water consumption and discuss their carbon footprints: http://www.forbes.com/sites/edfenergyexchange/2013/07/25/where-is-all-of-the-water-going-a-look-at- which-energy-resources-are-gulping-down-our-water/

Unlimited Arsenic and Other Poisons Dumped Daily Into U.S. Waters

Today a coalition of environmental organizations and clean water groups released an eye popping new report highlighting the public health threats of toxic water pollution from coal-fired power plants. Environmental experts from Waterkeeper Alliance, Sierra Club, Environmental Integrity Project, Earthjustice and Clean Water Action reviewed technical data from 386 coal-fired power plants across the country and found that the Clean Water Act has been almost universally ignored by power companies and permitting agencies. http://ecowatch.com/2013/breaking-unlimited-arsenic-and-other-poisons-dumped-daily-into-u-s-waters/

The report http://ecowatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/ClosingTheFloodgates-Final.pdf

Water quantity FAQ Frequently Asked Questions

How much water is there on earth? http://www.lenntech.com/water-quantity-faq.htm

Alward government’s flip-flop on provincial wetlands triggers outrage across Richibucto River Basin

In mid-July, Tina Beers and her husband John went fishing near Harcourt, and caught a shale gas drill rig stuck in environmentally sensitive wetlands that the provincial government had been promising to protect only 60 days earlier. Beers is the chairperson of the Harcourt Local Services District (LSD), on which John also serves.

Alarmed by the obvious damage to the wetlands, the Beers called the Conservation Council of New Brunswick (CCNB). That’s when the full extent of the government’s flip-flop on the wetlands was revealed. CCNB Freshwater Program Director, Stephanie Merrill, was informed by the Department of Environment and Local Government that SWN Resources Canada had been given a permit to work in wetlands and watercourse buffers in eight counties (Albert, Kent, Kings, Northumberland, Queens, Sunbury, Westmorland and York). http://nbmediacoop.org/2013/07/31/alward-governments-flip-flop-on-provincial-wetlands-triggers- outrage-across-richibucto-river-basin/

102 Fracking and Earthquakes

Study raises new concern about earthquakes and fracking fluids

Powerful earthquakes thousands of miles (km) away can trigger swarms of minor quakes near wastewater-injection wells like those used in oil and gas recovery, scientists reported on Thursday, sometimes followed months later by quakes big enough to destroy buildings.

The discovery, published in the journal Science by one of the world's leading seismology labs, threatens to make hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," which involves injecting fluid deep underground, even more controversial. Now seismologists at Columbia University say they have identified three quakes - in Oklahoma, Colorado and Texas - that were triggered at injection-well sites by major earthquakes a long distance away.

"The fluids (in wastewater injection wells) are driving the faults to their tipping point," said Nicholas van der Elst of Columbia's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, New York, who led the study. It was funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Geological Survey. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/07/11/us-science-fracking-earthquakes-idUKBRE96A0TZ20130711

Distant Earthquakes Trigger Tremors at U.S. Waste-Injection Sites, Says Study http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130711142401.htm

Injection-Induced Earthquakes

Human-induced earthquakes have become an important topic of political and scientific discussion, owing to the concern that these events may be responsible for widespread damage and an overall increase in seismicity. It has long been known that impoundment of reservoirs, surface and underground mining, withdrawal of fluids and gas from the subsurface, and injection of fluids into underground formations are capable of inducing earthquakes. In particular, earthquakes caused by injection have become a focal point, as new drilling and well-completion technologies enable the extraction of oil and gas from previously unproductive formations. http://www.sciencemag.org/content/341/6142/1225942

Geological and site specific factors influencing earthquake hazard assessment for New Brunswick

Seismic hazard studies by Earthquakes Canada place most of New Brunswick in the moderate part of the hazard range. Limitations are identified with the documented earthquake database suggesting that revisions are necessary for location and magnitude of some of the known historical earthquakes. In addition, the disturbance from a given event magnitude can be modified by local geological conditions and site specific factors. This is particularly true for New Brunswick, where many of the communities were settled along river valleys and coastal areas, which are under-lain by thick deposits of glacial and alluvial sediments that can amplify ground motion. http://journals.hil.unb.ca/index.php/ag/article/view/atlgeol.2011.004/atlgeol.2011.004html

103 Special Investigation: Fracking in the Ocean Off the California Coast

A Truthout investigation has confirmed that federal regulators approved at least two hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," operations on oil rigs in the Santa Barbara Channel off the coast of California since 2009 without an updated environmental review that critics say may be required by federal law.

This year, federal regulators approved an application by the Ventura-based company DCOR LLC to use fracking technology known as "frack pack" in a sandstone well 1,500 feet from a seismic fault in the outer continental shelf off the California coast, according to the documents released by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), the federal agency that permits offshore drilling.

Because of the well's proximity to seismic faults, the regulators conducted a "geohazard" review before green-lighting the project. The area is seismically active, and the most recent earthquake felt near Santa Barbara was a 4.8 magnitude tremble May 29 off the coast just north of the city. http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/17765-special-investigation-fracking-in-the-ocean-off-the-california- coast#.UfGk3t7cK5Q.facebook

104 Oil and Pipelines

Health Problems Arise in Mayflower

Mayflower residents held a town hall meeting Saturday to discuss future options for restoring their ecosystem and safety following the Exxon pipeline oil spill in March.

Around thirty residents were in attendance but state government officials and Exxon weren't represented. More than eighty residents living in Mayflower along Lake Conway have filed a class action lawsuit against the oil company following the ruptured pipeline and subsequent cleanup efforts.

A main focus of the town hall meeting was health concerns, as many in attendance say they've already developed headaches and dizziness from exposure to pipeline chemicals. "Our lives are at stake due to cancers and neurological disorders due to inhaling and being around these chemicals.", says Genieve Long, a 28-year Mayflower resident. http://www.thv11.com/news/article/270160/2/Health-Problems-Arise-in-Mayflower

Two Major Lawsuits Filed Against ExxonMobil for Arkansas Tar Sands Spill

Two major lawsuits were recently filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas against ExxonMobil, the "private empire" behind the March 2013 Pegasus tar sands pipeline spill of over 1.1 million gallons of diluted bitumen ("dilbit") into the neighborhoods and waterways of Mayflower, AR, located in Faulkner County.

Collectively, both lawsuits lay out the damning facts of the second biggest tar sands pipeline spill in U.S. history, caused by a 22-foot gash in the pipeline, second only to Enbridge's "dilbit disaster" in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The cases also call for the spill's victims - both people, government bodies and the ecosystem - to receive reparations. http://www.desmogblog.com/2013/07/01/two-major-lawsuits-filed-against-exxonmobil-arkansas-tar- sands-spill

Huge Alberta Pipeline Spill Raises Safety Questions As Keystone Decision Looms

A massive toxic waste spill from an oil and gas operation in northern Alberta is being called one of the largest recent environmental disasters in North America. First reported on June 1, the Texas-based Apache Corp. didn’t reveal the size of the spill until June 12, which is said to cover more than 1,000 acres.

Members of the Dene Tha First Nation tribe are outraged that it took several days before they were informed that 9.5 million liters of salt and heavy-metal-laced wastewater had leaked onto wetlands they use for hunting and trapping.

“Every plant and tree died” in the area touched by the spill, said James Ahnassay, chief of the Dene Tha. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/06/18/2167151/every-plant-and-tree-died-huge-alberta-pipeline- spill-raises-safety-questions-as-keystone-decision-looms/

105 Alberta's Underground Tar Sands 'Oil Blowout' Industry and Government Don't Want You to Know About

On June 27, an oil spill occurred at Canadian Natural Resources Limited's (CNRL) Primrose operations 75km east of Lac la Biche. The spill happened on the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range (CLAWR), located in a region The Royal Canadian Airforce calls "the inhospitable wilds of northern Alberta and Saskatchewan." This 'inhospitable' region happens to be in her community's traditional hunting territory where her family traditionally hunted and trapped and where her elders are buried.

According to ESG Solutions, a microseismic monitoring company that monitors oil and gas development, the CSS process is: "environmentally sensitive and many risks exist ... Well casings are subject to severe tensile stresses due to the high temperature, high pressure nature of the CSS process. These stresses have the potential to result in mechanical failures such as cement cracks or casing shear leading to well downtime, damaging spills or hazardous blowouts. Shear stresses also develop during the dilation of the reservoir during the steam injection, potentially causing the incursion of fluids into the overlying shales and aquifers above the caprock and causing environmental contamination and costly clean up and regulatory penalties." http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/emma-pullman/albertas-underground-tar-sands-oil- blowout_b_3543481.html http://desmog.ca/2013/07/05/tar-sands-css-blowout-whole-new-kind-oil-mess? fb_action_ids=712719269038&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_ma p=%7B%22712719269038%22%3A152791318246055%7D&action_type_map=%7B %22712719269038%22%3A%22og.likes%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D

Quebec town rocked by explosions, fire after derailment

Train derailment in Lac-Mégantic forces 1,000 from homes as several reported missing

A train carrying crude oil derailed overnight in the heart of Lac-Mégantic in Quebec's Eastern Townships, sparking a major fire that led to the evacuation of 1,000 people from their homes.

Witnesses reported between four and six explosions overnight in the town of about 6,000 people. The derailment happened at about 1 a.m. ET, about 250 kilometres east of Montreal.

It is not yet known if there are any casualties, but several people have been reported missing and are feared dead. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2013/07/06/quebec-train-derailment-fire.html?cmp=fbtl http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/07/06/lac-megantic-explosions-fire_n_3553810.html http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2013/07/06/quebec-train-derailment-fire.html

See the following for owners and operators. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal,_Maine_and_Atlantic_Railway

106 UPDATE: Fort Chipewyan member reports oil spill

Fort Chipewyan spokesperson, Eriel Deranger says the spill was discovered last night by a member of community who was boating on the Athabasca River.

"It's near a place called Point Brule, near the reserve of Poplar Point, about 150 kilometres north of Fort McMurray," says Deranger. "The spill is reported to be about five kilometres in length and the entire width of the Athabasca River."

The Alberta Energy Regulator confirms that crews were called this morning and are working at the site. But neither the AER or the Athabasca Chipewyan know about the volume or source of the spill, or whether it is ongoing. http://fortmc.ca/fort-mcmurray-news/update-fort-chipewyan-member-reports-oil-spill-t9413.html

RPT-Canada's energy sector taps bitumen, sticky rival to oil sands

Pilot projects in an as-yet undeveloped oilfield could remake Canada's energy map, if producers can successfully wrest a sludgy, tarry substance called bitumen from porous rock in remote northern Alberta.

The bitumen in the caverns and cracks of the dolomite and limestone rock is a vast resource, estimated by Alberta regulators to hold close to 500 billion barrels of oil, or more than the combined recoverable oil reserves of Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, the world's top two oil states.

The bitumen, an asphalt-like form of heavy oil, doesn't count in international tallies of Canadian energy reserves because nobody has yet succeeded in extracting it on a large scale, despite small-scale attempts in the 1980s. So Canada still ranks third in the world by oil reserves. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/08/canada-oil-carbonates-idUSL2N0EV0HA20130708

Oil-sands expansion conditionally approved despite ‘significant’ effects on wildlife

Federal and Alberta regulators have conditionally approved Royal Dutch Shell’s multibillion-dollar Jackpine oil-sands mine expansion despite their findings that it would have a number of adverse environmental impacts.

A joint review panel, appointed by the federal Environment Minister and the provincial energy regulator, ruled that the project’s effects on wildlife and vegetation will be significant, but that it is nonetheless in the public interest.

Contains embedded videos. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/oil-sands-expansion-conditionally-approved-despite- significant-effects-on-wildlife/article13104665/

107 Shell Canada's oilsands expansion approved amid environmental concerns

CALGARY -- Alberta's energy regulator has recommended approval of Shell Canada's plan to expand oilsands production even though it acknowledges the environmental impacts will likely be so severe and "irreversible" that new protected areas should be created to compensate for the damage.

A 413-page report contains an extensive list of recommendations and conditions for both governments and Shell (NYSE:RDS) and contains some of the most strongly worded language yet on the industry's growing environmental toll. http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/shell-canada-s-oilsands-expansion-approved-amid-environmental- concerns-1.1361437

Paul Beckwith ~ Climate change fighting town savaged by runaway oil train

Early in the morning on Saturday July 6th, 2013 five locomotives and 73 tank cars carrying crude oil were parked about 12.5 km uphill (track distance) from the small idyllic Quebec town of Lac-Magantic about 210 km east of Montreal. Apparently, the sole train engineer had finished his shift and left the train (locomotives running) a few hours earlier to get some sleep in the town; the train sat unmanned awaiting the arrival of the next engineer. Something went horribly wrong; the tank cars uncoupled from the locomotives and started rolling downhill and gathering speed as they headed towards the small town. http://www.thecanadiandaily.ca/2013/07/09/climate-change-fighting-town-savaged-by-runaway-oil-train/

Quebec oil-train tragedy triggered oil spill that threatens water supplies

The deadly oil-train explosion in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, on Saturday also sparked an environmental disaster. An oil sheen has stretched more than 60 miles down a river that’s used as a source of drinking water.

Meanwhile, water and environment officials are facing up to a crisis of their own. An estimated 26,000 gallons of oil that spilled from the rail cars flowed into the Chaudière River. Residents downstream are being asked to conserve water as municipalities switch to backup sources. From CBC News:

Quebec Environment Minister Yves-François Blanchet told CBC’s Quebec AM that he flew over the Chaudière River Sunday to see the extent of the damage caused by the oil spilled from the derailed tankers.

“What we have is a small, very fine, very thin layer of oil which, however, covers almost entirely the river for something like 100 kilometres from Lac-Mégantic to St-Georges-de-Beauce,” he said. http://grist.org/news/quebec-oil-train-tragedy-triggered-oil-spill-that-threatens-water-supplies/

Lessons to be learned from the Lac-Mégantic tragedy

On July 6, the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, was shattered by one of Canada's worst industrial and rail disasters, when a train carrying crude oil derailed and cars exploded, killing at least 15 people, with

108 close to 40 others not yet accounted for, and spilling oil into the Chaudière River. Our thoughts at the David Suzuki Foundation are with the people of Lac-Mégantic as they grapple with this terrible tragedy. We are just starting to come to terms with the implications of the devastation for the town and for the wider political discussion now taking place.

Because the train was carrying crude oil, the incident has been woven into highly charged debate on fossil fuels, exports and infrastructure. An immediate priority will be to figure out how the system failed and why trains with such dangerous payloads are moving through towns and cities. We also need to determine what role federal, provincial and municipal governments play in prioritizing safety. Had unsafe practices been allowed to persist under inadequate regulatory oversight? Should rail cars carrying dangerous materials be built to better standards? People in communities across Canada have the right to feel assured that regulatory agencies are acting in their best interests and are working to improve oversight, planning and practices to minimize risk.

As for the broader context, many people have argued this disaster shows the need for pipeline expansion. It's true that rail shipment of oil has increased dramatically in Canada, from 500 carloads in 2009 to 14,000 this year, according to Railway Association of Canada. But this is the wrong starting point for discussion. This disaster shows that transporting oil is dangerous by any means. http://www.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/panther-lounge/2013/07/lessons-to-be-learned-from-the-lac-megantic- tragedy/

Look what the gas and oil industry did to the Gulf of Mexico — again

Sheens of oil atop the Gulf of Mexico have become a depressingly familiar sight — the result of reckless drilling by the oil and gas industry. Here is a photograph shot Wednesday of the latest such debacle. An old natural gas well off Louisiana’s coastline was being sealed shut Monday when it began leaking, 144 feet beneath the water’s surface. This photo is one of a series taken during a flight over the site by On Wings of Care, an environmental nonprofit. http://grist.org/news/look-what-the-gas-and-oil-industry-did-to-the-gulf-of-mexico-again/? utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=update&utm_campaign=socialflow

CBC Information Morning 111 Tankers - an unacceptable risk http://www.cbc.ca/informationmorningfredericton/2013/07/11/111-tankers---an-unacceptable-risk-1/

CBC Information Morning Rail rules http://www.cbc.ca/informationmorningfredericton/2013/07/11/rail-rules/

Residents say no to proposed pipeline to run through Ottawa

OTTAWA — Questions about safety, environmental impact and how politicians will respond were raised Monday night by residents who gathered in downtown Ottawa to discuss TransCanada Corp.’s proposed east coast pipeline.

109 “It’s not a question of will this pipeline spill, but instead it’s a question of when and where,” said Ben Powless, who organized the event for Ecology Ottawa at the Ottawa Public Library. http://www.ottawacitizen.com/technology/Residents+proposed+pipeline+through+Ottawa/8663486/stor y.html

Exxon Secrecy Over Ruptured Pipeline May Mask National Danger

"As pipelines exceed their design lives, they need more maintenance and a proper asset management strategy to prevent or minimize these ruptures."

That leaves the public and regulators with two critical questions: Did Exxon manage and test its broken Pegasus pipeline according to established guidelines? And, if it did, is the Arkansas accident a warning that other pipelines might be at risk?

If so, the repercussions would be nationwide, since many of the nation's liquid fuel and natural gas pipelines are of similar vintage and were built using the same inferior construction techniques. The gas line that ruptured in San Bruno, Calif. in September 2010, killing eight people and destroying 38 homes, included segments made with the same process as the Pegasus pipe. Investigators foundthat the pipeline's owner, Pacific Gas & Electric, had neglected to properly inspect and repair the line and that regulators issued testing exemptions and placed "blind trust" in the company's assurances.

Recent maintenance and testing records for the Pegasus, as well as the metal analysis report that blamed the accident primarily on a 65-year-old manufacturing defect, would offer important insight into why the pipeline failed. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-16/exxon-secrecy-over-ruptured-pipeline-may-mask-national- danger.html

Gas distributors sour over TransCanada’s mainline conversion plan

CALGARY – Canada’s largest distributors of natural gas are digging their heels in against TransCanada Corp.’s plan to send Alberta crude to the East Coast, warning the scheme could result in higher costs for their customers in Ontario and Quebec. http://business.financialpost.com/2013/07/18/gas-distributors-sour-over-transcanadas-mainline- conversion-plan/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&__lsa=e829-eab2

Claims that landlocked oil costing Canada billions in revenue are ‘bogus’, economists say

Last December, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver told a New Brunswick audience Canada was losing “$50 million every single day —$18 to $19 billion every year.”

A month later, Doug Horner, Alberta’s finance minister, raised the figure to about $100 million a day in a speech to a Calgary audience.

110 “It just doesn’t make any sense,” Michal Moore, an energy economist at University of Calgary, said of the discount argument. “Anything that does not meet that quality standard is going to trade at a discount relative to Brent. All that discount means is that any refinery owner is going to pay less for something they have to spend more time and energy to upgrade. That’s all it means.”

Warren Mabee, director of the Institute for Energy and Environmental policy at Queens University, said the discount claim “is kind of bogus” If only because it is impossible to predict future prices.

“Unless you are delivering the highest quality crude, Brent Crude or West Texas Intermediate, out into that international market place, you are not going to be getting the highest price that is out there,” he said. http://business.financialpost.com/2013/06/03/canada-oil-price-discount/?__lsa=a5ed-4c62

‘Nobody understands’ spills at Alberta oil sands operation

Oil spills at an oil sands operation in Cold Lake, Alberta have been going on for weeks with no end in sight, according to a government scientist.

Oil spills at a major oil sands operation in Alberta have been ongoing for at least six weeks and have cast doubts on the safety of underground extraction methods, according to documents obtained by the Star and a government scientist who has been on site.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. has been unable to stop an underground oil blowout that has killed numerous animals and contaminated a lake, forest, and muskeg at its operations in Cold Lake, Alta.

“Everybody (at the company and in government) is freaking out about this,” said the scientist. “We don’t understand what happened. Nobody really understands how to stop it from leaking, or if they do they haven’t put the measures into place.” http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/07/19/nobody_understands_ongoing_spills_at_alberta_oilsa nds_operation.html

40 Hectares Affected, And They Have No Clue How Much Leaked

Bitumen from one of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.’s projects has bubbled up into a nearby body of water at one of its oil sands operations, killing waterfowl, frogs, tadpoles, beavers, shrews, and prompting the Alberta regulator to limit the company’s extraction efforts around Cold Lake.

The Alberta Energy Regulator on Thursday ordered CNRL to suspend underground steaming – which melts bitumen and allows it to rise to the surface in pipes – within one kilometre of the unnamed body of water at its Primrose South operation. The regulator imposed other steaming restrictions throughout CNRL’s Primrose North and South properties and the company must enhance its monitoring systems. http://westcoastnativenews.com/40-hectares-affected-and-they-have-no-clue-how-much-leaked/

111 Railway company has stopped paying for Lac-Mégantic disaster cleanup: mayor

The railway company involved in the deadly train derailment at Lac-Mégantic has stopped paying for the clean-up of the disaster site, forcing the town to pick up the tab, Mayor Colette Roy-Laroche said Tuesday.

The town has sent a lawyer’s letter to Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway, giving the transport company 48 hours to repay the more than $4-million Lac-Mégantic has had to pay so far to retain the three firms initially hired by MM&A.

“This situation is highly deplorable on MM&A’s part. It’s unacceptable,” Ms. Roy-Laroche told reporters. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/railway-company-has-stopped-paying-for-disaster- cleanup-lac-megantic-mayor-says/article13370835/

Canadian Natural restricts operations after bitumen leak

Bitumen from one of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.’s projects has bubbled up into a nearby body of water at one of its oil sands operations, killing waterfowl, frogs, tadpoles, beavers, shrews, and prompting the Alberta regulator to limit the company’s extraction efforts around Cold Lake.

The Alberta Energy Regulator on Thursday ordered CNRL to suspend underground steaming – which melts bitumen and allows it to rise to the surface in pipes – within one kilometre of the unnamed body of water at its Primrose South operation. The regulator imposed other steaming restrictions throughout CNRL’s Primrose North and South properties and the company must enhance its monitoring systems. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/canadian- natural-restricts-operations-after-bitumen-leak/article13313586/

Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline shut after second leak in month

As one Kinder Morgan crew worked on stemming an oil leak from its Trans Mountain pipeline in British Columbia on Thursday, another worked on winning over the province’s reluctant public for a major expansion of the line.

For the second time in as many weeks the company was forced to shut down the only pipeline linking the Alberta oil fields with a westcoast shipping port because of a leak, this one about 40 kilometres east of Hope, B.C. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/kinder- morgans-trans-mountain-pipeline-shut-after-second-leak-in-month/article12855931/

Oil spill in Lac-Mégantic: a disaster beyond our worst fears

Late yesterday, Quebec’s Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks issued a press release announcing that the total amount of oil spilled during the derailment in Lac-Mégantic is estimated to be about 5.7 million litres.

112 If this amount is confirmed, this will be the worst oil spill to have ever taken place in North America, except for offshore spills such as the Deepwater Horizon accident in 2010. http://www.equiterre.org/en/news/oil-spill-in-lac-megantic-a-disaster-beyond-our-worst-fears

TransCanada pitches west-east pipeline

Proposed project would bring crude to refineries in Quebec, Saint John

The proposal would be to convert 3,000 kilometres of the company's natural gas pipelines to allow for crude oil to be transported. The company would also be looking at building 1,400 kilometres of new pipeline from Quebec into Saint John. The pipeline could carry between 500,000 and 850,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Alberta and Saskatchewan to the eastern refineries, according to the company. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2013/04/02/nb-transcanada-pipeline-update-958.html

Includes Map http://defendingwater.net/blog/2013/04/transcanada-pitches-west-east-pipeline/

Proposed west-east pipeline route hinted at by meetings

Location of public meetings by TransCanada suggest which communities may be affected

TransCanada Ltd. has scheduled a series of meetings that could provide some insight into the location of a proposed pipeline that would carry crude oil from Alberta to New Brunswick. The meetings are scheduled in Edmundston, Grand Falls, Plaster Rock, Stanley, Chipman, Hampton and Saint John. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2013/07/24/nb-oil-pipeline-route.html

Enbridge’s Line 9 pipeline reversal plan runs up against skeptical public

Mr. Guilbeault’s big picture view is that Quebec should not be backing the export of Alberta crude because the province believes in fighting climate change and that effort would be undermined by opening the door to more production from the energy-intensive oil sands.

How does a company blasted by a U.S. regulator for its incompetent “Keystone Cops” response to that spill now win over a population hyper-sensitized to risk only three years later? http://business.financialpost.com/2013/04/26/enbridge-line9-sarnia-montreal/?__lsa=a5ed-4c62

Enbridge pipeline protesters close Ontario highway

Area residents concerned about reversing flow of Line 9, which runs through Hamilton

113 A highway near Hamilton, Ont., was blockaded for almost 90 minutes Monday morning as a group stopped traffic to protest Enbridge's plan to reverse the flow of its pipeline that cuts through a rural area of Hamilton.

About 40 protesters staged a mock oil spill and cleanup on Highway 6 near Concession Road 6 to express their concerns about the pipeline. Six Ontario Provincial Police cruisers and two Hamilton police cruisers arrived at the scene shortly after the protest started at around 11 a.m. Police let some cars through after about half an hour. The road reopened around 12:30 p.m.

Protester Elysia Petrone, of Hamilton, said area residents are upset that the federal government has gone to extreme lengths to shut down public debate on this pipeline. http://www.cbc.ca/hamilton/news/story/2013/05/06/hamilton-enbridge-line-9-protest.html

ExxonMobil ending housing assistance for Mayflower spill victims

Sam Eifling, newly at work for us on our Mayflower oil spill project with Inside Climate News, is at work on a news story about ExxonMobil's notice to owners of property in the Mayflower subdivision soiled by the pipeline burst that the oil giant is cutting off temporary housing assistance Sept. 1 to displaced residents. http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2013/07/25/exxonmobil-ending-housing-assistance- for-mayflower-spill-victims

Update: Exxon reverses decision to cut housing assistance Sept. 1

Obviously, each resident has a unique situation and that's why we're dealing with this on a case-by- case basis," Stryk said. "We spoke with residents about it."

Had Exxon not reversed the decision to cut funding Sept. 1, evacuated residents would have been without assistance to pay for alternative housing while attempting to sell their homes. http://thecabin.net/news/local/2013-07-26/housing-assistance-cut-date-sept-1-oil-spill-neighborhood- residents

Slide show of 18 oil spills since the Gulf disaster

Hercules Offshore Drilling Rig Partially Collapses Off Louisiana Coast http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/24/hercules-offshore-drilling- rig_n_3645358.html#slide=2097846

Protesters march on Canadian Natural offices

Meanwhile, aboriginal and environmental protesters beat drums and chanted outside Canadian Natural’s Calgary head office, demanding that the company provide more information about the large

114 leak reported June 24 and three smaller ones that were discovered and reported earlier but weren’t announced by the Alberta Energy Regulator until after the larger spill.

“This most recent spill has released and continues to release toxic tarsands onto my community’s traditional homeland,” said Crystal Lameman, a member of the Beaver Lake Cree, in a news release.

“While the tarsands continue to spill uncontrollably, my community continues to wait for even basic answers from CNRL and the Alberta government.” http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Protesters+march+Canadian+Natural+offices/8708812/story.ht ml

Lloydminster Train Derailment: Oil Tanker Cars Contained, But Diesel Fuel Spills

Lloydminster RCMP say although diesel fuel spilled as a result of the derailment, which took place north of 52 Street at 40 Avenue, none of the derailed tanker cars leaked as a result of the incident. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/07/27/lloydminster-train-derailment-oil-tanker-cars_n_3664306.html? utm_hp_ref=canada-alberta

New Beer Lawsuit Could Spell Trouble For Keystone XL Pipeline

Bell’s Brewery, which bills itself as the oldest and largest brewery in Michigan, has just filed a lawsuit against the company Enbridge and if that name doesn’t ring a bell, think back to July 26, 2010 when an Enbridge pipeline broke and spilled an estimated 843,00 gallons of Line 6B oil into the Kalamazoo River, making it the largest tar sands oil spill in US history. How does that affect the proposed Keystone XL pipeline? Just for starters, it undercuts the safety claims of pipeline advocates. The Enbridge cleanup is not nearly complete after three full years, and EPA has all but admitted that up to 168,000 gallons of oil will remain in the Kalamazoo River indefinitely. http://cleantechnica.com/2013/07/26/new-beer-lawsuit-could-spell-trouble-for-keystone-xl-pipeline/

Grandparents Arrested Protesting Keystone XL

Fifty-four people blocked work inside Environmental Resource Management (ERM), the oil contractor in charge of writing the environmental review for the Keystone XL pipeline.

The massive corporation hid their ties to big oil companies like Exxon Mobil and even TransCanada— an illegal act that exposes deep conflict of interest.

So today, activists for Walk for Grandkids locked down in front of the ERM offices, refusing to let business as usual proceed. http://ecowatch.com/2013/grandparents-arrested-protesting-keystone-xl/

115 Environmental Incidents in Northeastern Alberta’s Bitumen Sands Region, 1996-2012

This study compiles and analyzes a dataset of 9,262 environmental incidents that occurred between 1996 and 2012 and were attributed to the major bitumen operations in the lower Athabasca River region. It describes the Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (AESRD) routine disclosure process and documented errors in that process.

The study describes the frequency of environmental incidents over time by incident type and company and provides annotated examples of the incidents that elucidate the performance of the bitumen operations in the context of air, water, groundwater, and land management and reporting. http://vipmedia.globalnews.ca/2013/07/envir_incidents_july-16-2013.pdf

'Best Practices?': Mississippi, Alabama Ask Canada for Tar Sands Advice

Governors of southern states forge pact, look to Canada for guidance on destructive mining practice

The governors of Mississippi and Alabama have forged an agreement to explore the development of tar sands mining within their states, revealing their desire to follow Alberta, Canada's example as they hope to bring exploitation of the "dirtiest fuel" on the planet to the US south.

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant and Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley announced Saturday the signing of a "memorandum of understanding" to commission the assessment of tar sands resources in an area known as the Hartselle Sandstone, which stretches from north-central and northwest Alabama into northeastern Mississippi. http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/07/30-8

CNRL's Ongoing Cold Lake Spill Puts World Scrutiny On Alberta's New Regulator: Critic

EDMONTON - An ongoing spill of tarry bitumen in northern Alberta is focusing the world's attention on the province's new energy regulator, says an environmental think-tank. "The way in which Alberta and Canada is managing the oilsands has already attracted significant international attention and that's because it's not possible to point to significant progress in terms of the big environmental issues," said Chris Severson-Baker of the Pembina Institute.

"When stories like this emerge, here's another problem. The regulator doesn't seem to be in control of the situation." http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/07/30/cnrl-cold-lake-spill-alberta-energy-regulator_n_3677337.html

Devastating Photos of the 13,200 Gallon Oil Spill in Thailand

On Saturday, an oil pipeline leaked 13,200 gallons of crude oil (the equivalent of one and a half tanker trucks) into the Gulf of Thailand. The oil slick is continuing to spread, blackening the beaches and water of a tourist island in the country's eastern sea. http://gawker.com/devastating-photos-of-the-13-200-gallon-oil-spill-in-th-965509173

116 White Paper: Climate Impacts from the Proposed Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL

In short, approval of the Keystone XL pipeline permit will trigger very large increases in carbon pollution that will significantly worsen climate change. Denial of the permit will prevent these increases.

This paper reviews the greenhouse gas emissions from tar sands oil production and shows how the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline would be a major driver of increased tar sands extraction if built. http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/sclefkowitz/Keystone%20XL%20Climate%20White%20Paper %20FINAL%20July%202013.pdf

Demonstrators Stage Road Blockade and Prayer Ceremony at Site of Proposed Tar Sands Strip Mine in Utah

Bookcliffs Range, Utah–Dozens of individuals peacefully disrupted road construction and stopped operations today at the site of a proposed tar sands mine in the Bookcliffs range of southeastern Utah. Earlier this morning, Utahns joined members of indigenous tribes from the Four Corners region and allies from across the country for a water ceremony inside the mine site on the East Tavaputs Plateau.

“The proposed tar sands and oil shale mines in Utah threaten nearly 40 million people who rely on the precious Colorado River System for their life and livelihood,” said Emily Stock, a seventh generation Utahn from Grand County, and organizer with Canyon Country Rising Tide. “The devastating consequence of dirty energy extraction knows no borders, and we stand together to protect and defend the rights of all communities, human and non-human,” Stock said. http://www.peacefuluprising.org/actioncampaction

117 Pipelines, Oil, Landowners and Legal Issues

TransCanada Already in New Brunswick for Eastern Pipeline

TransCanada is already on the ground in northern New Brunswick, surveying a route for a west-east pipeline to carry Alberta crude to Saint John, the Telegraph-Journal has confirmed. Although the Calgary-based pipeline giant hasn’t publicly announced that it will move ahead with proposed plans to convert an existing 3,000-kilometre natural gas pipeline to carry crude into Quebec and then add a 1,400-kilometre extension to Saint John, it is proceeding with work to do so. Landowners are now being approached to allow surveyors to study their properties and determine a route to the Port City.

“As a landowner, I was approached,” said Grand Falls Mayor Richard Keeley. “Land agents contacted me at home and they were asking whether I would give them permission to enter upon the property. http://nbharbinger.wordpress.com/2013/06/18/transcanada-already-in-new-brunswick-for-eastern- pipeline/

PROPERTY ISSUES | NOVA - INDUSTRY SPIN - Re Pipelines and Land Owners

When the application to transfer the Nova gas pipeline system from Alberta’s regulatory control into the hands of Ottawa’s NEB, rather than acknowledge the clear implications upon landowners, the federal regulator and the pipeline industry applied spin, and in doing so, misled thousands of landowners about the implications that the shift would have upon them.

At the time, to clarify the issue in his own mind, one Alberta MP wrote to CAEPLA and to CEPA (Canadian Energy Pipeline Association) asking for answers to a number of very specific questions. CEPA is the big pipeline lobby group that represents the big pipeline companies in Canada. The answers the MP received are below.

CEPA's response is first, followed by CAEPLA’s comments.

1.Are there changes to crossing restrictions for landowners? 2.Will landowners be held liable for accidental damage to pipelines? 3.Will there be any changes to landowner compensation? 4.Will landowners be liable for abandoned pipelines if the pipeline undergoes a jurisdictional shift? 5.What about costs associated with any legal burden? 6.Is the control zone wider or different under federal regulation? What does this mean if my neighbor has a pipeline adjacent to my property? 7.Are there other federally regulated pipelines in Alberta? http://www.landownerassociation.ca/property-issues/nova-industry-spin.html

Land Access

Anyone seeking to explore, drill, develop or produce oil or natural gas must obtain the right to enter on and use the land with surface landowner(s) as follows:

118 •Private Lands: must obtain a surface access agreement with the private landowners. •Crown Lands: must obtain a licence of occupation approval issued and administered by the Department of Natural Resources, Crown Lands Branch.

COMPENSATION - Oil and Natural Gas Act 9(4) A person who enters upon any land other than Crown land for the purpose of exploring for, winning, extracting or delivering oil or natural gas, or both, is liable to pay compensation to a person having an interest therein for any loss or damage to land or chattels caused by reason of the entry, occupation or operation http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/corporate/promo/natural_gas_from_shale/LandAccess.html

Oil and Natutal Gas Act - Right of Entry http://laws.gnb.ca/en/showdoc/cs/O-2.1/ga:s_8#anchorga:s_8

SWN Private land access http://www.swnnb.ca/landowners.html#what-to-expect

When the Landman Comes Calling

Whatever You Do, Don’t Sign Anything Until You Are Absolutely Sure You Know Exactly What You Are Signing The topic of discussion where he goes is usually what it takes to get people like you to sign surface lease agreements and easement contracts with companies like the one that pays him. There are books and manuals land agents read and study that teach them how to get your signature on a piece of paper, with the least amou http://www.landownerassociation.ca/rsrcs/WhentheLandmanComesCalling_DontSignAnything2010.pdf

Canadian Association of Energy and Pipeline Landowner Associations http://pipelineobserver.ca/

This land is my land…or is it?

Gas and oil companies lease the surface of your land to extract the resources. Pipeline companies take the use of your land through “Easement Agreements” that leave your name on title. In both cases the energy companies can apply to the government through “regulatory processes” for “right of entry” (expropriation). This takes away your right to negotiate a fair contract protecting your best interests. Only one side has all the leverage to negotiate since your property rights have been taken by legislation that creates either ministerial or regulatory processes that give all the advantages to the oil/gas and pipeline industry end of the playing field. The only way to counter balance this is by working together to level the playing field and to force governments to change the legislation protecting property rights. http://protectalbertcounty.wordpress.com/2013/07/30/this-land-is-my-land-or-is-it/ http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Local+Shows/Maritimes/ID/2396959041/?sort=MostPopular

119 Gulf oil spill: Halliburton to plead guilty to destroying evidence

Contractor to plead guilty over deleted computer simulations testing methods used to cement Deepwater Horizon well

Halliburton has agreed to plead guilty to destroying evidence related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the US department of justice said on Thursday.

The government said Halliburton's guilty plea was the third by a company over the spill and would require the world's second-largest oilfield services company to pay a maximum US$200,000 statutory fine.

Halliburton also agreed to three years' probation and to continue co-operating with the criminal probe into the 20 April 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig.

Court approval of the deal is required. Houston-based Halliburton also made a separate, voluntary $55m payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the justice department said. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/jul/26/halliburton-destroying-gulf-oil-evidence

Exxon Still Owes Government Nearly $100 Million for Valdez Clean-up Almost 25 Years Later

In 1989, the tanker Exxon Valdez spilled more than 11 million gallons of crude oil on the Alaska coast. The $1 billion 1991 settlement with Exxon (now ExxonMobil) called for an added payment of up to $100 million for environmental damages unknown at the time of the settlement. In 2006, the U.S. and Alaska jointly submitted a demand that ExxonMobil pay $92 million to fund recovery for these injuries.

That $92 million government “Reopener” claim has never been collected. http://truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/item/18088-exxon-still-owes-government-nearly-100-million- for-valdez-clean-up-almost-25-years-later

120 Mining

75% of the World's Mining Companies Are Based in Canada

With all of the noise and criticism both domestically and internationally of Alberta’s Tar Sands, it seemed to me shockingly underreported that 75% of the world’s mining companies are headquartered in Canada.

All over the world, companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and run out of lawyer’s offices on Bay Street or skyscrapers in downtown Vancouver (whose real financiers may live in Australia or Nevada) are handling the mining game at home, throughout parts of Asia, South America and surprisingly, even with all the talk of China’s investment in Africa, it turns out that it’s Canada, not China, who is quietly dominating and exploiting African mining. All told, almost 1,300 mining companies based out of Canada are investing hundreds of billions of dollars in over 100 countries around the world.

“The other side is that Canada provides very favourable conditions. The listing requirements for the TSX are pretty lax, the disclosure requirements are pretty lax, you don’t have to have Canadian directories or Canadian shareholders to be a Canadian company... and the Canadian government doesn’t ask too many questions about whether you’re paying your taxes in other jurisdictions (i.e. foreign countries where the mines are operating).” http://www.vice.com/en_ca/read/75-of-the-worlds-mining-companies-are-based-in-canada

Mining giant Vale accused of dumping lethal waste into Labrador bay

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. -- Mining giant Vale is facing federal charges that allege it dumped an unnamed lethal waste into a Labrador bay and failed to submit related reports.

Environment Canada has laid three charges under the federal Fisheries Act against Vale Newfoundland & Labrador Ltd.

It's accusing the company of releasing a "lethal effluent" into Edwards Cove in Anaktalak Bay, the port facility for the Voisey's Bay nickel mine in a remote part of Labrador. http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/mining-giant-vale-accused-of-dumping-lethal-waste-into-labrador-bay- 1.1364107

CBC video - Protected areas, mines, forestry and Sisson Brook mine http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/NB/ID/2396576138/

The New Conquistadors: Canadian Mining Companies Battle for Panama's Natural Resources https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5Snp0dBVi0&feature=player_embedded

121 Panama: The New Conquistadors

Canada is on the frontlines of a new battle in the rainforests of Mesoamerica, and billions of dollars worth of precious metals are at stake.

As the developing countries in Latin America turn to the mining industry to secure their economic futures, Canadian mining companies are eager to expand their claims. Already, they hold about 1,400 mining properties from Mexico to Argentina, bringing to mind for some Latinos images of an old enemy, the Spanish Conquistadors.

One of these properties is in the Colon province of Panama, where a number of indigenous peoples and peasant farmers, backed by a national consortium of environmental groups are trying to stop two Canadian mining companies from developing a gold mine and one of the last known major copper reserves in the world. They are concerned these mines would strip thousands of hectares of rainforest, deplete and contaminate water supplies, and displace the communities that have made the area their home for centuries, including the Ngobe people, Panama’s largest indigenous group. http://pulitzercenter.org/projects/panama-canada-gold-copper-mining-protests-environmental- destruction

Nature vs. economic nuturing divides Nashwaak Valley

A New Brunswick community is torn between economic development and preserving the wilderness area that would be mined to create the jobs.

The Nashwaak River Valley north of Fredericton is home to a large area the Department of Natural Resources says should be protected. It's also home to the potential site of one of the largest open-pit mines in the world. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2013/07/17/nb-nashwaak-mine-vs-nature.html

122 Forestry

Save half of boreal forest from development, scientists urge

International science panel insists First Nations be included in all aspects of planning

A group of international scientists is calling for 50 per cent of Canada's boreal forest to be protected from any type of development and they've outline their plan in a report released today at the the International Congress of Conservation Biology in Baltimore, Maryland.

The International Boreal Conservation Science Panel (IBCSP) said half the 5.8-million-square-kilometre forest needs total preservation because it is the only way to effectively ensure the ecosystem services — like storing carbon and cleaning surface freshwater — are protected. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/07/19/pol-save-half-boreal-forest-from-all-industrial- activity.html

CBC Information Morning - Forestry Investment

We talk to Mary Keith, Vice President Communications, at JD Irving about what's being lost while the government makes up its mind on protected natural areas and the wood supply. http://www.cbc.ca/informationmorningfredericton/2013/07/22/forestry-investment/

CBC Information Morning - Miramichi Mill

J.D Irving Limited is looking to increase its supply of crown wood in the province while at least one smaller mill is just desperately trying to hang on to what it had. Hal Raper is the Chief Financial Officer of Miramichi Lumber. http://www.cbc.ca/informationmorningfredericton/2013/07/23/miramichi-mill/

Miramichi calls for emergency meeting over mill closure Miramichi Lumber Inc. will close on Friday, forcing 110 people out of work

Miramichi council is calling for an emergency meeting with the provincial government to discuss the pending closure of the Miramichi Lumber Inc. sawmill in the northern city.

About 70 people filled the public gallery at Miramichi city hall on Monday night, mostly mill workers who are now facing an uncertain future.

The locally-owned company just started to ramp up production this spring and is now in danger of shutting down.

"Where is the Miramichi wood going? And why is it not staying here in Miramichi to help Miramichiers feed their families?" she said. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2013/07/23/nb-miramichi-mill-meeting-1050.html

123 GOVERNMENT LOSES MILLIONS EACH YEAR FROM PUBLIC FORESTS IN N.B.

In 1982, the government of the day enacted the Crown Land and Forests Act which in essence passed management and operational control of 7 million acres of Crown Lands in the Province of New Brunswick to the forest industry while reducing the role of the government, through the Department of Natural Resources, to a limited role of monitoring and paper control.

Currently there are only 5 licensees and a handful of sub-licensees controlling the 7 million acres of Crown land.

It is time for the government to revamp the system. Each year the Province of N.B. loses millions of dollars directly from its biggest natural resource at a time when it can least afford to do so. http://trinitytoday.ca/2013/07/government-loses-millions-each-year-from-public-forests-in-n-b/

Miramichi mill closure requires action 'really fast'

Miramichi Lumber’s Hal Raper previously told CBC News that Fornebu, the licensee operating the public forests in the Miramichi area, was allowing saw logs to go to J.D. Irving Ltd., depriving the local mill of that wood.

A retired senior civil servant said in an interview on Wednesday it's time for New Brunswick to take back control of its Crown-owned forest.

Don McCrea held various government positions in the departments of natural resources and transportation over three decades.

He said the provincial government is losing up to $20 million a year in royalties while the industry retains management and operational control of nearly three million hectares of Crown land.

McCrea said the provincial government gave up its control of the forest resource when the Crown Land and Forests Act was changed back in 1982.

Now McCrea said too many forestry decisions are politically motivated.

"Where the government is falling down, in my opinion, is the system has become so politicized that I think that the decisions are made from an entirely different perspective than fact,” he said. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2013/07/25/nb-crown-forest-miramichi-742.html

Charles Theriault, Is Our Forest Really Ours - Link to the interview I did this morning with Hoppy Dunn at CJFY 96.5 FM http://www.inmgroup.net/fellowship/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/CharlesTheriault0730.mp3

124 Video Links

Chris Hayes talks to director Josh Fox about his new fracking documentary Gasland Part II. http://video.msnbc.msn.com/all-in-/52346717#52346717

Charles Leblanc and Miles Howe of Halifax MediaCoop interview Roger Augustine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=oS2wwFUL8-4

Fracking near Shafter raises questions about drilling practices http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_CNtl_PnQ5E

Comedy Network - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart : Josh Fox Extended Interview http://watch.thecomedynetwork.ca/#clip955279

AFN National Chief speaks at the Sacred Fire http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un9G0-vkDCA&feature=youtu.be

Rachelle Van Zanten - My Country (Official Video) HD https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAwYlYr-4kk&feature=player_embedded

Kanada Day - Crime Minister http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=s77VJ3BaXxk

37% CANCER RATE WHERE BENZENE FROM FRACK-WASTE Video in German with English subtitles. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bGtqn1eUDRI

CBC: TV report on anti-fracking protests in NB, July 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ix-GmZ1JAq4

Shawn Atleo speaks at Sacred Fire Encampment http://vimeo.com/69515839

125 Miramichi Police Force comes face to face with Anti Shale Protesters June 30 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5zgmwUH-00&feature=player_embedded

Stealing Africa - Why Poverty? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNYemuiAOfU

Watch Shale Truth Interview of Energy Expert on Fracking Industry’s Misleading Claims http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cDDseuvO2SM

New Brunswick Premier David Alward comes face to face with Angry Female Natives Protesters

The day before Atleo attended the Sacred Fire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17NzDzlvDu0&feature=player_embedded

Summer of Solidarity - A view from the sacred fire encampment in Elsipogtog http://vimeo.com/69623144

Fukushima Now https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB-K78L8oNI&feature=player_embedded

We're Here by Voni Mann, an anthem for a revolution. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NunxQaVJtX0&feature=player_embedded

The Big Fix - BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Cover up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KgFBciS_X0&feature=player_embedded

Bruce Northrup on leases https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-hxjmTlHX0&feature=player_embedded

Midnight Oil - River Runs Red https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c0G1vyHGUs&feature=player_embedded

126 Mark D'Arcy, Willi Nolan, Amy Sock and Miles Howe after leaving court https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5J6nazXx_M&feature=player_embedded

STANLEY N.B. SEISMIC TESTING BLOCKADE - 2011 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QF2Qm2GuwHU&feature=player_embedded

R.C.M.P. Officer comes in peace at the blockade in Stanley https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=OLAQbH8W7EE

St.Mary's First Nation Native Alma Brooks speaks with Blogger https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67tNrPn-ciw&feature=player_detailpage

WARRIOR CHIEF JOHN LEVI ELSIPOGTOG IS JAILED TILL MONDAY!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9kP-1xAnsg&feature=player_embedded

CTV Atlantic video at Sacred Fire July 6 http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=960474

WARRIOR CHIEF JOHN LEVI ELSIPOGTOG IS JAILED TILL MONDAY https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=S9kP-1xAnsg

Runaway Canada oil train explosion destroys town center, forces evacuation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVOj63CvMCA&feature=player_embedded

Fracking creates UK fissures http://www.aljazeera.com/video/europe/2013/07/20137795044782719.html

Bill Moyers Essay: The Hypocrisy of ‘Justice for All’ http://vimeo.com/62923488

127 North American Drilling Corporation: Video tour of drilling rig https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7GVHPEfpU4&feature=player_embedded

Alma Brooks: Declaration of Unity and Solidarity from the Maliseet Grand Council July 6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTdejOqLe98&feature=player_embedded

July 8 - Charles Leblanc - A lot of John Levis at the legislature waiting for court results http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCKbVy8htUE&feature=player_embedded

Charles Leblanc interviews Chief AAron Sock of Elsipogtog http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8YoYtjcYtIc

July 8 - Charles Leblanc - A lot of John Levis at the legislature waiting for court results http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCKbVy8htUE&feature=player_embedded

GreenPeace on Greenwashing http://www.youtube.com/watch? list=SPSsMu1pCwi1U0fPsSzm0cfZHORkiPSwOC&feature=player_embedded&v=KjGgRiAJ_40

Rethink Alberta - Tar (Oil) Sands Pollute Athabasca River http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjxAGNsCNW0

Protecting the Sacred One Step at a Time - Tar Sands Healing Walk 2013 http://vimeo.com/69882514

CBC Information Morning interviews Dr. Eilish Cleary Audio http://www.cbc.ca/informationmorningfredericton/2013/07/12/fracking-award/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKx0E_xIQWg&feature=player_embedded

CBC Information Morning 111 Tankers - an unacceptable risk Audio http://www.cbc.ca/informationmorningfredericton/2013/07/11/111-tankers---an-unacceptable-risk-1/

128 CBC Information Morning Rail rules Audio http://www.cbc.ca/informationmorningfredericton/2013/07/11/rail-rules/

Dr. Cleary in Enniskillen Fermanagh Ireland

On 28th January at the Killyhevlin Hotel, Enniskillen, the Fermanagh Fracking Awareness Network were delighted to host a presentation by Dr Eilish Cleary, Chief Medical Officer for Health, New Brunswick, Canada. http://vimeo.com/59977734

System Change not Climate Change, Economics of Endless Growth - Naomi Klein https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy-xDFZPmAk&feature=player_embedded

CBC video _ Protected areas, mines, forestry and Sisson Brook mine http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/NB/ID/2396576138/

The New Conquistadors: Canadian Mining Companies Battle for Panama's Natural Resources https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5Snp0dBVi0&feature=player_embedded

Dear Governor Cuomo - New Yorkers Against Fracking http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLnBnmq9knk&feature=player_embedded

What are Roundup Ready & Bt Pesticide GMO crops? You need to know! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hjy-CJlzbM&feature=player_embedded

Secret of the Seven Sisters - EP1: Desert Storms https://www.facebook.com/groups/132079906855023/

"Time is Running Out: Ecology or Economics?" - David Suzuki - May 6, 2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wtUMM8SDws&feature=player_embedded

129 Blogger goes to Blackville to visit Councilor Chris Hennessy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAx1rvB1EvY&feature=player_embedded

Charles Leblanc Premier David Alward continue to listen to the Anti-Shale Protesters http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlV3w3HJbys&feature=share

Don't FRACK Our Future - Doreen's Story https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYniYtJEeeI&feature=player_embedded

The Price of Sand http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3JSL2uzJrg

Vermont senator Bernie Danders - Through the Looking Glass Climate Change https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je0_LKQQdng&feature=player_embedded

Kanada Day - Crime Minister https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s77VJ3BaXxk&feature=player_embedded

Water in the Anthropocene from WelcomeAnthropocene on Vimeo http://vimeo.com/anthropocene/water

Elsipogtog: Undoing RCMP Harassment July 22, 2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuyCwYsSKgE&feature=player_embedded

Watch the anti-Harper ad CBC refuses to air http://vimeo.com/69748338

Petropolis Arial Perspectives on the Alberta Tar Sands http://www.petropolis-film.com/#/videos/webisodes/

130 Solar Energy Documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ7fk7mu-wY&feature=player_embedded

Nahko Bear (Medicine for the People) ღ Aloha Ke Akua https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsgP8LkEopM&feature=player_embedded

Gulf of Mexico Gas Well Blowout - AssociatedPress http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hivsZ6QiL4Y

Evacuated Gulf of Mexico Gas Well on Fire http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jyTaqiWWWw

Hydrogeological risks occurring whilst extracting gas using the method of hydraulic fracturing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-FdiZ0ophE&feature=player_embedded

Psywar - The Real Battlefield is in the mind https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfnZHyLD7eQ&feature=player_embedded

Elsipogtog:I am protecting the land and waters July 24, 2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07OxXf3-jDQ&feature=player_embedded

Elsipogtog: Prevention at Meadow Brook July 23, 2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5LRkGVPoOA&feature=player_embedded

Elsipogtog: An offering and a promise July 24, 2013 Video filmed by Christian Peacemaker Teams- the Aboriginal Justice Team https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQmWYnm-QQk&feature=player_embedded

Fracking up America | Interview with Tyson Slocum https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWppHgYTyz0&feature=player_embedded

131 Scientist Have Evidence Pollution Levels Near Alberta Oil Sands Have Increased Significantly https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8oRX6gJj-Y&feature=player_embedded

To the Last Drop: Canada's Dirty Oil Sands - Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61X4IQqnmd0&feature=player_embedded

To the Last Drop: Canada's Dirty Oil Sands - Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQrWZzBOCoc

Dr. Adam Law, Endocrinologist responds to panel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRVeeJ7wPgg

Ian R Crane explains FRACKing Dangers to Police ... they have families too! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J18Mj-L__WM

Human Resources - Social Engineering In The 20th Century http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCNLXj-R5Jc

Airport Road 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPWeQ801So4&feature=player_embedded

ANTI SHALE PROTEST IN KENT COUNTY IS OVER!!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13B_tlB-6Us&feature=player_embedded

Common Ground - "Perspectives" http://vimeo.com/71277989

Common Ground Grabbing the Rope http://vimeo.com/71269716

132 Series Of Explosions At Gas Plant In Lake County, Florida http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=YhVGXXvV6Ao

Watch Split Estate Online http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj1Am482zlo&feature=player_embedded

Crossroads: Labor Pains of a New Worldview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n1p9P5ee3c&feature=player_embedded

Reckless fracking supported by corpocracy govt pigs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFltE1VAHLQ&feature=player_embedded

133