Shale Gas Issues From Various Jurisdictions ...... 7 Foreword ...... 7 Calls for Moratoriums and Bans ...... 9 Fracking moratorium recommendation applauded - PEI ...... 9 Dallas — yes, Dallas — bans fracking in most of the city ...... 9 BC/Yukon First Nation bans fracking, finds impacts outweigh benefits ...... 9 South Portland, Maine, Passes Oilsands Moratorium ...... 10 First County in U.S. Bans Oil and Gas Extraction ...... 10 Contamination and Science ...... 11 Amazing Bird’s Eye View Of Texas Fracking ...... 11 Fracking with Propane - GasFrac Energy Services ...... 11 Fracking with liquified propane, or butane (LPG): FROM TONY INGRAFFEA...... 11 Propane Fracking vs. Water Fracking: Which is better (worse)? ...... 12 New York’s Fracking Waste Problem ...... 12 Martin Sheen Exposé on Fracking to Air on Public TV Embedded video ...... 13 Natural Gas Drilling in Pennsylvania - Wells and Violations ...... 13 West Virginia Landfills Will Now Accept Unlimited Amounts Of Often Radioactive Fracking Waste ...... 13 Poisoning the Well: How the Feds Let Industry Pollute the Nation’s Underground Water Supply .. 14 The Moral and Criminal Case Against Canada's Climate Negligence ...... 14 Second leak reported at east Fort Worth gas well site ...... 14 Greenpeace launch of "live" fracking report ...... 15 Newly discovered greenhouse gas '7,000 times more powerful than CO2' ...... 15 Fracking FAQ: The science and technology behind the natural gas boom ...... 15 What A Year: 45 Fossil Fuel Disasters The Industry Doesn’t Want You To Know About ...... 16 Applying Creativity to a Byproduct of Oil Drilling ...... 16 Impacts of Fracking Spread Across New York and New England ...... 17 New perspectives on the effects of natural gas extraction on groundwater quality ...... 17 The Science Is Deafening - Industry's Gas Migration ...... 17 What the shale gas industry doesn't want you to know about fracking - Embedded video ...... 17 The Passionate Eye - Burning Water ...... 18 Questionable Science ...... 19 CADAVER COSMETICS: Penn State's "Marcellus by Design," ...... 19 Louis LaPierre had no role in P.E.I. bridge studies, say feds ...... 19 Renewable Energy ...... 20 U.S. Will Top Germany In Solar Installation For The First Time In 15 Years ...... 20 13 Major Clean Energy Breakthroughs Of 2013 ...... 20 Science and Health ...... 21 Bad news for pregnant women near fracking. Study shows toxins linked to heart defects...... 21 Health Dept. Concerned About Benzene Emissions Near Local Gas Drilling Sites ...... 21 Fort Worth Shows Why So Many Towns Are Banning Fracking ...... 21 Out of hours working banned by German labour ministry ...... 22 Contaminated Tribe: Hormone-Blocking Chemicals Found in First Nation Families - Ontario ...... 22 Study Links Fracking Chemicals and Hormone Disruption ...... 22 MU Researchers Find Fracking Chemicals Disrupt Hormone Function ...... 23 Estrogen and Androgen Receptor Activities of Hydraulic Fracturing Chemicals and Surface and Ground Water in a Drilling-Dense Region ...... 23 Health Dept. Concerned About Benzene Emissions Near Local Gas Drilling Sites ...... 23 Fracking Waste Linked To City's Toxic Drinking Water, Class-Action Suit Alleges Embedded video ...... 24 Economics, Legal, and Investigations ...... 25

1 Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) ...... 25 Fredericton reaches settlement with Occupy protesters ...... 25 (Willi Nolan) “Jane Doe” SLAPPs Back! Defending Lawsuit to Silence & Intimidate Anti-Fracking Protests ...... 25 Bloomberg LP Launches First Tool That Measures Risk of 'Unburnable Carbon' Assets ...... 26 Students push for fossil fuel endowment divestment ...... 26 Where Your Money Goes: Billions of Tax Dollars are Subsidizing Eco-Terrorism ...... 26 US Energy Independence: Another Pipe Dream, Says Analyst ...... 27 Oil Company Caught Illegally Dumping Fracking Discharge In Central Valley Embedded video ... 27 Gladue re aboriginal sentencing and bail ...... 27 Top 5 resource impediments for 2013 ...... 28 In Pennsylvania, shale job numbers are hard to pin down ...... 28 170 legal victories empower First Nations in fight over resource development ...... 29 Treaties: Negotiations and Rights ...... 29 Gas Drilling Is Killing Property Values For Some Americans ...... 29 Students Escalate Divestment Campaign After Universities Refuse to Sell Fossil Fuel Stocks ..... 30 Southwestern Energy faces fracking lawsuit - May 2011 ...... 30 Peter Voser says he regrets Shell’s huge bet on US shale ...... 30 Fracking Boom Gives Banks Mortgage Headaches ...... 31 Alberta has failed on the economic diversification front ...... 31 The fracking/real estate conundrum ...... 31 Navajo Nation Prevails in Bankruptcy Case: May Gain Over a Billion Dollars for Uranium Cleanup ...... 32 Chesapeake fined $3.2 million for West Virginia water violations ...... 32 Shale Grab in U.S. Stalls as Falling Values Repel Buyers ...... 32 Regulations ...... 33 Considerations for Responsible Gas Development of the Frederick Brook Shale in New Brunswick ...... 33 Environment and Enjoyment of Property ...... 34 Pope Francis speaks out against fracking and environmental devastation ...... 34 OPEC claims the shale boom only has another five years left to run ...... 34 Noam Chomsky: Indigenous People Are In The Lead ...... 34 Fracking hell: what it's really like to live next to a shale gas well ...... 35 Farmers Are Devoured Like Grass By The Gas Industry ...... 35 Climate Change Denial a Billion Dollar Industry of Fabrication Says Study ...... 36 Energy, the Environment, and Our Future ...... 36 Earth: The Operators' Manual Embedded video ...... 36 Government, Meetings, News, and Letters ...... 37 From Quebec to Spain, anti-protest laws are threatening true democracy ...... 37 Op-Ed: A bad week to be Canadian ...... 37 Police In Thailand Lay Down Vests and Barricades In Solidarity With Protestors ...... 37 The often-ignored facts about Elsipogtog ...... 38 Alward raising fracking concerns, April 6, 2010. - Audio ...... 38 Corporate Fascism from Top Documentary Films Embedded video ...... 39 Political positions on shale gas shift with change of power ...... 39 Leonard defends industrial energy subsidy ...... 39 Aboriginal Courtwork Program ...... 40 Most Federal Scientists Feel They Can’t Speak Out, Even If Public Health and Safety at Risk ..... 40 Nearly 300 contractors replaced with temporary foreign workers ...... 41 Worker Shortage - Harnessing Big Data to Solve Talent Crunch ...... 41 Federal government questioned over leaking tailings ponds in Alberta ...... 41

2 New Brunswick News ...... 42 CBC NB: Apologize for baseless attack on Miles Howe ...... 42 Protesters nearly ran over by car at solidarity with Elsipogtog in Montreal Embedded video ...... 42 Elsipogtog Solidarity Action Shuts Vancouver Port ...... 42 N.B. RCMP officer charged with possessing, trafficking cocaine ...... 42 Idle No More - Stephenville, NL ...... 43 Maude Barlow Clean water and the global fight against fracking Rexton Dec0113 ...... 43 CAJ to New Brunswick RCMP - Recognize freedom of the press ...... 43 Six Degrees of Separation - Fracking New Brunswick Edition ...... 43 CTV Atlantic Injunction extended against shale gas protesters Embedded video ...... 44 Indigenous Canadian fracking protesters refuse to back down ...... 44 RCMP investigate complaint truck involved with SWN exploration work struck three women ...... 44 The Many Arrests of New Brunswick Journalist Miles Howe Embedded video ...... 45 Council of Canadians denounces extension of SWN Resources’ injunction ...... 45 Suzanne Patles of #Elsipogtog Warriors Society speaks to #IdleNoMore Embedded video ...... 46 Elsipogtog woman says she suffered trauma, injuries at hands of RCMP during arrest ...... 46 Annabelle Joy Statement Regarding SWN Injunction to S. Court of Canada and New Brunswick Government ...... 46 View from the Longhouse: hundreds unite in peace and friendship against shale gas ...... 46 Elsipogtog Strong 2013 ...... 46 Shale gas protest policing costs more then $4M ...... 47 SWN ending exploration work in NB, will be back in 2015: Elsipogtog War Chief Levi ...... 47 Elsipogtog comes up in Question Period Embedded video ...... 47 Steven Standing Wolfpaw Kakinoosit message to supporters from Elsipogtog Anti-Fracking Blockade ...... 48 Idle No More Alberta - Dr. Pamela Palmater ...... 48 (VIDEO) Elsipogtog: The Fire Over Water ...... 48 Fault Lines - Elsipogtog: The Fire Over Water ...... 48 Oil Giant SWN Is Suspending Its Work in New Brunswick After Nationwide Protests ...... 48 Journalism group backs anti-fracking protest reporter ...... 49 Elsipogtog woman claims she faced RCMP intimidation over plans to file complaint ...... 49 Mi’kmaq who battled SWN “our protectors,” says Atleo Embedded video ...... 50 SWN Resources welcome to return to N.B., says premier - Embedded video ...... 50 Letter to Premier Requesting Public Inquiry re Rexton ...... 50 Women show bravery guarding community - PEI ...... 50 Mi'kmaq Anti-Fracking Protest Brings Women to the Front Lines to Fight for Water ...... 51 Scenes and Far-Flung Shows of Support in the Mi'kmaq Anti-Fracking Protest ...... 51 Elsipogtog anti-fracking fight fallout putting strain on RCMP-First Nation relations ...... 51 CJFE concerned by arrest of New Brunswick journalist ...... 52 Mi’kmaq warrior James Pictou sentenced, released from jail ...... 52 Rexton protester freed 2 months after RCMP clash ...... 53 Is there a monitor in New Brunswick? Embedded video ...... 53 Fracking protester guilty of assaulting police officer ...... 53 We Stand With Elsipogtog - Indigenous Nationhood Movement ...... 54 Fractured Future Survey - Dec 05, 2011 ...... 54 N.B. political panel - Dec. 19 The panel discusses forest policy and managing Crown lands...... 54 Terry Seguin speaks to political leaders about shale gas. N.B. Political Panel - Nov. 21 ...... 54 Maritime News ...... 55 Benefit raises thousands for anti-fracking protesters ...... 55 When it comes to fracking, consider the source ...... 55 Coal Bed Methane Extraction: “Don't Worry. It's Not Fracking” ...... 55

3 Fracking waste water could be used to make cement ...... 56 N.S. secures sustainable, self-reliant energy future ...... 56 A Brief Issue Paper on Hydraulic Fracturing and Unconventional Gas Practices NS ...... 57 Gros Morne fracking proponent loses exploration licence ...... 57 SURETTE: Fracking is fool’s gold ...... 57 Province Not Entertaining Fracking Applications: Premier ...... 58 Canadian News ...... 59 Lubicon Vs.PennWest: Band Files Lawsuit Against Alberta Energy Firm Over Fracking ...... 59 Inuit win injunction on seismic testing ...... 59 (VIDEO) From the icefields to oilfields: This is a must see Documentary – White Water, Black Gold ...... 59 Ottawa handed shipyards too much control of $105-billion project, researchers say ...... 60 Canada now dominates World Bank corruption list, thanks to SNC-Lavalin ...... 60 Oilsands production outpaces efforts to reduce greenhouse gases Embedded video ...... 60 Parliament employees face lifetime ban on revealing information ...... 61 AFN chiefs vote to end treaty discussions with federal officials ...... 61 Alberta - Fracking fears ...... 61 Idle No More flash mobs in 9 cities this weekend ...... 61 A First Nations rights activist from Grassy Narrows is getting international recognition...... 62 Other News ...... 63 Leaked Documents Reveal IRS Concerns, Funding Crisis At Corporate Lobbying Group ALEC .. 63 Documents Reveal ALEC's Looming Attacks on Clean Energy, Fracking Laws, ...... 63 50,000+ Demand DEC Withdraw Flawed LNG Regulations ...... 64 Scotland to block fracking on environmental grounds ...... 64 Oil and gas industry sues Colorado cities over fracking bans ...... 64 Fracking industry out-lobbies opponents, still loses ground ...... 65 Stink Tanks: Historical Records Reveal State Policy Network Was Created by ALEC ...... 65 Three Ways the Super-Rich Suck Wealth Out of the Rest of Us ...... 65 Midnight Sabotage with Transylvania's Anti-Fracking Activists ...... 66 Taxpayers to pay for fracking pollution if companies go bust ...... 66 Reporters Without Borders calls for attacks on journalists to be labeled war crimes ...... 66 Proteste in Bukarest: Willy Schuster von Sonderpolizei verletzt und festgenommen (15. 12. 2013) ...... 67 Are pro-fracking online comments coming from paid shills? ...... 67 Britain Opens Door to More Shale Gas Drilling ...... 67 Fracking opponents in Pennsylvania dealt rare victory by state court ...... 68 Fracking opponents win big in Pennsylvania ...... 68 Fracking and Earthquakes ...... 69 More evidence to suggest fracking causes seismic activity ...... 69 Experts Eye Oil and Gas Industry as Quakes Shake Oklahoma Embedded video ...... 69 Oil and Pipelines ...... 70 Explosion rocks Pettis County gas pipeline - MO Embedded video ...... 70 Deadly Sinopec pipeline blast in China raises questions in BC ...... 70 Enbridge held to December 31 deadline to clean up Kalamazoo River ...... 70 Enbridge chief confident Northern Gateway to get regulator approval next month ...... 70 As Oil Floods Plains Towns, Crime Pours In ...... 71 Aerial Video of Alabama Oil Spill Exposes Inadequate Cleanup ...... 71 Third Apache Pipeline Leak Releases Additional 1.8 Million Litres of Produced Water ...... 71 Runaway trains double the reported rate, CBC investigation finds ...... 71 Rail safety map: Find runaway trains near your community ...... 72 David Suzuki on Christy Clark's LNG plans: 'Be serious' ...... 72

4 The deadly secret behind the Lac-Mégantic inferno ...... 72 Northern Gateway is dead ...... 73 Ottawa approves Shell’s Jackpine oil sands expansion ...... 73 Oilsands Strategy Presentation Indicates 'Worst-Case Scenario' Has Come To Pass ...... 73 TransCanada has hired Phil Fontaine – former national chief of the AFN ...... 74 Drilling rig GSF Grand Banks adrift earlier this week ...... 74 Energy workers union backs First Nations against Northern Gateway ...... 74 Transport Canada searches Irving offices in Lac-Mégantic probe Embedded video ...... 75 Police seize Irving Oil records in probe of Lac-Mégantic disaster ...... 75 Tar Sands- The Dirty Maple Leaf ...... 75 Whistleblower Exposes Enbridge Coverup ...... 76 BP and Corexit: you’re soaking in it (Maddow Show) - Embedded video ...... 76 Follow-up to Baytex’s Shareholders - Stop Baytex Energy ...... 76 Industry seeks right to release water from oilsands tailings ponds ...... 77 Significant Victory for Ecuadorians in Oil Pollution Case Against Chevron ...... 77 Northern Gateway pipeline recommended for federal approval, with conditions ...... 77 Conservation groups condemn 'yes' recommendation from Northern Gateway review panel ...... 78 CSIS Involvement in Enbridge Hearings Makes National News Embedded audio ...... 78 Joint Review Panel recommendation to support Northern Gateway pipeline ignores strong opposition of First Nations and citizens ...... 78 BC LNG bigger than Tar Sands? Export licences face Cabinet review ...... 79 For First Time, Anti-Terrorism Law Used to Have Americans Protesting Keystone XL Pipeline Arrested ...... 79 Fiery explosions in ND crude oil train derailment ...... 79 Scientists Find 7,300-Mile Mercury Contamination ‘Bullseye’ Around Canadian Tar Sands ...... 80 Mining ...... 81 Breaking news: Five shot dead at Porgera mine ...... 81 Mining, Fracking, And Drilling Have Changed Public Lands From Carbon Sinks To Carbon Polluters ...... 81 Canadian gold mine project in Romania could go to referendum ...... 82 Forestry ...... 83 Algonquins Erect Land Protection Camp ...... 83 Miramichi troubles - Charles Theriault Embedded video ...... 83 N.B. political panel - Dec. 19 The panel discusses forest policy and managing Crown lands...... 83 Video Links ...... 84 The Biggest Scam In The History Of Mankind - Hidden Secrets of Money 4 - Mike Maloney ...... 84 Nov30 Hwy11 Rights Abuse ...... 84 Chemical Toxicology In the Fracking Zone...... 84 Beefing up the SWNRCMP Line ...... 84 Showdown at Highway 134 Mi'kmaq blockade of fracking equipment - subMedia ...... 84 Hwy 11 protest in the snow ...... 84 Maude Barlow at camp on Hwy 11 ...... 84 Montreal - Dec 2 - Une voiture fonce dans un blocage en solidarité avec Elsipogtog ...... 84 Idle No More - Stephenville, NL ...... 84 Maude Barlow Clean water and the global fight against fracking Rexton Dec0113 ...... 84 Anti Shale Gas Protesters leaves Justice Building in Fredericton after SWN wins 14 days extension ...... 85 Anti-Fracking Demonstration St. Charles. Dec. 02.2013 part 4 (inspirational) ...... 85 Message to police ...... 85 Self-Described Economic Hit Man John Perkins - We Have Created the World's first truly global empire ...... 85

5 Civil disobedience CAN work. Police remove barriers - Thailand ...... 85 Ontario Activists Protest Tar Sands Pipeline By Locking Themselves to Machinery ...... 85 SWN GET OUT of CANADA ...... 85 Martin Sheen Exposé on Fracking to Air on Public TV Embedded video ...... 85 Anonymous - Warning All Canadian Citizens ...... 85 Annabelle Joy Statement Regarding SWN Injunction to S. Court of Canada and New Brunswick Government ...... 85 Government Will Not Save You From Corporations ...... 86 Elsipogtog Strong 2013 ...... 86 Idle No More Boston (Fanueil Hall) - Round Dance Flash Mob Event ...... 86 Steven Standing Wolfpaw Kakinoosit message to supporters from Elsipogtog Anti-Fracking Blockade ...... 86 Idle No More Alberta - Dr. Pamela Palmater ...... 86 Fault Lines - Elsipogtog: The Fire Over Water ...... 86 No Shale Gas ...... 86 Corporate Fascism from Top Documentary Films ...... 86 Toxic clothing? - It's time to detox by Greenpeace ...... 87 Crude Impact Peak Oil Documentary 2006 ...... 87 Fracking Invasion - Starzec Farm - Montrose, Pa. - 12-7-13 ...... 87 White Water, Black Gold - Full video from TVO Ontario ...... 87 The Urgent Fukushima Video Everyone Needs to See ...... 87 Anti-Shale Revolution: Clashes between police and fracking protesters in Romania ...... 87 Trans Pacific Partnership - Wikileaks has released another bombshell ...... 87 Miramichi troubles - Charles Theriault ...... 87 Premier David Alward sits down with Blogger to debate the VERY TOUCHY issue of Shale Gas . 87 Dr. Pamela Palmater , speaking at an Idle No More Alberta event at Louis Bull Cree Nation...... 87 Tar Sands- The Dirty Maple Leaf ...... 88 Whistleblower Exposes Enbridge Coverup ...... 88 BP and Corexit: you’re soaking in it (Maddow Show) - Embedded video ...... 88 Annie Kia speaking at launch of CSG Free Community Strategy, The Channon, NSW ...... 88 Breaking: Gas Explosion Birmingham's Gate City ...... 88 Colorado Fracking Site Flooding September 2013 HD ...... 88 Is there a monitor in New Brunswick? Embedded video ...... 88 SLC cop working for oil company Tesoro detains journalist filming a refinery ...... 88 Alward questions Stiles about natural gas safety while leader of opposition ...... 89 Round Dance Dec 27 Moncton Champlain Mall ...... 89 N.B. political panel - Dec. 19 The panel discusses forest policy and managing Crown lands...... 89 Jessica Ernst, Balcombe - 8th March 2013 ...... 89 Terry Seguin speaks to political leaders about shale gas. N.B. Political Panel - Nov. 21 ...... 89 What the shale gas industry doesn't want you to know about fracking ...... 89 Flammable tap water pits an Alberta farm family against Big Gas and the government...... 89

6 Shale Gas Issues From Various Jurisdictions

Foreword

The following documents have been collected by searching the web for information related to shale gas and from the Following web sites and

New Brunswick is NOT For Sale http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_132079906855023

New Brunswickers Concerned About Shale Gas http://www.facebook.com/ccnbshalegas

Ban Hydraulic Fracturing (hydro-fracking) In New Brunswick, Canada http://www.facebook.com/BanFrackingNB

Know Shale Gas NB – Support the legal action to stop Shale Gas in NB http://noshalegasnb.ca/news

NoShaleGasNB http://www.facebook.com/NoShaleGasNB

Shale Gas Info http://www.facebook.com/shalegas

Upriver Environment Watch http://www.facebook.com/groups/UpRiver/

Fracidental Drillers http://www.facebook.com/groups/133930663364584/

Fracking Research and New Brunswick, Canada http://nbfrackingresearch.com/

Facebook Groups: USA - A FACEBOOK FULL OF FRACTIVISTS: State-by-State Listings http://keeptapwatersafe.org/facebook-groups-usa/

Propublica – Links to many articles on Fracking http://www.propublica.org/series/fracking

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

Is Our Forest Really Ours? http://isourforestreallyours.com/Isourforestreallyours/Start_here.html https://www.facebook.com/groups/132079906855023/#!/groups/258525050949366/

More facebook information https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=617426124942641

7 United Opponents of Fracking International http://portjervisny.com/uaf.htm

SHALE GAS ALERTS NEW BRUNSWICK https://www.facebook.com/groups/112468105590081/? hc_location=stream#!/groups/112468105590081/

8 Calls for Moratoriums and Bans

Fracking moratorium recommendation applauded - PEI

An anti-fracking group on P.E.I. is pleased and surprised a legislative committee report is recommending a moratorium on high volume hydraulic fracking The committee is also recommending a moratorium on off-shore oil and gas exploration and drilling in P.E.I. waters.

The final decision for both rests with cabinet. Leo Broderick, a member of the group Don't Frack Prince Edward Island, said there is still work to be done. "We are going to continue to lobby for a permanent moratorium or a ban, and we expect that given this recommendation, government will be listening," said Broderick. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/fracking-moratorium-recommendation- applauded-1.2443949

Dallas — yes, Dallas — bans fracking in most of the city

The Dallas City Council adopted new rules on Wednesday that bar hydraulic fracturing within 1,500 feet of a home, school, church, or well. Dallas is now the largest of five Texan cities and towns that have imposed local restrictions on fracking. The city, which sits at the edge of the gas-rich Barnett Shale area, had previously imposed a safety buffer of 300 feet and banned fracking in parks and flood plains.

Because Dallas contains more than a half million homes, the new rule effectively outlaws fracking through most of the city. “[W]e might as well save a lot of paper and write a one-line ordinance that says there will be no gas drilling in the city of Dallas,” quipped a council member who voted against the new rules. “That would be a much easier ordinance to have.”

A gas company representative agreed: “You just can’t drill under these conditions,” he said. Naturally, industry folks are warning that economic woe will ravage Dallas in the wake of the vote. http://grist.org/politics/dallas-yes-dallas-bans-fracking-in-most-of-the-city/? utm_source=Daily+Carbon+Briefing&utm_campaign=23451b1a76- DAILY_BRIEFING&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_876aab4fd7-23451b1a76-303423917

BC/Yukon First Nation bans fracking, finds impacts outweigh benefits

A First Nation with un-surrendered traditional territory in both northern BC and the Yukon passed a motion late last week banning fracking. On December 5, the Carcross/Tagish First Nation (C/TFN) General Council ratified an earlier motion from the nation’s Executive Council, opposing the controversial natural gas extraction process on its territory.

“It’s our responsibility to protect our lands and water for future generations,” said the Executive Council’s George Shepherd, who moved the motion. http://commonsensecanadian.ca/bcyukon-first-nation-bans-fracking-finds-impacts-outweigh-benefits/

9 South Portland, Maine, Passes Oilsands Moratorium

The city council in South Portland, Maine, has placed a moratorium on shipments of Canadian oilsands product, a move that was met with “cheers and a standing ovation,” according to local news sources.

While the city of South Portland — population 25,000 — is hardly a major player in the oil industry, the move is a sign that oilsands producers’ hopes for a “plan B” replacement for the Keystone XL pipeline could run into political problems of their own.

Portland Pipe Line Corp. had planned to reverse the flow of a pipeline between South Portland and Montreal, in order to bring oilsands product to the Atlantic coast, the Portland Press Herald reports.

But a grassroots political movement has succeeded in stopping that, at least temporarily: The city council’s moratorium will be in place until May 5 , 2014, according to WGME-TV, but council is already working on a law that would ban oilsands shipments permanently. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/12/17/south-portland-oil-sands_n_4461863.html

First County in U.S. Bans Oil and Gas Extraction

Monday the County Commission of Mora County, located in northeastern New Mexico, became the first county in the U.S. to pass an ordinance banning all oil and gas extraction.

Drafted with assistance from the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF), the Mora County Community Water Rights and Local Self-Government Ordinance establishes a local Bill of Rights—including a right to clean air and water, a right to a healthy environment and the rights of nature —while prohibiting activities which would interfere with those rights, including oil drilling and hydraulic fracturing for shale gas.

Monday the County Commission of Mora County, located in northeastern New Mexico, became the first county in the U.S. to pass an ordinance banning all oil and gas extraction. http://ecowatch.com/2013/04/30/first-county-bans-oil-gas-extraction/

10 Contamination and Science

Amazing Bird’s Eye View Of Texas Fracking

An aerial photo taken on August 3rd of fracking operations in Texas has caused a rumble online, drawing 20,000 views on the photo sharing site, Flckr.

The photo, posted by Amy Youngs, carries the inscription:

Saw these strange new human-made landscapes on my flight from Sacramento to Houston. Not farming, not subdivisions, but many miles of rectangular patches etched out of the earth, some with pools next to them, all with roads to them. I doubt that people see these when driving on major roads – I never have – but they were very visible from a plane. Welcome to your new landscape! http://www.popularresistance.org/amazing-birds-eye-view-of-texas-fracking/

Large photo http://media.commonsensecanadian.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Texas-fracking-aerial_.jpg

Fracking with Propane - GasFrac Energy Services http://www.gasfrac.com/assets/files/World%20Oil%20Article.pdf

Fracking with liquified propane, or butane (LPG): FROM TONY INGRAFFEA.

I have sent the following many times to many people, so here it is again:

Fracing with liquified propane, or butane (LPG): Still needs large quantities of additional, but different, chemicals to add to the LPG;Needs

HD compressor on each site to re-condense returned propane/butane for reuse, and additional processing on each site for reuse;

Frac process is now nearly "robotic" because of risks to personnel on the pad;

Have been two explosions/fires in past year or so, one quite serious with hospitalizations;Many truckloads of LPG needed for each frac job---these trucks are transporting hazardous material, not water;LPG not available in large enough volumes to make this "THE" method in any play with tens of thousands of wells projected;

The biggies, Schlumberger, Hallliburton, et al. will not like encroachment on their turf..they have billions invested in equipment and personnel training for water based fracing, but they currently say they are "interested" in this new line of research: you make the call.

The ONLY substantive information about the process comes from the company - in effect advertising claims. There has been no independent empirical analysis of the complete life cycle of LPG fracs.

11 Still transports some materials from downhole just like slick water does and will be subject to the same constraints: 1) Communication back to surface via faults and old open wells 2) Communication/migration of methane and other downhole crap via casing sealing failures and leaks (cf the Pavilion/EPA study (11-10-11 released) and the "Duke" methane migration study), and 3) Surface spills of frac related materials that comes back up 4) The added danger of propane, a heavier than air gas leaking and pooling in low spots near the well pad in large amounts and causing an explosion hazard Bottom line: no science available to evaluate either env impact of LPG frac or the safety thereof. 5) Grasping at straws for a solution to a problem the industry claims does not exist.

Propane Fracking vs. Water Fracking: Which is better (worse)?

If these companies chose to use gelled propane, then these wells would use less water and produce less wastewater. This is a universally positive change, and particularly good in areas like west and south Texas where water supply is limited. However, while the site specific water consumption could be greatly reduced, the impacts to the total lifecycle water consumption throughout the entire production pathway are not clear. There is a significant amount of water that goes in to producing and liquefying propane, so while you might not use much water at the well site, the total amount of water consumed could still be high.

Using liquid propane could also pose a safety risk. Propane, under normal conditions, is a gas. Liquid propane is a liquid because it is held under pressure. If there is a leak above ground, the propane could form a vapor cloud and explode, if there were any ignition sources nearby (a running vehicle, perhaps). http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/plugged-in/2012/10/10/guest-post-waterless-fracking/

New York’s Fracking Waste Problem

In its response, NYSDEC indicated that its records did not differentiate between brine from different well types: “The records may reflect brine originating from oil extraction wells as well as natural gas extraction wells.”

As a result, even though we only requested information regarding natural gas production brine BUDs, we received BUDs from other sources as well. In all we received copies of 30 BUDs, 14 of which were clearly for use of natural gas brine for road spreading purpose.

Of the 14 natural gas brine BUDs, 11 appear to authorize road spreading of brine from natural gas storage facilities, while 3 authorize road spreading of production brine from natural gas wells. Of the remaining BUDs, 1 indicated that the source of the brine was oil wells, while the source of brine for the balance was unspecified.

The results were concerning the natural gas brine BUDs indicated that the road spreading of natural gas production brine has been approved in 13 municipalities in 4 western New York counties: Wyoming, Erie, Cattaraugus, and Seneca. Road spreading of natural gas brine from natural gas storage has been approved in 10 municipalities in 2 western New York counties: Allegany and Steuben. http://www.riverkeeper.org/blog/fracking/new-york%E2%80%99s-fracking-waste-problem/

12 Martin Sheen Exposé on Fracking to Air on Public TV Embedded video

This week, Martin Sheen’s Breakthroughs program released an expose on fracking featuring Environment America to public television stations across the country. As the debate over dirty drilling continues to mount, the Breakthroughs piece could reach as many as 60 million viewers in all 50 states.

While the piece narrated by Sheen will be exclusively aired on public television stations, a longer unofficial version here:

“Fracking is taking a terrible toll on our environment and our health,” said John Rumpler, senior attorney for Environment America. “People should see and hear the truth before they find themselves living next door to dirty drilling.” http://ecowatch.com/2013/12/03/martin-sheen-expose-on-fracking/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qkPaqO-4TlM

Natural Gas Drilling in Pennsylvania - Wells and Violations

The Marcellus Shale has been underneath Pennsylvania for centuries, but the extraction of natural gas began only recently. The "fracking" boom is changing the landscape of northeastern and southwestern Pennsylvania. Use this tool to learn which operators are drilling, and where. Find active wells in your county or municipality — and see whether the drillers have been cited for violating state environmental regulations. Read more about the data. http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/drilling/

West Virginia Landfills Will Now Accept Unlimited Amounts Of Often Radioactive Fracking Waste

A memo released earlier this year in West Virginia gives the state’s landfills the ability to accept unlimited amounts of fracking waste, the AP reports.

The memo will create an exception for the state’s natural gas industry to longstanding laws on landfill waste, which stipulate that landfills can only take 10,000 or 30,000 tons of solid waste each month month, depending on their classification. Now, fracking operations can send unlimited amounts of their solid waste — known as “drill cuttings” and composed of dirt, water, sand and chemicals — to landfills each month.

This exception has environmentalists in the state concerned. The Marcellus shale formation, which sits under much of West Virginia, has been found to have a higher level of radioactivity than other formations — last year, nearly 1,000 trucks hauling Marcellus Shale waste to Pennsylvania landfills were stopped after setting off radioactivity alarms. But unlike Pennsylvania, where waste that is deemed too radioactive is sent to radioactive waste disposal sites out of state, West Virginia doesn’t require waste to be tested for radioactivity. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/08/3036121/west-fracking-waste/

13 Poisoning the Well: How the Feds Let Industry Pollute the Nation’s Underground Water Supply

Federal officials have given energy and mining companies permission to pollute aquifers in more than 1,500 places across the country, releasing toxic material into underground reservoirs that help supply more than half of the nation's drinking water.

In many cases, the Environmental Protection Agency has granted these so-called aquifer exemptions in Western states now stricken by drought and increasingly desperate for water.

EPA records show that portions of at least 100 drinking water aquifers have been written off because exemptions have allowed them to be used as dumping grounds. http://www.propublica.org/article/poisoning-the-well-how-the-feds-let-industry-pollute-the-nations- undergroun

The Moral and Criminal Case Against Canada's Climate Negligence

"To remain in denial about Canada’s contribution to climate change constitutes silent defence of economic policies that will permanently disrupt natural systems, injure or kill millions of people, and undermine prospects for global civilization."

1) on a per capita basis, historically and at present, Canada stands among the world’s top greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters particularly of carbon dioxide (CO2). Canadians are therefore as responsible as anyone else on Earth for human-induced global warming. (To argue that as a nation our emissions are only 2-3% of the global total is specious, essentially a form of denial);

2) the Federal government and several provinces have hitched their economic wagons largely to petroleum, natural gas and coal development/exports. In short, the nation’s economic future is tied, as a matter of deliberate policy, to the country becoming a major exporter of potentially catastrophic climate change. (To argue that Canada’s shale gas and tar-sands crude is greener or more ‘ethical’ than the alternatives is laughably ludricrous.) https://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/12/07-0

Second leak reported at east Fort Worth gas well site

FORT WORTH — Councilwoman Gyna Bivens said she will seek a review of the city’s procedures for responding to gas well incidents after the second leak in barely a month at a site in east Fort Worth.

Dan Hill, head of the petroleum engineering department at Texas A&M University, told the Star- Telegram that sand used in hydraulic fracturing can wear away steel pipes as it rushes from the well along with natural gas. He said new wells are the most susceptible to sand erosion because the amount of sand and gas rushing through valves and flow lines is at its greatest when a well first goes into production. http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/12/07/5399740/second-leak-reported-at-east-fort.html?rh=1

14 Greenpeace launch of "live" fracking report

Greenpeace has today launched a new publication - "Fracking, What's the Evidence?" - collating evidence from around the world to produce an overview of the fracking picture. From water pollution, to gas flares, to seismic activity to property prices, the report takes an indepth look at what fracking involves, and the key social and environmental risks that should be taken into consideration as the UK Government attempts to open England up to this new form of extreme energy.

But this report is not a standard, static document. We're encouraging readers to view it as a “living document”, which will regularly be updated as new findings are made public. Each new version will be updated numerically; the version launched today is 1.0 (November 2013). http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/fracking-evidence-report

The document http://issuu.com/greenpeace/docs/fracking_-_the_evidence_ https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1cEvov1OlyHdzRBRjk4dElfbVE/edit?usp=sharing&pli=1

Newly discovered greenhouse gas '7,000 times more powerful than CO2'

The newly discovered gas, perfluorotributylamine (PFTBA), has been in use by the electrical industry since the mid-20th century. The chemical, that does not occur naturally, breaks all records for potential impacts on the climate, said the researchers at the University of Toronto's department of chemistry.

"We claim that PFTBA has the highest radiative efficiency of any molecule detected in the atmosphere to date," said Angela Hong, one of the co-authors. The study, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, found PFTBA was 7,100 times more powerful at warming the Earth over a 100-year time span than CO2. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/dec/10/new-greenhouse-gas-powerful-chemical- perfluorotributylamine

The study http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2013GL058010/abstract

Fracking FAQ: The science and technology behind the natural gas boom

First developed in the 1940s, fracking — literally, “hydraulic fracturing,” or “smashing rock open with lots of water” — only began to boom around 2005, but today, it’s used in nine out of every 10 natural gas wells in the U.S. As many as 35,000 wells are fracked each year [PDF], according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). And shale gas (often fracked) now accounts for 15 percent of total U.S. natural gas production, up from virtually nil a few years ago.

15 Scientists assure us that fracking can be done safely — at least in theory. They are still working to understand the long-term implications of using this technology at large scale in the real world, however, where things spill, accidents happen, and people have their health, homes, schools, airports, groundwater, and even cemeteries to worry about. http://grist.org/basics/fracking-faq-the-science-and-technology-behind-the-natural-gas-boom/

What A Year: 45 Fossil Fuel Disasters The Industry Doesn’t Want You To Know About

While coal, oil, and gas are an integral part of everyday life around the world, 2013 brought a stark reminder of the inherent risk that comes with a fossil-fuel dependent world, with numerous pipeline spills, explosions, derailments, landslides, and the death of 20 coal miners in the U.S. alone.

Despite all this, our addiction to fossil fuels will be a tough habit to break. The federal Energy Information Administration in July projected that fossil fuel use will soar across the world in the come decades. Coal — the dirtiest fossil fuel in terms of carbon emissions — is projected to increase by 2.3 percent in coming years. And in December, the EIA said that global demand for oil would be even higher than it had projected, for both this year and next.

Here is a look back at some of the fossil fuel disasters that made headlines in 2013, along with several others that went largely unnoticed. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/17/3056321/year-fossil-fuel-disasters/

Applying Creativity to a Byproduct of Oil Drilling

WATFORD CITY, N.D. — Viewed from outer space, the 1,500 blazing oil well flares burning off excess natural gas illuminate the plains of western North Dakota more brilliantly than Minneapolis hundreds of miles away.

The gas being burned in the Bakken field is a byproduct of a frenzy of oil drilling in isolated areas where there are too few gas-gathering lines and few limits on drilling. In total, the excess gas could heat a million homes, releasing roughly six million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year — roughly equivalent to three medium-size coal-fired power plants.

Statoil is also bringing new equipment to the Bakken for fracking — the high-pressure injection of water, sand and chemicals that forces open the deep underground shale rock — that can also run on a mix of diesel and natural gas.

The costs of the program are modest. A General Electric compression box costs about $1.1 million, and the mobile processor costs about $500,000, according to Statoil executives. The company hopes to get the first pilot running by early January and have up to eight compression units running by the end of 2014. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/18/business/energy-environment/applying-creativity-to-a-byproduct-of- oil-drilling-in-north-dakota.html?emc=eta1&_r=1&

16 Impacts of Fracking Spread Across New York and New England

Shale gas development, long marginalized in the media as a local problem in depressed rural communities, is a state-wide contamination web, with risks for disastrous domino effects. More and more communities throughout New York are discovering that risks are not confined to faraway rural well pads where the gas is fracked. Once pulled up out of the earth, that shale gas is being transported and its contaminants released to residents throughout the state and beyond.

Public awareness about fracking is growing as people have learned about studies demonstrating water contamination and migration; the climate science assessing the contribution of fracking’s methane release to climate change; the concern over radon contamination from shale gas; the increase of seismic activity in fracking regions; and the re-evaluations of early inflated economic projections. http://www.alternet.org/fracking/frackings-impacts-are-spreading-across-new-york-and-new-england

New perspectives on the effects of natural gas extraction on groundwater quality

Isotopic and hydrocarbon ratio analyses have been used to determine the source of methane found in private water wells in the Marcellus shale of Pennsylvania. The majority of methane detected was characteristic of deep, thermogenic methane that could only have been liberated through unconventional drilling activities. Methane was detected in approximately 80% of the collected samples2 with concentrations reaching their highest levels in close proximity to natural gas wells. The root cause of methane contamination events could be attributed to the opening of fractures by unconventional drilling activities that allowed thermogenic methane to migrate into water wells from abandoned historical gas wells. http://www.globalwaterforum.org/2013/10/08/new-perspectives-on-the-effects-of-natural-gas-extraction- on-groundwater-quality/

Discussion paper http://www.globalwaterforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/New-perspectives-on-the-effects-of- natural-gas-extraction-on-groundwater-quality-GWF-1339.pdf

The Science Is Deafening - Industry's Gas Migration

Brief Review of Threats to Canada's Groundwater from the Oil and Gas Industry's Methane Migration and Hydraulic Fracturing

A Public Interest Project by Ernst Environmental Services http://www.frackingcanada.ca/industrys-gas-migration/

What the shale gas industry doesn't want you to know about fracking - Embedded video

Last week the Telegraph published an article I wrote headlined “Now for the Downside of Fracking”, which was based on the experience of several days reporting from Smithfield, Pennsylvania.

17 The piece was an attempt to provide an ground-eye view of what it is like living in close proximity to the so-called "gas rush" which has boosted the local economy, but also caused a backlash from some residents who live close to the installations.

The broader point was very clear. As I wrote: “From a safe distance, the arguments for fracking seem absolutely irresistible – abundant cheap energy, nearly 2 million new jobs and a pain-free fall in carbon emissions – but for those who unlucky enough to find themselves close to the drilling and processing sites, the experience can be miserable.” http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/peterfoster/100204230/what-the-shale-gas-industry-doesnt-want-you- to-know-about-fracking/

The Passionate Eye - Burning Water

Flammable tap water pits an Alberta farm family against Big Gas and the government. http://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/ID/1619380195/

18 Questionable Science

CADAVER COSMETICS: Penn State's "Marcellus by Design," The Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research, and the Edu-Green-Washing of Big Gas

Penn State just doesn't seem to be able to figure out how to be a university--as opposed to a corporate- sponsored research hub, job training program center, and now green-washing "reclamation" aesthetics authority--for the natural gas industry.

It's old news that Penn State epitomizes Frackademia. As reported by Reid R. Frazier of The Allegheny Front and Olivia Garber of PublicSource in 2011, "the school does not give out the information because companies do not want their competitors to know what research they’re doing or that they’re sponsoring university research at all."

Hence it's just astonishing that since the well-deserved public flogging Penn State suffered over its industry front-group funded 2009 study was exposed as in the tank for the gas--right along with its lead researcher--Tim Considine (http://www.examiner.com/article/ex-penn-state-professor-receives-more- oil-gas-industry-funding)--that the university has sought to shore up its compromised reputation through the creation of its own industry-sponsored front group, the Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research (MCOR--http://www.marcellus.psu.edu/): http://thewrenchphilosleft.blogspot.ca/2013/12/cadaver-cosmetics-penn-states-marcellus.html

Louis LaPierre had no role in P.E.I. bridge studies, say feds

Disgraced academic listed as part of team examining Confederation Bridge's environmental impact

Some Government of Canada websites still list him as a "member of the scientific team reviewing the environmental effects" of the bridge.

"After careful review of our files, Transport Canada was able to determine that Louis LaPierre was not involved in any of the environmental assessment studies looking at the potential environmental impacts on marine species and fish in the Northumberland Strait, including reviews of the Confederation Bridge’s impact on the Northumberland Strait fishery."

In September, officials said they would take a second look at his role. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/louis-lapierre-had-no-role-in-p-e-i-bridge-studies-say- feds-1.2470932

19 Renewable Energy

U.S. Will Top Germany In Solar Installation For The First Time In 15 Years

The third quarter of 2013 was another big one for the U.S. solar industry. 930 megawatts of solar photovoltaics (PV) were installed across the country — the second largest quarter in the industry’s history — and it was the largest quarter ever for residential PV installations.

As the solar industry continues its remarkable growth, “2013 is likely to be the first time in more than 15 years that the U.S. installs more solar capacity than world leader Germany,” according to GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association.

By the end of the year, more than 400,000 solar projects will be operating across the U.S. and installations will have grown 27 percent over 2012, with a 52 percent growth rate in the residential sector alone, according to GTM’s forecast. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/10/3042001/us-solar-record-installation/

13 Major Clean Energy Breakthroughs Of 2013 http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/18/3060131/13-clean-energy-breakthroughs-2013-2/

20 Science and Health

Bad news for pregnant women near fracking. Study shows toxins linked to heart defects.

Environmental toxins linked to heart defects Embedded video

DALLAS, Nov. 17, 2013 — Children’s congenital heart defects may be associated with their mothers’ exposure to specific mixtures of environmental toxins during pregnancy, according to research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2013.

These are the chemicals and metals listed in the study: benzene, butadiene, carbon disulphide, chloroform, ethylene oxide, hexachlorobenzene, tetrachloroethane, methanol, sulphur dioxide, toluene, lead, mercury and cadmium. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/01/1259276/-Bad-news-for-pregnant-women-near-fracking- Study-shows-toxins-linked-to-heart-defects#

Chemical Toxicology In the Fracking Zone. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhkswtBom4s&feature=player_embedded

Health Dept. Concerned About Benzene Emissions Near Local Gas Drilling Sites

A substance believed to cause cancer in those exposed to it over an extended period of time is in the air near Marcellus Shale fracking sites, according to Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department Administrator Howard Gamble. "The levels of benzene really pop out. The amounts they were seeing were at levels of concern," said Gamble in describing the results of testing his department recently performed at well sites throughout Ohio County. "The concerns of the public are validated," he added. http://www.news-register.net/page/content.detail/id/593209/Health-Dept--Concerned-About-Benzene- Emissions-Near-Local-Gas-Drilling-Sites.html?nav=510

Fort Worth Shows Why So Many Towns Are Banning Fracking

“Fort Worth has been fracked to capacity,” resident Don Young told DeSmog Blog. “There is no turning back. Some days the air is so bad you can’t see downtown.”

Now Fort Worth has around 2,000 wells.

Residents have been sickened by vapors from drilling operations, found their neighborhoods suddenly ruined by noise and fumes, and had their water sucked up by drilling operations in the middle of severe drought. Five sites were found in 2011 to be emitting pollution above state limits, according to a study commissioned by the Fort Worth City Council, and most of the 388 sites studied released visible emissions. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/10/3044761/fort-worth-fracking/

21 Out of hours working banned by German labour ministry

Germany's employment ministry has banned its managers from calling or emailing staff out of hours except in emergencies, under new guidelines intended to prevent employees from burning out.

"It's in the interests of employers that workers can reliably switch off from their jobs, otherwise, in the long run, they burn out," she said.

The minister called on companies to set clear rules over the out-of-hours availability of their workers earlier this year, warning that: "technology should not be allowed to control us and dominate our lives. We should control technology."

The culture of routinely checking emails in spare time came under the spotlight in July, when the chief executive of Switzerland's biggest telecoms group was found dead at his flat in a suspected suicide.

In an interview in May, Carsten Schloter, boss of Swisscom, criticised the need to be permanently engaged. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/10276815/Out-of-hours-working-banned- by-German-labour-ministry.html

Contaminated Tribe: Hormone-Blocking Chemicals Found in First Nation Families - Ontario

Mothers and children of a First Nations tribe living in one of Canada’s most industrialized regions are highly exposed to estrogen-blocking chemicals, according to a new study.

The research is the first to confirm the Aamjiwnaang community’s fears of elevated exposure to pollutants, and it may help shed some light on why the tribe has an unusually low percentage of baby boys.

The findings do not prove that chemicals are causing fewer baby boys in the community, but they provide some limited evidence suggesting a possible link.

“While we’re far from a conclusive statement, the kinds of health problems they experience— neurodevelopment, skewed sex ratios—are the health effects we would expect from such chemicals and metals, ”said Niladri Basu, lead author of the study and associate professor at McGill University in Montreal. http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/11/14/contaminated-tribe-hormone-blocking- chemicals-found-first-nation-families-152245

Study Links Fracking Chemicals and Hormone Disruption

High levels of hormone-disrupting chemicals have been found in water samples near fracking sites in Colorado, according to research accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society’s journal Endocrinology.

22 The chemicals “could raise the risk of reproductive, metabolic, neurological and other diseases, especially in children who are exposed to EDCs [endocrine-disrupting chemicals],” said one of the study’s authors, Susan Nagel, of the University of Missouri School of Medicine.

Researchers took surface and ground water samples from sites with drilling spills or accidents in Garfield County, Colo. The area has more than 10,000 natural gas wells. http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/402033-study-links-fracking-chemicals-and-hormone-disruption/

MU Researchers Find Fracking Chemicals Disrupt Hormone Function

University of Missouri researchers have found greater hormone-disrupting properties in water located near hydraulic fracturing drilling sites than in areas without drilling. The researchers also found that 11 chemicals commonly used in the controversial "fracking" method of drilling for oil and natural gas are endocrine disruptors.

The water samples from drilling sites demonstrated higher endocrine-disrupting activity that could interfere with the body's response to androgen and estrogen hormones. Drilling site water samples had moderate-to-high levels of endocrine-disrupting activity, and samples from the Colorado River showed moderate levels. In comparison, the researchers measured low levels of endocrine-disrupting activity in the Garfield County, Colo., sites that experienced little drilling and the Boone County, Mo., sites with no drilling. http://medicine.missouri.edu/news/0214.php

Estrogen and Androgen Receptor Activities of Hydraulic Fracturing Chemicals and Surface and Ground Water in a Drilling-Dense Region

The majority of water samples collected from sites in a drilling-dense region of Colorado exhibited more estrogenic, anti-estrogenic, or anti-androgenic activities than reference sites with limited nearby drilling operations. Our data suggest that natural gas drilling operations may result in elevated EDC activity in surface and ground water. http://endo.endojournals.org/content/early/2013/12/16/en.2013-1697.abstract?rss=1

Health Dept. Concerned About Benzene Emissions Near Local Gas Drilling Sites

A substance believed to cause cancer in those exposed to it over an extended period of time is in the air near Marcellus Shale fracking sites, according to Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department Administrator Howard Gamble.

"The levels of benzene really pop out. The amounts they were seeing were at levels of concern," said Gamble in describing the results of testing his department recently performed at well sites throughout Ohio County.

"The concerns of the public are validated," he added.

23 In addition to benzene, multiple legal advertisements over the past few years by natural gas producers confirm the "potential to discharge" various amounts of these materials into the air on an annual basis from the operations at the natural gas wells and compressor stations: carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, methane, carbon dioxide equivalent, xylenes, toluene and formaldehyde. http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/593209/Health-Dept--Concerned-About-Benzene- Emissions-Near-Local-Gas-Drilling-Sites.html?nav=510

Fracking Waste Linked To City's Toxic Drinking Water, Class-Action Suit Alleges Embedded video

The tiny town of Bokoshe, Okla., population 500, has had enough of the pollution that residents blame on power plants and fracking waste. Now, these citizens have filed a class-action suit against the companies they think are responsible.

In 2010, Bokoshe citizens were alarmed to find a coal ash dump site near their town was discharging toxic chemicals into their groundwater and likely emitting particles of arsenic, lead and mercury into their air they breathe.

Fast forward to November 2013, when Oklahoma's News 6 uncovered that fracking wastewater also had been discharged at Bokoshe, in quantities of "hundreds of millions of gallons." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/14/bokoshe-fracking-waste-disposal-class-action- suit_n_4268732.html http://www.newson6.com/story/23938227/fracking-wastewater-dumped-in-small-oklahoma-town

24 Economics, Legal, and Investigations

Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA)

CELA works to protect human health and our environment by seeking justice for those harmed by pollution and by working to change policies to prevent such problems in the first place. For 40 years, CELA has used legal tools to increase environmental protection and safeguard communities. As a Legal Aid Clinic, our top priority is to represent low income individuals and communities and to speak out for those with less influence and who receive less of a say in decision-making. http://www.cela.ca/

Fredericton reaches settlement with Occupy protesters

Fredericton City Hall and Occupy demonstrators have reached an out-of-court settlement stemming from the dismantling of the Occupy camp in Fredericton in 2011.

Julian Reneaud is one of three Occupy demonstrators who took Fredericton City Hall to court.

They were looking for compensation, claiming their charter rights were violated and property damaged when city crews dismantled their camp.

Part of the settlement will include an admission by city hall that demonstrators did not violate any city bylaws.

“We required the statement to say something to that effect and it does, now we can’t reveal the exact wording of the statement until January 6, 2014,” says Reneaud.

Details surrounding the financial settlement between the city and the demonstrators will also remain under wraps, for now. http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/fredericton-reaches-settlement-with-occupy-protesters-1.1571020

(Willi Nolan) “Jane Doe” SLAPPs Back! Defending Lawsuit to Silence & Intimidate Anti-Fracking Protests

Community activist Willi Nolan was named in a SLAPP suit (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation) by Southwestern Energy Canada (SWN) for lost profits due to peaceful protests in New Brunswick. When SWN tried to discontinue their SLAPP suit against her – and only her – she took the opportunity to join herself with “Jane Doe” – every woman in the province who is opposed to shale gas development and filed a statement of defence. By representing Jane Doe in the SLAPP suit, Nolan says she is protecting the voices of the people SWN is trying to silence and the water, plants and animals in the Mi’kmaq District of Signigtog. “A SLAPP is intended to silence public opposition.

Nolan questions whether SWN’s injunction and lawsuit is actually legal, “It is not clear at all. Exactly what does SWN mean by launching an action against “Jane Doe”? Do they mean active protesters, all protesters, all persons in New Brunswick? Why is the province joining in to help SWN sue and place

25 injunctions on us? The claims are so vague, why did the court grant the injunction and lawsuit in the first place?”

No representation has come forward yet to present Jane Doe’s concerns or defences, so Willi Nolan filed a defence in the New Brunswick courts, keeping her vulnerable in the lawsuit. “Until there’s satisfactory legal representation for the serious public concerns of all the unnamed people that SWN has acted against, I will be seeking justice. If necessary to resolve these matters, a counterclaim will be filed.” http://willinolanspeaks.com/shares/jane-doe-slapps-back-defending-lawsuit-to-silence-intimidate-anti- fracking-protests/

Bloomberg LP Launches First Tool That Measures Risk of 'Unburnable Carbon' Assets

In a move that underscores Wall Street's growing unease over the business-as-usual strategy of the world's fossil fuel companies, Bloomberg L.P. unveiled a tool last week that helps investors quantify for the first time how climate policies and related risks might batter the earnings and stock prices of individual oil, coal and natural gas companies. The company's new Carbon Risk Valuation Tool is available to more than 300,000 high-end traders, analysts and others who regularly pore over the stream of information that's available through Bloomberg's financial data and analysis service. http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20131203/bloomberg-lp-launches-first-tool-measures-risk- unburnable-carbon-assets

Students push for fossil fuel endowment divestment

Students are squaring off against their universities and their boards in an effort to force them to divest an estimated $400 billion in university endowments in fossil fuels.

"To me, reaching a goal where our college divests isn't necessarily about the financial impact it will have on these companies," said Leehi Yona, a sophomore and leader of Divest Dartmouth. "It's about the fact that, in order to reach the point where we divest, we've created a significant momentum and awareness in the campus community that climate change and fossil fuels are a deeply moral issue." http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/12/04/university-fossil-fuel-endowments/3866879/

Where Your Money Goes: Billions of Tax Dollars are Subsidizing Eco-Terrorism

It isn’t just an American problem. Collectively, the world spends more than $700 billion[1] a year in subsidies which support some of the most environmentally damaging activities conceivable, including fracking, clear-cutting forests, promoting the use of fossil fuels, polluting water, soil, and air, over- pumping aquifers, and over-fishing.

In a report published by a non-government environmental watchdog organization called Earth Group titled “Subsidizing Unsustainable Development,” the misappropriation of billions on earth-damaging business practices is detailed meticulously. Public funds are being used to ensure that subsidies fatten the coffers of corporations responsible for permanently damaging our planet. The study states simply,

26 “There’s something unbelievable about the world spending hundreds of billions of dollars annually to subsidize its own destruction.” http://www.nationofchange.org/where-your-money-goes-billions-tax-dollars-are-subsidizing-eco- terrorism-1386260065

Subsidizing Unsustainable Development http://www.cbd.int/doc/case-studies/inc/cs-inc-earthcouncil-unsustainable-en.pdf

US Energy Independence: Another Pipe Dream, Says Analyst

Speaking at the Denver meeting of the Geological Society of America and later at Queen's University and an energy conference in Toronto, David Hughes challenged the assumptions of industry cheerleaders by spelling out startling depletion rates for high-cost unconventional shale and tight oil wells. After reviewing data from unconventional oil wells, Hughes found that these difficult and high-cost operations deplete so rapidly that between 47 to 61 per cent of oil from plays like the Bakken, the first major tight oil play developed, is recovered within the first four years.

Hughes noted that the Bakken and Texas' Eagle Ford plays, which currently produce two-thirds of U.S. tight oil and are supposed to take the country into energy independence territory, will actually peak in production by 2016 or 2017. http://thetyee.ca/News/2013/12/07/US-Energy-Independence/? utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=071213

Oil Company Caught Illegally Dumping Fracking Discharge In Central Valley Embedded video

SHAFTER, Kern County (KPIX 5) - For the first time, California has penalized an oil company over illegal fracking activity after the discovery of a video showing wrongful dumping of the fracking discharge.

The video has now led the state to look into the drilling activity of dozens of other companies.

In October of 2012, Kern County farmer Tom Frantz knew an oil company was drilling new wells in the almond orchards near his farm in the town of Shafter. What he didn’t know was that the video he recorded of the drilling and hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as “fracking” caught Vintage Production doing something he suspected was illegal. http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/11/26/oil-company-caught-illegally-dumping-fracking-discharge- in-central-valley/

Gladue re aboriginal sentencing and bail

Gladue refers to a right that Aboriginal People have under section 718.2 (e) of the Criminal Code.

27 Gladue is also a sentencing principle which recognizes that Aboriginal Peoples face racism and systemic discrimination in and out of the criminal law system, and attempts to deal, with the crisis of overrepresentation /inequities of Aboriginal Peoples in custody, to the extent possible, through changing how judges sentence.

Gladue instructs judges, when sentencing or setting bail, to consider: “all available sanctions other than imprisonment that are reasonable in the circumstances, with particular attention to” the circumstances of Aboriginal offenders.” http://www.nwac.ca/sites/default/files/imce/Gender%20Matters%20English/5-WhatIsGladue_GM.pdf

Top 5 resource impediments for 2013

There’s little wonder that Canada’s resource economy is struggling. Indeed the key players seem intent on doing as little as they can to promote constructive dialogue within project windows-of-opportunity. Thus my ranking of the Top 5 dynamics hampering progress on Canada’s road to resources:

1. The AFN remains missing in action: “To be abundantly clear, resolution of these big issues is not going to be something that the Prime Minister and I will work out” (National Chief Atleo on CBC’s The House March 24 2013) 2. B.C. Business Coalition’s quasi-legal argument against a territorial (versus site-specific) approach to defining ‘aboriginal title’: “… the territorial approach to Aboriginal title creates uncertainty and in the Business Coalition’s submission would threaten the economy.” (SCC filing argued Nov 07 2013) 3. Five injunction applications in-a-row over anti-fracking protests in New Brunswick feed ever more litigation: “It is possible that the Applicant (SWN Resources Canada) will seek damages at trial in an amount greater than $26 million which almost certainly could not be recovered from the Respondents” (SWN pre-hearing submission Nov 21 2013) 4. Premier Wynne’s strategic understatement on life-after-Cliffs and the Ring of Fire’s flameout: “On the issue of consultation, there’s plenty of opportunity right now to talk about the shape of the [corporation] to be able to be part of the formation of that”. (G&M Dec 06 2013) 5. Native leaders spur-of-the-moment attempt to crash Parliament while in session – but are denied entry – their departing refrain: “Wait till you try coming on to our lands!” (Dec 04 2013)

Such are the dynamics driving the downturn on the road to resources in 2013. Almost every province is involved in a protracted low-level conflict of some sort. http://www.smagnis.com/top-5-resource-impediments-for-2013/

In Pennsylvania, shale job numbers are hard to pin down

In Pennsylvania, shale job numbers are harder to pin down. The estimates can vary by a factor of 10. The debates are heated.

"We keep hearing all the different claims," said Rep. Steven McCarter, D-Montgomery. "The governor routinely says 200,000-plus [jobs]. You have another economist saying it's only one-seventh of that. Then the governor comes back and says many of these are ancillary jobs ... the answer is: We don't have good information." "We all use sound bites, and we use data any way we want to use them," Mr. McCarter said.

28 But, he said, it's important to have unassailable statistics when debating whether to tax the industry or to give it incentives. http://www.post-gazette.com/business/2013/12/08/the-shale-gas-boom-WHO-S- COUNTING/stories/201312080059

170 legal victories empower First Nations in fight over resource development

First Nations now hold the balance of power in deciding the fate of Canada’s resource projects because they have rights that others don’t http://business.financialpost.com/2012/12/14/170-legal-victories-empower-first-nations-in-fight-over- resource-development/?__lsa=5587-6356

Treaties: Negotiations and Rights

In what is now the Canadian state, from 1870-1921, eleven numbered agreements took place between Indigenous Peoples and the British Crown. In contemporary times Treaty1 is greatly misunderstood from both Indigenous Peoples and non-Indigenous Peoples alike. What took place at these historical meetings has been a source of contention from the outset. The central issue is the land. Who had authority and jurisdiction over the land? What was agreed to in terms of the Treaty? Another issue is whether Indigenous Peoples signed away their right to govern themselves according to their laws and customs. The source of this contention is based on oral understandings versus the written understandings of Treaty. An explanation as to the reasons why Treaty is misunderstood is in the following quote:

For an understanding of the relationship between the Treaty Peoples and the Crown of Great Britain and later Canada, one must consider a number of factors beyond the treaty's written text. First, the written text expresses only the government of Canada's view of the treaty relationship: it does not embody the negotiated agreement. Even the written versions of treaties have been subject to considerable interpretation, and they may be scantily supported by reports or other information about the treaty negotiations

Sharon H. Venne, "Understanding Treaty 6: An Indigenous Perspective" in M. Asch, ed., Aboriginal and Treaty Rights in Canada (2002) http://scaa.sk.ca/ourlegacy/exhibit_treaties

Gas Drilling Is Killing Property Values For Some Americans

(Reuters) - When Gary Gless bought his sleek, modernist house in Los Angeles in 2002, he thought he had hit a "gold mine." The world's largest inner-city park - featuring a lush, 18-hole golf course - was about to get built across the street. Gless's balcony was set to overlook the clubhouse and first tee. Today, instead of golf carts and fairways, Gless looks out on to drilling wells and oil pads. The park plan was ditched, and Freeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas LLC now operates 700 wells there - and 400 more are on the way.

Gless, who holds the mineral rights to his land but collects no royalties, would move if he could. But he is stuck.

29

"Who would want to live here?" says Gless, who says his house has lost at least 80 percent of its value. "I wouldn't even buy my own home." http://www.businessinsider.com/drilling-can-make-some-properties-unsellable-2013- 12#ixzz2nMgFv8FU

Students Escalate Divestment Campaign After Universities Refuse to Sell Fossil Fuel Stocks

Students across the country are escalating their campaigns for fossil fuel divestment after a number of high profile colleges and universities have rejected measures demanding they sell their stocks.

Schools that have rejected requests for divestment include Harvard University, Cornell University, Middlebury College, Boston College, Vassar College, the City University of New York, Brown University and Swarthmore College.

Divestment activists at each of these schools and others have come together and written a joint letter “rejecting the divestment rejections” and pledging to take future action. Over the last two weeks students around the country took various actions and delivered the letter to their president’s home or administrative offices. http://ecowatch.com/2013/12/12/divestment-campaign-universities-refuse-sell-fossil-fuel-stocks/

Southwestern Energy faces fracking lawsuit - May 2011

A U.S. company that is seeking to drill for natural gas in New Brunswick is facing a class-action lawsuit in Arkansas over its use of the controversial hydro-fracking procedure. Southwestern Energy has committed to invest $49 million into the province as a part of a three-year licence to search for oil and gas.

But in the United States it is already facing a claim for damages from about a dozen families in Pennsylvania. Now, another law firm has launched a class-action suit in Arkansas. Holton said the New Brunswick government should be careful before allowing Southwestern Energy to use the contentious drilling technique in the province. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/southwestern-energy-faces-fracking-lawsuit-1.1007171

Peter Voser says he regrets Shell’s huge bet on US shale

Peter Voser said the failure of Royal Dutch Shell’s huge bet on US shale was a big regret of his time as chief executive of the company.

Speaking to the Financial Times three months before he is due to step down, Mr Voser also described the technical setbacks Shell has suffered in its exploration campaign off the coast of Alaska as one of his greatest disappointments in the job.

Shell has invested at least $24bn in so-called unconventional oil and gas in North America. But it is a bet that has yet to pay off. Its North American upstream business has struggled to turn a profit and in

30 August Shell announced a strategic review of its US shale portfolio after taking a $2.1bn impairment. “Unconventionals did not exactly play out as planned,” Mr Voser said. http://www.naturalgaseurope.com/peter-voser-regrets-shells-huge-bet-on-us-shale

Fracking Boom Gives Banks Mortgage Headaches

But much of this land is occupied by single-family homes and farms. If oil or gas is beneath his property, a homeowner could sell the rights to an energy firm, potentially reaping millions of dollars. That transaction could also derail a mortgage.

The uniform New York state mortgage agreement, used by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, states that "you cannot cause or permit any hazardous materials to be on your property and it specifically references oil and gas," says Greg May, vice president of residential mortgage lending at Tompkins. "That alone would make it a problem."

The mortgage agreement says homeowners can sell an oil or gas lease to an energy firm with prior consent from a lender, but May says, "I don't know any lenders who are granting that right now." http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/178_218/fracking-boom-gives-banks-mortgage-headaches- 1063561-1.html

Alberta has failed on the economic diversification front

Alberta’s oil sands industry always struck me as remarkably unambitous, which is absolutely the wrong thing to tell Albertans.

Just think what China, South Korea or India would have done with such a vast resource. The oil sands would be ringed with upgraders, refineries and factories that would make everything from diesel fuel to plastics. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/alberta-has- failed-on-the-economic-diversification-front/article15963401/

The fracking/real estate conundrum

New research indicates that many of the 15.3 million Americans living within a mile of a hydraulically fractured well that’s been drilled since 2000 may have lost or be in the process of losing a good portion of their wealth as a result of this drilling activity.

So just how big of a loss are we talking about cumulatively? If the research is correct, it’s billions upon billions of dollars. As a matter of perspective, recent research indicates that drilling wells within just one mid-size community such as Longmont could, in a worst-case scenario, trigger a drop in home values of more than 15 percent. And a 15 percent drop in Longmont real estate values, a town with a population of only 88,000, would equal somewhere around a $1.2 billion loss. http://www.boulderweekly.com/article-12047-the-fracking_real-estate-conundrum.html

31 Navajo Nation Prevails in Bankruptcy Case: May Gain Over a Billion Dollars for Uranium Cleanup

WINDOW ROCK, ARIZONA — Navajo Nation Attorney General Harrison Tsosie announced on December 13, 2013 that the Navajo Nation has prevailed in its claims against Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and Kerr-McGee Corporation involving a number of former uranium mines and one former Kerr-McGee uranium processing site.

The decision was handled down on Thursday, December 12, 2012 by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Allan L. Gropper. His decision finds that Anadarko and Kerr-McGee are liable to the plaintiffs for damages, setting a range for such damages between $5.1 and $14.1 billion. The exact amount f damages will be determined after briefing by the parties. http://nativenewsonline.net/currents/navajo-nation-prevails-bankruptcy-case-may-gain-billion-uranium- cleanup/

Chesapeake fined $3.2 million for West Virginia water violations

(Reuters) - U.S. federal regulators on Thursday said oil and gas company Chesapeake Energy Corp will pay a civil penalty of $3.2 million to settle Clean Water Act violations in West Virginia where it drills in the Marcellus Shale.

Chesapeake will also pay an estimated $6.5 million to restore streams and wetlands. The U.S. oil and gas company allegedly dumped rocks, sand and dirt into wetlands while building drill sites and roads, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/19/us-chesapeake-penalty-idUSBRE9BI19Z20131219

Shale Grab in U.S. Stalls as Falling Values Repel Buyers

Oil companies are hitting the brakes on a U.S. shale land grab that produced an abundance of cheap natural gas -- and troubles for the industry.

The spending slowdown by international companies including BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) and Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) comes amid a series of write-downs of oil and gas shale assets, caused by plunging prices and disappointing wells. The companies are turning instead to developing current projects, unable to justify buying more property while fields bought during the 2009-2012 flurry remain below their purchase price, according to analysts. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-18/shale-grab-in-u-s-stalls-as-falling-values-repel- buyers.html

32 Regulations

Considerations for Responsible Gas Development of the Frederick Brook Shale in New Brunswick

Matthew D. Alexander1, Lining Qian1, Tim A. Ryan1, and John Herron2 1Fundy Engineering & Consulting Ltd., 27 Wellington Row, Saint John, New Brunswick, E2L 4S1, www.fundyeng.com 2Atlantica Centre for Energy, 27 Wellington Row, Saint John, New Brunswick, E2L 3H4, www.atlanticaenergy.org

If discovered in commercially-viable volumes, it will take several years for production to ramp up. Accordingly, now is the time for New Brunswick to identify best-practices in other shale gas development areas to ensure that we are ready to accommodate and regulate this industry. http://www.atlanticaenergy.org/uploads/file/ACfE%20Shale%20Gas%20Paper%20- %20%202011%20%20FINAL.pdf

33 Environment and Enjoyment of Property

Pope Francis speaks out against fracking and environmental devastation

Pope Francis met delegates from South America this week to discuss the oil and gas drilling plans proposed by corporations in the region. He announced he will soon start to work on an encyclical on the environment.

The pope met Fernando Solanas, a politician in his native Argentina, to talk about the environmental threats the country was facing. The Argentinean government announced in September that a deal had been reached between Chevron and state oil company YPF to exploit oil and gas in the south. http://blueandgreentomorrow.com/2013/11/29/pope-francis-speaks-out-against-fracking-and- environmental-devastation/

OPEC claims the shale boom only has another five years left to run

OPEC believes that the shale boom has only five more years to go before it burns out. The US strategy of energy security aims to cut oil imports by a third over the next decade, while increasing shale extraction efforts. Initially America has been successful in its production of oil, but OPEC expects the nations luck will soon run out. The volume of production is already decreasing at some shale oil deposits across the nation, and in some places this drop has been quite severe.

In addition there are concerns that the effect of shale extraction on the environment is not fully understood. Drilling rock could lead to the pollution of drinking waters sources, and the threat of earthquakes increases in areas where fracking is taking place. http://www.shaleenergyinsider.com/2013/12/05/opec-claims-the-shale-boom-only-has-another-five- years-left-to-run/?utm_source=Shale+Energy+Insider&utm_campaign=fdf520d0f1- 06_12_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_346cca65c0-fdf520d0f1-14604705

Noam Chomsky: Indigenous People Are In The Lead

During his visit, Chomsky delivered a lecture at the Université de Montréal in which he analyzed the decline of American power.

In the Western hemisphere, he argued, the US and Canada have become marginal to the major discussions now underway: only in the most vulnerable countries like Haiti and Honduras have US- and Canadian-supported military regimes taken power.

Chomsky also spoke out forcefully against Canadian tar sands, shale gas, and mining developments, and underlined the importance of indigenous resistance to the devastation they are causing.

According to Chomsky, “Canadian mining operations are just destroying large parts of the world.” He said that “Canada is trying to take the lead in destroying the possibility of decent survival: that’s what it means to exploit the tar sands, and the gold mining in Colombia, and coal mining, and so on…. That means destroying the world in which your grandchildren might be able to survive: that’s the Canadian idea now.”

34 Chomsky added that “There is resistance: in Canada it’s coming from First Nations. But it’s worth remembering that that’s a world-wide phenomenon. Throughout the world, the indigenous populations are in the lead. They are actually taking the lead in trying to protect the earth. That’s extremely significant.” http://www.popularresistance.org/noam-chomsky-indigenous-people-are-in-the-lead/

Fracking hell: what it's really like to live next to a shale gas well

Veronica Kronvall can, even now, remember how excited she felt about buying her house in 2007.

What Kronvall did not imagine at the time – even here in north Texas, the pumping heart of the oil and gas industry – was that four years later an energy company would drill five wells behind her home. The closest two are within 300ft of her tiny patch of garden, and their green pipes and tanks loom over the fence. As the drilling began, Kronvall, 52, began having nosebleeds, nausea and headaches. Her home lost nearly a quarter of its value and some of her neighbours went into foreclosure. "It turned a peaceful little life into a bit of a nightmare," she says. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/dec/14/fracking-hell-live-next-shale-gas-well-texas-us? commentpage=1

Farmers Are Devoured Like Grass By The Gas Industry

Marcellus Shale drilling is a different beast than what I had to deal with from the four Benson (5000 foot) wells drilled on the 500 acres in my tenure. Benson wells took a few hundred square feet, and required a lightly rocky road. The wells were drilled in a couple of months, and reclamation allowed some grass production to return to the surface, however there was some dust, and a little storm drainage.

Benson wells are tame in comparison to Marcellus Shale development. The pond that was used on the Benson wells could not have been used to park a truck larger than a pickup. Ponds today can hold two or more dozen of the big tankers they use and are several times deeper. The well pad size is in acres, not hundreds of square feet. The pad and the road is heavily rocked and will never produce decent pasture again. The pipeline rights-of-way are wide enough to accommodate very large equipment. Trees won’t be allowed to produce timber until the lines are abandoned. If it is economically feasible to remove the pipelines, the ground will be disturbed again then and it will be decades before the forest can recover after that, if ever.

There will be a significant reduction in property value. Who wants to buy a farm with a well pad on it that enables the driller to fool around for decades on one well after another? With reclamation that is not renovation, repeated for each well, many times over? With the uncertainty of loss of water, damage from fumes, from toxic ponds and compressor stations? Am I alone in this claim? Read “Fracking Boom Gives Banks Mortgage Headaches.“ The disgusting part of the article is that it is worried about banks, but there is not a word about property owners. I suppose landowners are like grass that has to accept being eaten off by cows. (And stepped on and the other thing cows do on grass.) In the places where oil and gas has been extracted before, there is no mineral rights for the surface owners! Such rights are long gone. See also the American Banker video here. http://www.frackcheckwv.net/2013/12/13/farmers-are-devoured-like-grass-by-the-gas-industry/

35 Climate Change Denial a Billion Dollar Industry of Fabrication Says Study

A new study out of Drexel University in Philadelphia has exposed a billion dollar industry of fabrication- a complex construction of false information created by those engaged in climate change denial and the conservative organizations that support that denial. To uncover the organized effort, researchers examined the Climate Change Counter Movement (CCCM), a structured “think tank” supported by 91 official organizations and funded by 140 non-profits. The total budget for these synchronized groups as a whole is over 900 million dollars; funds that are provided largely by corporations, conservative organizations and groups set up specifically to promote climate change denial. The study, entitled Institutionalizing delay: foundation funding and the creation of U.S. climate change counter-movement organizations includes a meta-analysis of numerous previous studies.

The study found that these organizations and non-profits, as a unified body, deliberately put forth untrue propaganda in order to purposely confuse the public and create vast misunderstanding over climate change. The CCCM also endeavors to block legislation that could potentially harm the movement’s shareholders. http://guardianlv.com/2013/12/climate-change-denial-a-billion-dollar-industry-of-fabrication-says-study/

The report http://www.drexel.edu/~/media/Files/now/pdfs/Institutionalizing%20Delay%20-%20Climatic %20Change.ashx

Energy, the Environment, and Our Future

Join internationally-acclaimed researcher and award-winning educator Richard Alley in an exploration of the role of energy in our environment and our future. Energy use has done great good for humans by giving those in the developed world the equivalent of 100 energy "serfs" to do our bidding, making up roughly 10% of the economy, and powering most of the economy. However, the unintended consequences of energy use are affecting people around the world and changing the climate in ways that will make life much harder. Numerous options exist for development of a sustainable energy system that provides a stronger economy, more jobs, and greater security that is more consistent with ethical principles. The course explores these issues. https://www.coursera.org/#course/energy

Earth: The Operators' Manual Embedded video

An operator’s manual helps keep your car or computer running at peak performance. Earth science can do the same for the planet. To illustrate the evidence and the way forward, host Richard Alley, takes viewers on a High-Definition trip around the globe, from New Zealand to New Orleans, telling the story of Earth’s climate history and our relationship with fossil fuels. http://earththeoperatorsmanual.com/feature-video/earth-the-operators-manual http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RyvpsIx47E&feature=player_embedded

36 Government, Meetings, News, and Letters

From Quebec to Spain, anti-protest laws are threatening true democracy

The Spanish government's punitive anti-protest draft laws are, critics say, an attack on democracy. That is precisely what they are.

In a number of recent front lines of popular protest, state capacities have been reconfigured to meet the challenge. In some instances, as in Greece, this has meant periods of emergency government. In Chicago, in Quebec and now in Spain, it has meant the expansion of anti-protest laws. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/25/quebec-spain-anti-protest-laws-democracy

Op-Ed: A bad week to be Canadian

Being a Canadian is so embarrassing these days. We seem to be doing everything possible to convince the rest of the world that we are a bunch of morons. I’m not talking about Rob Ford’s antics at Toronto city hall. I’m talking about the behaviour of our new minister of the environment, Leona Aglukkaq, at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Warsaw this week.

Her offence is not so much that she is working to sabotage any effective agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions. This is just standard Canadian policy, and while it may make us look like bad people, it doesn’t make us look stupid. http://www.ottawacitizen.com/technology/week+Canadian/9195896/story.html

First Nations Canada - Links to articles

• First Nations Exposed To Pollutants • National Chief Gets Behind Protest • Who Isn't Impressed With Harper Government • Creating Opportunities for First Nations Girls and Women • Honour the Apology: Fasting for My Father, a Residential School Survivor • Shadow Of Past Abuse Lingers Over First Nations Education Debate • First Nations Are Doing It For Themselves • Summer Unrest Depends On Harper: Atleo

Plus links to additional articles http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/first-nations-canada

Police In Thailand Lay Down Vests and Barricades In Solidarity With Protestors

37 In a stunning turn of events today in Thailand, riot police yielded to the peaceful protesters they were ordered to harass and blocked. They police removing barricades and their helmets as a sign of solidarity.

The protesters explain that their goal is to destroy the political machine of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is accused of widespread corruption and abuse of power. Thaksin’s sister, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, is currently in power, and is seen as a puppet of her brother. http://politicalblindspot.com/police-in-thailand-lay-down-vests-and-barricades-in-solidarity-with- protestors/

The often-ignored facts about Elsipogtog

The majority of Canadians have been woefully under-informed about what is one of the most important outstanding issues related to the events in Elsipogtog: land and resource ownership.

In 1997, the landmark Supreme Court Decision in Delgamuukw finally clarified that even under Canadian law, Aboriginal title to most of the land within British Columbia’s provincial borders had never been extinguished. This ruling had immediate implications for other areas of the country where no treaties ceding land ownership were ever signed. One day, Canadians woke up to a legal reality in which millions of acres of land were recognized as never having been acquired by the Crown, and that elephant has been occupying our national room ever since.

Unfortunately, this glaring issue did not seem to percolate into the wider Canadian consciousness, and many people remain unaware of it. In 1999, the Supreme Court passed down another judgement confirming that the Peace and Friendship Treaties of 1760-1761 did not cede land or resources. This cannot be emphasized strongly enough: the Mi’kmaq never gave up legal rights to their land or resources. Canada does not own the land that the people of Elsipogtog are defending.

This is not conspiracy theory, or indigenous interpretation. This is Canadian law, interpreted by the Supreme Court of Canada, applying Canadian constitutional principles. Yet somehow, this most important fact is left out of most reports on Elsipogtog as though it is barely relevant.

Often misunderstood by the general public, too, is that the people of Elsipogtog have widespread support from Acadians and Anglos in the area. In fact, the majority of people living in New Brunswick support a moratorium on fracking, in direct opposition to Premier David Alward’s wholehearted embracing of shale gas exploration. Opposition to fracking is not a fringe position; it is the majority position in the Atlantic provinces and elsewhere throughout Canada.

So here you have a group of people who never gave up ownership of their land or resources, opposing widely contested shale gas exploration, which was approved by a government that does not own the land or resources, acting with the support of their non-native neighbours and being reported on by mainstream media outlets that often fail to address the substantive issues. http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2013/11/14/the_oftenignored_facts_about_elsipogtog.html

Alward raising fracking concerns, April 6, 2010. - Audio http://www.gnb.ca/legis/QP/audio/56-4-61_o.asx

38 Corporate Fascism from Top Documentary Films Embedded video

It's evident today that corporations raise and spend huge amounts of money on the political campaigns of the presidents and congressmen. These corporations also spend huge amounts of money hiring former government officials to lobby congress to pass laws that mainly benefit their interest. If so, have we allowed other entities than people to monopolize government?

Have we allowed corporate power to influence the creation of laws that fail to benefit the people? Lawyers will argue that indeed the corporations are people. They will argue that they're even good corporate citizens. But is a corporation really a citizen or for that matter even a person? And what about a multinational corporation, is that even a citizen of any particular country? http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/corporate-fascism/

Political positions on shale gas shift with change of power

Premier David Alward's Tories continue to say development is key to New Brunswick's economic future. But the premier's critics are pointing out that Alward was raising the alarm about the industry less than four years ago.

In the legislature last week, Progressive Conservative MLA Glen Savoie was praising the possibility of shale gas development in New Brunswick.

"We want to bring thousands of jobs and billions of dollars to New Brunswick," Savoie said. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/political-positions-on-shale-gas-shift-with-change-of- power-1.2456400

Leonard defends industrial energy subsidy

Energy Minister Craig Leonard is defending a new business subsidy program that will force NB Power to buy high-cost renewable energy from large corporations as a "customer retention initiative."

The province’s energy minister was responding to criticism from business groups and energy experts over the plan to force NB Power to buy renewable electricity generated by big industrial companies at a high price and then sell it back to those companies at significantly lower rates.

For example, NB Power would have to pay the company J.D. Irving Ltd. 9.5 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity generated at the company's St. George dam and sell it back for use in J.D. Irving's mills at an industrial rate of less than seven cents per kilowatt hour.

That one transaction will cost NB Power more than $1 million a year. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/leonard-defends-industrial-energy-subsidy-1.1003381

39 Aboriginal Courtwork Program

Aboriginal Courtwork Programs currently operate in every province and territory with the exception of P.E.I., Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick. Nationally, over 180 Courtworkers provide services to approximately 60,000 Aboriginal clients in over 450 communities each year.

All Aboriginal people in conflict with the law in Canada are eligible to receive Courtwork services regardless of their status, age or residency.

The purpose of the Aboriginal Courtwork Program is to help Aboriginal people in conflict with the criminal justice system obtain fair, equitable, culturally-sensitive treatment.

The objectives of the Aboriginal Courtwork Program are to: • Assist Aboriginal people to understand their right to speak on their own behalf or to request legal counsel; and, to better understand the nature of the charges against them and the philosophy and functioning of the criminal justice system; • Assist those involved in the administration of the criminal justice system become aware and appreciate the values, customs, languages and socio-economic conditions of Aboriginal people; and • Respond to problems and special needs caused by communication barriers between Aboriginal people and those who are involved in the administration of the criminal justice system. http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/fund-fina/gov-gouv/acp-apc/index.html

Most Federal Scientists Feel They Can’t Speak Out, Even If Public Health and Safety at Risk Says New Survey

A major survey of federal government scientists commissioned by the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), has found that 90% feel they are not allowed to speak freely to the media about the work they do and that, faced with a departmental decision that could harm public health, safety or the environment, nearly as many (86%) would face censure or retaliation for doing so.

In particular, the survey also found that nearly one-quarter (24%) of respondents had been directly asked to exclude or alter information for non-scientific reasons and that over one-third (37%) had been prevented in the past five years from responding to questions from the public and media.

In addition, the survey found that nearly three out of every four federal scientists (74%) believe the sharing of scientific findings has become too restricted in the past five years and that nearly the same number (71%) believe political interference has compromised Canada’s ability to develop policy, law and programs based on scientific evidence. According to the survey, nearly half (48%) are aware of actual cases in which their department or agency suppressed information, leading to incomplete, inaccurate, or misleading impressions by the public, industry and/or other government officials. http://www.pipsc.ca/portal/page/portal/website/issues/science/bigchill

The report http://www.pipsc.ca/portal/page/portal/website/issues/science/pdfs/bigchill.en.pdf

40 Nearly 300 contractors replaced with temporary foreign workers

As hundreds of pipefitters and welders arrived at Husky Energy’s Sunrise project for their weeks-long shifts, a company spokesperson told the crew of approximately 270 this would be their last.

Their replacements? An equal number of temporary foreign workers brought in by Saipem, a non-union Italian company specializing in oil and gas construction projects. Over the next 30 days, dozens of temporary foreign workers from Mexico, Ireland, Portugal and Italy were arriving at the site 60 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, waiting for turnover. By Sept. 27, the original workers —all contractors with Toronto-based Black & MacDonald— were gone.

“Layoffs are pretty standard when there’s no work to be done, but there was plenty of work for us to do out there,” said Louis, a commuter from Napanee, Ont. and an active member of Pipefitters Local 488 in Edmonton. “Plain and simple, a bunch of qualified Canadian citizens who needed work were replaced.” http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com/2013/10/07/canadian-employees-replaced-with-temporary-foreign- workers

Worker Shortage - Harnessing Big Data to Solve Talent Crunch

The surge in U.S. shale activity has resulted in the addition of over 1 million jobs in 2013, with jobs created in oil and gas faster than any sector of the U.S. economy. Many shale plays are located in areas that are unfamiliar with oil and gas production, and while companies are significantly investing in recruiting, relocating and training workers, they are still unable to meet their hiring needs. At the same time, the U.S. oil and gas industry must grapple with a shrinking workforce. The oil and gas industry has an average employee age of 49, the oldest of any industry, and is expected to lose a net of 5,000 experienced geoscientists and petroleum engineers as recruitment falls short of projected number of workers retiring. http://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/130591/Harnessing_Big_Data_to_Solve_Talent_Crunch/? all=HG2

Federal government questioned over leaking tailings ponds in Alberta

EDMONTON - A North American trade body has asked Ottawa to respond to allegations that it has failed to enforce its own laws when it comes to oilsands tailings ponds. The environmental secretariat has given the government 30 days to respond to allegations that it has failed to enforce the federal Fisheries Act by allowing the ponds to leak contaminants into the Athabasca River watershed.

The commission lacks the ability to file formal charges but its review process includes publishing its findings, which could tarnish Canada’s reputation internationally at a time it has been lobbying on behalf of the Keystone XL Pipeline and championing the oilsands as a source of clean energy. http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/Federal+government+questioned+over+leaking+tailings+po nds+Alberta/9280605/story.html

41 New Brunswick News

CBC NB: Apologize for baseless attack on Miles Howe

Media Co-op appalled at treatment of their journalist on Information Morning

The Editorial Collective of the Media Co-op was appalled to learn of the baseless accusations made by New Brunswick CBC Radio's Information Morning against our editor and journalist Miles Howe. We demand that the host issue a retraction, offer equal airtime to Miles to provide his side of the story, and issue an apology as soon as possible. http://www.mediacoop.ca/newsrelease/20136

Protesters nearly ran over by car at solidarity with Elsipogtog in Montreal Embedded video

This morning December 2, 2013 was held a blocking traffic in solidarity with Elsipogtog, at the corner of Pie-IX and Notre-Dame in Montreal. Although motorists were calm and borrowed the street Pie-IX north to bypass a motorist decided to force there way by nearly running over a women.

Ce matin 02 décembre 2013 avait lieu un blocage de la circulation, en solidarité avec Elsipogtog, au coin des rues Pie-IX et Notre-Dame, à Montréal. Bien que les automobilistes sont restés calmes et empruntaient la rue Pie-IX en direction nord pour contourner, un automobiliste décida de forcer le blocage, entrainant dans son accélération une jeune femme sur son capot sur plusieurs dizaines de pieds. http://westcoastnativenews.com/protests-ran-over-by-car-at-solidarity-with-elsipogtog-in-montreal/

Elsipogtog Solidarity Action Shuts Vancouver Port

COAST SALISH TERRITORY - Activists blocked access to the federal Port of Vancouver for an hour early this morning as part of an International Day of Action in Support of Elsipogtog Land Defenders in New Brunswick.

Access to the Port at the foot of Clark Drive was blocked for an hour. Traffic was backed up as far as as the eye could see. The adhoc coalition of activists blocked the road with a banner reading Solidarity with Elsipogtog and #ShutDownCanada. The group said it condemns fracking for poisoning water and boosting carbon emissions and decries "the brutality of the RCMP response, and their ongoing collusion with corporate interests." http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/photo/elsipogtog-solidarity-action-shuts-vancouver-port/20175

N.B. RCMP officer charged with possessing, trafficking cocaine

A New Brunswick RCMP officer is facing drug charges following an 11-month investigation.

Police started investigating 50-year-old Const. Albert Michelin in January 2013.

42 Michelin was arrested on Friday and has been charged with one count of trafficking cocaine and two counts of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/n-b-rcmp-officer-charged-with-possessing-trafficking-cocaine-1.1570292? fb_action_ids=661714667202036&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=other_multiline&action _object_map=%7B%22661714667202036%22%3A1398119830431361%7D&action_type_map=%7B %22661714667202036%22%3A%22og.recommends%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D

Idle No More - Stephenville, NL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niAe7N-F6X4&feature=player_embedded

Maude Barlow Clean water and the global fight against fracking Rexton Dec0113 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWtG1RL7uTk&feature=player_embedded

CAJ to New Brunswick RCMP - Recognize freedom of the press

OTTAWA, Dec. 2, 2013 /CNW/ - The Canadian Association of Journalists is calling on the RCMP to either lay charges or stop harassing a journalist working in New Brunswick arrested for the third time on Nov. 28.

According to the Halifax Media Co-op and journalist Miles Howe himself, the RCMP arrested Howe in Elsipogtog, N.B. on Thursday for the third time since July. During this arrest, police seized Howe's cellphone and camera and to-date have not returned it, claiming it forms part of an ongoing investigation. This is the third time Howe has been arrested while covering ongoing protests against fracking in the area. Each time he has been released, without facing any charges.

"It's inexcusable police would detain any journalist for doing their jobs, especially the same journalist for the third time in months," CAJ president Hugo Rodrigues said. "RCMP behaviour suggests they are unfamiliar with the Charter rights of a free press and the allowances those rights permit journalists while covering controversial and volatile situations. http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1272153/caj-to-new-brunswick-rcmp-recognize-freedom-of-the-press

Six Degrees of Separation - Fracking New Brunswick Edition

K'JIPUKTUK (HALIFAX) – A brief examination of the current whereabouts of former members of the New Brunswick Shawn Graham government, which was responsible for issuing the exploratory licenses to Texas-based gas giant SWN Resources Canada, begins to shed light on something of a revolving door process between governmental power, legal and advisory positions, and the potential for private gain.

Let's start with the ex-premier himself, Shawn Graham.

The most glaring link between Graham and the potential for familial profit from shale gas lies with his father, and former Minister of Natural Resources from 1991-1998, Alan Graham.

43

Alan Graham, under his own name as well as the company name Alcon Holdings Ltd, owns parcels of land that SWN Resources Canada's seismic testing lines pass through. These include sizable holdings along 'Easter Road' near the Bass River, New Brunswick, church, as well as along highway 116. http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/story/six-degrees-separation-fracking-new-brunswick-edit/20182

Round dancing and burning tires on Hwy 11 as anti-fracking resistance refuses surrender Embedded video

Late Monday evening, after the tires were set on fire, a group of anti-fracking demonstrators round danced against a backdrop of flames in the middle of a New Brunswick highway while they waited for the RCMP to respond.

The tires were set alight in the late afternoon around the same time a New Brunswick court judge in the provincial capital of Fredericton granted an extension to an injunction against the demonstrators for 14 more days.

The flaming tires on Hwy 11 followed a day of heated confrontation on Hwy 11 near Richibucto, NB, where SWN Resources Canada had been trying to continue its exploration work for shale gas deposits. http://aptn.ca/news/2013/12/03/round-dancing-burning-tires-hwy-11-anti-fracking-resistance-refuses- surrender/

CTV Atlantic Injunction extended against shale gas protesters Embedded video http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1053051

Indigenous Canadian fracking protesters refuse to back down

Demonstrators defy court injunction intended to keep them from interfering with Texas-based company’s seismic testing

But the injunction has not deterred the anti-fracking alliance of indigenous people and members of New Brunswick’s Acadian and anglophone communities, a grouping that has consolidated since Elsipogtog residents began trying to stop SWN’s exploration work last May. Over the past week there have been daily confrontations with police, as protesters — who prefer to be known as protectors of the land and water — have persisted in their efforts to slow the seismic-testing operation. http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/12/2/canada-anti- frackingprotestersanswerinjunctionextensionwithblock.html

RCMP investigate complaint truck involved with SWN exploration work struck three women

The New Brunswick RCMP is investigating allegations a pick-up truck involved with SWN Resources Canada’s controversial shale gas exploration work in New Brunswick struck three women on a highway during demonstrations Monday.

44 RCMP Const. Damian Theriault said RCMP officers received a complaint from the scene that the women had been hit by the truck.

“We received a complaint that a vehicle working in the area may have come into contact with three people who were on the road,” said Theriault. “We are investigating that complaint.”

Theriault said the incident did not cause any serious injuries. Two eye-witnesses told APTN National News that demonstrators tried to stop a white truck which was driving at a low speed on Hwy 11. The witnesses said the truck sped up and hit one woman. A second woman ran over to the truck and was also bumped. While a man began yelling at the driver, the truck bumped into a third woman. http://aptn.ca/news/2013/12/03/rcmp-investigate-complaint-truck-involved-swn-exploration-work-struck- three-women/

The Many Arrests of New Brunswick Journalist Miles Howe Embedded video

Miles Howe is no stranger to getting arrested in New Brunswick. As a journalist for the independent Canadian news site, Media Co-Op, Miles has been covering the anti-fracking movement spearheaded by the Elsipogtog First Nation for months now. The aboriginal resistance is being headed up by the Mi’kmaq Warriors who made national headlines in October, when their peaceful protest erupted into a clash against heavily armed members of the RCMP. The RCMP officers showed up in camouflage with assault rifles, and there were snipers present. At one point, Molotov cocktails were thrown, and 40 people were arrested. This show of force by law enforcement was an uncomfortable sight for the Canadians who were paying attention, and it didn’t help when an RCMP officer yelled: “Crown land belongs to the government, not to the fucking Natives.”

After being in locked in solitary for 24 hours, he was released and ordered to sign an undertaking that placed further restrictions on him—including an order that he is now to stay 1km away from all protest sites. The RCMP then refused to give back Miles’s phone and camera because they are supposedly part of an open investigation.

In a segment on CBC Radio Frediction’s morning talk show, Information Morning, host Terry Seguin along with guests Philip Lee (a journalism professor at St. Thomas University) and Dan Leger (a journalist for the Chronicle Herald) argued about whether Miles Howe is a “blogger” or a “journalist.” Media Co-Op has requested an apology for this segment, as they believe it constitutes a “baseless attack” on Miles—and to make matters worse, the CBC apparently did not even ask for Miles to call in to explain his side of the story. http://www.vice.com/en_ca/read/the-many-arrests-of-new-brunswick-journalist-miles-howe

Council of Canadians denounces extension of SWN Resources’ injunction

“We are extremely disappointed at the court ruling and outraged at the RCMP brutality,” says Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians. “We are seeing the courts and the RCMP defending the interests of a private corporation over the interests of the people.” http://canadians.org/media/council-canadians-denounces-extension-swn-resources%E2%80%99- injunction

45 Suzanne Patles of #Elsipogtog Warriors Society speaks to #IdleNoMore Embedded video http://www.idlenomore.ca/suzanne_patles_of_elsipogtog_warriors_society_speaks_to_idlenomore

Elsipogtog woman says she suffered trauma, injuries at hands of RCMP during arrest Embedded video

Elsipogtog First Nation community member Marie Simon said she blacked out in the back of the RCMP paddy wagon just before her epileptic seizure.

When she regained consciousness, Simon said she was lying on the highway with RCMP officers around her. She said her hands were still bound with zip-ties behind her back.

“They were saying, ‘are you sure she’s alright? Are you sure she had a seizure?’” said Simon, in a telephone interview with APTN National News. “When I was finally able to get my head together enough to talk I said ‘look, I am epileptic.”

Simon was one of seven people arrested Monday afternoon during demonstrations against SWN Resources Canada’s controversial shale gas exploration work on Hwy 11 in New Brunswick. http://aptn.ca/news/2013/12/03/elsipogtog-woman-says-suffered-trauma-injuries-hands-rcmp-arrest/

Annabelle Joy Statement Regarding SWN Injunction to S. Court of Canada and New Brunswick Government https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4mvdlPqDow&feature=player_embedded

View from the Longhouse: hundreds unite in peace and friendship against shale gas

Fredericton – The Unity and Solidarity Rally Against Shale Gas at the opening of the Legislature on November 5 brought people from many corners of the province together in peace and friendship. Two weeks before, on October 17, the RCMP had violently raided the blockade of SWN Resources’ seismic exploratory trucks in Rexton, east of Moncton, arresting forty people, many of them Indigenous Mi’kmaq land defenders.

Hundreds of anti-shale gas activists from Elsipogtog, Tobique, Saint John, Moncton and Sackville were present at the rally as well as representatives from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), the Fredericton District Labour Council, the Council of Canadians and other organizations. http://nbmediacoop.org/2013/12/05/view-from-the-longhouse-hundreds-unite-in-peace-and-friendship- against-shale-gas/

Elsipogtog Strong 2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMK2YnYFiRw&feature=player_embedded

46 Shale gas protest policing costs more then $4M

Policing costs associated with anti-shale gas protests in Kent County have reached more than $4 million over the past six months, says the Finance minister.

RCMP officers have been closely monitoring protests along Highway 11 on a daily basis for weeks.

Extra officers from other provinces have also been called in to help as SWN Resources Canada conducts seismic testing in the Rexton area.

“We have a contract with the RCMP,” said Public Safety Minister Bruce Northrup. “It’s not costing the communities around that area, it’s directly coming from the provincial coffers, so as public safety, we’re paying the bill right now,” he said. http://westcoastnativenews.com/shale-gas-protest-policing-costs-more-then-4m/

SWN ending exploration work in NB, will be back in 2015: Elsipogtog War Chief Levi

ELSIPGOTG FIRST NATION, NB–A Houston-based energy company that has faced ferocious resistance from a Mi’kmaq-led coalition is ending its shale gas exploration work for the year, says Elsipogtog War Chief John Levi.

Levi said Friday that the RCMP informed him that SWN Resources Canada is ending its exploration work, but will return in 2015. Levi said SWN and its contractors would be picking up geophones from the side of the highway today. Geophones interact with thumper trucks to create imaging of shale gas deposits underground.

Levi said the Mi’kmaq community, which sits about 80 km north of Moncton, will be there again in 2015 to oppose the company. Levi said SWN will be returning to conduct exploratory drilling. “We can’t allow any drilling, we didn’t allow them to do the testing from the beginning,” said Levi.

Levi said word that SWN is leaving is no cause for celebration just yet. “We went through a lot,” he said. “We need some time for this to sink in and think about everything, think about what we went through…People did a lot of sacrificing.” http://aptn.ca/news/2013/12/06/swn-ending-exploration-work-nb-back-2015-war-chief-levi/

Elsipogtog comes up in Question Period Embedded video

The clashes between police and anti-fracking protestors in New Brunswick landed at the House of Commons Thursday on the heels of a government-sponsored report that says Canada must do a better job consulting with First Nations on resource development.

Here is some Question Period from Thursday. http://aptn.ca/news/2013/12/06/elsipogtog-comes-question-period/

47 Steven Standing Wolfpaw Kakinoosit message to supporters from Elsipogtog Anti-Fracking Blockade https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MBvampxg-w&feature=player_embedded

Idle No More Alberta - Dr. Pamela Palmater

Part 1 of 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STatNSjcrvo

Part 2 of 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBt8yqth1n0

Part 3 of 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4ku8vVELYs

Part 4 of 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okLmloA70zk

(VIDEO) Elsipogtog: The Fire Over Water

On October 17, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police raided a protest site set up by Mi’kmaq people and their supporters trying to prevent a Texas-based corporation from fracking.

The company had received rights to explore for shale gas by the province of New Brunswick.

The raid carried out by police, with dogs and automatic weapons, turned to chaos as residents of the Elsipogtog First Nation arrived to confront them. Police pepper sprayed the elders and fired sock rounds to control the crowd. Six police vehicles were set ablaze, and some 40 people were arrested.

It was the most spectacular eruption yet, of a struggle led by indigenous people to protect the land they say they have never ceded and water they consider sacred – a struggle that grew quietly for three years, and shows no sign of slowing down. http://westcoastnativenews.com/video-elsipogtog-the-fire-over-water/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EWoRw_fYEGo

Fault Lines - Elsipogtog: The Fire Over Water https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0N-lDcq1PQ&feature=player_embedded

Oil Giant SWN Is Suspending Its Work in New Brunswick After Nationwide Protests

Harsh opposition to Texas energy firm SWN spread throughout Canada this week. Demonstrations popped up across the country in solidarity with protests in New Brunswick that resulted in a brutal RCMP response. The militarized police force has been enforcing a court ordered injunction to protect the company's natural gas exploration on unceded native land. An international call to action came from

48 Idle No More and Elsipogtog First Nation using the hashtag #SHUTDOWNCANADA. The call was answered by roadblocks, banner drops and solidarity protests in Vancouver, Victoria, Winnipeg, Toronto, Hamilton, Montreal and even Ireland on December 2nd. Evidently, these movements have done something to stir SWN—as the company announced today they’d be shutting down all operations in New Brunswick until 2015. http://www.vice.com/en_ca/read/oil-giant-swn-is-suspending-their-work-in-new-brunswick-after- nationwide-protests

Journalism group backs anti-fracking protest reporter

A national journalism association has called on the RCMP to “stop harassing” a Halifax reporter.

More than a week after Miles Howe was arrested, for the third time, at an anti-fracking protest site near Rexton, N.B., New Brunswick RCMP said they couldn’t speak about his case.

Police still have the cellphone and camera that Howe said were seized after the Nov. 26 arrest.

Howe, who works for the Halifax Media Co-op, was released on condition that he not come within a kilometre of the protest site.

“RCMP behaviour suggests they are unfamiliar with the charter rights of a free press and the allowances those rights permit journalists while covering controversial and volatile situations,” Hugo Rodrigues, president of the Canadian Association of Journalists, said in a news release. http://thechronicleherald.ca/metro/1172491-journalism-group-backs-anti-fracking-protest-reporter

Elsipogtog woman claims she faced RCMP intimidation over plans to file complaint

An Elsipogtog First Nation woman says an RCMP investigator tried to intimidate her away from filing a formal complaint against the driver of a white pick-up truck which struck her during a demonstration on a New Brunswick highway last week.

Hope Levi, 21, suffered a bruised pelvis after she was struck on Hwy 11 last Monday by a white pick-up truck that was doing work for Houston-owned SWN Resources Canada. Levi was taken by ambulance to the hospital following the incident.

Levi said on Sunday the investigator called her to say that if she filed a formal complaint at the Richibucto, NB, detachment on the incident she would also face an RCMP investigation into whether she breached conditions stemming from her Oct. 17 arrest.

“If someone was arrested on the 17th and released on conditions not to be anywhere near a protest site and they are breaching their conditions it is a criminal act and they very well could be charged,” said Rogers-Marsh. http://aptn.ca/news/2013/12/09/elsipogtog-woman-claims-faced-rcmp-intimidation-plans-file-complaint/

49 Mi’kmaq who battled SWN “our protectors,” says Atleo Embedded video

GATINEAU, Que.-The Mi’kmaq who battled against a Houston-owned company conducting shale gas exploration in New Brunswick were not protestors, but “protectors,” said Assembly of First Nation National Chief Shawn Atleo.

In a video statement to chiefs gathered for the AFN’s special chiefs assembly this week at a casino in Gatineau, Que., Atleo praised the struggle of the Mi’kmaq from Elsipogtog First Nation and the region in their months-long demonstrations against SWN Resources Canada.

“These are not protestors,” said Atleo. “These are our protectors.” http://aptn.ca/news/2013/12/10/mikmaq-battled-swn-protectors-says-atleo/

SWN Resources welcome to return to N.B., says premier - Embedded video

SWN Resources has wrapped up seismic testing for the year in New Brunswick, but Premier David Alward says he wants to see the company continue testing for shale gas next year.

“Ultimately, that will be a decision that they make,” said Alward.

“I’m certainly hopeful that they’ll be back next year but again, they’ve got to analyze what they’ve been able to determine with their sites.” http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/swn-resources-welcome-to-return-to-n-b-says-premier-1.1581973

Letter to Premier Requesting Public Inquiry re Rexton Posting for Jim Emberger, Spokesperson for New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance

Members of the many community groups that make up the NBASGA are fully committed to peaceful, non-violent protest, and we share Amnesty International’s concerns that further violent incidents, such as what happened in Rexton, could happen again.

Therefore, NBASGA is formally asking you, as Premier, to establish a full, independent public inquiry into the circumstances and events culminating in the RCMP raid on a peaceful protest camp near Rexton on October 17, 2013. The citizens of New Brunswick have a right to know all the circumstances surrounding this sudden escalation in the use of force.

We feel an independent public inquiry is necessary to determine what precipitated the violence, and how best to prevent any possible recurrence in the future. http://upriverenvironmentwatch.com/2013/12/11/letter-to-premier-requesting-public-inquiry-re-rexton- posting-for-jim-emberger-spokesperson-for-new-brunswick-anti-shale-gas-alliance/

Women show bravery guarding community - PEI

I was struck by the news that Premier Alward of New Brunswick is unhappy because the province is having to spend so much money on police “protection” of a Texas company that is in the business of

50 fracking. This process is a danger to the water and the land. In P.E.I. a number of people and organizations are in support of those in N.B. who are working to dissuade this practice because we share aquifers with that province. http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2013-12-10/article-3537900/Women-show- bravery-guarding-community/1

Mi'kmaq Anti-Fracking Protest Brings Women to the Front Lines to Fight for Water

As Amanda Polchies knelt down in the middle of the blocked-off highway with nothing but an eagle feather held aloft separating her from a solid wall of blue advancing police officers, she prayed.

“I prayed for the women that were in pain, I prayed for my people, I prayed for the RCMP officers,” the 28-year-old Elsipogtog First Nation member told Indian Country Today Media Network. “I prayed that everything would just end and nobody would get hurt.”

As Polchies faced off against hundreds of RCMP officers on the highway near her community, she couldn't help but notice how many of those beside her were indigenous women—the keepers of the water, fighting to keep fracking chemicals out of the ground. http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/11/10/mikmaq-anti-fracking-protest-brings-women- front-lines-fight-water-152169

Scenes and Far-Flung Shows of Support in the Mi'kmaq Anti-Fracking Protest

A judge has lifted the injunction against Mi’kmaq anti-fracking protesters in New Brunswick, but those arrested in last week’s protests in New Brunswick were still being held late Tuesday pending their court appearances.

As Elsipogtog First Nation Chief Aaren Sock called for a cooling-off period in the wake of the violent protests late last week against shale gas exploration near the band’s territory, videos surfaced of the melee, along with conflicting accounts. http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/10/22/10-must-share-images-scenes-and-far-flung- shows-support-mikmaq-anti-fracking-protest

Elsipogtog anti-fracking fight fallout putting strain on RCMP-First Nation relations

The two New Brunswick RCMP officers knocked on Malcolm Ward’s door Wednesday morning while the Mi’kmaq man played with his one year-old son River in the living room.

He answered the door and the officers told him he was under arrest for getting too close to equipment owned by SWN Resources Canada, a Houston-owned energy company conducting shale gas exploration work in the province. “I was holding my son at the time,” said Ward, shortly after his release from jail Wednesday evening.

Then his wife came home.

51 “I told her that I am under arrest and my wife broke down for a bit and pleaded with the RCMP to leave me alone,” said Ward, who is a fisheries officer for Metepenagiag First Nation, which overlooks the Little Southwest Miramichi River.

Ward said he picked up his son and gave him a kiss just before the officers led him out the front door and into the back of a police cruiser. http://aptn.ca/news/2013/12/12/elsipogtog-anti-fracking-fight-fallout-putting-strain-rcmp-first-nation- relations/

CJFE concerned by arrest of New Brunswick journalist

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) is deeply concerned about the RCMP's arrest under unusual circumstances of New Brunswick-based journalist Miles Howe. Howe was arrested on July 4, 2013, while covering the ongoing anti-fracking protest at the Elsipogtog First Nation in east-central New Brunswick. His camera and cell phone were seized. He was taken into RCMP custody and held for five hours before being released with his equipment returned.

According to Howe, an RCMP officer with whom he was acquainted approached him and shook his hand. The officer then said he was placing Howe under arrest for having uttered threats against the same officer nearly two weeks earlier, on June 21, 2013. Howe says he was first told he was being charged with "threats" and "resisting arrest," then with "threats" and "evading arrest," and finally "threats" and "obstruction of justice."

Howe, a reporter for the Halifax-based Media Co-op, is the only journalist among at least 30 people who have been arrested in relation to the protests. Members of Elsipogtog First Nation and supporters are demonstrating against seismic tests being carried out by SWN, a company currently exploring for shale gas in New Brunswick. Howe has told CJFE that on June 30, prior to his arrest, he was approached by RCMP to become a paid informant reporting on the Elsipogtog community, an offer Howe refused. http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20130711-909334.html

Mi’kmaq warrior James Pictou sentenced, released from jail

James Pictou, one of the Mi’kmaq warriors arrested during the October 17, 2013, assault by RCMP against anti-fracking blockade in Mi’kmaq territory (in New Brunswick) has been sentenced and released from jail.

Other warriors will also be in court over the next few days and weeks for charges arising from the Oct 17 police assault:

Germain Junior Breau – December 18th Aaron Francis – December 20 Coady Stevens – December 20th and January 3rd Jimmi jr Pictou – Jan 13, 2014 http://warriorpublications.wordpress.com/2013/12/17/mikmaq-warrior-james-pictou-sentenced-released- from-jail/

52 Rexton protester freed 2 months after RCMP clash

Two months after being arrested in an anti-shale gas protest clash with RCMP in Rexton on Oct. 17, Jim Pictou is free once again.

Pictou pleaded guilty to seven charges, including threats, mischief, obstructing a peace officer and assault, and was released Tuesday with a sentence of time served, which amounts to 62 days. He was also released on conditions including a period of six months of house arrest to be followed by a curfew period. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/rexton-protester-freed-2-months-after-rcmp-clash- 1.2468468

Is there a monitor in New Brunswick? Embedded video

One month later, aquifer still broken due to SWN's seismic testing. Energy Minister blames protesters.

K'JIPUKTUK (HALIFAX) – As of December 17th, north of Pleasant Ridge Road, near the town of Rogersville, New Brunswick, water continued to flow out of a near-surface aquifer that was broken by shot holes drilled by sub-contractors of SWN Resources Canada. Despite below-freezing temperatures that have turned much of the forest and environs into an icy winter wonderland, a steady of stream of water continued to pour out of the broken aquifer.

The shot holes themselves – part of SWN's seismic testing plan in Kent County, New Brunswick – were drilled at some point in late July, 2013. While it is unknown exactly how long the aquifer has been broken for, this story is not a new one; both APTN and the Halifax Media Co-op reported on this issue in mid-November, 2013.

For Leonard to suggest that SWN - with a private security firm and much of the Maritimes' RCMP forces at its disposal - was at the mercy of a pack of protesters, and is thus free from blame for shoddy work and a lack of oversight, is to cast doubt upon the ability or interest of the New Brunswick government to actually enforce the Oil and Natural Gas Act. http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/video/there-monitor-new-brunswick-one-month-later-aquife/20481

Fracking protester guilty of assaulting police officer

A 27-year-old Nova Scotia man has pleaded guilty to five charges stemming from a shale gas protest in Rexton, N.B., that erupted into violence.

Coady Stevens appeared Friday in provincial court in Moncton, N.B., where he pleaded guilty to one charge of assaulting a police officer and two charges each of obstructing a police officer and uttering threats against an officer.

The Eskasoni man was in custody since his arrest Oct. 17 and he was sentenced to time served.

Twenty-year-old Aaron Francis of Eskasoni pleaded not guilty to 16 charges including obstructing a police officer, assaulting a police officer and eight firearms-related offences.

53 Twenty-one-year-old Germain Breau of Upper Rexton, N.B., pleaded not guilty to 19 charges including assaulting a police officer and uttering threats against the police. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/fracking-protester-guilty-of-assaulting-police-officer- 1.2472212

We Stand With Elsipogtog - Indigenous Nationhood Movement

We, a coalition of Indigenous community members and relatives from nations across Turtle Island, have come together to express our support and solidarity with all of the land protectors, warriors, elders, leaders and supporters on the ground in Elsipogtog who have waged courageous, continuous struggles to protect their lands, waters, and communities from irreparable destruction and to ensure a viable future for the coming generations. http://nationsrising.org/we-stand-with-elsipogtog/

Fractured Future Survey - Dec 05, 2011

Questions and answwers on environment, natural gas and fracking. http://www.scribd.com/doc/74812559/Fractured-Future-Survey

N.B. political panel - Dec. 19 The panel discusses forest policy and managing Crown lands. http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/NB/Political+Panel/ID/2425578618/

Terry Seguin speaks to political leaders about shale gas. N.B. Political Panel - Nov. 21 http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/NB/Political+Panel/ID/2419822761/

54 Maritime News

Benefit raises thousands for anti-fracking protesters

Debbie Cyr's eyes were filled with tears Saturday night at a fundraising benefit in Halifax for members of Elsipogtog First Nation, who are protesting shale gas exploration in New Brunswick.

Cyr has been on the front lines of the fracking protest in New Brunswick since June but made a special trip to Halifax for the event. “It's been hard but when we see things like this, it is so heartwarming to know that we are not alone,” she said.

“We are living in little pop tents and sleeping out there, . . . you don't realize that there are people all across the world helping and caring so much.” Organizers of the events says they expect to raise as much as $10,000 for Elsipogtog First Nation and allies to help pay legal fees and other costs associated with the protest. Numerous arrests have occurred during the protest.

Maude Barlow, chairwoman of the Council of Canadians, flew in from Ottawa to attend Saturday’s event. She and other members of the national citizen’s advocacy group are also visiting New Brunswick this weekend to show support for the protesters. http://thechronicleherald.ca/metro/1171144-benefit-raises-thousands-for-anti-fracking-protesters

When it comes to fracking, consider the source

But we would be wise to consider carefully the substance of Mr. Barnes’ claims, and other messages we get from CAPP. The latter is one of the petroleum industry associations that is currently bombarding our television media with advertisements.

CAPP, in particular, is big on promoting the tarsands. In advertisements, it shows a beautiful vista of evergreen trees surrounding a small circle of industrious workers and equipment. The voiceover describes how the tarsands industry is becoming greener.

If you actually get in a helicopter and fly over tarsands projects in Northern Alberta (as documentary filmmakers have) you see a vast, nightmarish expanse of clear-cut, devastated land, with processing facilities polluting the air, water and soil on an almost unfathomable scale.

When you see the CAPP advertisements and then see the actual tarsands operation, you get the clear message that CAPP is not beyond stretching the truth. http://www.thetelegram.com/Opinion/Letter-to-the-editor/2013-11-14/article-3479535/When-it-comes-to- fracking%2C-consider-the-source/1

Coal Bed Methane Extraction: “Don't Worry. It's Not Fracking”

By now most Nova Scotians are aware that there is a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in Nova Scotia. The current government has assured us it will remain in place at least until after the reporting of the Wheeler Review in mid-2014.

55 The Wheeler Review is itself a response by the previous NDP government to the outcry about fracking, and to the clear lack of confidence in the government's in house review. One way that lack of confidence manifests has been the unwillingness of anyone to take the fracking wastes held in 'temporary' storage ponds since the fracking nearly six years ago.

Coal bed methane extraction is a technology closely associated with shale bed fracking. While there have long been leases in Nova Scotia for exploration, the very first that was heard about actual plans was in a news release from the new provincial government early in November.

East Coast Ventures went to even greater lengths to distance their project from fracking.

“It's not fracking.” But coal bed methane extraction produces waste water in similar volumes, and with the same potential for “naturally occuring” toxins- the same toxins whose presence in the Kennetcook fracking wastes has produced the impasse that has stranded them in 'temporary' waste ponds. http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/story/coal-bed-methane-extraction-%E2%80%9Cdont-worry-its-not-fr/20118

Fracking waste water could be used to make cement

Lafarge has applied for pilot project to heat waste water for use in cement-making process

Lafarge is proposing to heat the fracking waste water to high temperatures in a kiln which would then be used to help make cement.

The company took out a full page ad in the Truro Daily News, informing residents of its plans, but neglected to mention the pilot program involved fracking waste water. That omission has upset some members of Colchester County’s council who say the public needs to be fully informed.

Environment Minister Randy Delorey said his department has received an application for the pilot project, but so far no decision has been made. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/fracking-waste-water-could-be-used-to-make-cement- 1.2449582

N.S. secures sustainable, self-reliant energy future

In the last two weeks, Nova Scotia secured an energy future that many jurisdictions around the world would envy.

As a province, we demonstrated the maturity of our institutional decision-making when the Utility and Review Board approved favourable tariffs for tidal energy and (finally) signed off on the Maritime Link.

Because of our steadfastness and clarity of vision, Nova Scotia has landed in pole position among Canadian provinces for the decarbonization of our economy — both through our national leadership in energy efficiency and our commitment to the tripling of renewable electricity energy generation and supply within 10 years — from approximately 13 per cent in 2009 to 40 per cent in 2020. http://thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/1171479-ns-secures-sustainable-self-reliant-energy-future

56 A Brief Issue Paper on Hydraulic Fracturing and Unconventional Gas Practices NS

It is encouraging that Nova Scotia agreed to implement a review process of hydraulic fracturing for shale gas and other hydrocarbons.

It is also positive that the government has agreed not to issue any further licenses for hydraulic fracturing until the review is complete.

Why are we still so concerned?

The objective of the review, as presently stated, leads to only one outcome – the development of shale gas including hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, regulated “based on best practices.” http://nofrac.wordpress.com/nofrac-reports/issue-paper-1/

Gros Morne fracking proponent loses exploration licence

Shoal Point Energy, which has drawn public criticism for a fracking proposal near Gros Morne National Park in western Newfoundland, is losing an exploration licence and the $1-million deposit that went with it.

Shoal Point said the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board rejected the company's request to extend an exploration licence for hydraulic fracturing by one year, to January 2015.

In early November, the Newfoundland and Labrador government introduced a moratorium on fracking in areas within its jurisdiction. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/gros-morne-fracking-proponent-loses- exploration-licence-1.2462567

SURETTE: Fracking is fool’s gold

With anti-fracking protests ongoing in New Brunswick, Premier David Alward has been going around with a strangely blissful look on his face, proclaiming his determination to forge ahead because of the gusher of tax revenues and jobs he claims will surely follow. The protests are over the environment but, alas, there’s a deeper source of trouble afoot for the fracking industry: it’s from the heart of the financial world where billions of dollars are being lost and the sense of having been suckered by hype is setting in.

Some saw it coming. The conservative business magazine Forbes argued a while back that the profitability of fracking was a fantasy and that “we can expect some staggering investment errors” because what it’s all about is “some very stupid money chasing an illusion that will surely end in tears.” The tears are now flowing. The head of Shell Oil said recently that investing $24 billion in fracking was one of his biggest regrets, as he writes down huge losses. Other operators are doing the same — names like H.P. Billiton, Chesapeake, Encana. Some CEOs have lost their jobs over it. Apparently the ones who made money are those who sold out to “stupid money” before the jig was up. http://thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/1173949-surette-fracking-is-fool-s-gold

57 Province Not Entertaining Fracking Applications: Premier

Kathy Dunderdale says the province is not entertaining any applications to frack. In November, the province announced a temporary ban on fracking pending a review of the controversial oil extraction method. The Premier was responding to statements by Shoal Point Energy who, after losing a bid to extend an exploration license, laid partial blame on the province for 'changing the regulatory environment'.

Dunderdale says the company had applied to drill using conventional techniques but also wanted to reserve their right to frack. She says until a proper review of the controversial method of extracting oil is complete, there will be no hydraulic fracturing in the province. http://vocm.com/newsarticle.asp?mn=2&id=41631

58 Canadian News

Lubicon Vs.PennWest: Band Files Lawsuit Against Alberta Energy Firm Over Fracking

An Alberta aboriginal band that has been fighting for a reserve for decades has filed an injunction against a Calgary energy company to stop it from drilling on lands they seek to claim.

The lawsuit, filed by the Lubicon First Nation against PennWest Exploration (TSX:PWT), seeks to stop all fracking activity on lands around Haig Lake.

"We're trying to get an injunction to have them vacate the premises and cease all activities there," said their lawyer James O'Reilly from Montreal.

"That area is the very area that was one of the reserves to be set aside for the Lubicons. That's a very sacred place and a very, very traditional place." http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/12/02/lubicon-pennwest-lawsuit_n_4372856.html

Inuit win injunction on seismic testing

An Inuit group in Nunavut has been granted an injunction to stop seismic testing in Lancaster Sound, near the eastern entrance to the Northwest Passage.

In a decision handed down Sunday, Judge Susan Cooper issued an order to stop Natural Resources Canada from carrying out seismic tests aimed at mapping the area for potential oil and gas resources.

Residents from five communities in the area — Resolute Bay, Arctic Bay, Grise Fiord, Clyde River and Pond Inlet — were largely opposed to the plan to send sound blasts through the water, saying the sound could adversely affect whales, polar bears and other marine life in Lancaster Sound and change migration patterns.

But Judge Cooper noted "some aspects of the report … cause concern."

She said the fact that the report contains protocols to mitigate the impact of seismic activity on marine wildlife "supports the conclusion that there are impacts," she wrote.

"I am satisfied that Inuit in the five affected communities will suffer irreparable harm if an injunction is not granted," she ruled in granting the injunction. http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/canada/story/1.888294

(VIDEO) From the icefields to oilfields: This is a must see Documentary – White Water, Black Gold

Canada is the number one foreign supplier of oil to the United States, a fact little known in America. Most of the oil imported comes from the Tar Sands of Northern Alberta, the second largest known oil reserve in the world outside of Saudi Arabia.

White Water, Black Gold follows David Lavallee on his three-year journey across Western Canada in search of the truth about the impact of the world’s thirstiest oil industry. This is a journey of jarring

59 contrasts, from the pristine mountain ice fields that are the source of the industry’s water, to the Tar Sands tailing ponds, where thousands of migrating birds have unwittingly landed and died. http://westcoastnativenews.com/video-from-the-icefields-to-oilfields-this-is-a-must-see-documentary/

White Water, Black Gold - Full video from TVO Ontario http://ww3.tvo.org/video/173827/white-water-black-gold

Ottawa handed shipyards too much control of $105-billion project, researchers say

The Canadian government has lost control over costs in its $105-billion shipbuilding program because it’s handed too much power to shipyards placed in charge of the project, a new report argues.

Authors Michael Byers, a University of British Columbia professor of political science, and researcher Stewart Webb are calling on Ottawa to put a tighter leash on the program or risk seeing costs spiral even higher. Irving Shipbuilding on the East Coast and Seaspan on the West Coast have been selected to build the bulk of the vessels.

“Problems with the Arctic/Offshore Patrol Ship project, including delays and an inflated design contract, indicate that the Harper government has lost control over the management” of the project, say the authors, writing in a report for the Rideau Institute and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-handed-shipyards-too-much-control-of-105- billion-project-researchers-say/article15869521/

Canada now dominates World Bank corruption list, thanks to SNC-Lavalin

Canada’s corporate image isn’t looking so squeaky-clean in the World Bank’s books — all thanks to SNC-Lavalin. http://business.financialpost.com/2013/09/18/canada-now-dominates-world-bank-corruption-list-thanks- to-snc-lavalin/

Oilsands production outpaces efforts to reduce greenhouse gases Embedded video

It’s Alberta’s biggest environmental battle — to reduce the rising greenhouse gases in the oilsands — and former oil executive Eric Newell is running a global search for some silver bullets. Newell also knows it’s a race against time.

At this critical juncture, while the U.S. and all other industrialized countries are reducing carbon emissions to combat global warming, Alberta’s greenhouse gas emissions just keep rising. Those emissions are a major reason Canada won’t meet its international target for 2020 requiring a 17- per-cent reduction in carbon emissions from 2005 levels. They are also negating the impact of reductions in other provinces which have moved away from coal-fired electricity. http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/carbon%20conundrum%20Alberta%20oilsands %20industry/9115004/story.html?cid=dlvr.it-twitter-edmontonjournal

60 Parliament employees face lifetime ban on revealing information

Staff working in MPs offices are now required to sign agreements pledging a lifetime oath of silence about their work. The agreement, first reported by CBC News, was quietly approved in March by the all-party board of internal economy, which oversees the budgets and operations of MPs’ offices.

The minutes for that meeting contain just a vague reference to the “modernization of employment and salary policies for employees of Members, House Officers and National Caucus Research Offices.” But the actual agreement came to light only recently when unionized NDP staff were required to sign the secrecy pacts before they got a pay raise scheduled for Dec. 1. http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/12/11/parliament_employees_face_lifetime_ban_on_reveali ng_information.html#

AFN chiefs vote to end treaty discussions with federal officials

GATINEAU, Que.–Assembly of First Nations chiefs torpedoed a committee Thursday created last January during a meeting between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and AFN National Chiefs Shawn Atleo.

With only two chiefs voting in opposition and 12 abstentions, the chiefs voted to kill the senior oversight committee on treaties. The chiefs decided to organize their positions on a treaty region by treaty region basis and return to the table with a demand that talks on the issue include the prime minister and the governor general. http://aptn.ca/news/2013/12/12/afn-chiefs-vote-end-treaty-discussions-federal-officials/

Alberta - Fracking fears

The co-organizers of Monday night’s meeting regarding fracking within city limits hoped to increase awareness and get people involved in opposing Goldenkey Oil’s plans to drill in West Lethbridge.

Dave McCaffrey, of the Lethbridge Public Interest Research Group, and Laurie Chinn, a parent and kindergarten teacher on the city’s westside, set up the meeting at Nicholas Sheran school to inform people about Goldenkey’s proposal and what citizens can do.

“This meeting is about maintaining momentum in the city’s opposition to fracking in Lethbridge,” McCaffrey said. http://lethbridgeherald.com/news/local-news/2013/12/fracking-fears/

Idle No More flash mobs in 9 cities this weekend

While some have wondered whether Idle No More is still a growing movement, the flashmob Round Dances taking place across the country this weekend are in indication that there is still a lot of momentum.

61 So far this weekend flash mob round dances have taken place in Winnipeg, Toronto, Sudbury, Saskatoon, and Lethbridge. There are plans in place for Fredricton, Surrey, and Montreal. And there is a 'treaty information check stop in Delaronde, SK. http://www.cbc.ca/news/aboriginal/idle-no-more-flash-mobs-in-9-cities-this-weekend-1.2473095

A First Nations rights activist from Grassy Narrows is getting international recognition.

Judy DaSilva received the Michael Sattler Peace Prize from the German Mennonite Peace Committee this week.

In a news release Lorens Theissen van Esch of the German Mennonite Peace Committee said: "We want to award the prize to Judy DaSilva in order to honour the nonviolent resistance of the Grassy Narrows First Nation against the destruction of nature and for the preservation of their Indigenous culture." http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/first-nations-activist-receives-international-peace-prize- 1.1411674

62 Other News

Leaked Documents Reveal IRS Concerns, Funding Crisis At Corporate Lobbying Group ALEC

The Guardian has published a major investigative piece that once again exposes the scandalous ways of the right wing lobbying group, American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

Among the biggest revelations: ALEC may soon face a budget crisis, and is feeling the heat of public pressure from activists and its own membership in the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin shooting by George Zimmerman in Florida. Dozens of corporations have jumped ship from what critics have coined a "corporate bill mill" for statehouses nationwide.

Another explosive revelation: ALEC State Chairs were handed a draft pledge to put ALEC's interests over its constituent's interests, asked to "act with care and loyalty and put the interests of [ALEC] first." ALEC confirmed to The Guardian that it was "not adopted by the membership committee or by any of the state chairs."

Creation of the Jeffersonian Project - paralleling ALEC's self-serving branding as standing for "Jeffersonian principles" - could be seen as a tacit admission that ALEC had been illegally operating as a shadow lobbying organization on behalf of its corporate members for the past four decades.

ALEC's budget hole from the exodus of corporate members has inspired a campaign to win corporate members back to the exclusive club, calling it the biblically-inspired "Prodigal Son Project." Desperate for more member-based funding, ALEC is considering recruiting gambling companies into its member base. http://www.desmogblog.com/2013/12/03/leaked-documents-reveal-irs-concerns-funding-crisis- corporate-lobbying-group-alec

Documents Reveal ALEC's Looming Attacks on Clean Energy, Fracking Laws, Greenhouse Gas Regulations

The Guardian has released another must-read piece about the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), this time laying bare its anti-environmental agenda for 2014.

The paper obtained ALEC's 2013 Annual Meeting Policy Report, which revealed that ALEC — dubbed a "corporate bill mill" for the statehouses by the Center for Media and Democracy — plans more attacks on clean energy laws, an onslaught of regulations pertaining to hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") and waging war against Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) greenhouse gas regulations.

"Over the coming year, [ALEC] will promote legislation with goals ranging from penalising individual homeowners and weakening state clean energy regulations, to blocking the Environmental Protection Agency, which is Barack Obama's main channel for climate action," explained The Guardian. "Details of ALEC's strategy to block clean energy development at every stage, from the individual rooftop to the White House, are revealed as the group gathers for its policy summit in Washington this week." http://desmogblog.com/2013/12/04/documents-looming-attacks-clean-energy-fracking-laws- greenhouse-gas-regulations-alec

63 50,000+ Demand DEC Withdraw Flawed LNG Regulations

On the last day for public comment on the Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) regulations, New Yorkers Against Fracking, New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPRIG), Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, Catskills Citizens for Safe Energy, Catskill Mountainkeeper, Food & Water Watch, Frack Action, United For Action and others delivered tens of thousands of comments and demanded that Gov. Cuomo (D-NY) and the DEC withdraw the regulations.

“The regulations are inadequate on every level and fail to meet the high standards for public safety that the Legislature established in the aftermath of the Staten Island LNG plant explosion that killed forty workers,” said Russ Haven, Legislative Counsel for NYPIRG. ”It’s a shock but perhaps no surprise that DEC came up with a flimsy eight-page regulation that outsources most of the hard work to local governments and beleaguered fire departments.”

Rather than conserving domestic reserves for the future, oil and gas companies are interested in exporting fracked liquefied natural gas overseas where consumers in Europe and China will pay double to quadruple the price. Currently, the U.S. Department of Energy has approved four LNG export facilities including one in the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and 18 permits are pending approval. http://ecowatch.com/2013/12/04/dec-withdraw-flawed-lng-regulations/

Scotland to block fracking on environmental grounds

Paul Wheelhouse, the Scottish environment and climate change minister, has said there are “no environmental permissions which would allow hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in Scotland at this time”.

Due to come into force next year, the policy aims to reinforce environmental and community protection and community consultation guidance in relation to planning applications for unconventional gas extraction.

The policy states that the planning system must “minimise the impacts of extraction on local communities, built and natural heritage, and the water environment.” http://www.utilityweek.co.uk/news/scotland-to-block-fracking-on-environmental- grounds/934082#.UqE29Scdjz9

Oil and gas industry sues Colorado cities over fracking bans

A legal battle is brewing between the oil and gas industry and Colorado cities that have voted to ban shale gas extraction, raising questions about whether local governments, with the support of residents, can lawfully prohibit the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Association (COGA) filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the towns of Lafayette and Fort Collins, Colo., which have passed ordinances prohibiting fracking, a gas-extraction process through which sand, water and chemicals are pumped into the ground to release trapped fuel deposits. http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/12/4/fracking-suit-colorado.html

64 Fracking industry out-lobbies opponents, still loses ground

ALBANY—If the fracking industry is losing ground to opponents in New York, it's not for lack of spending on lobbyists.

According to state disclosure records, the American Petroleum Institute spent at least $503,903 on lobbying and activites including educational outreach in the first half of this year. Constellation Energy spent $71,089, Exxon spent $62,167 and Shell spent $30,000, records show.

That far outweighs spending by opposition groups: Environmental Advocates spent $29,277 and Frack Action spent $13,817.

Yet momentum on the issue has shifted decisively in the opponents' direction. http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2013/12/8537059/fracking-industry-out-lobbies- opponents-still-loses-ground

Stink Tanks: Historical Records Reveal State Policy Network Was Created by ALEC

A 1991 report tracked down by DeSmogBlog from the University of California-San Francisco's Legacy Tobacco Documents reveals that the State Policy Network (SPN) was created by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), raising additional questions over both organizations' Internal Revenue Service (IRS) non-profit tax status.

Titled "Special Report: Burgeoning Conservative Think Tanks" and published by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, the report states that State Policy Network's precursor — the Madison Group — was "launched by the American Legislative Exchange Council and housed in the Chicago-based Heartland Institute." http://desmogblog.com/2013/12/09/stink-tanks-historical-records-reveal-state-policy-network-created- alec

Three Ways the Super-Rich Suck Wealth Out of the Rest of Us

The facts are indisputable, the conclusion painful. The wealthiest people in the U.S. and around the world have used the stock market and the deregulated financial system to lay claim to the resources that should belong to all of us.

This is not a matter of productive people benefiting from their contributions to society. This is a relatively small number of people extracting massive amounts of money through the financial system for accomplishing almost nothing.

1. They've Taken $1.6 Million Per Family in New Wealth Since the Recession 2. They Create Imaginary Money That Turns Real 3. They've Stopped Payment on Productive Americans

The End Result? That suction-like sound is the financial industry soaking up our country's wealth. http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/12/09-2

65 Midnight Sabotage with Transylvania's Anti-Fracking Activists

I'm in Transylvania, in central Romania, crouched in the bushes with a bunch of hardcore anti-frackers in balaclavas, spying on a car that's crept to a halt close to where we are hiding. “No, it must be the cops, you can see the light from the mobile phone,” another one says. Time to move on.

It has been over an hour since the group started trashing equipment owned by the gas exploration company Prospectiuni, playing a game of cat and mouse with the security teams and police vehicles that are now sweeping the hilltops looking for us. Another light tears around the bend on the road and the shout goes through the team to hide. I throw myself down in the cool, damp grass of a Transylvanian meadow. It's going to be a long night.

In recent weeks, the sleepy Saxon communities and protected forests of Sibiu county in Transylvania have become the battleground of a new war, one that has pitted gas exploration companies, the Romanian government, and international investment firms against a small band of environmental activists. The activists, who have come here from across Romania, are working side by side with local farmers to resist the gas and oil exploration they claim is taking place illegally on their land. http://www.vice.com/en_ca/read/eco-warriors-and-peasants-are-uniting-to-sabotage-fracking-in- transylvania

Taxpayers to pay for fracking pollution if companies go bust

Minister rejects proposal to amend regulations to make companies sign a bond to pay for potential pollution incidents

Taxpayers will pay to clean up any pollution caused by fracking if the companies go bankrupt, after a proposal to make UK operators take out insurance against such damage was ruled out by the government.

Energy companies including Centrica-backed Cuadrilla are poised to drill shale gas wells around the country after the Treasury published draft legislation on Tuesday for tax breaks for the industry.

Campaigners and a cross-party group of MPs argue that before operators are granted permits to frack, they should have to take out a bond to pay for potential pollution incidents. Without such a bond, campaigners argued, clean-up costs would have to be paid for with public money if a company went bust. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/dec/11/taxpayers-fracking-pollution-companies

Reporters Without Borders calls for attacks on journalists to be labeled war crimes

Reporters Without Borders, the international non-governmental organization that defends press freedoms, wants attacks on journalists to be considered war crimes by the International Criminal Court.

Meanwhile, the dangers facing journalists include not only death and injury but imprisonment. It was announced at the meeting that 183 journalists around the world are now being detained. http://rt.com/news/attacks-journalists-war-crimes-248/

66 Proteste in Bukarest: Willy Schuster von Sonderpolizei verletzt und festgenommen (15. 12. 2013) http://www.neuerweg.ro/proteste-in-bukarest-willy-schuster-von-sonderpolizei-verletzt-und- festgenommen-15-12-2013/

See following link for Bing translation of above article

Protests in Bucharest: Willy Schuster by special police wounded and arrested (15 12 2013) http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.aspx?from=&to=en&a=http://www.neuerweg.ro/proteste-in- bukarest-willy-schuster-von-sonderpolizei-verletzt-und-festgenommen-15-12-2013/

Are pro-fracking online comments coming from paid shills?

We are so open-minded that we even welcome comments from paid employees of some of the people we write about. A reader, James, engaged in a back-and-forth with some pro-fracking commenters on a recent Boulder Weekly column written by Paul Danish. He then wrote a comment challenging us to do some “investigative journalism” on the identities of his debate opponents, since he suspected they were on the payroll of the oil and gas industry.

We entered IP addresses of some pro-fracking commenters on our website into a WHOIS database and were able to track two commenters to two separate IP addresses registered to Noble Energy and one commenter to an IP address registered to Anadarko Petroleum Corporation. http://www.boulderweekly.com/article-12068-are-pro-fracking-online-comments-coming-from-paid- shills.html

Britain Opens Door to More Shale Gas Drilling

LONDON — The British government signaled on Tuesday that it was intensifying its efforts to encourage the development of shale gas production, with plans to award a new set of shale drilling licenses next year despite persistent opposition from environmental groups.

“Only a year since restrictions on hydraulic fracturing were lifted we have now got a complete suite of measures under which we can operate,” said Andrew Austin, the chief executive of Igas Energy, a shale gas company that is drilling at the Barton Moss site near Manchester, England.

What is particularly worrying to environmental groups is a government map indicating that a very large part of Britain — Greenpeace says two-thirds of the land area of England — is under consideration for shale gas licenses.

“There’s no public mandate for this industrialization of the English countryside and for digging up new forms of fossil fuels,” Anna Jones, a Greenpeace campaigner, said in a statement on Tuesday. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/18/business/international/britain-opens-door-to-more-shale-gas- drilling.html?emc=edit_tnt_20131217&tntemail0=y&_r=0

67 Fracking opponents in Pennsylvania dealt rare victory by state court

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a 2012 fracking law allowing gas companies to drill anywhere in the state without regard to local zoning laws is unconstitutional.

The court’s decision called the state’s Marcellus Shale drilling law, Act 13, unconstitutional given restrictions it placed on municipalities’ rights. The ruling also sent back to Commonwealth Court - one of Pennsylvania’s appellate courts - challenges by local townships and individuals to the law’s provisions that barred doctors from passing along to patients the health risks associated with shale drilling, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

In the majority opinion, the justices cited Article 1 Section 27 of the Pennsylvania State Constitution, which guarantees the “right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment.” http://rt.com/usa/pennsylvania-fracking-law-unconstitutional-527/

Fracking opponents win big in Pennsylvania

Robinson Township in western Pennsylvania is home to a couple thousand residents and about 20 fracked wells. In a resounding victory for common sense and for local governments throughout the state, residents there and in six other towns won an epic court battle last week that will give them back the right to regulate or even evict the fracking operations in their midst.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Thursday struck down elements of a state law that had prevented local governments from regulating fracking activities. http://grist.org/news/fracking-opponents-win-big-in-pennsylvania/? utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=tweet&utm_campaign=socialflow

68 Fracking and Earthquakes

More evidence to suggest fracking causes seismic activity

A team of researchers at SMU has suggested that the 20 earthquakes in North Texas last month are a result of fracking. The researchers studied some quakes in Cleburne in 2009 and 2010 and, while there was no definitive proof, the results suggest that there could be a link to the injection of wastewater from the fracking process into the ground.

The conclusions of the study are not new, and it has in fact been known for some time now that fracking can lead to seismic activity. Two of the report authors have even previously published work linking earthquakes to injection wells. The previous study found that injection wells were a ‘plausible cause’ of quakes, and a follow up report found that it was not merely plausible, but ‘probable.’ http://www.shaleenergyinsider.com/2013/12/05/more-evidence-to-suggest-fracking-causes-seismic- activity/?utm_source=Shale+Energy+Insider&utm_campaign=fdf520d0f1- 06_12_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_346cca65c0-fdf520d0f1-14604705

Experts Eye Oil and Gas Industry as Quakes Shake Oklahoma Embedded video

Oklahoma has never been known as earthquake country, with a yearly average of about 50 tremors, almost all of them minor. But in the past three years, the state has had thousands of quakes. This year has been the most active, with more than 2,600 so far, including 87 last week.

While most have been too slight to be felt, some, like the quake on Saturday and a smaller one in November that cracked a bathroom wall in Ms. Sexton’s house, have been sensed over a wide area and caused damage. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/13/science/earth/as-quakes-shake-oklahoma-scientists-eye-oil-and- gas-industry.html?emc=edit_tnt_20131212&tntemail0=y

69 Oil and Pipelines

Explosion rocks Pettis County gas pipeline - MO Embedded video

The Pettis County Sheriff's Office confirms a Panhandle Eastern Pipeline Company gas line exploded south of Houstonia early Friday morning. Emergency response crews shut down a perimeter around the burning pipeline, which still had visible flames more than eight hours after it exploded. An ABC 17 News crew reported seven buildings in the area were burning, including barns, hay bales and possibly a home.

Granado said a 30-inch natural gas pipeline ruptured north of Hughesville around 11:55 p.m. Thursday. http://www.abc17news.com/news/massive-explosion-reported-in-pettis- county/-/18421100/23206890/-/8fbisb/-/index.html

Deadly Sinopec pipeline blast in China raises questions in BC

When Chinese energy giant Sinopec's leaking oil pipeline exploded and killed 55 people in Qingdao last Friday, the accident hit a nerve for some BC residents. Sinopec has invested billions in Alberta's tar sands and holds a five per cent stake in the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline. The Chinese state-owned company is also discussing investments in Kitimat LNG projects with Apache and Chevron and has plans to expand its shale gas operations in BC. http://www.vancouverobserver.com/environment/deadly-sinopec-pipeline-blast-china-raises-questions- bc

Enbridge held to December 31 deadline to clean up Kalamazoo River

KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI (WTVB) - The Environmental Protection Agency has denied a request from Enbridge to extend their deadline for dredging in sediment traps along the Kalamazoo River. That gives the oil pipeline firm just one month to complete work on the river delta, maybe less if Morrow Pond begins to freeze over. It's some of the last oil remaining from the great spill three years ago. http://wincountry.com/news/articles/2013/nov/30/enbridge-held-to-december-31-deadline-to-clean-up- kalamazoo-river/

Enbridge chief confident Northern Gateway to get regulator approval next month

LAKE LOUISE • The chief executive of Enbridge Inc. said Friday he’s confident the Northern Gateway pipeline between Alberta and the British Columbia coast will get the go ahead from a panel of regulators next month. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) is expected to rule by the end of December whether the project is in the public interest, after holding 18 months of public hearings across the two provinces to gauge public views. http://business.financialpost.com/2013/11/29/enbridge-chief-confident-northern-gateway-to-get- regulator-approval-next-month/?__lsa=bc3b-bd54

70 As Oil Floods Plains Towns, Crime Pours In

Crime has soared as thousands of workers and rivers of cash have flowed into towns, straining police departments and shattering residents’ sense of safety. “It just feels like the modern-day Wild West,” said Sgt. Kylan Klauzer, an investigator in Dickinson, in western North Dakota. The Dickinson police handled 41 violent crimes last year, up from seven only five years ago.

To the police and residents, the violence shows how a modern-day gold rush is transforming the rolling plains and farm towns where people once fretted about a population drain. Today, four-story chain hotels are rising, and small apartments rent for $2,000 a month. Two-lane roads are jammed with tractor-trailers. Fast-food restaurants offer $300 signing bonuses for new employees, and jobs as gas station attendants can pay $50,000 a year. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/01/us/as-oil-floods-plains-towns-crime-pours-in.html?_r=0

Aerial Video of Alabama Oil Spill Exposes Inadequate Cleanup

Efforts to clean up an Alabama oil spill are under scrutiny after a train carrying 2.7 million gallons of North Dakota Bakken crude oil exploded last month, spilling into wetlands just outside the town of Aliceville. Photojournalist John Wathen captured video of cleanup efforts one week after the Nov. 7 derailment, and the footage prompts questions about the efficacy of methods being used. http://ecowatch.com/2013/12/02/aerial-video-of-oil-spill-exposes-inadequate-cleanup/

Third Apache Pipeline Leak Releases Additional 1.8 Million Litres of Produced Water in Northern Alberta

A third leak recently discovered on Apache Canada’s property near Zama City in northwestern Alberta has released an estimated 1.8 million litres of wastewater onto 5 hectares of land, according to the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER). http://desmog.ca/2013/12/02/third-apache-pipeline-leak-releases-additional-1-8-million-litres-produced- water-northern-alberta

Runaway trains double the reported rate, CBC investigation finds

Two Decembers ago, a train rolled uncontrolled for 24 kilometres, reaching a speed of 100 kilometres an hour before eventually coming to a stop near the eastern Quebec town of Sept-Iles. Five months earlier, 33 CN cars escaped from a yard near Edmonton and travelled more than five kilometres onto a line carrying residues of gasoline, diesel fuel and sulphuric acid in their tanks.

Cases like these — referred to technically as runaway rolling stock — happen on average 35 times a year, far more often than previously thought, CBC News has learned after examining a railway database kept by the Transportation Safety Board (TSB). http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/runaway-trains-double-the-reported-rate-cbc-investigation-finds- 1.2448494

71 Rail safety map: Find runaway trains near your community

459 incidents include trains rolling down mountains, across Canada-U.S. border

In the past 13 years, there have been 459 cases of so-called runaway rolling stock, hundreds more than previously thought.

Following the Lac Megantic tragedy — when an insufficiently secured, parked train ran down a hill and exploded, killing 47 people — it was widely reported that there were about a dozen incidents of runaways a year.

But in fact that only counts examples where an uncontrolled train rolling down the track was the main issue, not when it led to larger problems like derailments and collisions, such as in Lac Megantic.

Interactive Map. http://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/rail-safety/

David Suzuki on Christy Clark's LNG plans: 'Be serious'

David Suzuki is taking aim at B.C. Premier Christy Clark's claim that developing a liquid natural gas industry in B.C. will help slow climate change, arguing it's time Clark "be serious about where we're heading" with our reliance on fossil fuels.

The outspoken environmentalist made the remarks as Premier Christy Clark tours parts of Asia to drum up interest and investment in her government's LNG plans. Clark has said B.C. should sell natural gas in China and Japan because natural gas is cleaner than China's coal and safer than Japan's nuclear power. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/david-suzuki-on-christy-clark-s-lng-plans-be-serious- 1.2447905

The deadly secret behind the Lac-Mégantic inferno

The North Dakota crude that levelled Lac-Mégantic was classified as flammable, a long-standing practice for all oils moved by rail. Hazardous material experts and rail officials interviewed by The Globe and Mail say the risks of exploding crude were not scrutinized until the tragedy.

“The explosions and everything, I didn’t think crude oil did that,” said Ed Pritchard, a former accident investigator with the U.S. Federal Railroad Administration.

Canada’s Transportation Safety Board agreed. During an August briefing on its investigation into the crash, Ed Belkaloul, head of the federal TSB in Quebec, said the oil carried to Lac-Mégantic is undergoing testing because the crude reacted “in a way that was abnormal.”

As early as 2010, North Dakota geologists were investigating lethal gases in the oil. Early last spring, the Washington-based FRA grew concerned about Bakken crude when it became aware of “severe corrosion” of tank car walls and joints, according to a letter sent to a U.S. petroleum association. The

72 five-page letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Globe, cites test findings showing that some Bakken oil was so flammable it could be ignited at temperatures as low as 20 C.

Bigger alarms went off in May, when pipeline giant Enbridge Inc. discovered dangerous hydrogen sulfide levels in Bakken crude – 24 times the legal limit. That was enough to prompt the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to grant emergency powers to Enbridge to block crude that carried excessive amounts of the potentially lethal and explosive sulfide vapours from entering its pipeline. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/the- hazardous-history-of-the-oil-that-levelled-lac-megantic/article15733700/

Northern Gateway is dead

“If Northern Gateway is pushed ahead, it will spark protests that will make Idle No More look like an afternoon tea,”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s envoy to First Nations on western energy projects concluded there “has not been constructive dialogue” with aboriginal communities — something the federal government must take drastic steps to change if it expects to win support for the projects.

That was the blunt assessment delivered Thursday by Douglas Eyford, appointed eight months ago by Harper to engage with First Nations, industry and governments to figure out a way forward on issues of aboriginal rights and title related to two key projects — Enbridge’s $6.5-billion pipeline to Kitimat and Kinder Morgan’s $5.4-billion expansion of its existing pipeline to Burnaby. http://westcoastnativenews.com/northern-gateway-is-dead/

Ottawa approves Shell’s Jackpine oil sands expansion

The federal Conservative government has approved plans to expand an oil sands mining project, despite the environment minister saying the effort is likely to cause significant “adverse environmental effects.”

The government on Friday gave its blessing to Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s expansion plans at its Jackpine mine project, about 70 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, Alta. The approval comes with a list of conditions tied to wildlife, the environment and First Nations.

Ms. Aglukkaq referred to the Tory cabinet which “decided that the significant adverse environmental effects that the designated project is likely to cause, are justified in the circumstances,” her statement said. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/ottawa- approves-shells-jackpine-oil-sands-expansion/article15813249/

Oilsands Strategy Presentation Indicates 'Worst-Case Scenario' Has Come To Pass

A strategic analysis carried out in 2010 for the oilsands identifies a “worst-case scenario” for the industry that appears to have come to pass.

73 In a PowerPoint presentation evidently put together for oilsands giant Suncor, Texas-based intelligence consultancy Stratfor warns of a scenario in which the anti-oilsands movement “becomes the most significant environmental campaign of the decade as activists on both sides of the border come to view the industry as arrogant.”

The Stratfor presentation was released by Wikileaks, and was part of a massive trove of millions of documents it has obtained from the intelligence consultancy over the past two years. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/12/07/oil-sands-stratfor_n_4404621.html

TransCanada has hired Phil Fontaine – former national chief of the AFN

On its 4,000-kilometre path across the country, TransCanada Corp.’s Energy East’s pipeline would traverse the traditional territory of 180 different aboriginal communities, each of whom must be consulted and have their concerns accommodated as part of the company’s effort at winning project approval.

The Energy East plan is to bring 1.1 million barrels per day of western crude to eastern Canadian refineries and export terminals; it has been touted by politicians and its proponents as a nation-building exercise, and by industry as providing access to new markets for landlocked crude.

But native leaders want to ensure that they see some benefits from the $12-billion project and they could present a challenging obstacle to its completion if they feel excluded. On Tuesday, First Nations leaders gathering in Gatineau, Que., will launch an effort to devise their own national energy strategy. http://westcoastnativenews.com/transcanada-has-hired-phil-fontaine-former-national-chief-of-the-afn/

Drilling rig GSF Grand Banks adrift earlier this week

According to online reports, the GSF Grand Banks was adrift for almost two days this week after a towline parted unexpectedly.

Sources said the line snapped on Wednesday during rough weather, while sea swells battered the coast of Newfoundland. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/drilling-rig-gsf-grand-banks-adrift-earlier-this- week-1.2455815

Energy workers union backs First Nations against Northern Gateway

Canada’s largest private-sector union has thrown its support behind First Nations in opposing the Northern Gateway pipeline project, vowing to hit picket lines in solidarity if the project goes ahead.

On Thursday, Gavin McGarrigle, the union’s B.C. area director, signed a new solidarity accord on behalf of the union at a Vancouver media event marking the third anniversary of the Save the Fraser Declaration. The declaration, signed by representatives of more than 130 First Nations, aims to ban oil tankers and pipelines from crossing British Columbia or the ocean migration routes of Fraser River

74 salmon. In a short speech, Mr. McGarrigle said the province needs a “good jobs revolution” with large investments in green jobs, along with significant improvements in public transit and passenger rail networks. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/energy-union-backs-first-nations-against- northern-gateway/article15799496/

Transport Canada searches Irving offices in Lac-Mégantic probe Embedded video

Transport Canada is searching the New Brunswick offices of Irving Oil in relation to the deadly train derailment in Lac-Mégantic, Que., in the summer, CBC News has learned.

The agency obtained a search warrant this week to help it determine whether all safety rules were followed. The rules and regulations are set out in the Railway Safety Act and the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act.

"Transport Canada is carrying out its investigation at the offices of Irving Oil in Saint John, New Brunswick," a spokesperson for Transport Minister Lisa Raitt told CBC News Friday. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/transport-canada-searches-irving-offices-in-lac-m%C3%A9gantic- probe-1.2463409

Police seize Irving Oil records in probe of Lac-Mégantic disaster

Court documents filed in support of the search warrant indicate Irving is under investigation to determine whether it followed safety and security rules for importing dangerous goods and whether those goods were accompanied by proper documentation.

The Transportation Safety Board said this fall that the oil that exploded in Lac-Mégantic was more volatile than the paperwork for the train suggested. Federal regulations say that when dangerous goods are brought into Canada, domestic importers are responsible for ensuring safety rules are followed. Penalties for contravening the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act are up to two years in prison or $50,000 for a first offence.

The court documents contain new revelations about how Irving dealt with the crude oil it was importing by rail in the months before the Lac-Mégantic crash. According to the documents, Irving regularly received oil tank cars from Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway with paperwork that suggested the oil was not particularly volatile. However, the company returned the empty tank cars to the shipper with a different, more volatile classification for the residual oil inside them. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/investigators- search-irving-oil-offices-after-lac-megantic-disaster/article15958346/

Tar Sands- The Dirty Maple Leaf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqfFeKWm9lc&feature=player_embedded

75 Whistleblower Exposes Enbridge Coverup

Whistleblower and activist John Bolenbaugh exposes dirty tricks, lies and cover-up of oil and pipeline companies. Former Enbridge employee fought with Enbridge over the clean-up of a 40 mile oil spill in the Kalamazoo River. After many false claims by Enbridge pipeline over the clean state of the river, this year the Environmental Protection Agency ordered the cleanup of the river three years after the initial spill. http://www.mintpressnews.com/whistleblower-exposes-enbridge-coverup/174938/ http://vimeo.com/81630903

BP and Corexit: you’re soaking in it (Maddow Show) - Embedded video

Rachel Maddow:

BP admitted in court that while they were saying publicly and saying to Congress even, that their gushing well in the Gulf of Mexico was only leaking 5,000 barrels a day, that was it, merely a flesh wound. while they said that publicly, not only was that wrong, but they knew it was wrong.

BP as a company internally was having all sort of discussions about how it wasn’t 5,000 barrels a day. It was more like 60,000 barrels or maybe even 140,000 barrels a day. But publicly, they kept assuring everybody that it was no big deal, only five.

The important part was not just that BP was wrong or that they didn’t know the answer and they were guessing. The important part in their culpability, of course– the reason they ended up paying the largest corporate fine in history of corporate fines was not because they got it wrong– it is because they did know the truth and they lied about it. They lied about it publicly, they lied about it to Congress. https://bpoil.wordpress.com/2013/04/28/bp-and-corexit-youre-soaking-in-it-maddow-show/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5uLyU-8q0A&feature=player_embedded

Follow-up to Baytex’s Shareholders - Stop Baytex Energy

We recently wrote to you about Baytex Energy forcing us and several families from our homes near Peace River, Alberta.

We want to correct some of the misinformation that Baytex has started to spread in the media:

• Baytex Energy is complying with regulations. NOT TRUE. There are no regulations for the type of oil sands production and processing that Baytex is doing. The Globe and Mail – Baytex likely headed to court over emissions

That is one of the reasons why the Alberta Government has taken the extraordinary step of calling a public inquiry. One of the stated goals of the inquiry is to close the gaps in regulations Baytex is relying on and to implement increased environmental regulations.

76 None of the major oil sands companies in Alberta do what Baytex is doing. Baytex is tarnishing the reputation of the entire industry. Ask Suncor, Syncrude, Cenovus, etc if they open vent their heated bitumen tanks. Their answer will be “absolutely not”, so why is Baytex? The answer… because Baytex can get away with it until the new regulations are in place (some time next year). http://www.stopbaytex.ca/follow-up-to-baytexs-shareholders/

Industry seeks right to release water from oilsands tailings ponds

Oilsands producers are talking with the federal and Alberta governments about conditions under which water from the industry’s tailings ponds could be released into the environment. Officials say releases would only involve treated water and wouldn’t happen until the end of a mine’s life.

“If they’d be willing to take the water and dump it in the Bow River near Calgary, then perhaps,” said Keith Stewart of Greenpeace. Alberta has a zero discharge policy for the oilsands. No water affected by processing is allowed back into the Athabasca River and even rain that falls on developed sites must be collected and stored.

Most of that water is kept in tailings ponds. http://commonsensecanadian.ca/industry-seeks-right-release-water-oilsands-tailings-ponds/

Significant Victory for Ecuadorians in Oil Pollution Case Against Chevron

Indigenous and farmer communities in Ecuador scored a major victory over Chevron yesterday when an Ontario appeals court ruled they have the right to pursue enforcement of a $9.5 billion Ecuadorian court judgment against Chevron’s assets in Canada.

The court also ordered Chevron’s two Canadian subsidiaries to pay $100,000 in costs to the Ecuadorians. http://ecowatch.com/2013/12/18/victory-for-ecuadorians-oil-pollution-chevron-case/

Northern Gateway pipeline recommended for federal approval, with conditions

A joint review panel has recommended the federal government approve Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline project. The approval hinges on 209 required conditions, including developing a marine mammal protection plan, researching heavy oil cleanup and conducting emergency response exercises.

"After weighing the evidence, we concluded that Canada and Canadians would be better off with the Enbridge Northern Gateway project," said the panel in its roughly 500-page report. The recommendation comes after 180 days of hearings in 21 communities in B.C. and Alberta. The final decision, however, rests with the federal government, which has 180 days to decide. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/northern-gateway-pipeline-recommended-for-federal-approval- with-conditions-1.2470465

77 Conservation groups condemn 'yes' recommendation from Northern Gateway review panel

CALGARY — The Joint Review Panel’s recommendation to approve the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline is major setback for science and democracy in Canada, Ecojustice lawyers said today. “We submitted hundreds of pages of scientific evidence on behalf of our clients that lead to one emphatic conclusion: The Northern Gateway pipeline is an unsafe, unsustainable and unnecessary project, and it does not serve the national interest of this country,” said Ecojustice staff lawyer Barry Robinson.

“While we are deeply disappointed with the JRP’s recommendation, this does not mean the pipeline is approved or will even be built.” http://www.ecojustice.ca/media-centre/press-releases/conservation-groups-condemn-yes- recommendation-from-northern-gateway-review-panel

CSIS Involvement in Enbridge Hearings Makes National News Embedded audio

Most of the documents are e-mails from the National Energy Board’s security lead, Rick Garber, describing security plans for the Enbridge Northern Gateway public hearings in the first half of 2013. In one of those e-mails, Garber writes that his team “has consulted today with Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) at national and regional levels; RCMP at national, regional and local levels.”

The other newsworthy item in the documents is an e-mail memo with the subject line “Security Concerns – National Energy Board.” It was sent by Tim O’Neil, senior criminal intelligence research specialist with the RCMP, and circulated to a lengthy list of stakeholders, including CSIS.

In that memo, O’Neil describes “sustained opposition to the Canadian petroleum and pipeline industry,” adding opponents have “the ultimate goal of forcing the shutdown of the Canadian petroleum industry.” http://desmog.ca/2013/11/27/csis-involvement-enbridge-hearings-makes-national-headlines

Harper government's extensive spying on anti-oilsands groups revealed in FOIs http://www.vancouverobserver.com/politics/harper-governments-extensive-spying-anti-oilsands-groups- revealed-fois?page=0%2C0

Joint Review Panel recommendation to support Northern Gateway pipeline ignores strong opposition of First Nations and citizens

The David Suzuki Foundation signed the Solidarity Accord for the Save the Fraser Declaration, agreeing with the Yinka Dene Alliance that we need to uphold indigenous laws and protect the health of British Columbia’s Fraser River watershed, including its headwaters.

And the vast majority agree. At community hearings across BC, the Joint Review Panel heard from 1,159 people who spoke against the pipeline. Only two spoke for it.

Remember, this isn’t the end of the discussion. Make your voice heard now. http://action2.davidsuzuki.org/stand-with-the-dene

78 BC LNG bigger than Tar Sands? Export licences face Cabinet review

On Monday, the same day the news broke that Kinder Morgan has finally filed its Vancouver pipeline expansion proposal, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver also chose to announce that four massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) export licenses recommended by the National Energy Board (NEB) will go to Cabinet for review and final decision.

This is in the same week we expect to hear the NEB approve the Enbridge Heavy Oil pipeline proposal with “conditions” that reflect the social license posturing of the BC Liberal Government - and, once again, much media debate will ensue.

However, it is important that we do not let this overshadow the NEB’s approval of four more LNG export licenses, reaching 7 total approved licenses, involving a mind-boggling 109.18 million tonnes per annum (mtpa.) of natural gas. That’s a staggering total gross volume of 2905.5 million tonnes over 25 years, requiring a massive increase in hydraulic fracturing in BC to feed these LNG plants and tankers. http://commonsensecanadian.ca/bc-lng-bigger-tar-sands-export-licences-face-cabinet-review/

For First Time, Anti-Terrorism Law Used to Have Americans Protesting Keystone XL Pipeline Arrested

A demonstration against Devon Energy and the company’s role in fracking and tar sands mining, including the Keystone XL pipeline, ended with four individuals being placed under arrest last week. Two of them were arrested by police on the basis that they had violated an Oklahoma anti-terrorism law prohibiting “terrorism hoaxes.”

It is strongly suspected that this happened as a result of advice that TransCanada has been giving local law enforcement in states, where protests against the Keystone XL pipeline have been taking place. They have been meeting with law enforcement and suggesting how terrorism laws could be applied to stop citizens from protesting the corporation’s activities. http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2013/12/17/for-first-time-anti-terrorism-law-used-to-have-americans- protesting-keystone-xl-pipeline-arrested/

Fiery explosions in ND crude oil train derailment

CASSELTON, N.D. (AP) — A train carrying crude oil from North Dakota's oil patch derailed Monday near the small town of Casselton, setting off a series of fiery explosions. No injuries were initially reported, but officials were warning residents to stay indoors as the situation unfolded.

BNSF Railway spokeswoman Amy McBeth said a train carrying grain was first to derail, and it knocked several cars of the mile-long oil train off adjoining tracks. Several explosions were reported, she said. http://www.seattlepi.com/news/us/article/Fiery-explosions-in-ND-crude-oil-train-derailment-5102453.php http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/fire-rages-oil-train-derailment-north-dakota-article- 1.1561803

79 Scientists Find 7,300-Mile Mercury Contamination ‘Bullseye’ Around Canadian Tar Sands

Just one week after Al Jazeera discovered that regulatory responsibility for Alberta, Canada’s controversial tar sands would be handed over to a fossil-fuel funded corporation, federal scientists have found that the area’s viscous petroleum deposits are surrounded by a nearly 7,500-square-mile ring of mercury.

Canadian government scientists have found that levels of mercury — a potent neurotoxin which has been found to cause severe birth defects and brain damage — around the region’s vast tar sand operations are up to 16 times higher than regular levels for the region. The findings, presented by Environment Canada researcher Jane Kirk at an international toxicology conference, showed that the 7,500 miles contaminated are “currently impacted by airborne Hg (mercury) emissions originating from oilsands developments.” http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/30/3107761/tar-sands-mercury/

80 Mining

Breaking news: Five shot dead at Porgera mine

More than 5 local miners shot dead, allegedly by Barrick PJV security and state mobile task force at the Porgera mine site yesterday afternoon.

Stand off between Mine operator, Police and local miners intensify as local miners invade Porgera station and Paiam town at this hour of posting.

It looks like a peaceful protest by locals.

Correction to the message above that 5 locals were not shot dead by Barrick security or either Task Force, they were shot death by illegal miners. Illegal Miners fighting against each other and disturbing the community and mine employees. illegal Miners are from outside Porgera and locals are againts this protest march. http://ramumine.wordpress.com/2013/12/04/breaking-news-five-shot-dead-at-porgera-mine/

Mining, Fracking, And Drilling Have Changed Public Lands From Carbon Sinks To Carbon Polluters

A report released Thursday by the Center for American Progress finds that our nation’s forests, parks, grasslands, and other onshore public lands in the continental United States are the source of 4.5 times more carbon pollution than they are able to naturally absorb.

This imbalance is primarily due to the large quantities of coal, oil, and natural gas that are extracted from public lands. 42.1 percent of the country’s coal, 26.2 percent of its oil, and 17.8 percent of its natural gas are currently sourced from public lands both onshore and offshore. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/05/3021311/public-lands-carbon-sinks-carbon-polluters/

PotashCorp layoffs hurt N.B. government's job creation plans

Company announces 130 layoffs in N.B. one week after Alward government sought more potash investment

The Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan has issued a blow to one of the Alward government's hopes for job creation in the province. The company is laying off more than 1,000 people, including 130 in New Brunswick, due to what it describes as slumping demand for its potash and phosphates, which are used to make fertilizer.

Just last week the provincial government issued a request for expression of interest to explore for and mine potash in New Brunswick.

Expansion of the potash industry can play a major role in bringing investments, revenue and jobs to the province, Energy and Mines Minister Craig Leonard had said. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/potashcorp-layoffs-hurt-n-b-government-s-job-creation- plans-1.2449108

81 Canadian gold mine project in Romania could go to referendum

The Romanian government is considering holding a referendum on whether to allow a Canadian company to build a gold mine in the Transylvanian mountain region of Rosia Montana that it says would be Europe's biggest open-cast gold mine.

President Traian Basescu said on Monday that he would not rule out holding a vote on the proposed mine that Whitehorse-based Gabriel Resources has been trying to get approved for about 14 years.

Basescu proposed holding the referendum at the same time as the European parliamentary elections in May of next year, even though parliament is expected to vote on the project this month, meaning it could face further delays after it is approved. http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canadian-gold-mine-project-in-romania-could-go-to-referendum- 1.1384332

82 Forestry

Algonquins Erect Land Protection Camp to Save Cultural Sites & Critical Wildlife Habitat from Destructive Logging within La Verendrye Wildlife Reserve

(Kitiganik, Algonquin Territory/December 9, 2013) This past Spring, Quebec’s Ministry of Natural Resources—without meaningfully consulting the Algonquins of Barriere Lake—issued permits for the 2013-14 operating year to Resolute Forest Products and other large logging companies who have subsequently clear-cut vast tracts of the forest this past summer and fall, up to last week, when the Algonquins stopped the unauthorized logging, which has been taking place in violation of signed Agreements with the First Nation. http://www.barrierelakesolidarity.org/2013/12/algonquins-erect-land-protection-camp.html

Miramichi troubles - Charles Theriault Embedded video

Miramichi was once known as the forestry capital of Canada. Today due to the Crown Forest Act of 1982, it is but a shell of a community which barely has access to the Crown Forest that surrounds it. The situation is ridiculous and must be rectified. http://trinitytoday.ca/2013/12/miramichi-troubles/ http://vimeo.com/81147160

N.B. political panel - Dec. 19 The panel discusses forest policy and managing Crown lands. http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/NB/Political+Panel/ID/2425578618/

83 Video Links

The Biggest Scam In The History Of Mankind - Hidden Secrets of Money 4 - Mike Maloney https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFDe5kUUyT0&feature=player_embedded

Nov30 Hwy11 Rights Abuse http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhPCiMpC1ws&feature=youtu.be

Chemical Toxicology In the Fracking Zone. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhkswtBom4s&feature=player_embedded

Beefing up the SWNRCMP Line https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O90BzqA21d4&feature=player_embedded

Showdown at Highway 134 Mi'kmaq blockade of fracking equipment - subMedia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=482Z0Bl7CY4&feature=player_embedded

Hwy 11 protest in the snow https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6K68Cochg74

Maude Barlow at camp on Hwy 11 https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=quk6teRfKuQ

Montreal - Dec 2 - Une voiture fonce dans un blocage en solidarité avec Elsipogtog https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVxkp_WovlM&feature=player_embedded

Idle No More - Stephenville, NL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niAe7N-F6X4&feature=player_embedded

Maude Barlow Clean water and the global fight against fracking Rexton Dec0113 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWtG1RL7uTk&feature=player_embedded

84 Anti Shale Gas Protesters leaves Justice Building in Fredericton after SWN wins 14 days extension https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYqsj6maOgM&feature=player_embedded

Anti-Fracking Demonstration St. Charles. Dec. 02.2013 part 4 (inspirational) https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bmnFNZffXEM

Message to police https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOsN-P5abVg&feature=player_embedded

Self-Described Economic Hit Man John Perkins - We Have Created the World's first truly global empire http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=9BO5Jg8ABLc&feature=share&list=PL1eWg3Nbb4rErqTMhSokBOlBa-_2elpHu&index=2

Civil disobedience CAN work. Police remove barriers - Thailand https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3y3WPL7Oko&feature=player_embedded

Ontario Activists Protest Tar Sands Pipeline By Locking Themselves to Machinery http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=984xMlX59FM

SWN GET OUT of CANADA https://www.facebook.com/groups/132079906855023/#!/groups/132079906855023/

Martin Sheen Exposé on Fracking to Air on Public TV Embedded video http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qkPaqO-4TlM

Anonymous - Warning All Canadian Citizens https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te8DB9fqpHY&feature=player_embedded

Annabelle Joy Statement Regarding SWN Injunction to S. Court of Canada and New Brunswick Government https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4mvdlPqDow&feature=player_embedded

85 Government Will Not Save You From Corporations https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCAIj3YJUmg&feature=player_embedded

Elsipogtog Strong 2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMK2YnYFiRw&feature=player_embedded

Idle No More Boston (Fanueil Hall) - Round Dance Flash Mob Event https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bK0iOO5W5WQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Steven Standing Wolfpaw Kakinoosit message to supporters from Elsipogtog Anti-Fracking Blockade https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MBvampxg-w&feature=player_embedded

Idle No More Alberta - Dr. Pamela Palmater

Part 1 of 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STatNSjcrvo

Part 2 of 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBt8yqth1n0

Part 3 of 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4ku8vVELYs

Part 4 of 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okLmloA70zk

Fault Lines - Elsipogtog: The Fire Over Water https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0N-lDcq1PQ&feature=player_embedded http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EWoRw_fYEGo

No Shale Gas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79bNWLBUt4Y&feature=player_embedded

Corporate Fascism from Top Documentary Films http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hTbvoiTJKIs

86 Toxic clothing? - It's time to detox by Greenpeace http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uZucclsuKaU

Crude Impact Peak Oil Documentary 2006 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvyDH8-y-AE&feature=player_embedded

Fracking Invasion - Starzec Farm - Montrose, Pa. - 12-7-13 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnDHV3J_4-k&feature=em-share_video_user

White Water, Black Gold - Full video from TVO Ontario http://ww3.tvo.org/video/173827/white-water-black-gold

The Urgent Fukushima Video Everyone Needs to See http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kAMmE3BMtkE

Anti-Shale Revolution: Clashes between police and fracking protesters in Romania https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2e4yOujo_M&feature=player_embedded

Trans Pacific Partnership - Wikileaks has released another bombshell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPIsjH25GHo&feature=player_embedded

Miramichi troubles - Charles Theriault http://vimeo.com/81147160

Premier David Alward sits down with Blogger to debate the VERY TOUCHY issue of Shale Gas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpQUcZSxEuo

Dr. Pamela Palmater , speaking at an Idle No More Alberta event at Louis Bull Cree Nation. December 2 2012

Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STatNSjcrvo&feature=youtu.be

87 Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBt8yqth1n0&feature=youtu.be

Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4ku8vVELYs&feature=youtu.be

Part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okLmloA70zk&feature=youtu.be

Tar Sands- The Dirty Maple Leaf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqfFeKWm9lc&feature=player_embedded

Whistleblower Exposes Enbridge Coverup http://vimeo.com/81630903

BP and Corexit: you’re soaking in it (Maddow Show) - Embedded video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5uLyU-8q0A&feature=player_embedded

Annie Kia speaking at launch of CSG Free Community Strategy, The Channon, NSW http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAskswiuecY

Breaking: Gas Explosion Birmingham's Gate City https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0PiDXRykLs&feature=player_embedded

Colorado Fracking Site Flooding September 2013 HD https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EEVGPdQIW9s

Is there a monitor in New Brunswick? Embedded video One month later, aquifer still broken due to SWN's seismic testing. Energy Minister blames protesters. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNtrU5AYR3c&feature=player_embedded

SLC cop working for oil company Tesoro detains journalist filming a refinery http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzbNDULQFbE&feature=youtu.be

88 Alward questions Stiles about natural gas safety while leader of opposition http://www.gnb.ca/legis/QP/video/56-4-61_o.asx https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28W5xKKlZ5Y&feature=player_embedded

Round Dance Dec 27 Moncton Champlain Mall https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Rq0VMOqi1o&feature=player_embedded

N.B. political panel - Dec. 19 The panel discusses forest policy and managing Crown lands. http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/NB/Political+Panel/ID/2425578618/

Jessica Ernst, Balcombe - 8th March 2013 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMTaEqQf8QY

Terry Seguin speaks to political leaders about shale gas. N.B. Political Panel - Nov. 21 http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/NB/Political+Panel/ID/2419822761/

What the shale gas industry doesn't want you to know about fracking http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tShe4x7b-2g

Flammable tap water pits an Alberta farm family against Big Gas and the government. http://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/ID/1619380195/

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