Read this frightening report from England’s The Independent on the shocking discovery of massive releases of methane gas – a far more potent greenhouse gas than CO2 – with the retreat of arctic sea ice.
Dramatic and unprecedented plumes of methane – a greenhouse gas 20
times more potent than carbon dioxide – have been seen bubbling to the
surface of the Arctic Ocean by scientists undertaking an extensive
survey of the region.
The scale and volume of the methane release has astonished the head
of the Russian research team who has been surveying the seabed of the
East Siberian Arctic Shelf off northern Russia for nearly 20 years.
In
an exclusive interview with The Independent, Igor Semiletov, of the Far
Eastern branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that he has
never before witnessed the scale and force of the methane being released
from beneath the Arctic seabed.
“Earlier we found torch-like
structures like this but they were only tens of metres in diameter. This
is the first time that we’ve found continuous, powerful and impressive
seeping structures, more than 1,000 metres in diameter. It’s amazing,”
Dr Semiletov said. (Dec. 13, 2011)
Read this report from the Ottawa Citizen on another round of massive lay-offs at Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
About 400 Fisheries and Oceans employees across Canada are to receive
letters from managers today informing them their jobs will be affected
as the department rolls out reductions from last year’s strategic
review.
The written notices are going to employees who work in the
seven regions where the department operates. More than 200 of those
receiving notices are biologists and other scientists and the vast
majority work outside the capital in areas of ocean management, fish
habitat management, hydrography and aquaculture. Another 39 positions
are being cut from the Coast Guard following a re-organization…
…Gary Corbett, president of the Professional Institute of the Public
Service of Canada, said he’s disappointed that the timing comes so close
to Christmas, but fears these cuts are just the beginning.
“The
cuts are going to be followed shortly by more cuts after the budget.
Tell me how a science-based department survives with a cut of a couple
of hundred scientists. How can the department continue to do what it is
supposed to do? It has to give somewhere. You can’t keep cutting,
cutting, cutting.” (Dec. 12, 2011)
A little over two years ago we held a town hall meeting in Fanny Bay, where a standing room only crowd discussed the proposed Raven Underground Coal Mine Project. It was at this meeting that concerned citizens formed CoalWatch Comox Valley. The events over the past two years have revealed many interesting details.
It’s clear that the “harmonized” environmental assessment of the Raven Project is deeply flawed. Numerous local governments, community groups, and thousands of British Columbia citizens have called for a more rigorous environmental assessment, a so called independent review panel with public hearings. Unfortunately, the calls for a more rigorous assessment have been rejected at all federal and provincial levels of government.
The near record amount of comments submitted during the two comment periods thus far indicate widespread public concern and opposition to the proposed massive coal mine. Citizens at three public meetings also voiced overwhelming opposition to the Raven Project. The proposed Project is also contradictory to Official Community Plans and Regional Growth Strategies adopted in both the Comox Valley and Port Alberni. Despite all of this, the environmental assessment of the Raven Project is being pushed forward.
It’s fairly obvious that a coal mine project that calls for a mine to be located only 5 kilometers from Baynes Sound, home to a thriving and economically important shellfish industry, is an insane idea. Couple that with an environmental assessment that doesn’t include any mechanism for public consent, and it’s no wonder that the residents of the Comox Valley, Port Alberni, and Vancouver Island are fed up and disgusted.
This cynicism and disgust has led numerous groups and organizations in the Comox Valley to form a Peaceful Direct Action Coalition, to educate the public on peaceful direct action. Many of us see peaceful direct action and civil disobedience, as another tool to use in the fight against this massive coal mine proposal near Fanny Bay.
The year ahead will be a challenging one for those opposed to the Raven Coal Mine Project. But make no mistake, the thousands of people who are opposed to this Project are dedicated, determined, united, and in solidarity, we will be victorious in our fight against this Project.
Read this report from The Vancouver Sun, claiming that the RCMP have no intention of acting on a recent court order to remove the blockade from the Gitxsan Treaty Office in Hazelton, BC. The blockade was established by community leaders and citizens in the wake of the now-disputed deal signed by former treaty negotiator Elmer Derrick with Enbridge.
The RCMP say they don’t intend to act on a court injunction that
allows them to remove a blockade of the Gitxsan Treaty Office in
northern B.C.
“We remain impartial in this protest and are hopeful
for a peaceful resolution between the GTS [Gitxsan Treaty Society] and
its members,” said RCMP spokesman Cpl. Dan Moskaluk.
Gitxsan
leaders opposed to an ownership deal inked with Enbridge on the
controversial $5.5-billion Northern Gateway oil pipeline say they have
fired negotiators of the treaty office.
Last week the opponents boarded up the office and began guarding the building in shifts.
Moskaluk
said there is no set time frame in the injunction that requires the
blockade to come down, but added the New Hazelton RCMP are monitoring
the situation very closely.
“The injunction states that arrest or removal is at the discretion of the police, “ Moskaluk said in an e-mail today.
Norman Stephens, a hereditary chief who is opposed to the Enbridge deal, said today they will continue to blockade the office.
Read this interview from The Prince George Citizen from November 9, 2011 with controversial former Greenpeace co-founder and corporate greenwasher (Mr. Moore has stumped for a wide range of environmentally destructive companies, including the fish farm and logging industries), who comes out in favour of the proposed Enbridge Pipeline through BC. The article gives no indication as to whether Mr. Moore and his particular services have been retained by Enbridge.
Greenpeace co-founder Patrick Moore downplayed environmental concerns surrounding Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway pipeline while in Prince George on Monday.
“It’s just a pipeline,” Moore said in an interview. “It’s going to be buried the whole way, from the oilsands to Kitimat, you won’t even be able to see it.”
Even buried, the pipeline does pose a
risk, he said, but added there are 100,000 kilometres of pipeline in North America and maintained they’re the safest way totransport liquids such as oil.
“There’s never a risk-free situation in anything we do but that is one of the most risk-free situations there is, and in the event that there is a spill of oil, it is limited by the fact that they close it off right away so it’s only a section of the pipeline that will spill,” Moore said. (Dec. 8, 2011)
Read this report from The Terrace Standard suggesting a court order may have been obtained to remove the hereditary and elected leaders of the Gitxsan First Nation who recently reclaimed their treaty office in Hazelton, BC from the treaty team that negotiated a now-unraveling deal with Enbridge last week.
THERE ARE reports this morning that a BC Supreme Court order has been obtained to stop trespassing at and blocking access to the Gitxsan Treaty Society office in Hazelton.
Gitxsan unhappy with the society’s signing of an economic benefits agreement with Enbridge stemming from its Northern Gateway oil pipeline have been at the office for several days now.
“The order was obtained by [the Gitxsan Treaty Society] without notice to anyone, after they appeared before Justice Davies in Vancouver,” reads a release from hereditary chiefs unhappy with the Enbridge deal.
It says police officers are “authorized to arrest anyone blocking access to the [treaty society] premises.” (Dec. 8, 2011)
Read this story from BCLocalNews.com on retired NHL star Scott Niedermayer’s support of the campaign to stop the controversial Jumbo-Glacier Resort in the Kootenays.
VICTORIA – Opponents of the long-proposed Jumbo Glacier Resort near
Cranbrook went on the offensive in the B.C. legislature Tuesday, with
retired hockey star Scott Niedermayer joining a local aboriginal group
to press for its rejection. Niedermayer joined Kathryn Teneese, chair of the
Ktunaxa Nation council and NDP leader Adrian Dix to urge the B.C.
government to reject the proposed resort, on Jumbo glacier in the Purcell Mountains.
The project has been studied for more than 20 years,
and received a provincial environmental certificate in 2005. The last
step is approval of a master development agreement, which Forests, Lands
and Natural Resource Operations Minister Steve Thomson could make at
any time. Teneese showed a video with testimonials of aboriginal
and other local residents, and released a study by Simon Fraser
University economist Marvin Shaffer that questions the economic
viability of adding another ski resort to the region.” (Dec. 8, 2011)
It was a day of polarities to be sure. Whether it was planned or coincidence (though many First Nations will tell you there are no coincidences), December 2nd began with Taseko Mines Ltd. (TML) president and CEO Russell Hallbauer beaming with approval at the pro-mining speech given by Minister of Energy and Mines, Rich Coleman, at a mining forum luncheon. Humble pie was to be served later at the Supreme Court of B.C. as a ruling came down for an injunction against Taseko Mines, preventing them from pursuing work in the Tsilhqot’in territory.
Over 300 people gathered at the Vancouver Trade and Convention Center’s Pro Mining Forum at a cost of $100 per person, with a cult-like aura in the room with money as their god. Among the sponsors and participants were BMO, Teck, Taseko Mines Ltd, HDI, Stantec, Finning, and Accenture, with The Vancouver Sun and the Province as media partners.
As the lunch bell rang, “special” guest speaker Rich Coleman was introduced as one of the “smartest men in the world” and was welcomed by applause from costly suits that included Hallbauer, TML corporate affairs manager Brian Battison, and their legal adviser Keith Clarke – all of whom had been sitting through the injunction case with the Tsilhqot’in in the days prior.
In an ironic twist, part of the mining forum was to address “Calls to action [that] will include the need to review federal and provincial processes and showcasing world-class models of social responsibility, First Nations engagement and political stability, so advantageous in a volatile global market.” There was but one First Nations person in the entire room, that being Annita McPhee, Tribal Chair of the Tahltan Central Council, and with nothing else to go on, Coleman sought to use the Talhtan presence as an example of how other First Nations should be working with and trusting in the mining industry.?
Coleman’s speech was what might be expected from one whose greatest goal is to mine the hell out of everything – complete with high praise for Christy Clarke’s globetrotting to “sell B.C.”
In spite of promises that media would get a chance to ask questions, the floor was instead opened to the elite patrons of the event, leaving no room for questioning the Minister of Mining and Energy on matters that he was no doubt keen to avoid.
As the Province of B.C. has been aggressively bullying its way to expand mining proposals and promoting B.C. as a “place to invest”, the response by First Nations has increasingly been to stand their ground in opposition to the blatant disregard for First Nations rights and the damage that such mining projects can often bring. Front and center in such opposition has been the Tsilhqot’in Nation, who have been battling attempted invasions into their territory for gold since the mid to late?1800’s, with the Tsilhqot’in War of 1864 leaving 6 of their chiefs murdered.
For the past 20 years Taseko Mines has been trying to get approval for what has been called one of the most contested mining projects in Canada. In 2007 a ruling by Justice Vickers was made in the Tsilhqot’in vs. B.C. Aboriginal title case that the Tsilhqot’in have the right to utilize their lands as their ancestors had done before them, for food, ceremonial and spiritual practices.
In spite of the ruling and the Tsilhqot’in’s assertions that the project remains unacceptable, Taseko Mines Ltd. continues to pursue their proposed “New Prosperity Mine”.?On November 2nd, 2010, after the Canadian Government dismissed TML’s “Prosperity Project”, President and CEO Russell Hallbauer stated: “Our next steps will be discussions with both the Federal and Provincial Governments to look at options so that this mining project can move forward and meet the criteria that the Federal Government deem appropriate.'” No mention made of consulting with the Tsilhqot’in National Government (TNG).
TML was granted permits by the Province of B.C. to begin exploratory drilling, and on Nov. 12, 2011, attempted to begin work. Since the Tsilhqot’in National Government had exhausted every possible avenue to put a stop to the mining proposal, Marilyn Baptiste, Chief of the Xeni Gwet’in band, did the only thing left for her to do: she stood between the convoy of TML employees and informed them that they had no jurisdiction on traditional Tsilhqot’in territories, that their permits were not recognized by the Tsilhqot’in, and that the Province of B.C. did not have authorization to be in Tsilhqot’in territory.
Taseko Mines Ltd., expecting direct opposition to their arrival on Tsilhqot’in land, had cameras in hand to document what they deemed to be a roadblock – which was in reality but Marilyn Baptiste, who stood in the road to advise them of their trespassing. Believing that such evidence would show them in good light, TML applied for an injunction and submitted the footage as evidence. At the same time, the Tsilhqot’in had filed for an injunction against Taseko Mines Ltd. to prevent it from trespassing on Tsilquot’in territory.
At the hearing on Nov. 29th, Chief Marilyn Baptiste, along with Grand Chief Stewart Phillip and Chief Bob Chamberlin of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, watched the footage that Taseko’s lawyer claimed left? Chief Baptiste’s hands “unclean” in entering the court case due to her perceived unlawful behavior. Rather than incriminate her, the footage displayed the courage and conviction of Chief Baptiste as she carried out what she called her sacred duty to protect the lands as her ancestors before her had done.
Supporters of the Tsilhqot’in sat up with pride as the footage played. To the right of the courtroom TML’s president Russell Hallbauer, legal adviser Kieth Clarke and others presumably from TML sat in stark contrast, appearing to realize that their precious evidence did more to make them look the bullies that they are, bandying about a note from the Crown as though it meant more than protecting the lands upon which an entire culture depends.
Upon his ruling on Dec. 2, Justice Christopher Grauer found that Chief Baptiste’s behavior as seen on the video seemed more of a moral blockade than a physical one. The tension in room 54 of the Supreme Court was thick as no one could read how the judge would rule. Sidelong glances came from Taseko’s people, who had only a few hours earlier been dining off their mining profits. As Justice Grauer continued to read his findings, the body language of Keith Clarke and Russell Hallbauer seemed to indicate a sudden onset of indigestion.
When Justice Grauer finally noted that it was with “blood, sweat and tears” that the Tsilhqot’in have tried to get the government to understand the importance of their lands, Mr. Clarke bent over in his seat, as though knowing there’d be more to come. And come it did, as Grauer also noted that it would be the Tsilhqot’in who would suffer irreparable damage should Taseko be allowed to proceed, as well as the financial losses that the Tsilhqot’in would incur, and have incurred in the struggle to see their rights recognized – financial losses that would not be reimbursed as they would for TML.
On the grounds of actual damage, Grauer found that while TML might suffer financial costs for equipment that had been rented, the loss did not go beyond that and costs could be regained, whereas the loss of habitat would be irreparable. “Once disturbed, it is lost” he stated.
Unfortunately, Justice Gruaer did rule the Tsilhqot’in National Government must pay financial losses to Taseko Mines Ltd. for equipment rentals. Full justice would have meant the Province footing the bill for the day and a half of TML’s financial losses; yet after a week of drumming outside the Supreme Court – with simultaneous drumming and prayers in Williams Lake and elsewhere – the people of the Tsilhqot’in have much to smile about as they get a reprieve from Taseko’s threat to their lands, waters, and way of life.
One more battle down, one more victory for the Tsilhqot’in – but the war is ongoing until Aboriginal Rights to protect their lands and way of life are truly realized and the “New Prosperity Mine” proposal put to rest once and for all.
Elena Edwards in a Vancouver-based environmental and social activist who attended the full Tsilqot’in injunction hearings this past week and has also attended and documented much of the Cohen Commission into disappearing Fraser River sockeye.
Watch this video from Global TV today on the ongoing controversy over the now-disputed Gitxsan First Nation deal with Enbridge. Note how Enbridge carefully videotaped the whole process, then provided it to media – complete with b-roll footage of pipeline construction jobs. The majority of the footage in this Global segment derives from a corporate press kit from Enbridge. (Dec. 6, 2011)
Read this story from The Globe and Mail on the swift and strong reaction by Gitxsan hereditary chiefs following Friday’s unauthorized deal with Enbridge, signed by the nation’s lead treaty negotiator, Elmer Derrick.
“Gitxsan hereditary chiefs on Monday called for the resignations of negotiators involved in a controversial pact with Enbridge. After
emergency meetings over the weekend, a group of hereditary chiefs
marched on the offices of the Gitxsan Treaty Society on Monday to demand
the immediate resignation of three of the society’s employees. Those
employees include Elmer Derrick, a Gitxsan Treaty Society negotiator and
a hereditary chief who on Friday announced a deal with Enbridge to
support the Northern Gateway project.
‘We put on our regalia and walked to the Gitxsan Treaty Society and
informed them that their services were no longer needed,’ Norman
Stephens, who is part of a group of hereditary chiefs speaking out
against the Enbridge agreement, said Monday in a telephone interview. The
employees refused to leave, saying that the society’s board of
directors – not the hereditary chiefs – governed the society, according
to Mr. Stephens. That resulted in a subsequent resolution by the
chiefs that the society directors could no longer sign or act on behalf
of the Gitxsan clans, Mr. Stephens said.
A call to the Gitxsan Treaty Office was not immediately returned.” (December 5, 2011)
