All posts by Common Sense Canadian

New Zealand Oil Spill: Ecological Tragedy in the Making

Energy and Resources, Oil&Gas,
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Read this story from the Guardian on the ecological tragedy developing off the east coast of New Zealand as a supertanker loaded with 1,700 tonnes of fuel oil and 200 tonnes of diesel recently run aground on a reef full of rare marine life.

“Conservationists have warned of an impending wildlife ‘tragedy’…with populations of penguins, whales, seals and seabirds set to be hardest hit…A severe weather warning for the Bay of Plenty area on Monday has
heightened fears that the stricken cargo vessel Rena…will start to break up, with grim consequences for the local marine wildlife.” (Oct. 10, 2011)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/oct/10/new-zealand-oil-spill-wildlife-tragedy

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Mayors Approve Tax Hike to Fund Transit Improvements, Including Evergreen Line

Canada, Politics, Urban & Transport,
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Read this article from News 1130 on the historic vote by Metro Vancouver mayors to approve a package of minor tax increases to fund a package of transit solutions for the region, including the long-awaited Evergreen Line to the northeast corridor.

“Mayors approved the two-cents per litre gas tax hike, set to come in
April 2012, as well as a $23 property tax hike for 2013 if they can’t
find another additional funding source before then. Langley City Mayor Peter Fassbender, who voted in favour, says the plan isn’t perfect but it is a good first step. ‘For the first time in a number of years we see dedicated increase[s] in
hours, the rapid buses on Highway 1 when it opens, and improvements to
the major road network,’ he says. The vote was 81-34, weighted by population. The gas tax itself is
projected to bring in about $40 million, but they still need to find
another $30 million.”

http://www.news1130.com/news/local/article/286131–mayors-approve-two-cent-gas-tax-hike-to-pay-for-transit-plan

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SFU Report Calls for Drastic Water Conservation Reforms

WATER
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Read this story from The Tyee on a new report from the Adaption to Climate Change Team at SFU, urging drastic water conservation reforms in BC.

“The report outlines a new national proposition on water that aims to
strengthen Canada’s economy and ensure its environmental
sustainability, while at the same time enhancing our nation’s adaptive
capacity in the face of growing climate change effects…We are beginning to experience deeper and more
persistent droughts, and these are very costly. We’re also
beginning to experience the same intense rainfall and flooding events
that are becoming more common widely elsewhere in the world.”(October 5, 2011)

http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/Environment/2011/10/05/SFU-Water-Report/

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Oil Companies Plead Guilty to 2007 Vancouver Spill

Energy and Resources, Oil&Gas, Pipelines and Supertankers,
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Read this Vancouver Sun report on the guilty plea by three companies in a Vancouver court yesterday to causing the 2007 oil spill from KinderMorgan’s Trans-Mountain Pipeline that contaminated a Burnaby neighbourhood and the Burrard Inlet.

“Trans Mountain Pipeline, which owns the pipeline, and two
contractors, B. Cusano Contracting and R.F. Binnie and Associates, each
pleaded guilty to one count of polluting the environment under the
Environmental Management Act. A total of 26 charges were laid
after work on a sewer project ruptured the pipeline in July 2007,
setting off a 12-metre geyser of crude oil that showered 11 nearby
houses and led to the evacuation of 250 residents. The companies are expected to pay a total of more than $500,000 in fines and penalties.” (October 3, 2011)

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BC Oil and Gas Commission Investigating Link Between Fracking and Earthquakes

Energy and Resources, Fracking, Oil&Gas,
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Read this story from the Calgary Herald on the Oil and Gas Commission’s investigation into whether or not natural gas hydraulic fracturing operations are causing earthquakes in Northeast BC.

“Since 2009, there have been 31 earthquakes in the Horn River Basin,
an active natural gas extraction area. Before 2009, the area had not
experienced any recorded earthquake activity, said Friedrich. The
earthquakes ranged in size from 2.5 to 3.5 on the Richter scale, which
typically means they can be felt but rarely cause damage. Three of the earthquakes took place as hydraulic fracturing was underway, said Friedrich.” (Sept 30, 2011)

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Controversial+fracking+linked+earthquakes/5481341/story.html

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NDP Leadership Candidate Brian Topp Takes on Tar Sands, Loss of Local Jobs to Foreign Refineries

Canada, Energy and Resources, Oil&Gas, Politics, Tar Sands, ,
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Check out this must-read piece from the Georgia Straight’s Charlie Smith on NDP federal leadership candidate Brian Topp’s critique of the Tar Sands and the woeful economics of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline – which would ship raw bitumen and jobs from Alberta to refineries in Texas.

“I think it is a fundamentally wrong economic choice and a wrong
environmental choice with enormous consequences on the streets of
Vancouver and all across the country…[Canada is] throwing a raw resource to somebody else’s industrial economy for them to get the value and the benefit from. We’re robbing our children of the value of this resource.” (September 29, 2011)

http://www.straight.com/article-472791/vancouver/ndp-candidate-targets-tarsands-economics

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CBC: Shale Gas Making BC Residents Sick

Energy and Resources, Fracking, Oil&Gas, ,
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See this story – with photos and audio – from CBC.ca on claims by several farmers near Dawson Creek that nearby natural gas hydraulic fracturing operations are making them sick.

“Wilma Avery says her lungs were damaged when one company flared its
wells and gas plant below her house during a weather inversion in March. ‘My doctor came and looked at me and said, “I think you’ve breathed
some noxious fumes.” I said, “I think I did, too,”‘ Avery said. ‘It’s a yellow pall that was completely around me. I had a cough that
lasted — to put it crudely, you lose all control of everything. Most of
the time I just sat on the toilet and coughed. All I’m asking is this
should never happen again, because the next time it’ll probably kill
me.'”

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/09/28/bc-shale-gas-sick-farmers.html

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Eight Nobel Peace Prize Winners Line Up Against Tar Sands Expansion

Energy and Resources, Oil&Gas, Tar Sands,
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Read this story from the Winnipeg Free Press on the letter written by eight Nobel Prize winners to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, urging he stop the reckless expansion of the Alberta Tar Sands. The Nobel laureates include Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

“The letter comes three weeks after several peace prize laureates
wrote a letter to United States President Barack Obama asking him to
block the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline (TSX:TRP), which would increase
oilsands exports to the United States. ‘Just as we called on President Obama to reject the
pipeline, we are calling on you to use your power to halt the expansion
of the tarsands — and ensure that Canada moves towards a clean energy
future,’ the letter says.” (Sept. 27, 2011)

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/breakingnews/eight-nobel-peace-prize-winners-write-harper-to-oppose-oilsands-expansion-130709038.html

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Campbell/Clark’s $100 Billion in New Debt for BC!

Canada, Politics, WATER, Western Canada,
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Read this stunning piece from Gabriel Yiu in the Georgia Straight, exploding the myth of BC Liberal economic superiority. Learn how the Campbell/Clark government has secretly hidden over $100 Billion in long-term liabilities for the people of BC.

“The biggest deficits in BC’s history were recorded during the decade of the Liberals’ governance. On the debt front, the Liberals’ record is very scary. In 2011, the
traditional debt on the books is $53.4 billion—that is, an increase of
$19.6 billion in the years after they formed government. It’s 42 percent
higher than the NDP government’s debt increase in the 1990s. Nevertheless, behind the image of adroit fiscal management, the
Liberals have another ledger that they’re unwilling to account for. The
debt load in this ledger is a staggering $80.2 billion!” (Sept 25, 2011)

http://www.straight.com/article-470026/vancouver/gabriel-yiu-gordon-campbells-100billion-legacy

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Clark, Big Oil Want BC and Alberta’s Raw Resources Open for Business to China

Energy and Resources, Fracking, Mining, Oil&Gas, Pipelines and Supertankers, WATER, , , , , , ,
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Read this report from the Province on the Business Council of BC’s annual economic forum in Vancouver, where industry leaders and politicians joined arms in calling to make BC’s raw resources open for business with the growing Asian market.’

“‘We need to open up the B.C. gate more fully,’ said Lorraine
Mitchelmore, president and county chair of Shell Canada Ltd. ‘Canada
really needs to diversify its customer base for energy products and
create access to global energy markets. This is a real time of great
opportunity for Canada.’ Lindsay Gordon, president and CEO of HSBC
Bank of Canada, echoed these sentiments, and added that British
Columbians need a ‘wake-up call’ of the importance of Asia to ‘their
future and prosperity.'”

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