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Unique newspaper coverage of local, regional and global topics - serious and light-hearted.


Articles



Oil + Gas + Coal


Does Trudeau’s $1.5 billion oil spill response announcement reassure British Columbians? No way!

December 8, 2016

Elizabeth May explains who really gets what and how it’s really just catch-up from years of underfunding.

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Alberta puts a cap on oil sand emissions

November 17, 2016

Alberta will become the first major oil-production jurisdiction to place a cap on its emissions. The oil sands will be limited to 100 megatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, which still leaves room for growth of 50%, but is a step in the right direction.

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Woodfibre LNG is ‘a go’

November 17, 2016

The Woodfibre LNG plant proposed near Squamish is ‘a go’, according to Byng Giraud, the vice president of corporate affairs for the project. The investors have taken a final investment decision on the project and agreed to its construction, helped along by the announcement of new subsidies from the BC government.

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Tugboat sinks in Great Bear Rainforest, leaking fuel

November 3, 2016

A tugboat pulling an empty fuel barge ran aground in Seaforth Channel near the Heiltsuk community of Bella Bella on October 13, spilling diesel into the pristine ocean habitat. Since then, clean-up operations have suffered setback after setback, leaving people questioning if this what ‘world class spill response’ looks like.

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8,000 year old ancient relict sand under Petronas pilings

October 20, 2016

Elizabeth May digs deep into the political corruption that surrounds the Petronas NorthWest LNG approval. It’s possible that crucial information was hidden from Cabinet ministers by the very civil servants mandated to provide them with the facts.

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The Unist'ot'en Camp

October 6, 2016

Virginia Monk and Dave Ages give us an update into the progress at the Unist’ot’ten Healing Camp. The second phase of the Healing Lodge has been completed, and the first Youth Camp took place. The camp continues to hold strong against pipeline companies.

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Treaty signed by indigenous groups to oppose tar sands

October 6, 2016

A treaty has been made by indigenous groups on either side of the Canada/US border to oppose the expansion of the tar sands together. It is the first treaty of its kind.

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17 Reasons to Stop Kinder Morgan

October 6, 2016

An excerpt from MP Elizabeth May’s submission to the supplemental panel on Kinder Morgan, listing reasons why the Kinder Morgan Expansion Project should be rejected.

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Steelhead LNG

October 6, 2016

Adam Olsen outlines Steelhead LNG’s failure to properly consult and engage with First Nations on the Saanich Peninsula, where they have proposed the Malahat LNG facility.

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Enbridge expands, purchases Spectra Energy

September 22, 2016

Enbridge is about to become the largest energy infrastructure company in North America with the purchase of natural gas and crude oil giant Spectra Energy Inc for $37 billion.

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Standing Rock Sioux standing firm

September 22, 2016

Construction of the Dakota Access pipeline in Standing Rock, North Dakota, has been halted by an on-the-ground protest by the Sioux Native American tribes. Now, the US federal government has weighed in on the matter and their actions could be precedent setting.

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Pipeline politics

September 22, 2016

MP Elizabeth May talks pipeline politics. Why the push for pipelines to transport unrefined oil? Canada should instead be focusing on building refineries and adding jobs and value to the oil industry, says May.

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Trans Mountain Expansion hearings

September 8, 2016

Adam Olsen shares his experience with the Trans Mountain Expansion hearings. He says the NEB’s process on TMX is ‘fundamentally flawed’.

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Cherry Point moratorium on unrefined fossil fuels

August 25, 2016

Whatcom County Council has passed an interim moratorium on the export of unrefined fossil fuels from Cherry Point, Washington. No applications for export will be accepted while decisions are underway to create a permanent ban.

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Saskatchewan towns coping with oil spill in water supply

August 11, 2016

A pipeline leaked between 200,000 and 250,000 litres of oil into the North Saskatchewan River in late July. Towns downstream scrambled to find alternative sources of water.

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NEB approves TMX—with conditions

June 2, 2016

Patrick Brown gives an in-depth report on the approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project and examines the National Energy Board’s 157 conditions.

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Steelhead LNG and the WSÁNEĆ First Nations

May 19, 2016

Adam Olsen gives us a look at the relationship between Steelhead LNG and the WSÁNEĆ First Nations, and his insights into the importance of the land that Steelhead plans to build on.

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Global rallies urge government to break from fossil fuels

May 5, 2016

Global rallies are taking place this May to urge governments to end fossil fuel support and help transition to 100% renewables. A Break Free rally is taking place in Vancouver on May 13-14 to protest Kinder Morgan.

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Malahat First Nation LNG project

May 5, 2016

The Malahat First Nation’s LNG project continues to push ahead, despite some people viewing the project as ‘so absurd that it will never happen’. Adam Olsen lays out the impacts, saying that locals still need to be alert and active on the issue.

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CEAA evaluation of Pacific Northwest LNG first to include an upstream GHG estimate

March 24, 2016

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency has presented a draft report to the federal government that concludes: ‘the Project is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects as a result of greenhouse gas emissions’ after taking into consideration the implementation of best achievable technology and management practices and compliance with the BC Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting.

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LNG not ’the cleanest fossil fuel on the planet’

March 24, 2016

Eoin Finn explains the often unconsidered downsides to LNG, especially BC’s fracked LNG. A sobering 2013 report, commission by the BC government, was largely ignored. LNG may be cleaner burning but, by the time it is used, full-cost accounting makes it worse for the planet than coal.

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Oil scene changing: Alberta climate deal and price war

February 25, 2016

Oil companies have to divvy-up the new production caps, but is increased production worth it with Saudia Arabia’s price war to put expensive extraction out of business?

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News from the front lines of LNG

February 11, 2016

An LNG plant is underway at Lelu Island, near Prince Rupert, despite no federal environmental approval.

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May to NEB: Kinder Morgan expansion fails public interest test

January 28, 2016

In her final Intervenor summary, Saanich-Gulf Islands MP Elizabeth May points out how invalidating to the Panel Review is the unprecedented removal of the right to orally cross-examine Trans Mountain.

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Revised coal shipping plan approved

January 14, 2016

Instead of from Texada, coal is approved for shipping from Fraser River. To accommodate draft of ships, this requires constant dredging and building of bridge to replace Massey Tunnel.

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Energy Mega-project news

November 26, 2015

Patrick Brown gives a rundown of the twist and turn of energy mega-project developments.

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LNG export bonanza could impact Gulf Islands

September 17, 2015

Patrick Brown takes a look at the five LNG facility proposals that are in the works for the south coast of BC and talks about how each will affect the Gulf Islands.

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Unist’ot’en tour of the islands and Lower Mainland

September 17, 2015

The recent Unist’ot’en tour helped to spread the word about the Unist’ot’en First Nations currently working to protect their traditional territory from multiple pipeline projects.

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Pipe Up says Trans Mountain back to ‘square one’

September 17, 2015

Citizen group Pipe Up says that allowing Trans Mountain to replace evidence by Steven J Kelly returns the Trans Mountain Expansion hearing process to its starting point.

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Malahat First Nation announces proposed LNG facility on Saanich Inlet

September 3, 2015

The Malahat First Nation, in partnership with Steelhead LNG, have announced a proposed LNG facility on the Saanich Inlet. The project would involve floating LNG facilities and the construction of a pipeline to Vancouver Island.

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Dear National Energy Board…

August 6, 2015

A Commenter’s letter on the Trans Mountain Expansion Project points out that Westridge, deep inside Burrard Inlet, was never meant to be a deep sea port and there is a better location at Cherry Point. Patrick Brown also gives chapter and verse on the pipeline proposal process.

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Extraordinary measures to get an LNG industry going

July 23, 2015

Patrick Brown takes a look at the BC government’s precedent setting deal with Petronas’ North West LNG and how it could lock future BCers into paying compensation for government policy changes in a falling LNG market.

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BC LNG: the actual story

June 11, 2015

David Hughes geological, oil and gas consultant dissects the BCLiberal’s LNG promises.

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Robyn Allan withdraws from NEB Kinder Morgan hearings

May 28, 2015

Economist and former president and CEO of ICBC, Robyn Allan, withdraws from NEB Kinder Morgan hearings on the grounds that ‘the game is rigged’.

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Woodfibre LNG environmental assessment challenged

May 14, 2015

Citizen group My Sea to Sky has challenged the provincial assessment of the Woodfibre LNG plant on the basis that its risk assessment is inadequate.

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Oil spill response confirms worst fears

April 30, 2015

Patrick Brown takes us through a blow-by-blow of who knew what when, and who did what next in the English Bay bunker oil spill. Emergency response did not engender confidence.

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Unist’ot’en Healing Centre campaign kicks off on Galiano Island

April 16, 2015

Following last year’s building of a bunkhouse at their camp on the Northern Gateway proposed pipeline route, a fundraiser to expand the site into a Healing Centre is underway.

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Hedging your bets

April 2, 2015

Kinder Morgan owns, or partially owns, two of Canada’s oil spill cleanup response companies. Economist Robyn Allan terms this as a conflict of interest.

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No marine traffic exclusion zone for Kinder Morgan tankers

March 19, 2015

Transport Canada’s TERMPOL Review Committee has rejected Kinder Morgan’s proposal for a marine traffic exclusion zone which would travel with their tankers through the Strait of Georgia, concluding that it would be difficult to implement and enforce and would provide few safety benefits.

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Canada Pension Plan has problems with tar sands investment

February 5, 2015

CPP’s Investment Board has invested in a non-public ‘junior’ oil company - but the company is failing to meet performance conditions.

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More to the budget than oil: the real reason for budget delay

February 5, 2015

Elizabeth May examines the silver linings to plummeting oil prices and talks about the real reasons for the budget delay.

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Big Oil’s media deal

January 22, 2015

Last year Postmedia made an agreement with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Production to give CAPP ‘100% share of voice’. Patrick Brown looks at what this could mean to freedom of the press and readers’ trust in newspapers.

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Trans Mountain Hearing Process ‘Fraudulent’ says Eliesen

January 22, 2015

Marc Eliesen, former CEO of BCHydro and former Chair of Manitoba Hydro, withdraws as intervenor in the Trans Mountain hearing process with a scathing letter.

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Latest K-M restructure lacks NEB approval, says Robyn Allan

December 11, 2014

Kinder Morgan’s recent restructuring never gained NEB approval as required. The transfer of ownership is not in Canada’s public interest, says Robyn Allan.

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Rally on Burnaby Mountain

November 27, 2014

Burnaby Mountain, where Kinder Morgan is surveying for a pipeline tunnel, is increasingly becoming a rallying point for anti-pipeline citizens.

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Multi-million-dollar picnics on Burnaby Mountain

November 13, 2014

Kinder Morgan is taking legal action against Burnaby residents who have been staging picnics to block work crews. The company claims the protestors are trespassing - in a public park.

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Boaters to occupy the Sabine Channel

September 18, 2014

On October 4, a flotilla of boats, off Jedediah Island, will protest approval of massive coal shipments across the Salish Sea. Will you join them?

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Trans Mountain’s tunnel delay; NEB muddles through

September 4, 2014

Will City of Burnaby allow Trans Mountain to tunnel through Burnaby Mountain? Meanwhile, NEB deals with First Nations oral evidence, Transport Canada has to come up with more information on tanker impacts, and City of Vancouver seeks court decision on pipeline climate change effects.

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Fraser Surrey Docks coal transhipment approved

September 4, 2014

Port Metro Vancouver has now approved the FSD scheme: dusty Wyoming coal travels by rail through White Rock and Surrey, is barged to Texada, stored uncovered and later freighted through the Gulf Islands and to China.

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Opposition grows to Woodfibre LNG

August 21, 2014

Squamish and West Vancouver council meetings raise concerns and opposition to Woodfibre’s proposed LNG plant.

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Kitimat airshed study—not so simple

August 7, 2014

The government said that an extensive study proved that four LNG projects could be built at Kitimat while maintaining air quality. But what the study actually proves, far from adding LNG plants, is that the Kitimat Rio Tinto Alcan smelter needs to ‘scrub’ sulphur dioxide from its emissions.

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LNG prices getting critical

July 24, 2014

Is BC right to put all its eggs in the LNG basket? Asian prices are dropping and BC hasn’t set its tax regime yet. Out of fourteen proposals there are no financial commitments.

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Pipelines are forever?

July 24, 2014

The Kinder Morgan proposes expansion of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline to a target capacity of 890,000/bpd. However, it relies on the original, and still existing, 60-year-old pipeline for fully one-third of its capacity. In view of its age, pipe specification, maintenance requirements, product to be shipped, and route, the existing pipeline should be subject to an environmental review separate from the new pipeline.

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The Unist’ot’en, the Gulf Islands and the pipelines

June 26, 2014

Dave Ages and Virginia Monk give an on the ground picture of the blockade camp and the crew building the bunkhouse. The Unist’ot’en message is simple: there will be no pipelines across our land.

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Pipelines' tangled timelines

June 26, 2014

The intertwined timelines for tar sands pipelines extend beyond the date of the next federal election. The scenario for delay, deadlock, and political crisis has been established.

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Joslyn shakes up the pipeline estimates

June 12, 2014

Joslyn tar sands mine plans shelved. Uncertain bitumen prices and increasing production costs mean less pipeline demand.

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Oceans Day laden with extra meaning this year

June 12, 2014

Tankers and pipelines give Oceans Day even more significance, says Adam Olsen.

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Kinder Morgan: whales in the way

May 29, 2014

Robyn Allan looks at Kinder Morgans’ attitude to its ‘whale of a problem’.

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Standard of Care for Haro Strait

May 29, 2014

The ins and outs of navigating the Turn Point SOA. Can a busy corner take more traffic?

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The twilight zone: what it’s like to be an intervenor in the Kinder Morgan application

May 15, 2014

Elizabeth May tells us about the process of deconstructing the gigantic Kinder Morgan application. Among all the bamboozling repetition, what’s uncovered reads like the comedy channel. Ms May at her canny best.

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NEB’s pipeline hearing process

May 15, 2014

National Energy Board confirms no oral questioning. Robyn Allan, Elizabeth May, ForestEthics, Tsleil-Waututh, Cities of Vancouver and Burnaby all want oral cross-examination of Trans-Mountain. The NEB says no, so on to federal court.

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No cross-examination for TransMountain

May 1, 2014

There will be no oral cross-examination of and by intervenors during the NEB hearings on the Trans Mountain Expansion Project. The result will be a mountain of paper and meaningless hearings.

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First Nation draws the line

May 1, 2014

Natural gas facilities exempted from environmental review; First Nation throws government representatives out of LNG conference; government backs down.

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Gearing up for the NEB Kinder Morgan pipeline Hearing

April 17, 2014

The NEB has chosen the 400 intervenors and 1,200 commenters to take part in the Trans Morgan pipeline expansion review. Interveno,r MP Elizabeth May, talks about the process and invites people coast-wide to contact her, with their evidence and arguments for the Hearing.

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Protecting democracy in petro-states

April 3, 2014

Joëlle Skaf compares two western petro-states, Canada and Norway, providing interesting insights into the tricky business of putting all one’s eggs into the fossil fuel basket. How to maintain a thriving democracy and provide a longterm economic future?

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Weaver starts the energy debate

March 6, 2014

Neither BC’s provincial government nor the official opposition will discuss energy policy; Weaver, BC’s lone Green Party MLA, starts the public debate. Using global climate change as a lens, he looks at: the effects of exporting Alberta’s tar sands bitumen, shipping Wyoming’s thermal coal, and exporting LNG as a substitute for China’s coalburning electricity generation. BC, he says, takes the environmental risks for each alternative: pipelines and railways through rugged mountain ranges, tankers and bulk carriers navigating BC’s tricky waterways, a potential refinery at Kitimat.

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Haro Strait ship traffic – a 40% increase?

March 6, 2014

Patrick Brown describes the challenges to deep sea ships navigating in Haro Strait and what potential increases in traffic could mean.

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Gulf Islands – in the slipstream of an industrial port

Feb 6, 2014

Patrick Brown reveals Kinder Morgan’s plans for oil tanker traffic in the Southern Strait of Georgia, the federal government will have to help, strengthening spill response requirements.

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Having it four ways: pipeline ownership

Jan 23, 2014

Tar sands access to Asian markets? Not for everyone. Enbridge's Northern Gateway strategy says who, how much, who's liable, and who pays the taxes.

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Northern Gateway Approval

Jan 23, 2014

Faint praise from the National Energy Board. An extensive summary of the Joint Review Panel's 500 page Northern Gateway report: less than a ringing endorsement.

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Trans Mountain Hearing applications due by February 12,

Jan 23, 2014

A how-to on applying to comment or intervene in Trans Mountain pipeline Hearing.

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Pipelines push in all directions

Nov 21, 2013

If expansion of the Alberta tar sands is to continue, the oil industry must find some way to get their product to markets outside North America. Private enterprise can and will extract the bitumen and build the transportation links—and pocket the profits. But the environment, government, and, ultimately, all Canadians will take the risks.

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Environmental assessments to be ‘co-ordinated’ with Oil & Gas Commission

Nov 21, 2013

A new agreement between the BC Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) and the BC Oil and Gas Commission (OGC) appears to remove any independence the EAO may have had in dealing with oil and gas projects.

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Look out for drift cards

Nov 7, 2013

2,000 bright yellow driftcards stamped with ‘This could be oil’ have been dropped along Kinder Morgan’s tanker route in 9 sites from Vancouver’s Ironworkers Memorial Bridge to the Strait off Juan de Fuca off Victoria. They are already washing up on Gulf Islands’ beaches, having floated across the strait in three days. Raincoast Conservation Society’s graphic demonstration of an oilspill brings the danger home.

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Coal port expansion threatens Fraser estuary

Nov 07, 2013

A Port Metro Vancouver plan would create a new ‘island’ near Roberts Bank, Dredged from Fraser River tidelands the island would become a 115 hectare container port extension for Westshore Terminals, close to the Tsawwassen terminal.

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Growing opposition to coal export schemes

Oct 10, 2013

Blocked in their own country, American plans to get coal to the coast through Canada are facing growing opposition from BC organizations. A variety of issues are identified, from human health issues, to Salish Sea contamination, to climate change. Is the BC government’s proposed bridge to replace the Massey Tunnel part of an expensive, longterm plan to turn Vancouver into coal city?

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Moratorium on dilbit tanker traffic

Oct 10, 2013

Patrick Brown analyzes the BC government’s report on oil spill readiness. It says that, far from world class, the BC coast is simply not ready for an oil spill. World Class action in a spill requires coordination and training of oil companies, local, provincial, and federal governments and agencies, communities, and citizens. Like an oil spill – it’s massive.

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Moratorium on dilbit tanker traffic

Sept 26, 2013

To be consistent with its own criteria, the BC government must create a moratorium on all dilbit tankers until spill risks are researched and understood, says BC’s Green MLA.

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NEB orders Trans Mountain pressure reduction

Sept 26, 2013

Following two leaks in June, a 20% pressure reduction on the aging pipeline is imposed. The NEB order also requires that Kinder Morgan consult with First Nations over their concerns.

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Trans Mountain hearing getting underway

Sept 26, 2013

In anticpation of Trans Mountains pipeline twinning application, the National Energy Board has published a list of hearing topics. It is clear that the Trans Mountain hearing will not be as wide as the Northern Gateway pipeline one was.

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The Trans Mountain pipeline: daring then—risky now

Sept 12, 2013

Looking at the 60-year-old Trans Mountain pipeline: why it might not be a good idea to ship dilbit through it. Photos of pipeline then and now.

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Norway: governance and culture of consensus

Sept 12, 2013

Island Trust chair Sheila Malcolmson concludes her 3-part report on how Norway has handled its oil bonanza over the years.

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What’s in those pipelines

Aug 15, 2013

Following the Lac Mégantic disaster, we might well ask what is in the pipelines as often as we ask where they go.

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Stormwater and dust control questions on Texada

Aug 1, 2013

Patrick Brown gives us the ins and outs of a proposed westcoast deep-water coal port on Strait of Georgia’s Texada Island—trains, barges and ships.

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Oil Spill Response in Norway - Part 2

Aug 1, 2013

Island Trust Chair Sheila Malcolmsen details the measures Norway has in place to manage its North Sea oil resource.

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Dreaming Pipeline Leaks, Dodging Grizzlies

Aug 1, 2013

David Ellis’ evocative firsthand account of months of hiking the Trans Mountain pipeline bring home the risks of the existing 60-year-old pipline, let alone twinning.

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Norway oil: state ownership and taxation

July 18, 2013 | Sheila Malcolmson

Trust Council Chair Sheila Malcolmsen was part of Port of Metro Vancouver’s fact finding mission to learn about oilspills and learned a great deal more about how Norway used its North Sea oil resource.

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Islands Trust finds: no capacity, no responsibility for dilbit spill in the islands

July 4, 2013 | Patrick Brown

Kinder Morgan’s presentation on marine tanker traffic for its proposed pipeline twinning convinced June Island Trust Council that no-one is actually responsible for an oil spill, even rudimentary clean-up is laughable, an accident is inevitable, and with tidal flushing a spill is unthinkable.

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Texada coal port opposed

July 4, 2013 | Patrick Brown

Judging from TV ads, Canada’s federal government is all for fossil fuels. And they have the call on whether Wyoming coal gets exported by barging from an additional (third) Lower Mainland loading port on the Fraser, to Texada Island for dusty transfer to deep sea ships going back southward. Local government doesn’t like it. American ports refuse to ship the coal rush. More marine traffic in crowded Georgia, Haro, and Juan de Fuca Straits and in Boundary Pass.

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Detroit waterfront piled high with petroleum coke

June 6, 2013 | Elizabeth May

A by-product of upgrading and refining of bitumen, petcoke is accumulating in three-storey high piles. Now regarded as a super-fuel rather than dirty waste since it can be burned in some countries, it is one more reason to reject the Keystone XL pipeline, says Elizabeth May.

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199 Northern Gateway conditions set by NEB

April 25, 2013 | Patrick Brown

Trying to hold on to some influence, NEB comes up with 199 hoops for the Northern Gateway pipeline to jump through. This for-the-record document will at least leave the NEB with some integrity whatever the cabinet decides

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Bitumen to the east?

April 25, 2013 | Patrick Brown & Elizabeth May

Elizabeth May tells us that we need to think as a nation in the energy business— and how we haven’t. Patrick Brown says that the NEB is abandoning the public in public hearings, and intends to carefully choose who can speak to Enbridge’s proposed Line 9 reversal for bitumen going east.

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Feds announce ‘World Class’ marine safety

March 28, 2013 | Patrick Brown

After closing the Kitsilano Coast Guard Centre the federal government gets a heated reception to its ‘marine safety’ plan. Touted as ‘world class’ in true pipline jargon, a key element of the plan is nationalizing the port of Kitimat. This is surprising, following the mess with federal Port of Vancouver and Nanaimo Port Authority. In announcing the new policy, Minister Oliver got his facts wrong and also failed to realize that a BC moratorium on tankers had a lot to do with BC’s excellent safety record.

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Coal port decisions exclude the public

February 28, 2013 | Patrick Brown

Does federal jurisdiction over Port Metro Vancouver mean that expanding facilities and increasing traffic for fossil fuel exports will require little local input? The City of Vancouver, municipalities and citizen groups are concerned.

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Kinder Morgan will now ask to triple pipeline capacity

January 31, 2013 | Patrick Brown

Right on the heels of a set of public information meetings, a changed proposal for an even bigger ‘twin’ pipe for Trans Mountain is now on the table. Kinder Morgan says it is responding to demand. Are Northern Gateway customers hedging their bets?

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Salt Spring challenges pipeline PR

January 31, 2013 | Chris Dixon

Finding a lack of information at Kinder Morgan’s final open house, Salt Springers took the opportunity to make it a teach-in for KM’s green-shirted presenters.

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Enbridge hearings ‘orderly and respectful’

January 17, 2013 | Patrick Brown

Following peaceful demonstrations at the Bella Coola Hearing, Draconian measures were in place to control public engagement with the last hearings in Victoria and Vancouver. Thanks to technology, the public could be kept at a distance—watching on a public TV at another location, or listening to podcasts at home. Does the panel connect its perceived fear of the public to the degree of opposition to the pipeline?

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Experience art for an oil-free coast

December 13, 2012 | Sara Miles

Raincoast Conservation Foundation’s art exhibition, book, movie, and online auction take us on a breathtaking trip to BC’s north coast, illustrating why we cannot risk oil tanker traffic.

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Kinder Morgan introduces pipeline expansion project

December 13, 2012

In a series of open houses, Kinder Morgan displays its plans for the twinning of the Trans Mountain pipeline to bring tar sands bitumen to the southern BC coast.

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Trans Mountain pipeline info meetings already underway

November 15, 2012

Without any fanfare, public meetings have already been held in the Lower Mainland and on Bowen Island. Meetings in Nanaimo, Victoria, the West Shore and Saanich are scheduled from December 4-8. Most Gulf Islanders must travel off-Island to hear proposals for the project that will double the number of oil tankers in the Salish Sea, although there is one meeting scheduled for Salt Spring Island in January. First Nations require a different consultation—not yet planned.

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Next tarsands proposal coming down the pipe

September 20, 2012 | Sara Miles

Waiting in the shadows of Northern Gateway is another bitumen flow to the BC coast. Kinder Morgan already has customers for its capacity-building twinning of the Trans Mountain Pipeline, although the project application has not yet been filed.

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Dilbit tankers already crossing the strait weekly

September 20, 2012 | Patrick Brown

The 60-year-old Trans Mountain Pipeline is already pumping bitumen—a tanker-load a week through the busiest waters in North America, despite no clean-up procedures in place. Regular crude oil customers are going short.

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Outside The Box

August 23, 2012 | Patrick Brown

‘Diversification’ of Canada’s energy export markets is possible without the Northern Gateway and Trans Mountain pipelines across BC – unless one applies the economics of extreme ignorance.

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Riki Ott tells it like it is: there is no oil ‘clean up’

August 23, 2012 | Delores Broten

Debt, despair, dispersants and death: Dr Riki Ott describes the oil spill that sent her hometown of Cordova, Alaska into a state of chaos. Caution and hope for those who don’t want their community to be left to cope with spill response.

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BC government conditions on pipelines

August 9, 2012 | Patrick Brown

Premier Clark misses the point; the BC government’s five conditions for oil pipelines, and why they won't satisfy British Columbians.

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Who will pay for Gateway spills?

July 26, 2012 | Sara Miles

Economist Robyn Allan reveals shocking details about Enbridge’s lack of liability in the event of an oil spill from its proposed Northern Gateway pipeline.

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Diluted bitumen: a new oil spill hazard

July 12, 2012 | Patrick Brown

Find out what happens when diluted bitumen from the tar sands leaks into waterways, and why cleaning up a ‘dilbit’ spill is much harder than containing regular crude. Patrick Brown explains why Enbridge’s Kalamazoo incident sets a scary precedent for what could happen in BC if the Gateway pipeline from the tar sands to Kitimat goes ahead.

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Some Path, Some Future

June 14, 2012 | Robyn Allan

Allan finds Enbridge’s Gateway Project advertising campaign misleading, and contrasts the company’s claim of ‘world-class safety standards’ with its not-yet-completed clean up of its dilbit spill into the Kalamazoo River.

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The Great Pipeline Race

May 31, 2012 | Patrick Brown

Patrick Brown gives the lowdown on the race to the sea. The chase for fleeting profits is almost like a board game.

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On The Line film review

May 31, 2012 | Patrick Brown

Follow the Enbridge pipeline from the tar sands to the tankers at the BC coast in this outdoor adventure film.

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Supertankers could take over Vancouver Harbour

May 17, 2012 | Patrick Brown

Oil tankers squeezing through Second Narrows will tie up the Port of Vancouver daily, while they are dependent on the tide!

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Province could exit NEB’s Enbridge review

May 3, 2012

Economist Robyn Allan points out that, given recent pejorative acts of the federal government, BC could withdraw support for the Hearing process.

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The economics of deception

May 3, 2012

Patrick Brown highlights the important questions raised by Robyn Allan’s study of pipeline economics, ‘An Analysis of Canadian Oil Expansion Economics’.

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Bella Bella hearing cut short, starts late

April 19, 2012

Heiltsuk First Nation identify rough sea hazard for tankers at Hearing, second Hearing planned for July. More National Energy Board Hearings scheduled on the coast.

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Pipeline jobs are a pipedream

April 5, 2012 | Marc Lee

Marc Lee finds Enbridge’s job numbers overstated, and outlines investments that would generate much more employment than oil pipeline construction.

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Higher Oil Export Prices = Increased Gasoline Prices

March 22, 2012 | Editorial

A possible 16¢ rise at gas pumps would not benefit the Canadian economy. National energy strategy needed.

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Tanker traffic ‘theoretically safe’ — what about human error?

March 22, 2012 | Special report by Patrick Brown

While Transport Canada has approved Enbridge’s tanker routes, human error is not considered. Patrick Brown takes us through all the factors they did consider.

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The ‘energy’ driving oil and LNG exporting

March 8, 2012 | Special report by Patrick Brown

What’s behind the push to export oil and natural gas from Canada’s westcoast? Patrick Brown takes a look at the business plan.

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First of Vancouver-China oil tankers

March 8, 2012 | Patrick Brown

Canadian oil is already on its way to China via the Trans Mountain pipeline and the Port of Vancouver. What deals have already been signed?

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More to energy than the Northern Gateway review

January 26, 2012

The Northern Gateway project review is bringing attention to a key issue: Canada’s lack of a national energy strategy. Why do we need one?

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Pipeline review neglects oil spill risks to the Strait of Georgia

December 15, 2011

Kinder Morgan’s proposal to twin the Trans Mountain pipeline from Alberta to Burnaby will be subject to a Joint Review panel of the National Energy Board and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. The Review will not address the potential impacts of increasing oil tanker traffic through BC waters however, and the NEB refuses to consult with Salish Sea communities about the threat to their environment.

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Trust to NEB: ‘consider oil spills in Salish Sea’

June 30, 2011

Recognising the increasing threat of a major oil spill from tankers loaded for Asia at the Westridge terminal in North Burnaby, the Islands Trust has sent a strongly worded letter to the National Energy Board expressing its alarm about NEB approval of increased terminal capacity and long-term contracts, as well as the lack of consultation with coastal communities.

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Tar sands bitumen 'hell on pipeline' says new report

Mar 10, 2011

Four US environmental groups took a look at the pipeline failure in Kalamazoo. Their findings show that tar sands oil (diluted bitumen) is highly corrosive.

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Endbridge Wheels & Deals

Feb 24, 2011

Enbridge does not want to pay for Kalamazoo spill but woos BC First Nations with offer of shares in Northern Gateway pipeline project.

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Oil spills do not stop at international boundaries

Jan 27, 2010

Given the magnitude of tanker traffic, Gulf Islands, American and Canadian governments, recognize that action needs to be taken on prevention and clean-up of oil spills.

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New tanker rules for Boundary Pass and Haro Strait

Nov 11, 2010

It's not just the proposed northern tanker routes that are concerning coastal dwelling. Southern tanker traffic out of Burnaby past Vancouver and into the southern Strait of Georgia has increased and is projected to double again. Regulations need review, says Pacific Pilotage Authority.

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Bravo UBCM!-say groups

Oct 28, 2010

Organizations working to protect BC's coast from the threat of oil supertankers are congratulating delegates from BC municipalities-who passed a resolution against propsoed oil tanker projects for BC's north coast at the UBCM Convention in Whistler on October 1.

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Northern Gateway pipeline review begins

Sept 16, 2010

National Energy Board panel begins by setting parameters for its review. The public is ready for more.

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Tugs not what they used to be

July 8, 2010

Amazing modern tugs can maneuver large ships but would they be effective as escorts for Very Large Crude Carriers on the BC coast?

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Tanker moratorium disputed

July 8, 2010

Trudeau's 1972 west coast Tanker Exclusion Zone is being challenged as not enshrined in law; as merely an agreement between Canadian and US Coast Guards.

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Editorial: Not Worth The Risk

July 8, 2010

The coming-and-goings of oil on tankers and through pipelines are not rational or sensible. Truly innovative solutions might be possible but it would require government to act, rather than oil companies.

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Enbridge makes pipeline application

June 10, 2010

The application for the 1,170 km pipeline from Bruderheim, Alberta to Kitimat has been submitted. Supertankers on the coast? The gutting of the environmental assessment process, bundled into the Budget Implementation Act now before parliament, has many worried about the thoroughness of any review of the application.

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Norm Hann completes tanker protest voyage

May 27, 2010

Epic paddle board journey brings attention to the dangers of supertanker using a terminal in Kitimat.

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Enronizing BC Hydro

May 13, 2010

BC Hydro's assets and regulated cash flow finance an unregulated trading business.

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Oil Spill Implications

May 13, 2010

Gulf of Mexico catastrophe points up the risks of reduced oil drilling regulation and enforcement for Canada. Tankers too?

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Coastal First Nations oppose Enbridge pipeline

April 29, 2010

Nine First Naitons join with environmental groups and prominent Canadians to oppose dual pipeline.

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Trade Sanctions for Climate Treaties

April 29, 2010

Elizabeth May looks at use of trade sanctions as a method for encouraging greenhouse gas reduction.

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Further delay for Bute Inlet power project

March 18, 2010

Plutonic/GE has delayed its massive run-of-river project for at least 18 months while the company finishes its environmental impact statement.

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Is shipping tar sands oil from Kitimat wise?

March 4, 2010

The nightmare of tankers along BC's busy and treacherous coast looms large. Can we risk another tanker port? What are the risks of turning Kitimat into a base for both crude oil supertankers and LNG tankers?

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Too close for comfort - a ship runs aground

December 3, 2009

The reality of a Strait of Georgia oil spill was brought uncomfortably close on the night of November 18, when high winds blew a bulk carrier onto Conconi Reef in Plumper Sound in the centre of the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve. American agencies were on high alert but the BC government seemed barely aware.

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Ambitious GHG target for Canada is affordable

November 19, 2009

A comprehensive new study 'Climate Leadership, Economic Prosperity' shows that Canada can set effective GHG reduction targets without undue effects on Canada's overall economy. The study invokes strong reaction.

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Running on empty - the provincial budget

September 10, 2009

BC has become a kind of (failed) petrostate. Without natural gas royalties there is not enough money to run the province.

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Dealing With Government XXX - Paying For The Roads

August 27, 2009

Taking a look at an involuted way to assist BC's oil and gas industry

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Price crash repurposes Kitimat LNG port

July 16, 2009

In view of crashing natural gas prices, the Kitimat LNG plant will export instead of import natural gas.

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Carbon — the state of play

May 21, 2009

Recapping the carbon tax and looking at Cap-And-Dividend.

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Multiple footprints

May 7, 2009

The squabble amongst BC environmentalists over run-of-river power and carbon reduction is a red herring. It's also a good example of wedge politics. The resolution is for the BC government to use broader assessment criteria and create a provincial master plan for clean power. Power production should not simply be left to the private sector; BC Hydro should not be dismembered.

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Petrostate Canada

March 26, 2009

Andrew Nikiforuk's book, Tar Sands, should restart the national debate about the the problems the Alberta tar sands pose.

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Stuck in the Tar Sands

July 24, 2008

In 1965, a small group of analysts at a multinational oil company were puzzled when they learned of a new enterprise, Great Canadian Oil Sands Limited (now Suncor), which appeared to be mining a small area of Alberta’s tar sands. At the time, there was plenty of conventional oil being produced, new wells were being drilled, and exploration companies were discovering new oilfields weekly.

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BC oil and gas rights sale shatters record

July 24, 2008

The July sale of oil and gas rights resulted in a record-breaking total of over $610 million in bonus bids. The July 17 sale brings the fiscal year-to-date total to a new record of over $1.3 billion, announced Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Minister Richard Neufeld.

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Too little, too late: US re-regulation of the money markets

June 12, 2008

In the wake of soaring oil prices the US has been making moves toward re-regulating the commodity futures markets, which it has been de-regulating for the last 30 years.

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Oil prices - betting on the only sure thing

May 29, 2008

The price of crude oil is rising at an unprecedented rate, and oscilates wildly from day to day. What drives massive speculation?

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The BC approach to GHG regulation – carbon taxation plus ‘cap-&-trade’

May 1, 2008

BC’s Liberal Government is attacking greenhouse gas emissions in the province with a double-barreled strategy: a shift to a carbon tax for fossil fuel users (most of us) and a ‘cap & trade’ system for large emitters.

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Call to scrap subsidies to oil and gas companies

February 21, 2008

Efforts to cut BC’s greenhouse gas emissions will fail unless the province ends subsidies to oil and gas companies, raises the royalties those companies pay, and imposes tough regulations that end wasteful industry practices, a recent study concludes.

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Opposition to LNG tanker port grows

February 7, 2008

Premier Gordon Campbell has positioned BC as a global leader on climate change, but his interest in harmonizing provincial standards through the BC-Alberta Trade, Investment andLabour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) could prove to be a thorn in the government’s side. Fighting climate change will necessarily involve a lot of regulation, while TILMA is fundamentally a deregulatory initiative.

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LNG tankers through the Islands?

August 9, 2007 | Patrick Brown

Two companies are competing to be the first to establish a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal on the BC coast. They are Kitimat LNG and Westpac Terminals, both based in Calgary.

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Status quo on climate change; nuke tar sands, says Lunn

July 26, 2007 | Peter Carter

In December, Minister Gary Lunn said nuclear power in the oil sands is a matter of ‘when, not if’, adding that it could ‘play a very significant role … I’m very, very keen.’ Which sounds like Minister Lunn wants as much oil flowing from the tar sands as possible, come global warming, climate change, Hell, and/or high water.

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The ‘Crusade’ for Oil

March 8, 2007 | Michel Chossudovsky

Throughout history, ‘wars of religion’ have served to obscure the economic and strategic interests behind the conquest and invasion of foreign lands. ‘Wars of religion’ were invariably fought with a view to securing control over trading routes and natural resources.

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Well Beyond Kyoto

November 16, 2006 | Book Review by Patrick Brown

‘This book,’ writes Monbiot, ‘has an overtly political purpose. It aims to encourage people not only to change the way they live but also to encourage their governments to make such changes easier.’

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Thirty-three local governments want say in independent power projects

October 19, 2006

Thirty-three BC regional districts and municipalities, representing approximately 1,000,000 residents, are fighting amendments to the Utilities Commission Act contained in the provincial government’s Bill 30 legislation.

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Supermarkets and Service Stations Competing for Grain

August 24, 2006 | Lester R. Brown

Cars, not people, will claim most of the increase in world grain consumption this year.

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Water or Oil? Troubling Trends

June 15, 2006 | Wendy R. Holm

The oil industry’s thirst for Canada’s water is old news...What is news is Pembina Institute’s careful documentation of the extent of current water withdrawals, and the implications for rising energy prices on future water demand.

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The Carbon Credit Myth

June 15, 2006 | Patrick Brown

It’s clear by now that there’s no way Canada can meet its Kyoto commitments to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) production to 6% less than 1990 levels by 2012

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Paradox: peak oil is driving fossil fuel development

May 18, 2006 | Peter D. Carter

The draft scientific report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been leaked by the US government...

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Sharing, NAFTA Style

May 4, 2006 | Patrick Brown

Under NAFTA, the US has the right to share equally with Canadian users in any increase in Canadian oil production. The figure often quoted is that some 62% of Canadian oil production is exported to the US.

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Overcoming US Oil Addiction

April 20, 2006 | Dan Woynillowicz

‘America is addicted to oil,’ American President George Bush said in a recent State of the Union address.

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More Alaska Oil Could Pass Gulf Island Shores

December 15, 2005 | Patrick Brown

The continuing increase in the demand for gasoline in the United States has led to an oil industry push to develop potential oilfields under the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR).

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Too Valuable to Burn

September 8, 2005 | Peter Carter

I’m a real odd ball. I’m the only one I know who feels good when the price of gas goes up. I see it as good news for our health and the future of our families.

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Speculation and the Price of Oil

August 25, 2005 | Patrick Brown

Since the oil monopoly of the ‘seven sisters’ was broken in the seventies, the price of crude oil has been set by trading in futures on markets in New York, London, and Singapore. As I write this, the price of oil for September 2005 delivery has topped $66US a barrel (42 US gallons) and is continuing to rise.

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Will the Third World Show the Way with Renewables?

July 14, 2005 | Andrew Simms

For years the superpower politics of the Cold War blocked efforts to end global poverty. Today it is the hot war of energy economics and global warming tht present an impossible obstacle.

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Islanders Fear Power Plant Cancellation May Accelerate Transmission Line Replacement

July 14, 2005

Many Salt Spring and Galiano Island residents now fear that cancellation of Duke Point will increase pressure for a quick approval of new souped-up overhead transmission lines which would cross both islands.

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Salvaging Meaning from the Duke Point Fiasco

June 30, 2005 | Patrick Brown

Was the real reason from Hydro<’>s sudden retreat that neither Hydro nor the provincial goverment wanted the Appeal Court judges enquiring whether <‘>commerical confidentiality<’> could be maintained when government functions were privitized?

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Hydro Abandons Duke Point Proposal

June 30, 2005

The Duke Point gas-fired generating plant proposal is no more.

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Duke Point Approval will be Appealed

February 24, 2005 | Patrick Brown

An appeal of BCUC’s February 17 approval of BC Hydro’s Duke Point plans for fossil-fuel generated energy for Vancouver Island is underway.

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Shenanigans at BCUC Hearings

February 10, 2005 | Patrick Brown

A motion by GSXCCC and other intervenors to disqualify members of the BC Utilities Commission Panel from hearing the application for approval of the Duke Point Power project was rejected...

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Duking It Out Over Vancouver Island’s Power Supply

January 27, 2005 | Patrick Brown

Hearings by the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) into the proposed Duke Point Power (DPP) gas-fired electricity generation plant got underway...

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January Hearings on Duke Point Electricity Generation

December 16, 2004 | Patrick Brown

The BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) will hold oral hearings and town hall sessions in Nanaimo...

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BCUC Will Consider Latest BC ‘Privatization’

December 2, 2004 | Patrick Brown

In order to revive the Duke Point gas-fired generation project, BC Hydro is entering into a cost plus contract with the Duke Point Power Limited Partnership (DPP)...

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Figuring Out the Hydro Bill

December 2, 2004

Subject to acceptance by the Commission, the proposed final rate increase will be 4.85%...

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GS-X-The Beat Goes On

September 23, 2004

Williams Pipelines, BC Hydro’s partner in the proposed construction of the Georgia Strait Crossing natural gas pipeline, continues to pursue permits for the pipeline on the US side of the border. And BC Hydro continues to entertain bids for natural gas turbine-generated power on Vancouver Island.

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GS-X Pipeline Possibility Fading

July 29, 2004 | Patrick Brown

Although BC Hydro is still receiving tenders (until August 13) for the provision of additional electricity to Vancouver Island and most plans of BC Hydro’s qualified bidders are predicated on using natural gas as fuel, it seems increasing unlikely that any gas will be delivered by the Georgia Strait Crossing (GS-X) pipeline...

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The Gas Price 'Crisis'

July 1, 2004 | Peter D. Carter

The recent 25¢-per-litre increase in the price of gasoline resulted in a furor from Joe and Joanne Public....

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Hydro Rate Increase Would Be More, Sooner

April 22, 2004

BC Hydro has filed a revision to its original revenue requirements application with the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) that includes a request for a revised rate increase of 8.9% in 2005...

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Hydro’s Flawed Call for Tenders and Other Electric News

February 26, 2004 | Patrick Brown

The BC Utilities Commission rejected Hydro’s proposal for a gas turbine generation plant at Duke Point because BCUC thought that it was not the most economic way to obtain additional electricity for Vancouver Island...

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Petrotyranny—The Present Day

December 18, 2003 | Peter D. Carter

Because of the history of the oil industry, ‘big oil’ today is all ‘Anglo-American.’ For example, Esso began life in 1888 as the Anglo-American Oil Company.

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Vancouver Island Power—la plus ça change…

December 4, 2003 | Patrick Brown

On September 8, the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) rejected BC Hydro’s Vancouver Island Generation Plan (VIGP) for Duke Point at Nanaimo...

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Oil and Gas—A Mess of It in Canada

October 23, 2003 | Peter D. Carter

At first sight, Canadian policy on our oil and gas reserves is resulting in an increase in oil and gas exploration; in exports to the United States; in depletion of Canadian oil and gas reserves...

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Blood for Oil—A Long History

October 9, 2003 | Peter D. Carter

A little history may cast some light on the eagerness of the US and UK to invade Iraq earlier this year.

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Fossil Fuels: Feast or Famine?

September 25, 2003 | John Carlton

‘Thank heavens there is lots of oil.’ After all, we even put out forest fires with it...

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The GSX Report—Half a Job

August 14, 2003 | Patrick Brown

A 229-page report on the gas pipeline proposed to cross the Georgia Strait was produced by the National Energy Board/Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency Joint Review Panel...

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New Tenders to Compete with GSX/VIGP

July 17, 2003 | Patrick Brown

At the conclusion of the BC Utilities Commission hearings in Nanaimo on July 3, BC Hydro proposed to call for firm tenders for alternative ways to provide for Vancouver Island’s future electricity needs.

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NorskeCanada Introduces New Power Plan for Vancouver Island; Claims Hydro Tried to Suppress It

April 24, 2003

Pulp mill operator NorskeCanada, the largest consumer of electricity on Vancouver Island, has proposed a plan to generate power at its plants, and save power it presently uses.

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Green Power Proposals Swamp Hydro

April 10, 2003

BC Hydro has agreed to consider 30, out of an original 70, proposals from independent power producers for its 2002/03 Green Power Generation (GPG) procurement process.

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GSX Hearing Begins

January 30, 2003

After several months’ delay waiting for the completion of consultations with local First Nations, the National Energy Board/ Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency hearings on the proposed Georgia Strait Crossing (GSX) gas pipeline are to resume...

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Backdrop to the Looming War

December 19, 2002 | Patrick Cummins

Another war is looming in the Middle East and Canada may be involved. Why is this happening now and what is driving the conflict?

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Subsidizing the Oil Economy

September 12, 2002 | Peter D. Carter

There is much hot-air being written about global warming and the Kyoto Protocol. Some fresh air is provided by Guy Dauncey in his book Stormy Weather: 101 Solutions to Global Climate Change...

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GSX Questioned in Whatcom County

February 28, 2002

According to a report in the Bellingham Herald, the Bellingham environmental group RE Sources wants the proposed natural gas pipeline across Whatcom County (Washington State) to be put on hold...

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GSX Panel Revises List of Issues

February 14, 2002

The NEB/CEAA Joint Review Panel for the proposed Georgia Strait gas pipeline has clarified its original List of Issues to include many of the environmental issues raised during a series of public meetings in January.

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BC Hydro Zeros in on Nanaimo

February 14, 2002

BC Hydro and Calpine Canada Power Holdings Ltd, still looking for a friendly host-municipality for its proposed second gas-fired generating station, has now set its sights on the Duke Point area of Nanaimo.

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The GSX Files

January 31, 2002

BC Hydro’s dependence on Vancouver Island gas-fired electricity generation plans is confirmed in the Interim Report published by the province’s Energy Policy Task Force...

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Caspian Basin Pipelines and World Oil Reserves

November 8, 2001 | Patrick Brown

Oil from the Caspian Basin is of strategic importance to future US, European, and Asian energy strategies. Transporting it to these markets depends on building pipelines to tidewater or to connect with existing pipeline systems...

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A War of Convenience

November 8, 2001 | Patrick Brown

Fundamentalist Islam threatens the current regimes of the mostly undemocratic governments of the Middle East and Central Asia. But these governments control some 20% of the oil consumed by the US...

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