BLOGGED:
CANADA'S SOCKEYE SALMON'S courage distinction verging on
extinction-is teaching what us Climate Oldies have been preaching - each and
every Canadian must actually GET INVOLVED IN CANADA'S NATURE- do something
physical- not just dumb protests that cost $$$billions- go out and save our
nature-our salmon teach us who we were and what we are losing...imho/OLD
CANADIANS UNDERSTAND THIS- we grew up in WWII severe poverty and saving and
using everything and always respect the land and sea- please get don't wave a poster-
get actually involved- our nature's dying
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BLOGGED:
CALIFORNIA- oil, gas, coal and fracking, drought and firies- IDLE NO MORE FIRST PEOPLES- save your lands as we in Canada are saving ours - we deserve better - so many years of waste and personal greed imho.... we must do better- USA is in Climate ruins over 2 million fracking wells alone/UK is starting 2 follow suit/the White Man and Greedy Men have already destroyed the First Peoples of Americas, Africa and Asia... Austalia.... imho/we mourn for the firefighters who died in vain trying to save us all - greed and indifference and God is now so angry with us all /USA a Climate Disaster-Check TedTurner story
http://nova0000scotia.blogspot.ca/2015/08/california-oil-gas-coal-and-fracking.html
----------------
President Obama is the drill, baby drill! President,
NOT the Environmental President
he
claims to be.
It was bad enough that last year, he opened up the part of the Atlantic Coast for drilling. It's bad enough that he's been all in on fracking and that expanding fracking on federal land took precedence over closing the Halliburton loophole-though the administration has finally taken some modest steps to regulate fracking on federal land:
<snip>
The final rule released by the Interior Department, however, would compel companies to identify the chemicals they are using on FracFocus.org, an industry-backed website where companies can post data about their fracking operations. Advocates had sought to force firms to announce chemicals before fracking begins, but under the rule released Friday, companies will be required to disclose the chemicals within 30 days of starting an operation. They will also be able to keep private certain chemicals they deem proprietary as trade secrets.
<snip>
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/03/20/obama-tightens-fracking-regs-requires-chemical-disclosure
But opening up fragile parts of the Arctic to Shell, as was announced today? That's really inexcusable. And the President's record is one of a large expansion of energy extraction. It makes a mockery of his climate change agenda.
Analysis Confirms Major Risks from Oil Drilling in the Remote and Fragile Arctic Ocean
February 12, 2015
Anchorage, AK —
Today the Department of the Interior released its final supplemental environmental impact statement for Chukchi Sea Lease Sale 193, less than two months after hundreds of thousands of public comments called its previous draft analysis flawed. The EIS isn’t the agency’s final decision about whether to end or affirm the Chukchi Sea oil leases, and Interior can still get it right. But it is a notable rushed stride toward potential environmental harm.
“The lease sale decision is a golden opportunity for the Obama administration to show leadership by deciding to keep the Chukchi Sea off limits to drilling,” said Earthjustice Staff Attorney Erik Grafe. “But Interior’s publication of the supplemental EIS for the Chukchi Sea lease today is a step in the wrong direction. The Interior is rushing through the process to cater to Shell’s drilling wishes rather than sound decision-making about an irreplaceable region already under dramatic climate stress.”
<snip>
“Today’s impact statement confirms again that drilling in the Chukchi Sea puts Arctic people and wildlife at risk from major oil spills,” Grafe said. “It concludes there is a 75 percent chance of one or more major oil spills if the Chukchi Sea is developed, and there is no way to clean or contain such a spill. Drilling for oil in the Arctic Ocean also would exacerbate climate change, adding climate insult to climate injury. The administration should end the leases.”
<snip>
http://earthjustice.org/news/press/2015/department-of-the-interior-releases-final-supplemental-eis-for-chukchi-sea-lease-sale-193
Six Reasons Why Offshore Drilling in the Arctic Cannot Be Done Safely
The Coast Guard recently wrapped up a hearing about the Shell drill rig that ran aground in December. The rig and its tow vessel were part of Shell’s reckless attempt to drill for oil in the wild and remote Arctic Ocean. Witnesses described the uncertified equipment that broke off the tow, the anchor dropped at the wrong time that could have caused a deadly crash, and the “jelly-like stuff” that killed all four engines because crew members forgot to treat the fuel lines. But when investigators asked why the rig was traveling through notoriously rough waters in the stormiest time of year, the answer had nothing to do with technical or human error: the company wanted to avoid paying taxes in Alaska.
<snip>
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/fbeinecke/six_reasons_why_offshore_drill.html
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/02/drilling-arctic-environmental-impact-greenpeace-piracy
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/09/how-obama-became-oil-president-gas-fracking-drill
It was bad enough that last year, he opened up the part of the Atlantic Coast for drilling. It's bad enough that he's been all in on fracking and that expanding fracking on federal land took precedence over closing the Halliburton loophole-though the administration has finally taken some modest steps to regulate fracking on federal land:
<snip>
The final rule released by the Interior Department, however, would compel companies to identify the chemicals they are using on FracFocus.org, an industry-backed website where companies can post data about their fracking operations. Advocates had sought to force firms to announce chemicals before fracking begins, but under the rule released Friday, companies will be required to disclose the chemicals within 30 days of starting an operation. They will also be able to keep private certain chemicals they deem proprietary as trade secrets.
<snip>
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/03/20/obama-tightens-fracking-regs-requires-chemical-disclosure
But opening up fragile parts of the Arctic to Shell, as was announced today? That's really inexcusable. And the President's record is one of a large expansion of energy extraction. It makes a mockery of his climate change agenda.
Analysis Confirms Major Risks from Oil Drilling in the Remote and Fragile Arctic Ocean
February 12, 2015
Anchorage, AK —
Today the Department of the Interior released its final supplemental environmental impact statement for Chukchi Sea Lease Sale 193, less than two months after hundreds of thousands of public comments called its previous draft analysis flawed. The EIS isn’t the agency’s final decision about whether to end or affirm the Chukchi Sea oil leases, and Interior can still get it right. But it is a notable rushed stride toward potential environmental harm.
“The lease sale decision is a golden opportunity for the Obama administration to show leadership by deciding to keep the Chukchi Sea off limits to drilling,” said Earthjustice Staff Attorney Erik Grafe. “But Interior’s publication of the supplemental EIS for the Chukchi Sea lease today is a step in the wrong direction. The Interior is rushing through the process to cater to Shell’s drilling wishes rather than sound decision-making about an irreplaceable region already under dramatic climate stress.”
<snip>
“Today’s impact statement confirms again that drilling in the Chukchi Sea puts Arctic people and wildlife at risk from major oil spills,” Grafe said. “It concludes there is a 75 percent chance of one or more major oil spills if the Chukchi Sea is developed, and there is no way to clean or contain such a spill. Drilling for oil in the Arctic Ocean also would exacerbate climate change, adding climate insult to climate injury. The administration should end the leases.”
<snip>
http://earthjustice.org/news/press/2015/department-of-the-interior-releases-final-supplemental-eis-for-chukchi-sea-lease-sale-193
Six Reasons Why Offshore Drilling in the Arctic Cannot Be Done Safely
The Coast Guard recently wrapped up a hearing about the Shell drill rig that ran aground in December. The rig and its tow vessel were part of Shell’s reckless attempt to drill for oil in the wild and remote Arctic Ocean. Witnesses described the uncertified equipment that broke off the tow, the anchor dropped at the wrong time that could have caused a deadly crash, and the “jelly-like stuff” that killed all four engines because crew members forgot to treat the fuel lines. But when investigators asked why the rig was traveling through notoriously rough waters in the stormiest time of year, the answer had nothing to do with technical or human error: the company wanted to avoid paying taxes in Alaska.
<snip>
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/fbeinecke/six_reasons_why_offshore_drill.html
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/02/drilling-arctic-environmental-impact-greenpeace-piracy
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/09/how-obama-became-oil-president-gas-fracking-drill
----------------------------
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http://nova0000scotia.blogspot.ca/2015/08/idle-no-more-colorado-river-destroyed.html
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BLOGGED
IDLE NO MORE- Colorado River MURDERED by Obama's Environment Team- Our America's First Peoples and Robert Redford ...all that work... USA u have destoryed over 2/3rds of your environment- Pls don't protest on Canada's lands- ur just not worthy- our hearts break for Colorado River and First Peoples.... /JUST IN-USA YOUTHS SUE GOV. AND OBAMA OVER APALLING CLIMATE CHANGE DO-NOTHING FOR OVER 80 YEARS... everyday folks of Canada who despise phony protesters whilst real folks at grassroots do all the work ...weep in despair
http://nova0000scotia.blogspot.ca/2015/08/idle-no-more-colorado-river-destroyed.html
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Shell gets final clearance to begin drilling for oil in the Arctic
Campaigners say Obama giving the green light to oil drilling ahead of his visit to the Arctic to highlight climate change is ‘hypocritical’
The Obama administration has granted final approval for Shell’s Arctic drilling programme, clearing the way for the company to restart its stuttering search for northern oil and drawing criticism from presidential hopeful Hilary Clinton.
Shell has been waiting since the beginning of August for the arrival of a key safety vessel, the Fennica, after it was damaged en route to the Chukchi sea. Arctic safety standards forbid drilling deep enough to hit oil without the Fennica, which carries a device designed to control a blowout.
The director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Brian Salerno said the arrival of the safety vessel meant the company was now compliant with “the highest safety, environmental protection, and emergency response standards”.
A Shell spokeswoman said the company was pushing ahead with its delayed programme and the Polar Pioneer rig was making progress drilling into “hydrocarbon bearing zones” of the Arctic Ocean bedrock.
“We remain committed to operating in a safe, environmentally responsible manner and look forward to evaluating what could potentially become a national energy resource base,” she said.
Salerno said the BSEE would “continue to monitor their work around the clock to ensure the utmost safety and environmental stewardship”.
Shell’s Burger Prospect is 70 miles (112 km) off the Alaskan coast. Environmentalists and observers have raised concerns that if a large spill occurs in the fragile Arctic environment, little, if any oil will be recovered. Cold water does not support the micro-organisms that broke oil down after the massive BP Macondo spill in the warmer Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Should oil become trapped under the sea ice that covers the area for the majority of the year, experts believe the possibility it will be cleaned up is remote.
Pat Pourchot, who was the US Department of Interior’s special assistant for Alaska affairs until February this year, told the Guardian last week: “It’s really tough to talk about effective clean up. I don’t think anybody should have illusions. Clean up will be extremely modest.”
The frontrunner to succeed Barack Obama as leader of the Democrats, Hilary Clinton, broke with the president on Tuesday saying that Shell’s programme was too big a gamble.
“The Arctic is a unique treasure,” she tweeted in response to the BSEE approval. “Given what we know, it’s not worth the risk of drilling.”
The comment confirms the “doubts” Clinton expressed last month and raises the possibility that a Clinton White House would refuse permission for Shell to drill even if it confirms its suspicion that the US Arctic holds vast oil reserves.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 18, 2015
The Arctic is a unique treasure. Given what we know, it's not worth the risk of drilling. -H
But Friends of the Earth climate campaigner Marissa Knodel said: “When president Obama visits the Arctic this month, he must face the communities he is sacrificing to Shell’s profits.”
Greenpeace USA executive director Annie Leonard said: “The president cannot have it both ways. Announcing a tour of Alaska to highlight climate change days before giving Shell the final approval to drill in the Arctic ocean is deeply hypocritical.”
Greenpeace have campaigned strongly for the Obama administration to refuse permission for Shell to explore for oil in the Arctic. In July, protesters from the organisation rappelled from a bridge in Portland and delayed the passage of the Fennica from the dry dock where it had been repaired.
Shell has spent $7bn (£4.5bn) to date on its bid to prove these resources exist. The Anglo-Dutch giant has been in a rebuilding phase since its disastrous drilling season in 2012. A series of poor decisions and operational lapses ended with one of its rigs, the Kulluk, washed ashore on a remote Alaskan beach. The 2015 season is the first time Shell has returned to continue its exploration.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/aug/18/shell-gets-final-clearance-to-begin-drilling-for-oil-in-the-arctic
----------------
OBAMA GIVES SHELL APPROVAL TO DRILL IN ARCTIC- then has the audacity to visit Alaska trying to diss Russia and put down Canada's environment record.... SERIOUSLY??? the lies - the USA continuing environmental abuse and lies shame this planet... and billions are sick of it.... USA- look what u have done to our world and u stomp on China? Russia?.... and even our Canada who is the only pristine nature glory left on this planet.... shame on u.... shame on u -CHRONICLE HERALD ARTICLE ... of hypocrisy in action QUOTE: Obama makes climate point on melting glacier
Visit to Alaska highlights president's push for measures to combat global warming
JOSH LEDERMAN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEWARD, ALASKA - President Barack Obama turned Tuesday to a dramatic symptom of climate change - a melting Alaska glacier - to highlight the dangers of global warming.
As he mounts his most aggressive campaign yet on climate change, Obama donned hiking shoes for a trek up Alaska's famed Exit Glacier with photographers in tow, a powerful visual designed to make an impact in ways his speeches and ominous warnings have not. The president also was to board a U.S. Coast Guard vessel to tour Kenai Fjords National Park, where swaths of an immense ice field are melting at alarming rates.
Obama's first glimpse of a glaci¬er on the trip came as Marine One whisked him about 45 minutes south of Anchorage to tiny Seward. As he flew past snowcapped peaks and sprawling forests, a sheet of blue-and-white ice could be seen snaking its way through mountains toward a teal-tinged lake.
Obama is counting on Alaska's exquisite but deteriorating landscape to add urgency to his message on climate change, the focus of his three-day tour of the state. He opened the trip Monday night by painting a doomsday scenario for the world if steps aren't taken to cut emissions: entire nations submerged underwater, cities abandoned and refugees fleeing in droves as conflict breaks out across the globe.
‟We will condemn our children to a planet beyond their capacity to repair," Obama said in a speech. Alluding to the threat of rising seas, he castigated leaders who deny climate change as ‟increasingly alone - on their own shrinking island." Some 1,800 square kilometres in the Kenai Mountains are blanketed by glacier, remnants of the Ice Age, when roughly a third of the Earth was covered with sheets of ice. One of nearly 40 glaciers springing out from Harding Icefield, Exit Glacier has been receding by 13 metres a year, according to the National Park Service. It has retreated about two kilometres) over the last two centuries.
Obama's carefully choreographed trip aims to make an impression with audiences that don't follow the news through traditional means. To that end, Obama also was taping an episode of the NBC reality TV show Running Wild with Bear Grylls and putting his survival skills to the test.
The itinerary also includes a journey to the Alaska Arctic, the first by a sitting president, amid concerns that the U.S. has ceded influence to Russia in the strategic waters. The U.S. currently has two working icebreakers, compared to Russia's 40. The White House said Tuesday it would ask Congress to speed up construction of new icebreakers, although it offered few details about the timeline or costs.
-----------------
Obama makes
climate point on melting glacier
Visit to Alaska highlights president's push for measures to combat global warming
Visit to Alaska highlights president's push for measures to combat global warming
JOSH LEDERMAN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEWARD, ALASKA - President Barack Obama turned Tuesday to a dramatic symptom of climate change - a melting Alaska glacier - to highlight the dangers of global warming.
As he mounts his most aggressive campaign yet on climate change, Obama donned hiking shoes for a trek up Alaska's famed Exit Glacier with photographers in tow, a powerful visual designed to make an impact in ways his speeches and ominous warnings have not. The president also was to board a U.S. Coast Guard vessel to tour Kenai Fjords National Park, where swaths of an immense ice field are melting at alarming rates.
Obama's first glimpse of a glacier on the trip came as Marine One whisked him about 45 minutes south of Anchorage to tiny Seward. As he flew past snowcapped peaks and sprawling forests, a sheet of blue-and-white ice could be seen snaking its way through mountains toward a teal-tinged lake.
Obama is counting on Alaska's exquisite but deteriorating landscape to add urgency to his message on climate change, the focus of his three-day tour of the state. He opened the trip Monday night by painting a doomsday scenario for the world if steps aren't taken to cut emissions: entire nations submerged underwater, cities abandoned and refugees fleeing in droves as conflict breaks out across the globe.
‟We will condemn our children to a planet beyond their capacity to repair," Obama said in a speech. Alluding to the threat of rising seas, he castigated leaders who deny climate change as ‟increasingly alone - on their own shrinking island." Some 1,800 square kilometres in the Kenai Mountains are blanketed by glacier, remnants of the Ice Age, when roughly a third of the Earth was covered with sheets of ice. One of nearly 40 glaciers springing out from Harding Icefield, Exit Glacier has been receding by 13 metres a year, according to the National Park Service. It has retreated about two kilometres) over the last two centuries.
Obama's carefully choreographed trip aims to make an impression with audiences that don't follow the news through traditional means. To that end, Obama also was taping an episode of the NBC reality TV show Running Wild with Bear Grylls and putting his survival skills to the test.
The itinerary also includes a journey to the Alaska Arctic, the first by a sitting president, amid concerns that the U.S. has ceded influence to Russia in the strategic waters. The U.S. currently has two working icebreakers, compared to Russia's 40. The White House said Tuesday it would ask Congress to speed up construction of new icebreakers, although it offered few details about the timeline or costs.
------------
Obama Gives Shell Final Approval to Drill in Arctic Despite Protests & Pledge to Cut Emissions
The Obama administration has granted Royal Dutch Shell final
approval to resume drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic Ocean for the
first time since 2012 despite widespread protests from environmental
groups. Shell first obtained drilling permits in the Arctic during the
George W. Bush administration, but drilling stopped in 2012 after a
series of mishaps. The Interior Department’s decision comes just weeks
after a protest in Portland, Oregon, temporarily blocked an Arctic-bound
rig of Shell’s from leaving the city after a group of activists from
Greenpeace dangled off a bridge, blocking the ship’s movement while
"kayaktivists" took to the water below. A coalition of environmental
groups have pushed the Obama administration to say no to Arctic
drilling, citing the dangers of a possible oil spill in the pristine
region and the impact new oil extraction would have on the climate. The
Interior Department approved the Arctic drilling ahead of President
Obama’s upcoming trip to the Arctic later this month. He mentioned the
trip during his recent speech unveiling plan to slash carbon emissions
from U.S. power plants.
Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN:
The Obama administration has granted Royal Dutch Shell final approval
to resume drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic Ocean for the first
time since 2012 despite widespread protests from environmental groups.
Shell first obtained drilling permits in the Arctic during the George W.
Bush administration, but drilling stopped in 2012 after a series of
mishaps.The Interior Department’s decision comes just weeks after a protest in Portland, Oregon, temporarily blocked an Arctic-bound rig of Shell’s from leaving the city after a group of activists from Greenpeace dangled off a bridge, blocking the ship’s movement while "kayaktivists" took to the water below. A coalition of environmental groups have pushed the Obama administration to say no to Arctic drilling, citing the dangers of a possible oil spill in the pristine region and the impact new oil extraction would have on the climate.
The Interior Department approved the Arctic drilling ahead of President Obama’s upcoming trip to the Arctic later this month. He mentioned the trip during his recent speech unveiling his plan to slash carbon emissions from U.S. power plants.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: I’ll also be the first American president to visit the Alaskan Arctic, where our fellow Americans have already seen their communities devastated by melting ice and rising oceans, the impact on marine life. We’re going to talk about what the world needs to do together to prevent the worst impacts of climate change before it’s too late.
http://www.democracynow.org/2015/8/18/obama_gives_shell_final_approval_to
--------------------
MEANWHILE IN CANADA.... if any of these politicians actually gave a sheeeeet about the environment over the last 60s years in our Canada... and UNITED NATIONS HAD ALL NATIONS SIGN SIGNATORY AGREEMENTS ...PERIOD!!!... MAYBE THE WORLD CAN MOVE ON CLIMATE CHANGE... until all nations come together... and all politicans stop posturing..... billions around the world are not buying the bullshit..... and protesting posers.... your so 70s protest and party crowd.... actually do work.... actually get involved and earn the sweet and tears of us oldies and youngbloods... doing the actual heavy lifting...imho..
NOVA
SCOTIA- CANADA
Fishing
industry slams proposals on capping offshore blowouts
REMO
ZACCAGNA Business Reporter
Published August 17, 2015 - 5:58pm
Last Updated August 17, 2015 - 9:17pm
Published August 17, 2015 - 5:58pm
Last Updated August 17, 2015 - 9:17pm
Lobster
boats sit loaded with traps in the harbour at Meteghan in 2014. (STAFF / File)
Potential regulations that would allow Shell Canada up
to three weeks to cap a subsea blowout while drilling off the coast of Nova
Scotia are not being met favourably by at least one fishing industry
representative.
The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency issued
its approval in June of Shell Canada’s plan to drill up to seven exploration
wells at the Shelburne Basin, roughly 250 kilometres offshore.
Shell’s plan includes predictions that it would take
12 to 21 days to bring a vessel and a capping system in from Norway. Shell said
it would keep a backup capping stack on standby from either Scotland, South
Africa, Singapore or Brazil.
But Bernie Berry, president of the Coldwater Lobster
Association, calls the federal approval “inconceivable” given that a blowout
could have an irreparable impact on Nova Scotia’s billion-dollar fishing
industry.
“Obviously, Ms. Aglukkaq has no idea of the value of
the commercial fishery carried on in these same waters,” Berry said in a news
release, referring to federal Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq.
“The importance of Georges Bank to the communities of
South West Nova Scotia cannot be underestimated. The bank is a main nursery for
all commercial species which keep our communities alive and could be totally
destroyed by a catastrophic oil spill on the Scotian Shelf.”
Berry echoed other fisheries representatives and
environmentalists by wondering why Shell is not required to have a capping
stack on a nearby vessel that can be deployed within 24 hours, as is the case
for its drilling site off the coast of Alaska.
“If the fishing and oil industries are required to
coexist, the fishing industry must be part of the planning process which
includes a comprehensive management plan to deal with oil spills,” the
Yarmouth-based lobster association said.
In an email Monday, the assessment agency said that
the “most important clarification to point out, from recent media coverage, is
that the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency did not approve a time period
for well capping.”
A final decision on the project will come from the
Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board, which can impose additional
conditions on the project.
Kathleen Funke, a spokeswoman for the board, said a
decision is scheduled to be made by the fourth quarter of this year “at the
earliest.”
“The CNSOPB is currently conducting an extensive
review of Shell Canada’s proposed drilling program application. At this time,
the CNSOPB has not made any decisions as to whether and under which conditions
this project may be approved,” she said in an emailed statement.
----------
Liberals are no different than the NDP (remember our salmon and mink mess)
NOVA SCOTIA- CANADA...
Shell gets
go-ahead for Shelburne Basin drilling project
SHERRI
BORDEN COLLEY STAFF REPORTER
Published June 15, 2015 - 8:48pm
Last Updated June 16, 2015 - 2:23pm
Published June 15, 2015 - 8:48pm
Last Updated June 16, 2015 - 2:23pm
A
mobile offshore drilling rig is seen in a file photo. Shell’s plan to drill in
the Nova Scotia offshore cleared a final regulatory hurdle late Monday when
federal Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq gave the company conditional
approval.
Shell Canada has received the environmental green
light to begin exploratory drilling off the coast of Nova Scotia later this
year.
The project cleared a major regulatory hurdle late
Monday when federal Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq gave the company
conditional approval.
In a news release, Aglukkaq ruled the project won’t
have a major impact on the environment.
“We are pleased that the Canadian Environmental
Assessment Agency issued its environmental decision statements on the Shelburne
Basin Venture Exploration Drilling Project,” Larry Lalonde, spokesman for Shell
Canada Ltd., said in an interview Monday night.
“We’re also happy that the Canadian minister of
environment stated in the decision statement that she’s of the opinion that the
project will not cause significant adverse environmental effects.
“This is a significant milestone for our venture.”
Shell will be assessing conditions that the project
must meet with respect to mitigation measures and followup requirements,
Lalonde said.
“So, basically where we go from here, pending rig
availability and obtaining the further regulatory permits and approvals (from
the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board) that are required, we’re
continuing to work toward starting … a two-well drilling program in the later
part of 2015.”
Stena IceMax, the drill ship Shell has contracted to
use off the coast as part of its $1-billion exploration program, is now working
in the Gulf of Mexico.
Shell plans to explore an area in the Shelburne
Basin, about 250 kilometres off the coast.
The company has said it will drill up to seven
exploration wells over a four-year period.
Mark Butler, policy director at the Ecology Action
Centre in Halifax, said the environmental group remains concerned about the
wells and drilling in deepwater, and the risk that poses, particularly after
the 2010 BP blowout in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 people and caused a
huge spill.
“Even though these wells can’t be seen from shore, if
there was a major spill, we don’t think it would take much for the oil to reach
shore or to reach Georges Bank,” Butler said in an interview Monday night.
“I see in the release … the minister cites the best
available science, and one issue I know we raised a number of times and felt
like it wasn’t adequately addressed was the use of dispersants.”
In the event of a spill, these solvents are used to
break up the oil so that it is no longer visible on the surface, but it can
then enter the water column or sink to the bottom.
“So … as a result of the spill in the Gulf, a fair
amount of science was done on dispersants, and we felt the review didn’t
adequately address the negative impact of dispersants,” Butler said.
“The question with the dispersants is, is the cure
worse than the problem or is the solution worse than the problem, because these
dispersants are toxic to marine life and they also have human health impacts.”
He said he was not surprised that the project was
approved.
“With major spills, the probability is low but the
impact is high. … There’s no way the minister can say there won’t be a blowout
or a major spill. The minister can say that the chances are low, but she can’t
say they’re zero by any means.”
--------------
AND GREEN PARTY..... GET OFF YOUR ARSES.... AND DO ACTUAL WORK- AND Elizabeth May.... don't u ever humiliate the world's women who supported and stood up for u when no one gave a sheeeeet...... save your American momma's -let's protest and party after.... to actually being Canadian and getting down and dirty and working and doing... so our First Nations and old folks and kids aren't the only ones working our guts out for the environment eh?.... come on
Environmentalists shift focus to more grassroots, less government
Facing a less friendly government, green groups leave Ottawa in pursuit of public support
They've also been dealing with a major shift in the
political climate that has forced them to change their approach to everything
from carbon emissions to pipeline projects to keep up public support for their
causes.
Many have simply given up on spending a lot of time talking to the federal
government and have turned instead to local and provincial issues — and
knocking on a lot of doors.Graham Saul, executive director of Ecology Ottawa, says it's a whole different game, with more focus on generating support and donations in suburban areas.
"We've knocked on 50,000 doors in the east end of Ottawa in the past year and a half," he said in an interview with CBC News.
"These are the areas where the battle for the soul of Canada is currently being fought, and yet these are also areas where the Canadian environmental community has not made an adequate effort to develop a strong base of support."
The environmental movement has had to transform itself to get to this point, and Saul is good example of the evolution.
As the former head of the Climate Action Network, a lot of his time was spent talking about international climate issues and lobbying the federal government on action to curb emissions.
All that ended when the Harper government was elected in 2006.
'Persona non grata'
"We went almost overnight from a situation where there was an active debate and policy discussion with the federal government, to the point where anyone who cared about climate change was essentially persona non grata," he said.
Bruce Carson, a former aide to Prime Minister Stephen
Harper, says the Conservative government wasn't interested in 'cozy'
conversations with environmentalists when it came to power. (Jake
Wright/Canadian Press)
It wasn't that the Conservatives were anti-environment, it just wasn't on
their political radar when they first took power, according to Bruce Carson, a
senior adviser to Prime Minister Steven Harper from 2006 to 2009.Carson is fighting his own legal battles now and is no longer in government. But back then he was working for the new Tory government as it was, in his words, "scrambling around," trying to get a handle on the groundswell of public interest in the environment.
In contrast to the Liberals, there was little interest among Conservatives in cozy meetings with environmental groups, Carson said.
"You've got a very practical guy as the prime minister and the days of bringing people in to chat and pat them on the head and send them on their way doing nothing, those days were gone," he said in an interview.
By the time the global recession hit in 2008, public interest in the environment had dropped and environmental groups were floundering — and discovering they had no ground game.
"We're very good at what you might call the air campaign, where we're able to participate in the debate about ideas," said Saul. "But when the polls go south, we're less well-equipped to do the hard grassroots organizing.
"We had to … change our tack a little bit."
Out of Ottawa
The same had happened in the U.S. around 2005 when groups were shut out by the Bush administration, according to environmentalist and broadcaster David Suzuki."The challenge came when two former members of the Sierra Club in the United States published an article in which they said environmentalism is dead," said Suzuki in an interview with CBC News.
"That was the big shot that had a lot of environmental groups really reassessing what we were doing."
Many organizations in North American went back to local organizing. In Canada, several, including the David Suzuki Foundation, scaled back their Ottawa presence.
Suzuki's new cross-Canada Blue Dot Tour is an example of his new approach: appealing to youth and families. He's talking to audiences across Canada about enshrining the right to a healthy environment in the Constitution.
There's not a federal politician in sight.
"I think there is lobbying that still goes on, but we are getting back to the focus of getting grassroots support, which has always been a strength of the environmental movement," he said.
Big business?
But critics say the new green grassroots is more about fundraising that anything else."Environmentalism at the NGO level … has become a big business," said Rick Anderson in an interview with CBC.
Anderson is a political strategist and CEO of i2 Ideas & Issues, an advertising firm whose clients include the energy industry.
Environmentalist and CBC broadcaster David Suzuki in
January launched what he called his last major project, to enshrine clean air
and water in the Charter of Rights. (Mark Blinch/Canadian Press)
He thinks the tactics are effective, but lead to less thoughtful
environmental conversation, essentially "dumbing it down."To feed the fundraising beast you need to be in news, said Anderson. "The way to get headlines is sometimes to be outrageous, and so you take strong positions that don't necessarily lead to solutions. But they get you stories in the press, and stories in the press lead to a higher profile, and a higher profile usually leads to making more money."
But environmental activists like Tzeporah Berman point to the recent climate rally in New York that attracted more than 300,000 people, as well as growing pipeline protests, as proof these tactics are working.
"The fact you see thousands and thousands of people get out in streets all the time, from northern Quebec to British Columbia, is a direct result of more effective organizing within the environmental movement," she said in an interview from Vancouver.
Pipeline projects feeling the impact
She first got involved in huge Clayoquot Sound protests against clearcut logging in B.C. in 1993. She sees parallels with what's happening today."We've never seen closer relationships with unions and environmental groups, and First Nations and environmental groups, and scientists and environmental groups."
It's leading to growing concern in Conservative circles about effects on the energy industry and the economy.
"There's no question that if effectiveness is stopping major economic projects like the pipelines, they've been effective," said Carson.
"I never would have thought, sitting in the Centre Block in 2006, we would be having this discussion in 2014 about the inability … to move forward on an essential part of the energy economy, the transportation of energy."
Ecology Ottawa's Saul says his group is now focused on the 2015 federal election, hoping to turn local support into national momentum.
"This is a political struggle and we need to proceed in a way that reflects a political movement and a real social movement."
Which means being an environmentalist these days is about
knocking on every door you can find.
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BLOGGED:
CANADA MILITARY NEWS: r
Environment matters 2 Canadians cause NOT one political party has ever truly
given a sheeet (just their own agendas) and we know it /sites and games 4
classrooms and students/Annapolis Valley takes Environment serious/ First
Nations Canada and Environment- God chose our First Peoples as protectors of
our vast and last land of pure nature on this planet- and it f**king matters 2
Canadians/TEACHERS KITS AND STUDENT FACTS AND GAMES SITES
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HEY IN NOVA SCOTIA... we know the tories are losers on the environment... but at least they don't f**king pretend to give a sheeeet like the liberals and ndp and - i'm green but don't make me work and truly make Canada the Green party saviours of the world... sigh...
CANADA MILITARY NEWS:- The NS Liberals are f**king killing us!!!
- destroying our unions (remember the 90s folks)- our arts and culture... and
now our schools- kids and environment- WTF???? We dumped the tories 4 NDP and
had 2 dump the NDP and chose Liberals in Nova Scotia -Sweet Jesus, Mother Mary
and Joseph.... God help us all Canada what a mess - our beautiful lobsters and
natural habitant ruined by sea lice and fish farming of no rules.... NATURE
MATTERS 2 CANADIANS - not the tree cutting hippie poster posers...but the real
every day Canadian
http://nova0000scotia.blogspot.ca/2015/05/canada-military-news-ns-liberals-are.html
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