no pipeline, no tankers, no problem 2

Transition away from fossil fuels needs to take care of workers

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A “just transition”

As we plan for a transition to a zero-carbon economy, we will need to ensure a “just transition” for oil and gas workers, who should not have to pay the price of doing the right thing on climate change.

In past resource busts, families have faced extreme financial and emotional instability due to job losses. There are also ripple effects throughout the economy, as reduced spending forces the closure of small businesses and service providers, municipal government budgets collapse and the residential housing market becomes glutted with “stranded assets.”

Stable management of fossil-fuel industries over a two-or three-decade wind-down period with a just transition plan can get us off the resource roller-coaster and better serve workers, communities and the economy.

How to build a sustainable future

Much work will be required to build the zero-emission economy we need but we should embrace that. Building new, green infrastructure for the future includes investments in district energy systems, localized food systems, regional rapid transit, efficient buildings and “zero waste” management of materials — all of which can be a major economic benefit in rural and resource communities.

We also need to stop lumping in all resource sectors together. While fossil-fuel industries are at the heart of the climate problem, there can and should be a bright future for renewable resources like forestry. With strong stewardship and enhanced value-added, forestry in B.C. could support an additional 20,000 good permanent jobs — far more than will arise from any LNG development. This means reversing direction on forestry policies that have gutted the industry and its connection to supporting communities....

http://commonsensecanadian.ca/transition-away-fossil-fuels-needs-take-ca...

Rail Workers and Environmentalists to Teach Each Other

With public attention focused on the railroads in a way it hasn’t been for decades, the cross-craft solidarity group Railroad Workers United is seizing the opportunity to teach the general public “railroading 101”—and teach rail workers “environmental politics 101.”

Both those workshops, among others, will be offered at one-day conferences on “The Future of Railroads: Safety, Workers, Community, and Environment,” March 14 in Richmond, California, and March 21 in Olympia, Washington. (See box for details.)

“My excitement about the conference is having railroaders, who on a daily basis are moving these really dangerous, volatile, flammable materials, having a dialogue with communities who want it to be made safe,” says activist Gifford Hartman.

“To my knowledge it’s never been done,” says Seattle switchman-conductor Jen Wallis. “Rail labor hasn’t worked with environmentalists to the degree that steelworkers and longshoremen and Teamsters have. It’s all very new.”...

http://labornotes.org/blogs/2015/01/rail-workers-and-environmentalists-t...

Coastal First Nations Call Out 'Eagle Spirit' Pipeline

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Two representatives from the Burns Lake Indian Band in Ts'il Kaz Koh territory and two hereditary chiefs from Gitxsan territories announced support for the project on Wednesday morning. They join Stellat'en First Nation, which announced its public support last year. "First Nations that came out and signed a declaration today wanted to demonstrate they're open for business when standards are met," Helin said on Wednesday.

While Eagle Spirit's "consult first, design later" approach has been observed with interest by some First Nations, two large aboriginal alliances have come out against the project. The Yinka Dene Alliance and Coastal First Nations responded to the press event by affirming their members still oppose high-volume pipelines through their land and waterways.

"Literally no First Nation on the coast is in favour of Eagle Spirit," said Art Sterritt, executive director of Coastal First Nations. "It's a bit misleading for Eagle Spirit to hold a press conference in Calgary and announce things have changed in British Columbia, because they haven't."

Yinka Dene Alliance spokesperson Geraldine Thomas-Flurer said the six member nations have "not changed our position on oil transportation through our lands and waters."

Coastal First Nations members span from Rivers Inlet on B.C.'s central coast, up to the northernmost tip of Haida Gwaii. The Yinka Dene Alliance includes the Nadleh Whut'en, Nak'azdli, Takla Lake, Saik'uz, Wet'suwet'en and Tl'azt'en nations in B.C.'s central interior. Nak'azdli Chief Fred Sam said yesterday that he stands behind a letter he wrote to Calvin Helin, who hails from Lax Kw'alaams near Prince Rupert, in October 2014. The letter commends Eagle Spirit for seeking First Nations' approval, but rejects the proposal.

"I have heard you and David Negrin from the Aquilini Group state that your proposed pipeline will not proceed through a First Nation's lands unless you had consent from that First Nation," Chief Sam wrote. "Nak'azdli Band Council and our people will not give you the consent that you are seeking.".....

http://thetyee.ca/News/2015/02/13/Eagle-Spirit-Pipeline/

Artists shed new light on Enbridge, tar sands and environmental destruction

Fact-based stories about oil pipelines inundate the news. Dry political discussions, proposals and rejections, protests, corporate dogma, pandering, statistical wallpapering with job creation numbers, estimates of destruction, and so on. 

Unless it is “your issue” you can be blinded by the information overload. And even when it is “your issue,” the effects can be numbing. Some people shift that experience. They re-invigorate our senses, touch our hearts and recharge our minds. They are artists....

http://www.vancouverobserver.com/culture/art/artists-shed-new-light-enbr...

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HONOUR DANCE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ8qn-dTwFY

A declaration to the Feds to put the Kinder Morgan pipeline on hold

The mayors of Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, City of North Vancouver, Victoria, Squamish, and Bowen Island have signed a declaration that pushes the federal government to put the Kinder Morgan pipeline proposal on hold until the National Energy Board (NEB) addresses the significant deficiencies in its public hearing and review process...

http://westcoastnativenews.com/a-declaration-to-the-feds-to-put-the-kind...

"Kitimat" brings drama of Enbridge Northern Gateway plebiscite to life on stage

“Kitimat”, a play written by B.C. playwright Elaine Avila, takes the story of a northern B.C. town over 2,000 kilometres to Pomona College, an intellectual hub near Los Angeles. 

It’s a story as familiar to people in the U.S. as in Canada—a large corporation comes to a town where they want to develop or deliver resources and they promise work and money, a boom, if the citizens will let the corporation have its way.

“Kitimat” recreates the dramatic events that garnered public attention last year, culminating on April 12 when the citizens voted “no” to Enbridge’s proposal to put the oil pipeline terminus there.  The play shows the communities struggle through the story of two Portuguese Canadian sisters on opposing sides of the Northern Gateway debate.....

http://www.vancouverobserver.com/culture/theatre/kitimat-brings-drama-en...

Marchers decry pipeline expansion through B.C.

Several hundred people marched through Fort Langley Saturday to oppose the expansion of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline that runs through Langley.

Organized by groups including the Pipe Up Network and the Kwantlen First Nation, the march headed from the Kwantlen reserve to the Fort Langley Community Hall.

The march paused in the center of the Jacob Haldi Bridge that connects MacMillan Island to the village of Fort Langley. Above the Fraser River, Kwantlen members drummed and sang before the march continued.

“We must protect the beautiful and bountiful land that has sustained us for thousands of years,” said Brandon Gabriel, one of the key organizers....

http://www.langleyadvance.com/news/marchers-decry-pipeline-expansion-thr...

Gov't emails reveal concerns over First Nation consultation on Enbridge Northern Gateway

A damning email obtained by a northern B.C. First Nation shows the federal government's own staff had serious concerns about the Crown's consultation process with First Nations.

“First Nations were not involved in the design of the consultation process,” an Environment Canada representative wrote in 2009.

It was just one of several concerns raised by Environment Canada staff when asked to comment on First Nation consultation for Enbridge's Northern Gateway Pipeline Project, according to internal government emails.

In the email obtained by the Haisla First Nation through an Access of Information request, government staff said they “remained concerned with the proposed approach to consultation" and that the government's approach provides "limited or no opportunity for responsible authorities to engage with Aboriginal groups” until after the Joint Review Panel's report is completed....

http://www.vancouverobserver.com/news/govt-emails-reveal-concerns-over-f...

Lax Kw'alaams First Nation opposes Eagle Spirit Energy pipeline

A First Nation in B.C. is contradicting recent claims from Eagle Spirit Energy about its support for a pipeline that would transport crude oil through its territory from Alberta to B.C.'s northwest coast.

Eagle Spirit Energy met with dozens of First Nations communities last weekend. On Tuesday, it announced that 200 representatives from 30 First Nations, including the Lax Kw'alaams, spoke out in support of the company's proposed pipeline project. 

But Lax Kw'alaams Mayor Garry Reece says that's not entirely correct.

"That's not the case," said Reece. "There's some that support it, yeah, but that's a handful of them."

Eagle Spirit Energy calls the coastal Lax Kw'alaams community a key to its proposed pipeline — as it's the region to which oil from Alberta would be shipped.

Reece says the proposal needs approval from the entire community, not just a few representatives.

"Until we hear from our people to see if they're going to support oil, no matter what kind of oil it is, it has to come from our people."....

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/lax-kw-alaams-first-natio...

Unist'ot'en Camp

We have been operating 2 separate full time blockades for a bit more than a week. We´ve held up helicopter crews and evicted them From the Gosnell Creek Valley as well as turned around survey crews attempting to enter the Yintah from the Chism Forest Service Road. There is a lot of footage of both types of encounters and we are sifting through them to create a video update which will likely surface in a couple of days. An incredibly strong turn of recent events was the return of Freda to her Yintah and chasing out surveyors as well as their Wet´suwet´en sell-out counterparts. In previous days the arrogant and mouthy turds were being confrontational with the volunteers who were assigned to protect the Yintah from Pipeline work. Today as Freda stood at the secondary road block the once-tough sell outs stayed in their truck and left it up to their security pawn to face off with her. The look of defeat and pathetic pitifulness of the surveyors was priceless. Also, tripods are now occupying the spaces where heli crews were landing in previous days. As promised, things are changing with the return of the leaders.

Alberta oil and gas millions fuel BC Liberal machine

In October 2012, Premier Christy Clark famously attended a BC Liberal Party fundraising dinner at the Calgary Petroleum Club hosted by Murray Edwards, the chair of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNRL). While many believed the premier’s Alberta financial overture was the first of its kind, investigation reveals that the BC Liberals have raised millions from Alberta-based oil and gas companies for more than a decade.

In fact, according to data compiled by Elections BC and Elections Alberta, corporate oil and gas donations to the BC Liberals have significantly outstripped comparable gifts to the then-ruling Alberta PC Party. Since 2005, the industry donated more than $3.1 million to the BC Liberals, relative to a mere $1.8 million to the Alberta Conservatives....

Crews monitoring Chevron following water spill

Chevron staff are monitoring and testing the area around the railway tracks below the Burnaby refinery, following a spill of roughly 30,000 litres of water Friday morning.

Chevron spokesperson Dave Schick said there is no threat to human health or the environment, but the company still needs to do testing on the water. According to Schick, the water was about to undergo a second stage of treatment before it's released into a sewer system.

“It’s not clean water,” Schick said. “We’re finishing cleaning it up.”

Schick said the water has dissolved hydrocarbons in it but no “free oil,” meaning there were no visible signs of oil, like sheen, for example. 

“We’re waiting tests to confirm the composition,” he said. “It’s largely water, … but we don’t want the water to get off the site till were guaranteed what the composition is.”

It’s not clear how it spilled, but Schick indicated it may have happened while the refinery was pumping water from one containment pond to another.

According to Schick, the water spilled Friday morning, around 6:30 a.m., and Chevron alerted the provincial Environment Ministry early in the afternoon.....

EXCLUSIVE: Burnaby rejects NEB's request for police at pipeline hearing

The National Energy Board has asked the City of Burnaby to help provide police for the September Kinder Morgan hearings, but the city has said no.

The board asked for seven RCMP officers and one field supervisor and offered to cover the costs, but Burnaby declined in a July 29 letter.

“It is with regret that the City of Burnaby will not be able to authorize the reallocation of police resources from the Burnaby detachment for the services requested,” wrote Lambert Chu, the city’s deputy manager. “The reassignment of seven police officers plus one supervisor to the hearings would reduce the operational strength of the Burnaby detachment and compromise its ability to respond to major emergencies and to maintain public safety during these situations.”

Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan and the RCMP could not be reached for immediate comment, but city lawyer Greg McDade criticized the NEB’s police request.

“The reason why they need the police is to keep the public out,” he told the NOW, adding the NEB issued a ruling banning the public from sitting in on the hearing. The only people allowed to attend will be actual intervenors, and they’ve limited them to two people per intervenor, he explained....

Supremes to rule on Charter right to raise climate change in NEB hearings

The National Energy Board is excluding the public and all of Canada’s climate-change scientists from participating in the expanded-pipeline hearings, contends Vancouver lawyer David J. Martin.

An environmental organization and group of citizens concerned about the National Energy Board’s (NEB) Trans Mountain pipeline review process may be one step closer to having its Charter of Rights and Freedoms claims heard in the nation’s highest court.

On July 24 a panel of three Supreme Court justices heard an application for leave to appeal challenging the NEB process, and will rule in the coming months on whether the case will go before the full court.

If leave is not granted, the NEB's mandate restricting evidence concerning climate change impacts of pipeline applications remains in place. If leave is granted, the full court will hear and rule on the Charter case.

The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) only grants leave to about eight per cent of appeals that come before it.....

Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain expansion plan faces renewed opposition as crude oil price drops

As the National Energy Board (NEB) gears up to hear final arguments on Aug. 24 into its embattled review of the proposed Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion, opposition is mounting as the price of oil drops, making the project less attractive.

Local economists say that, barring a major war in the Middle East directly impacting top oil producers like Saudi Arabia, Canada’s oilsands might be in for a prolonged period of lower crude prices.

“My own belief is that unless there’s another war in the Middle East of significant nature in the major oil producing areas, (then) I think there’s a good chance that oil prices won’t rise significantly for at least a five-year time frame, maybe even 10 years,” said Simon Fraser University energy economist Mark Jaccard, noting that pipeline decisions are usually based on projected revenues over 25 to 50 years.

“The fact that the price of oil has fallen right now shouldn’t affect the decision of either the company or the regulator. However, if they believe that that price fall has a real long-term element to it, like we’re in a new world of oil prices for a decade or two, then it will affect the decision.

“If prices stay really low, I don’t think (Trans Mountain) would go ahead.”...

..i post this here to again point to the incredible lack of actual effort that goes into real life cleanup. theoretically though governments and industry show us elaborate plans. in reality they make a great effort covering things up and telling lies. and they don’t really cleanup. includes an important  video.

‘A crime scene’: Mount Polley one year after mining disaster

Last month B.C. quietly allowed Imperial Metals to resume operations. We share exclusive footage of the mess left behind by the Aug. 4, 2014 spill

Ricochet has provided extensive coverage of the aftermath of last summer’s environmental disaster at Mount Polley, B.C. Today we have a new report from on the ground, looking at the toxic scene left behind by the massive tailings breach that occurred exactly one year ago....