Forests

Greenpeace takes poke at Alberta oil sands
The Canadian Press
June 27, 2008

CALGARY -- Greenpeace is stepping up pressure on the environmental record of Alberta's oil sands with a tongue-in-cheek website that offers mock tours of the province's industrial northeast.

The site, with an address similar to the province's official tourism website, tempts travellers with black sand beaches, toxic lakes and clearcut forests.

It recommends starting the day with a "propane cannon wake-up call" and suggests a little open-pit paragliding over the vast oil sands mines.

By Michael Klare
Truth and consequences in the last days of cheap oil

At the hastily convened global oil summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on June 28, top officials of producing and consuming nations from around the world attempted to find a combination of solutions that would somehow extricate us from the current crisis over sky-high energy prices. These proposals ranged from increased output by major producers like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to restrictions on the activities of international oil speculators.

Macdonald Stainsby gives http://h2opodcast.com/ an overview of the tar sands, their history in development, why now, the connection to the war on terror & Iraq, trade deals, expansion of the temporary foreign worker programs in such development, violation of indigenous nations' self-determination and environmental destruction unparalleled in the world. (Part I of II)

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Part II of II:

Macdonald Stainsby gives http://h2opodcast.com/ an overview of the tar sands, their history in development, why now, the connection to the war on terror & Iraq, trade deals, expansion of the temporary foreign worker programs in such development, violation of indigenous nations' self-determination and environmental destruction unparalleled in the world. Part II of II.

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Prentice says Mackenzie pipeline will advance Canada’s interests
THE CANADIAN PRESS // 23/05/08

CALGARY — The Mackenzie pipeline — long beset by regulatory snags and cost overruns — will “undoubtedly advance” Canada’s national interests once it is built, but control over the project must remain in private-sector hands, said Industry Minister Jim Prentice.

Statimc Native Youth Movement Warrior Society St'at'imc Nation, Tsalalh
Territory

Re: 2010 Olympics

To Whom It May Concern;

Please accept this letter as a declaration of opposition to the upcoming
2010 Olympics set to take place within traditional St'at'imc Borders. Many
members of our Nation, including children, youth, elders and land users do
not support the Olympics taking place in Whistler for many reasons.

First being that Whistler and many other towns, cities and municipalities
are illegally occupied by foreigners and run by fraudulent government

TransCanada line put to federal watch
Jon Harding, with files from Gordon Jaremko, Edmonton Journal, Calgary Herald
Published: Wednesday, June 18, 2008

After years of resistance, Alberta says it will let Ottawa oversee regulation of TransCanada Corp.'s inter-Alberta natural gas pipeline web, known as the Nova system.

Hyperbolic invective like this should be embraced and treasured, not shunned. It is a sign of power, and not vulnerability that hogwash can be printed like this.

--M

Oil sands tarred with environmentalists' brush
By: Marilyn Scales

In the last couple of weeks environmentalists have loudly condemned Canada's oil sands producers. They call the industry dirty, polluting and a potential cause of increasingly foul emissions from U.S. refineries. These loudmouths have even reverted to the name "tar sands" lest anyone think "oil sands" is more benign.

Heavy Problem: Dirtier Oil, Though Cheaper, Sparks Green Backlash
June 12, 2008, 11:45 am
The Wall Street Journal’s Ben Casselman reports:

Cheap oil! Get your cheap oil here!

Well, “cheap” may be pushing it. But even as benchmark crude futures have soared above $130 per barrel, there’s still oil out there for about $105 a barrel. The bad news: it’s nasty stuff.

No balance on tar sands
Jun 10, 2008 04:30 AM

Prime Minister Stephen Harper often talks about finding the right balance between economic growth and environmental protection.

But Harper put growth well ahead of the environment last week when he gave the green light to Imperial Oil's proposed $8 billion Kearl tar-sands project, which is predicted to create 3.7 million tonnes of greenhouse gases annually – equivalent to putting another 800,000 cars on the road.