Forests lose more trees and habitat to pipeline “right of way” cuts and tar pit building than to clearcuts. With minor variation, pipelines go the direct route. Through the strip mining of the land that contains tarsand petroleum and through pipeline construction to accomodate, only the Amazon Basin in Brazil would see larger rates of deforestation than the Boreal forest cover surrendered to the tarsands. Roads often accompany pipelines, as do various other developments. Hundreds of thousands of miles of forests, all combined, have been lost to infrastructure built to accommodate tarsands operations. Now the industry wants to build two approximately 1200 km long Mackenzie and Gateway pipelines as well as 2700 km's from Alaska's North Slope to accomodate tarsand oil production.
Mackenzie faces new setback
Governmental panel postpones release of environmental report till 2009
NORVAL SCOTT // May 16, 2008
CALGARY -- The Mackenzie gas pipeline has been slapped with a new significant regulatory setback, delaying the $16.2-billion project by at least a year and highlighting the increasing roadblocks facing companies seeking to develop major oil and gas projects.
Prepare for gas pipeline hurdles, consultant warns
SLOW GOING: Similar Canadian project has been tied up for years.
The Associated Press
Published: April 15th, 2008 11:39 PM
Last Modified: April 15th, 2008 11:49 PM
CALGARY, Alberta -- Anyone who thinks an Alaska natural gas pipeline will see fewer hurdles than the long-stagnant Mackenzie Gas Project is sadly mistaken, says the man who used to run the Northwest Territories' natural resources department.
More Dollars for Gas and Oil Research
By 250 News
Monday, April 21, 2008 03:08 PM
The allocations for the $12 million dollars the Province promised in the latest budget for mineral and oil and gas research have been announced.
Geoscience BC will be getting $5.7 million for projects to enhance the exploration and development of oil and gas.
The money will be used for projects such as regional airborne geophysical surveys with a focus on the Horn River Basin, in thenorth east part of B.C. , one of the hottest areas in oil and gas rights sales.
For your daily Greenwash dose... Suncor sympathetic over ducks... and not a hint of sympathy for the loss of other human lives.
--M
Suncor CEO defends record on environment
Rick George sympathizes over duck loss
Dan Healing, with a file from Shaun Polczer, Calgary Herald
Published: Saturday, May 10, 2008
A speech about the business outlook for Alberta's oilsands industry Friday morning turned into a defence of its environmental record for Suncor Energy Inc. CEO Rick George.
Dehcho Land Use Plan revisions increase development
Roxanna Thompson
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, May 01, 2008
DEH GAH GOT'IE KOE/FORT PROVIDENCE - A revised Dehcho Land Use Plan could be completed as early as this fall, according to members of the Dehcho Land Use Planning Committee.
The planning committee has been working steadily since last fall to resolve the differences over the plan between the Dehcho First Nations (DFN) and the territorial and federal governments, said Michael Nadli, the chair of the committee.
From The Times
April 18, 2008
Fund managers attack BP over tar sands plan
Robin Pagnamenta
A group of American and British shareholders in BP joined forces yesterday to protest over the oil company's decision to start extracting oil from Canadian tar sands.
Eleven fund managers, which together manage total assets worth more than $10 billion (£5 billion), said that BP's move into tar sands last year was “deeply disappointing” and represented a “disturbing step backwards” for the company.
May 1st, 2008
Canada caught on its own tar baby. Tar sand investments now a dead duck?
Posted by Harry Fuller @ 3:41 am
As one Canadian newspaper put it. Ducks in Alberta died a crude death. One of the species of ducks that died on a pond filled with crude oil polluted water: Bufflehead.
Duck Deaths Confirm First Nations' Fears
Fort Chipewyan, May 2, 2008 -- Only one day after the 500 ducks were found dead in the tailings pond at Syncrude Canada in the Alberta tar sands, a local Mikisew Cree hunter killed a duck that was totally covered in oil. Community leaders have no doubt that the duck was a victim of the toxic tailings ponds near Fort McMurray, 300 kilometres south of Fort Chipewyan. The oil-drenched duck will be released to the Canadian Wildlife Service for further investigation.
The hottest housing market in North America, driven by oil
By Marshall Loeb, MarketWatch
Last update: 7:38 p.m. EDT April 21, 2008
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- A boom of unprecedented dimensions is sweeping Canada's spectacularly scenic western province of Alberta, the Texas-sized territory with a population of 3 million that is home to a pair of world-class cities -- Calgary (population 1.2 million) and Edmonton (population 1.1 million).
April 22, 2008
The Political Economics of Greenwashing
Green as a Blackjack Table
By STAN COX
Hard times are looming. And in their desperation to keep the American economy afloat, government and business will be tossing overboard any proposals for real environmental protection. No time for such romantic foolishness when there are investments to be protected. Get those tax refunds back into retailers' registers, quick!
