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.
Enbridge pipeline project facing complaints (Wisconsin)
http://www.wiscnews.com/pdr/news/133887
The Associated Press
WAUSAU — The pay for trees being cut is unfair. Some trees shouldn't be chopped down — like 100-year-old oaks. There are threats. Even human waste was left behind from earlier work.
Ottawa 'strong-armed' Akaitcho in land claim: Bevington
Last Updated: Thursday, May 17, 2007 | 3:16 PM CT
CBC News
The federal government forced the Akaitcho Dene First Nations into not claiming areas where exploration companies want to look for uranium, Western Arctic NDP MP Dennis Bevington alleged Thursday.
PUC To Hear Oil Pipeline Proposal
http://www.keloland.com/News/NewsDetail6371.cfm?Id=0,56895
05/09/2007
The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission has scheduled four public hearings in June along the route of a proposed oil pipeline that would run through the eastern part of the state.
The TransCanada Keystone Pipeline would carry oil from a terminal at Hardisty, Alberta, to Illinois to supply US refineries. The 1,800-mile pipeline would enter the United States in North Dakota and also cross South Dakota, Nebraska, a corner of Kansas, and Missouri before reaching Illinois.
Note the source: "Oilsands Review", so take not too much comfort in their pronunciations nor forget that much isn't spoken of in the article on the "improvements" in procedure just yet. Nonetheless, it's worth reading and familiarizing ourselves with.
--M
The changing face of oilsands mining
Mobile crushing systems on the way
http://www.oilsandsreview.com/articles.asp?ID=401
Diane L.M. Cook
Jun 2007
Harper and Bush under fire from environmentalists
Mike De Souza, CanWest News Service
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=80120b49-2802-4...
Published: Saturday, May 19, 2007
OTTAWA -- Canadian and American politicians renewed attacks on their respective governments Friday over concerns the Harper and Bush administrations are cooking up a scheme to undermine international action on climate change.
Statement - Mackenzie Gas Project
http://www.cnw.ca/fr/releases/archive/May2007/18/c3025.html
OTTAWA, May 18 /CNW Telbec/ - The Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of
Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and
Non-Status Indians issued the following statement today regarding the
Mackenzie Gas Project:
In response to recent media coverage on the Mackenzie Gas Project, I
would like to take this opportunity to set the record straight on the federal
government's position on the project.
Federal government money-- as a means to destroying the Mackenzie Valley and many of the nations who live within it-- in order to send the gas south to Alberta to (stop me if you've heard this one) destroy the livable biosphere and the people living within it. This is the "alternative" to letting what should die die, i.e., the Mackenzie Gas Project, if left to its own market based devices.
To achieve the goals being set out by these scientists-- who are perhaps still acting *conservatively* in what they collectively state needs to be done to achieve a healthy biosphere-- we need to speak as plain as day:
A press release below from the EUB-- the same people telling us that Nuclear Powerplants that take years to construct, and then more years of operation to start being a reduction in Greenhouse gas emissions, are an "environmental benefit". Their track record is no longer credible. Here below, spilling oil is not dangerous to your health. So says the EUB.
--M
EUB Completes Investigation Into Rainbow Pipeline Failure Near Slave Lake
Calgary, Alberta (May 9, 2007) The Alberta Energy and Utilities Board
(EUB) has completed its investigation into a pipeline leak that
Too few bright ideas
David Suzuki
Editorial - Friday, May 04, 2007
http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?cont...
When Environment Minister Baird announced his government's new climate change plan, I was in Toronto, getting ready to shoot some television commercials promoting energy conservation. I volunteered to do the commercials because I believe that everyone has to do his fair share in reducing the threat of global warming. Mr. Baird and Prime Minister Harper apparently disagree.
