Land, regardless of whether covered by forests, tundra or grasslands, is threatened by mining operations such as Alberta’s vast open tar pit operations, or through incredible networks of “right of way” cuts for pipelines that extend in the hundreds of thousands of miles, all told, and across the continent in four directions and to three oceans—either through feeding the tarsand operations with fossil fuel energy or through feeding energy markets from tarsand operations after production. In the case of pipeline right of ways, they can blast directly through mountains or be buried in permafrost if needed, to get the energy to move.
Some Nebraska Landowners Won't Make Way for Keystone XL Pipeline
By Elizabeth McGowan at SolveClimate
Tue Oct 12, 2010
Editor's Note: In late September, SolveClimate News reporter Elizabeth McGowan traveled to Nebraska to find out more about the Keystone XL pipeline that TransCanada plans to build to carry crude oil from the tar sands of Alberta to Gulf Coast refineries in Texas. This is the sixth in a series. Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5 here.
Shell ditches oilsands project
Energy giant cancels $30B upgrader plan
By Dan Healing, Calgary Herald
October 9, 2010
Shell Canada has withdrawn its regulatory application to build a 400,000-barrel-per-day oilsands upgrader, a four-phase project estimated by analysts to have a price tag of around $30 billion.
Fired Oilsands blogger speaking out
Trish Kozicka, Global News: Sunday, October 10, 2010
Mike Thomas believes he was fired from his job as an apprentice electrician with Aecon Lockerbie & Hole - a company under contract to Suncor - because he blogged about what he describes as inhumane, unhealthy and unsanitary conditions at Suncor's Mackenzie and Voyageur camps on the Firebag 3 project north of Fort McMurray.
Oilsands worker says he was fired over blog
by Conal Pierse, Postmedia News //
Vancouver Sun
October 10, 2010
EDMONTON — As Mike Thomas sat on his front porch last week waiting to go to the airport and fly up to northern Alberta for work, his employer called him and said not to bother. He’d been fired for what he claims was blogging about camp conditions.
The apprentice electrician wrote two blog posts about the Suncor McKenzie and Voyager camps on the Firebag 3 project north of Fort McMurray, Alta., detailing what he said were unsanitary and inhumane conditions.
Enbridge Investors Pipelines Feed Fossil Fuel Addictions
October 5th, 2010
Written by Cameron Fenton and Maryam Adrangi
As Enbridge holds its investors meeting in Toronto’s financial district, Environmental Justice Toronto sent them a message about their dirty investments in fossil fuels. Grassroots organizers sent up a banner attached to helium balloons that read “Enbridge Invests in Oil Addiction.” The banner was visible through the glass front of the building, outside of which activists held up another banner that read “Community Resistance is the Cure.”
Alberta will act if panel finds oilsands monitoring 'unacceptable': Renner
Province appoints six scientists to independently assess water-monitoring data
By Karen Kleiss, edmontonjournal.com October 8, 2010
EDMONTON — Alberta's environment minister says the province is prepared to act if scientists reviewing monitoring programs find "unacceptable" environmental impacts in the oilsands region.
North America's risky race to exploit oil sands and shales
* Keith Schneider for Yale Environment 360
* guardian.co.uk,
1 October 2010
Yale Environment 360: Energy companies are rushing to exploit new sources of oil in Canada and the western US - but government officials don't seem concerned about the environmental consequences
The most direct path to America's newest big oil and gas fields is U.S. Highway 12, two lanes of blacktop that unfold from Grays Harbor in Washington State and head east across the top of the country to Detroit.
Utahns tar the tar sands
Denver Nicks | Oct 01, 2010 03:45 PM
High Country News
Mining of tar sands in Alberta Canada has left a landscape of razed boreal forest dotted with pools of toxic wastewater. It also produced 1.49 million barrels of crude oil last year – every day. Now, the first-ever commercial tar sands mine proposed in the United States is facing its second legal challenge from Western environmentalists.
Tribal Councils in U.S. and Canada Uniting Against Oil Sands Pipeline
By Elizabeth McGowan at SolveClimate
Thu Oct 7, 2010
Editor's Note: In late September, SolveClimate News reporter Elizabeth McGowan traveled to Nebraska to find out more about the Keystone XL pipeline that TransCanada plans to build to carry crude oil from the tar sands of Alberta to Gulf Coast refineries in Texas. This is the fifth in a series. Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 here.
Port will be key link in controversial Canadian oil project
By Aaron Corvin
Columbian Staff writer
October 1, 2010
Monday, the Port of Vancouver will display its ability to handle huge, odd-looking international cargo, generating revenue and fulfilling long-term economic-development objectives along the way.
