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.
NASA scientist to testify at Total oilsands hearing
The Canadian Press
Date: Sunday Sep. 19, 2010 10:15 AM ET
One of NASA's top scientists will appear at hearings into a proposed oilsands project to warn about the climate change consequences of approving Total E&P Canada's $2-billion plan to build the Joslyn North mine.
James Hansen, head of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, is slated to testify at public hearings into the proposal, which begin Tuesday in Fort McMurray, Alta.
Enbridge shuts third line in U.S. due to leak
By Shaun Polczer, Calgary Herald
September 14, 2010
Enbridge Inc. on Monday said it had substantially cleaned up an oil spill in Illinois even as a third export line to the U.S. was shut down after a leak near Buffalo, N.Y.
Enbridge Energy Partners, the Houston-based affiliate that operates Enbridge's U.S. pipeline network, reported that 6,100 barrels escaped from its Line 6A into an industrial park near Romeoville, Ill., on Thursday, and that 6,050 barrels had been sucked up by vacuum trucks over the weekend.
Utah agency approves oil-sands project
By PAUL FOY (AP) – September 13, 2010
SALT LAKE CITY — A top Utah regulator approved plans Monday for the first commercial U.S. oil sands project.
John Baza, director of Utah's Division of Oil, Gas & Mining, upheld an earlier decision by his staff to give Earth Energy Resources Inc. a permit to mine a 62-acre pit in eastern Utah.
Environmental activists had objected to the project and demanded a hearing held by Baza in July.
Evolution of an oilsands 'dinosaur' killer
Potential alternative to upgraders untapped for two decades
By Dave Cooper, Edmonton Journal September 8, 2010
EDMONTON - A process developed in Alberta almost two decades ago that turns bitumen into oil without using upgrading facilities could be a "game changer" for the province, says the co-developer.
"I could never understand why we wouldn't try something simpler and easier for handling bitumen," said Edmonton's Keng Chung, president of Well Resources Inc., who now spends much of his time in China.
Enbridge signs Husky deal
Sunrise Project Next In Line; Project raises investments in oilsands to $2.3B
By Shaun Polczer, Calgary Herald September 8, 2010
CALGARY -- Enbridge Inc. on Tuesday continued to redouble its oilsands expansion plans with a deal to tie Husky Energy's proposed Sunrise oilsands project to its Cheecham distribution hub in northeast Alberta.
The Calgary-based shipper said it had signed a $475-million deal with Husky to build and operate the facilities which will initially ship 90,000 barrels per day to its transportation hub near Conklin starting in 2013.
Reports critical of oilsands keep piling up
'There needs to be an end to industry monitoring itself'
Published September 9, 2010 by Trevor Scott Howell in News
Alberta’s oilsands tailings ponds are killing birds at a rate 30 times higher than government and industry figures imply, according to a new study.
Ecologist Kevin Timoney, who co-authored the report, calls industry self-reporting of bird deaths “ad hoc” and says it consistently underestimates actual mortality.
Secret German analysis warns of peak oil and coming energy crisis
By Stephanie Dearing.
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Recently economically dominant governments have been turning their attention to studying the future of energy, trying to calculate when there might be an energy crisis.
In an ideal state, any government would prefer to circumvent a potential energy crisis. But analysis leaked from a German Military think tank, the Bundeswehr Transformation Center, states a crisis in the near future is increasingly inevitable, according to Der Spiegel.
Transcanada’s Keystone Pipeline Shut Down for Work
By Aaron Clark and Samantha Zee - Sep 3, 2010
TransCanada Corp. shut its Keystone pipeline Sept. 1 for unscheduled maintenance work, Michael Barnes, a company spokesman said in a telephone interview. The line is expected to resume service by Sept. 8, he said.
TransCanada expects to make all September deliveries on time, Barnes said. The inline inspections will take place throughout the 2,151-mile (3,461-kilometer) pipeline.
West Moberly says Site C would power tar sands not homes
Monday, 30 August 2010
Amid a bevy of resource projects in northeast B.C., the West Moberly First Nation claims the province is green-washing its Site C hydroelectric project.
“It’s not clean and it’s not green,” West Moberly Chief Roland Willson told BIV in a recent interview.
The First Nation community is a member of the Treaty 8 Tribal Association near Fort St. John where dozens of companies are snapping up land to build the next shale gas well, coal mine or renewable power project.
