GreenWatch

B. McPherson You can't drink or breathe oil. Stop the pipeline The standoff between BigOil and environmentalists continues on Burnaby Mountain. Pipeline company KinderMorgan wants to triple its petroleum carrying capacity to bring Alberta oil to the Pacific coast for shipping to the US and overseas. They have not received the go-ahead from the Canadian Energy Board, but they have done preliminary work to map a new route for the proposed pipelines. Part of that route would take them under Burnaby Mountain, much of which is dedicated parkland. The survey crews have been blocked from cutting more trees in the park by protesters. Some would call them protectors depending on one’s point of view. KinderMorgan obtained an injunction to remove the protesters who were blocking the route. This served to increase the number of people joining in the movement. Police were moved in to remove the people. Peaceful, non-violent arrests were made. To date over 100 people have allowed ...

B. McPherson Fracking hype in the UK may be just that. Laws have been changed to make it easier for petroleum corporations to shatter the shale beds to extract the oil or gas held in the rocks. People have been told that the sacrifice of land and water to facilitate this extraction is for the common good, that it will make the UK self-sufficient in natural gas. Prices will remain as is or be reduced. A credible report from the University of Sussex challenges that assertion. Published in The UK’s Global Gas Challenge, the report points out that the year 2000 was the last year that the UK was self-sufficient in natural gas. As the fields in the North Sea diminished their productivity, the UK gradually increased its dependence on foreign suppliers. Now about 50% of the natural gas that the UK uses comes from Norway and Qatar. The US has led the world in fracking to obtain natural gas. Canada has followed suit. There has been a large increase in the supply of natural gas, b...

B. McPherson Pipeline corp. shows disregard for human life Giant corporation Kinder Morgan faces widespread opposition to its application to triple the oil pipeline through Metro Vancouver. If the increase in oil transport to the coast are allowed, an estimated 300 more oil tankers will shuttle through Georgia Strait each year. There are environmental concerns with having a high pressure oil pipeline in one’s neighbourhood. A few years ago, one of the municipalities found to their horror that the black gold will spew many feet into the air ruining houses, yards and running down the streets to ooze into the ocean. It was nicked by a backhoe working on a street. Kinder Morgan has proposed a more efficient(read shorter) route for its additional capacity. Some people woke up one day to find strangers in their back yards. The workers said they were surveying for the new pipeline. They were kicked out. Next KM proposed tunnelling under Burnaby Mountain over Burnaby’s city coun...

B. McPherson  The UN report on climate change has issued some grim words. They emphasize that climate change is happening. Humans are changing the Earth’s climate. All fossil fuel consumption must cease by the end of the century to avoid irreversible changes to the atmosphere. World climates change without human input, but the changes that have happened since the Industrial Revolution which saw coal fired steam engines come into common use has accelerated the release of ‘greenhouse gases’ into the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases are those that act like the glass in a greenhouse, allowing the sun’s energy to enter but not leave. Carbon dioxide gets much attention, but other gases are also potent greenhouse contributors – methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases are some of the important contributors. Science has spoken. There is no ambiguity in their message. Leaders must act. Time is not on our side," UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said at the report's launch...