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Year 2008 News, January to December
Neighborhood metamorphosis (5/5)
Jennifer Cole stared at the letter in her hands. No matter how many times she read it, it didn’t make sense, she recalled.
Lowell Brown & Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe, Denton Record-Chronicle, 31-Dec-2008
... more
31 Dec 2008
Voicing the silence (4/5)
For a while, Kim Couch thought her children hadn’t noticed the effect of the natural gas drilling in their neighborhood along Britt Drive.
Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe & Lowell Brown, Denton Record-Chronicle, 31-Dec-2008
... more
31 Dec 2008
Culture clash (3/5)
Gene and Jennifer Cole stood in the backyard of their Argyle-area home, staring up at the mountain of rocks behind their fence, and then turned to a stranger in a black pickup. “What’s the problem?” the stranger asked.
Lowell Brown & Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe, Denton Record-Chronicle, 30-Dec-2008
... more
30 Dec 2008
Perils afoot (2/5)
Natural gas bubbled from the frostbitten ground around the well for several hours before the earth erupted about 1:45 a.m. on a December morning in 2005, tossing truck-sized boulders into the air. John Ritchie’s land erupted in a grassfire so large that a neighbor thought the sun was coming up over the scrub and cedar trees. A worker sitting in a vehicle nearby watched in horror as flames engulfed him.
Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe & Lowell Brown, Denton Record-Chronicle, 29-Dec-2008
... more
29 Dec 2008
Eminent dominance (1/5)
Jennifer Cole didn’t know that what was happening behind that fence would consume the next three years of her life. She did know what the bulldozer meant, though. A gas rig was coming. (Part 1 of a 5 part series)
Lowell Brown & Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe, Denton Record-Chronicle, 28-Dec-2008
... more
28 Dec 2008
The Nightmare in Fort Worth
US energy policy and unprecedented energy prices have stimulated an intense North American hunt for more oil and gas. Natural gas is known to be in abundance in the Barnett Shale in north Texas, and also in shales in northeastern BC. Both places have experienced a phenomenal drilling and production boom. But in Fort Worth, they're drilling in town.
... more
26 Dec 2008
LNG armada could revolutionize industry
Oil and gas companies are racing to develop a new type of vessel they hope will revolutionize offshore gas production, but even if the untested technology works, its deployment could be blocked.
Tom Bergin, Calgary Herald, 23-Dec-2008
... more
23 Dec 2008
An Energy Solution in the (Compressed) Air?
The wind doesn’t blow all the time, so the electricity it produces is also intermittent. A solution to this problem could be pulled from the air, literally, using a technology known as “compressed air energy storage.
Kate Galbraith, New York Times, 23-Dec-2008
... more
23 Dec 2008
Russia warns Europe it could face gas shortages
Britain was given a sharp reminder of the dangers to its energy supplies today when Gazprom warned western Europe could be hit by gas shortages. The Russian gas provider said a long-running row with Ukraine could disrupt supplies to Europe this winter.
Terry Macalister and David Gow, The Guardian, 22-Dec-2008
... more
23 Dec 2008
Who's dishing real oilsands propaganda?
Alberta Environment Minister Rob Renner is in Poland to defend the oilsands. I don't envy him. International criticism has been largely based on the high emissions of greenhouse gases from mining the oilsands. But that's only the first charge. Two new reports, one on losses of boreal birds as the result of habitat disturbance and another on seepage from tailings ponds, have been released by groups of scientists who are supported by environmental groups.
David Schindler, Edmonton Journal, 15-Dec-2008
... more
16 Dec 2008
End of the oil sands' building frenzy?
Canadians have grown accustomed to the flow of multi-billion oil sands investments from all corners of the Earth, turning Canada's currency into a petro-dollar and pumping economic prosperity.
Claudia Cattaneo, Financial Post, 12-Dec-2008
... more
15 Dec 2008
Rio wasn't the only loser in Alcan deal
Not long ago, Alcan chief Dick Evans hinted that he might have sold out too soon when he signed the record-setting, mid-2007 deal to surrender the Canadian icon to Rio Tinto. Almost every independent observer now concedes Rio Tinto overpaid for Alcan when it put up $101 a share in cash, a 66-per-cent premium over the price the stock was trading at.
Konrad Yakabuski, Globe and Mail, 11-Dec-2008
... more
11 Dec 2008
First Nations band claims oilsands land
An aboriginal band has threatened the very basis of Alberta's oilsands industry by filing a court challenge to the province's system of granting land tenure.
Bob Weber, Edmonton Sun, 11-Dec-2008
... more
11 Dec 2008
Good intentions gone wrong with city fuel order
'The tar sands is one of the greatest ecological crimes in North American history," declares Councillor Gord Perks, a veteran environmental activist now serving as the uncompromising green conscience of Mayor David Miller's city hall.
John Barber, Globe and Mail, 11-Dec-2008
... more
11 Dec 2008
'Killing the pipeline' with delays
The fate of the $16.2-billion Mackenzie gas pipeline, which would open up Arctic gas reserves for development and provide a huge economic boost for Canada's North, is hanging by a thread as a new set of regulatory delays could mean the project never gets built.
Norval Scott, Globe and Mail, 08-Dec-2008
... more
08 Dec 2008
Talk of Alaska: Oil Spills and the Culture of Law
Oil Spills and the Culture of Law, a discussion on
Alaska Public Radio Network, 02-Dec-2008
... more
02 Dec 2008
Edison's rooftop solar project powers up
Southern California Edison on Monday unveiled its newest power plant: 33,700 solar panels atop a warehouse in Fontana that will feed green energy directly into the grid.
Marla Dickerson, LA Times, 02-Dec-2008
... more
02 Dec 2008
Alaska marine biologist makes an impassioned case
against oil at all costs
Dr. Riki Ott has a special response to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's ardent push for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Silja J.A. Talvi, Seattle Post Intelligencer, 01-Dec-2008
... more
02 Dec 2008
Shell delays [another] Alberta oil sands project
Royal Dutch Shell Plc is delaying another Canadian oil sands project, saying Thursday it has withdrawn a regulatory application for its 100,000 barrel per day Carmon Creek thermal project as it looks to shave costs by revamping the project.
Reuters, Globe and Mail, 27-Nov-2008
... more
27 Nov 2008
Pipeline unsafety - notes from New Orleans
In Medicine I think it's called Malpractice.
Michael Holmstrom, 24-Nov-2008
... more
25 Nov 2008
Scientists assail easing of rules for natural gas exploration
The Harper government's plans to ease regulations on environmental assessments for natural gas exploration will lead to an ecological crisis in the Canadian Arctic, a group of leading international scientists said Thursday.
Mike De Souza, Vancouver Sun, 21-Nov-2008
... more
21 Nov 2008
The markets have put an end to the oilsands boom
Welcome to the oilsands moratorium. No one will call it that, of course. Not officially, anyway. There's been no Alberta government edict, and no sweeping regulatory ruling requiring a slowdown in the pace of new projects around Fort McMurray.
Gary Lamphier, Vancouver Sun, 20-Nov-2008
... more
21 Nov 2008
CBC Centre Stage: Is Alberta's oil dirty?
We're joined by Andrew Nikiforuk, author of Tar Sands: Dirty Oil and the Future of a Continent, Preston MacEachern, a scientist with Alberta Environment, and Jim Carter, past president of Syncrude.
Wild Rose Country, CBC Edmonton, 20-Nov-2008
... more
20 Nov 2008
Palin's Pipeline at Risk as Economy Slows
The troubled economy that helped sink Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's hopes of becoming U.S. vice president now is undermining prospects for building the $30 billion natural-gas pipeline she touts as her administration's signal achievement.
Russell Gold, Wall Street Journal, 19-Nov-2008
... more
19 Nov 2008
Obama: A new chapter
"Few challenges facing America -- and the world -- are more urgent than combating climate change," he said. "Many of you are working to confront this challenge....but too often, Washington has failed to show the same kind of leadership. That will change when I take office."
Barack Obama, Change.gov, 18-Nov-2008
... more
19 Nov 2008
Wall Street Journal Editors Put Brakes on BP Story
The editors of the Wall Street Journal last week slammed the brakes on a story detailing how the Justice Department shut down a major environmental crimes investigation of BP Alaska.
Corporate Crime Reporter, 15-Nov-2008
... more
17 Nov 2008
Auburn Dam may really be dead this time
Use it or lose it is the rule of California water rights, and after 43 years, the would-be Auburn Dam -- subject of one of the state's bitterest water feuds -- is about to lose it.
Nancy Vogel, LA Times, 16-Nov-2008
... more
16 Nov 2008
Has the sun set on clean tech?
Once a booming industry thanks to sky-high oil prices, the feel-good trend, carbon reduction and subsidies, the financial crisis has pushed investors to give up on green energies, and like the dot-com bubble of 2000, some analysts say it's about to burst.
Eric Reguly, Globe and Mail, 13-Nov-2008
... more
15 Nov 2008
Nuclear deal would allow AECL to renew Indian business ties
Federally owned AECL Ltd. is looking to re-enter the Indian market some 35 years after the south Asian giant shocked the world and brought about its own nuclear isolation by using Candu technology to build a bomb.
Shawn McCarthy, Globe and Mail, 14-Nov-2008
... more
14 Nov 2008
BURIED SECRETS -
is natural gas drilling endangering US water supplies
In July, a hydrologist dropped a plastic sampling pipe 300 feet down a water well in rural Sublette County, Wyo., and pulled up a load of brown oily water with a foul smell. Tests showed it contained benzene, a chemical believed to cause aplastic anemia and leukemia, in a concentration 1,500 times the level safe for people.
Abrahm Lustgarten, Pro Publica, 13-Nov-2008
... more
13 Nov 2008
From credit crunch to energy crisis?
Global oil companies are sowing the seeds of a new supply crisis and a return to record-high prices by cutting back on current investments in response to the global slowdown, the International Energy Agency warns.
Shawn McCarthy, Globe and Mail, 12-Nov-2008
... more
12 Nov 2008
Clean Coal - The Devil Lies in the Details
There was a lot of talk about "Clean coal technology" during the election campaign in the United States. Both the Democratic and Republican nominees wanted to place it at the forefront of their energy independence strategy.
GLOBE-Net, 06-Nov-2008
Carbon capture and storage has become a hot topic in the business press recently, touted by some as the emission reducing key to continued use of fossil fuels, and panned by others as a great green scam perpetrated by the oil and gas industry. The truth is carbon capture and storage is anything but an illusion; but making it a commercial scale reality - at least in Canada - will require a great deal more than what has been put on the table so far.
GLOBE-Net, 23-Mar-2008
... more
12 Nov 2008
Teck plumbs depths on black day for coal
Faced with tumbling commodity prices, a free-falling stock price and an over-levered balance sheet, Teck Cominco Ltd. unveiled a wide-ranging plan Tuesday to conserve capital and pay back debt amid a rapidly-deteriorating metals sector.
Peter Koven, Financial Post, 11-Nov-2008
... more
12 Nov 2008
Caribbean now known for oil as well as beaches
The Caribbean Basin could well be the next big thing in the world of oil and gas, but investors should be warned; the opportunity to cash in on the area's new and exciting potential discoveries comes with a host of uncertainties and will require a great deal of patience.
David Pett, Financial Post, 12-Nov-2008
... more
12 Nov 2008
Misunderstood oil sands
Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach's $25-million provincial rebranding campaign is well under way; the Premier himself is in Europe right now explaining why the environmentalists have got it wrong about Alberta's oil sands. The question remains whether a mere fraction of a billion dollars is going to be enough.
Editorial, Globe and Mail, 12-Nov-12, 2008
... more
12 Nov 2008
"Fisherma'am" Proposes 28th Amendment:
Separation Of Corporation And State
Every so often an idea comes along that rings with such clarity and purpose that it ignites the imaginations of millions of people.
from Chelsea Green, Huffington Post, 10-Nov-2008
... more
11 Nov 2008
Shell halts Canadian sands development
Royal Dutch Shell has become the latest oil company to halt development of Canada's formerly booming tar sands industry, amid soaring costs and plunging oil prices.
Robin Pagnamenta, The Times, London, 31-Oct-2008
... more
03 Nov 2008
A kick in the shins for Gulf states
Oil-fuelled wealth proves to be only thin insulation against the effects of the global credit crunch.
Sonia Verma, Globe and Mail, 28-Oct-2008
... more
28 Oct 2008
Oil price threatens to incinerate jobs
The plummeting price of oil threatens to derail so many projects in Alberta's oil sands that as many as 10,000 construction jobs could be lost over the next year, stalling the engine that has long driven the province's economy.
Norval Scott, Globe and Mail, 28-Oct-2008
... more
28 Oct 2008
Renewable power firms weather the storm
Renewable power developer John Keating surveys the credit markets in crisis and heaves a sigh of relief, knowing how close he came to becoming another victim of the financial storm that has raged since early September.
Shawn McCarthy, Globe and Mail, 27-Oct-2008
... more
27 Oct 2008
Canada's nuclear power play
Ontario must build at least $15-billion worth of nuclear plants to back out of dirty coal and better meet power growth requirements for the next few generations.
Diane Francis, Financial Post, 25-Oct-2008
... more
26 Oct 2008
Palin pipeline terms curbed bids
Gov. Sarah Palin's signature accomplishment - a contract to build a 1,715-mile pipeline to bring natural gas from Alaska to the Lower 48 - emerged from a flawed bidding process that narrowed the field to a company with ties to her administration, an Associated Press investigation shows.
Justin Pritchard & Garance Burke, Associated Press, 24-Oct-2008
... more
25 Oct 2008
Warning issued on carbon capture
Underground storage of carbon dioxide has been hailed as the ultimate solution to climate change, but there's no evidence it can actually avert a global warming disaster.
Scott Simpson, Vancouver Sun, 24-Oct-2008
... more
24 Oct 2008
Cap-and-trade, carbon tax not much different, report says
Canadian politicians overstate the differences between carbon taxes and cap-and-trade programs as tools to reduce greenhouse gases, a new report suggests.
James Cowan, Vancouver Sun, 24-Oct-2008
... more
24 Oct 2008
Canada needs to kick its dirty-oil habit
Canada has become an oil junkie, hooked on the tarsands and in desperate need of detox. That's a perspective put forward in a new book by Alberta journalist Andrew Nikiforuk in Tar Sands: Dirty Oil and the Future of a Continent.
Barbara Yaffe, Vancouver Sun, 11-Nov-2008
Author Andrew Nikiforuk fears tar sands undermine democracy
Charlie Smith, Georgia Straight, 23-Oct-2008
... more
23 Oct 2008
Refinery expansion, pipeline to be good for area
A multi-billion dollar expansion of ConocoPhillips' Wood River Refinery will be a major benefit for the entire region, according to a company official speaking at this month's Granite City Rotary Action Prayer Breakfast.
Scott Cousins, Granite City Press-Record, 19-Oct-2008
... more
23 Oct 2008
Requiem for a moratorium
The legacy of the 110th Congress will be its failure to renew the 27-year-old moratorium on drilling for oil and gas on the outer continental shelf (OCS) -- one of the largest concessions on environmental protection in decades.
Grist,
20-Oct-2008
... more
21 Oct 2008
20bn barrel oil discovery puts Cuba in the big league
No one has called Cuba lucky, until now. Mother nature, it emerged this week, appears to have blessed the island with enough oil reserves to vault it into the ranks of energy powers.
Rory Carroll, The Guardian, 18-Oct-2008
... more
18 Oct 2008
Lineup for LNG project adds a competitor
Most controversy over liquefied natural gas in Oregon has focused on proposals to build an import terminal 20 miles east of Astoria on the Columbia River and on a competing project in Coos Bay. Backers of a third LNG project on delivered 21 binders to federal energy regulators containing their application to build a terminal on a spit adjacent to Warrenton, west of Astoria.
Ted Sickinger, The Oregonian, 13-Oct-2008
... more
15 Oct 2008
Gas well emissions drawing scrutiny
In the daylight, the storage tank looks innocuous. It’s the same sort of tank that can be found next to any oil or gas well in the West, and there are hundreds like it in Fort Worth.
Mike Lee, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12-Oct-2008
... more
13 Oct 2008
Investigation: Ike environmental toll apparent
Hurricane Ike's winds and massive waves destroyed oil platforms, tossed storage tanks and punctured pipelines. The environmental damage only now is becoming apparent: At least a half million gallons of crude oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico and the marshes, bayous and bays of Louisiana and Texas.
Dina Cappiello, Frank Bass & Cain Burdeau, WWLTV.com, 05-Oct-2008
... more
06 Oct 2008
'Dirty oil' bill all bark and no bite
If you didn't know better, you'd think all the high-fiving by environmentalists this week over the apparent enshrinement of Section 526 in the U.S. Energy and Independence Security Act will: (a) bring the development of Alberta's oilsands to a grinding halt or (b) keep our so-called "dirty oil" from being shipped into the United States. We're here to tell you not to panic. It won't do either.
Charles Frank, Calgary Herald, 27-Sep-2008
Alberta blindsided by U.S. fuel law
Paula Simons, Edmonton Journal, 16-Sep-2008
Section 526
... more
27 Sep 2008
Harper export bombshell leaves oilpatch puzzled
Oilpatch insiders are taking a wait-and-see approach to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's bombshell announcement his government would move to restrict bitumen and oilsands exports to countries that don't limit greenhouse gases.
Shaun Polczer, Calgary Herald, 27-0Sep-2008
... more
27 Sep 2008
Two US LNG importers seek permission to export LNG
"due to global LNG market conditions, U.S. natural gas demand and prices do not currently support the importation of LNG into the U.S."
... more
10 Sep 2008
Harris upbeat on Gateway
Harris said six teams in BC and Alberta are working with 50 First Nations along the route to sign consultation agreements. And by the end of August Enbridge will have signed 10 agreements to fund research and consultation capacity with First Nations. “We are going to be offering an equity package to First Nations. We’re thinking 10 per cent,” Harris said.
Kitimat Sentinel, 20-Aug-2008
... more
26 Aug 2008
Moscow transforms real-world game of RISK
The Russian assault in Georgia is about Moscow's determination to control energy supplies in the Caucasus and strengthen its position as a near-monopoly supplier to Europe.
Shawn McCarthy, Matthew Campbell, Globe and Mail, 15-Aug-2008
It is largely about oil pipelines
Editorial, Globe and Mail, 12-Aug-2008
True lies and foreign wars
Rick Salutin, Globe and Mail, 15-Aug-2008
... more
16 Aug 2008
The Stakes Could Not Be Higher. Everything Hinges on Stopping Coal
Last year Al Gore remarked: “I can’t understand why there aren’t rings of young people blocking bulldozers and preventing them from constructing coal-fired power plants.” Everything now hinges on stopping coal.
by George Monbiot, The Guardian, 05-Aug_2008
... more
06 Aug 2008
Gas pipeline gigantism
Ground was broken in Kazakhstan last week for construction of that country's segment of a natural gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to China, set to be the longest and most expensive such pipeline in the world
Robert M Cutler, Asia Times, 17-Jul-2008
... more
02 Aug 2008
Russia takes control of Turkmen (world?) gas
From the details coming out of Ashgabat in Turkmenistan and Moscow over the weekend, it is apparent that the great game over Caspian energy has taken a dramatic turn. In the geopolitics of energy security, nothing like this has happened before. The United States has suffered a huge defeat in the race for Caspian gas.
M K Bhadrakumar, Asia Times, 29-Jul-2008
... more
02 Aug 2008
Life cycle GHG emissions from LNG equal to coal: study
A study published by Carnegie Mellon University compared the greenhouse gas emissions from the full life-cycle of coal, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and synthetic natural gas produced from coal.
... more
02 Aug 2008
Betting on carbon capture
Alberta's climate change policy is under increasing global scrutiny. With oilsands companies ramping up production and the province still heavily reliant on burning coal for power, greenhouse gas emissions will almost double from 2005 levels by 2050 without aggressive action. To solve this problem, the Stelmach government is betting heavily on carbon capture and storage (CCS), a promising but largely undeveloped technology.
Archie McLean, The Edmonton Journal, 28-Jul-2008
... more
29 Jul 2008
Wind: The Power. The Promise. The Business
It's an ordinary day on Pete Ferrell's 7,000-acre ranch in the Flint Hills of southeastern Kansas. Meaning, it's really windy. When he drives out of the canyon where the ranch buildings nestle, the truck rocks from the gusts. Up on top of a ridge, surrounded by a sweeping vista of low hills, rippling grass, and towering wind turbines that make you feel like a mouse scampering underfoot, Ferrell carefully navigates into a spot where the wind won't damage the doors when they're opened.
Steve Hamm, Business Week, 03-Jul-2008
... more
25 Jul 2008
Is the EU Turning its Back on Biofuels?
The storm of critique against biofuels may finally be having some effect. Even as the European Commission remains true to its goal of increasing the use of biofuels, others aren't so sure. The European Parliament is trying to put on the brakes.
Charles Hawley, Der Spiegel, 07-Jul-2008
... more
25 Jul 2008
Why the Gulf Is Switching to Coal
The Persian Gulf may be sitting atop massive oil reserves. But with prices for crude skyrocketing, it makes more sense to sell it than to burn it. Instead, the Gulf is turning to coal for its energy needs -- to the detriment of the climate.
Wolfgang Reuter, Der Spiegel, 02-Jul-2008
Skyward oil stokes a coal-fired future
Neil Reynolds, Globe and Mail, 18-Jul-2008
... more
25 Jul 2008
Suncor's coke solution? Ahoy, Port Alberta
The massive pyramids of coal on Prince Rupert's Ridley Island are anonymous, but one has a story to tell. It belongs to oil sands giant Suncor Energy Inc., which is already shipping a half-million tonnes a year through Prince Rupert to Asian and Mexican ports. The coal - to be more precise, petroleum coke - comes from its upgrading operations in Fort McMurray, Alta.
Patrick Brethour, Globe and Mail, 25-Jul-2008
... more
25 Jul 2008
Natural gas, oil abound in the Arctic, study says
Nearly a quarter of the world's undiscovered petroleum resources lie in the Arctic, confirms a U.S. study that should only intensify pressure on countries such as Canada to stake their claims to the Far North.
Andrew Mayeda, Canwest News Service,24-Jul-2008
... more
24 Jul 2008
Canadian energy policy "Made in USA"
When Americans want something that lies in another country, the consequences for that other country can be severe.
Linda McQuaig, www.StraightGoods.ca, 22-Jul-2008
... more
23 Jul 2008
Calgary upstart to turn coal into liquid fuel
Alter NRG Corp. is looking to develop a project in Alberta that would turn coal into liquid petroleum fuels. The $4.5-billion plant, which will produce 40,000 barrels a day of fuel by 2014, would be the first of its kind in Canada.
Norval Scott, Globe and Mail, 23-Jul-2008
... more
23 Jul 2008
Unimak Pass rescue vessels far in future
Carrying cargo from Toyotas to sneakers, thousands of ships pass through the remote, stormy Aleutian archipelago each year, transiting the Great Circle shipping route between Asian and U.S. ports. The traffic through Unimak Pass, a 28-mile-long corridor through the Aleutian chain, is roughly double the amount of vessel traffic to all Alaska ports combined
Elizabeth Bluemink, Anchorage Daily News, 18-Jul-2008
... more
22 Jul 2008
Matt Simmons and the Five Psychological Stage of Grief
Matt Simmons is the author of ‘Twighlight in the Desert’, is a leading US investment banker, and a long-term advocate of the peak oil argument. When he was asked to go on CNBC’s ‘Fast Money’ to discuss the high oil prices, he clearly stunned the presenters with his forthright analysis of society’s current perilous situation.
CNBC Fast Money, 30-Jun-2008
TransitionCulture.org, 15-Jul-2008
... more
16 Jul 2008
Undersea volcanic rocks offer vast repository for GHGs
Vast amounts of greenhouse gases could be stashed under the ocean floor from British Columbia to California say scientists, who have ambitious plans to start testing deep-sea disposal.
Scientists tout Pacific floor for massive carbon capture project
Margaret Munro, Canwest News Service, 14-Jul-2008
Undersea volcanic rocks offer vast repository for greenhouse gas
Public Release, Earth Institute at Columbia University, 14-Jul-2008
... more
16 Jul 2008
Alberta Pledges $2 Billion For CCS
The Alberta government will ante up $2 billion for three to five large-scale carbon capture and storage projects that it says will store up to five million tonnes of cabon dioxide by 2015 -- a move lauded by industry.
Paul Wells, Nickle's Daily Oil Bulletin, 10-Jul-2008
... more
10 Jul 2008
Carbon capture and storage: Grave concerns
The federal government, which has wasted $6 billion on nearly half a dozen failed programs to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, now has a dumber idea: to spend three times that amount to bury the problem altogether.
Andrew Nikiforuk, Canadian Business, 21-Jul-2008
... more
08 Jul 2008
B.C. Says Its Committed To Major Northern B.C. Project
The British Columbia government says it is inviting the private sector to partner with it and build the proposed $400-million Northwest Transmission Line (NTL). Meanwhile in another energy infrastructure development in the north, the Pacific Trail Pipelines Limited Partnership received an environmental assessment certificate for the Kitimat-Summit Lake project.
Nickle's Energy Analects, 02-Jul-2008
... more
03 Jul 2008
Weaning from Fossil Fuels
We are about to take an amazing step into the future by weaning ourselves off Nature’s abundant breasts and using our own intelligence to meet our energy needs.Guy Dauncey, Common Ground Magazine, Jul-2008
... more
01 Jul 2008
This economic panic is pushing the planet
right back down the agenda
Almost everyone seems to agree: governments now face a choice between saving the planet and saving the economy. As recession looms, the political pressure to abandon green policies intensifies.
George Monbiot, The Guardian, 01-Jul-2008
... more
30 Jun 2008
More pipeline capacity needed
Capacity is tight on Canada's crude oil pipelines, but as much as $23 billion in new lines could be on the way to help supply current and as-yet-untapped markets, the country's energy regulator said Thursday.
Reuters, 27-Jun-2008
... more
30 Jun 2008
Suppose Alberta had this huge surplus - wait, it does!
If oil prices remain high, or go higher, the huge gap between Alberta's revenues [and revenues in the other provinces] will widen every year. Until now, almost no one in the country dared mention this gap.
Jeffrey Simpson, Globe and Mail, 27-Jun-2008
... more
30 Jun 2008
Oil disquiet on the Western front
North American media take for granted how much oil undermines democracy, powers our food system, feeds our drug-addled medical industry and concentrates our cities like bovine feedlots
Andrew Nikiforuk, Globe and Mail, 28-Jun-2008
... more
29 Jun 2008
Envisioning a world of $200-a-barrel oil
As forecasters take that possibility more seriously, they describe fundamental shifts in the way we work, where we live and how we spend our free time.
Martin Zimmerman, Los Angeles Times, 28-Jun-2008
... more
29 Jun 2008
Global Warming Twenty Years Later
Tipping Points Near: Today, I will testify to Congress about global warming, 20 years after my June 23, 1988 testimony, which alerted the public that global warming was under way. There are striking similarities between then and now, but one big difference. The difference is that now we have used up all slack in the schedule for actions needed to defuse the global warming time bomb.
James Hansen, www.worldwatch.org, 23-Jun-2008
... more
24 Jun 2008
Put oil firm chiefs on trial,
says leading climate change scientist
James Hansen, one of the world's leading climate scientists, will today call for the chief executives of large fossil fuel companies to be put on trial for high crimes against humanity and nature, accusing them of actively spreading doubt about global warming in the same way that tobacco companies blurred the links between smoking and cancer.
Ed Pilkington, The Guardian, 23-Jun-2008
... more
23 Jun 2008
Canada tries to cool oil price anxiety
Canada is pushing for more transparency in global energy markets at a special meeting of producing countries in Saudi Arabia, Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn said Sunday.
Shaun Polczer, Calgary Herald, 22-Jun-2008
... more
23 Jun 2008
Bye, Bubble? The Price of Oil May Be Peaking
It's perilous to call the top in a booming market, but the price of oil may be peaking in the current range of $130 to $140 a barrel.
Andrew Bary, Barron's, 23-Jun-2008
... more
23 Jun 2008
A Green Coal Baron?
Even in this era of green evangelism, Jim Rogers is a genuine anomaly. As the head of Duke Energy, with its dozens of coal-burning electric plants scattered around the Midwest and the Carolinas, he represents one of the country’s biggest sources of greenhouse gases. Yet Rogers is also one of the electricity industry’s most vocal environmentalists.
Clive Thompson, New York Times, 22-Jun-2008
... more
22 Jun 2008
Don't let the right carbon policy get lost in the screams
Yesterday, Mr. Dion, the Liberal Leader, showed himself to be a really serious politician about climate change, almost.
Jeffrey Simpson, Globe and Mail, 20-Jun-2008
... more
21 Jun 2008
The Big Pander to Big Oil
It was almost inevitable that a combination of $4-a-gallon gas, public anxiety and politicians eager to win votes or repair legacies would produce political pandering on an epic scale. So it has, the latest instance being President Bush's decision to ask Congress to end the federal ban on offshore oil and gas drilling along much of America's continental shelf. This is worse than a dumb idea.
Editorial, New York Times, 19-Jun-2008
... more
19 Jun 2008
U.S. oil law 'won't affect Canada'
American legislation to bar so-called "dirty" fuels doesn't apply to Canadian oilsands, a leading U.S. senator said yesterday.
Shaun Polczer, Canwest News Service, 12-Jun-2008
... more
12 Jun 2008
Questions flow from gas line proposal
OK, listen up. Are you baffled by this whole natural gas pipeline thing? Are you wondering why Alaska legislators and Gov. Sarah Palin are stuck in Juneau in June instead of out fishing for salmon? Don't have any idea who TransCanada is, or how "Denali" could be anything but a mountain?
Wesley Loy, Anchorage Daily News, 08-Jun-2008
... more
09 Jun 2008
In Houston, all eyes are on Canada
Americans may show little appreciation or awareness at times of Canada as their top energy supplier, but in this global oil industry centre, Canada is hot.
Claudia Cattaneo, Canwest News Service, 05-Jun-2008
... more
05 Jun 2008
Protect Waterton-Glacier park, groups implore UN
Several leading environmental groups in the U.S. and Canada have written to the United Nations asking that proposed energy developments along British Columbia's Flathead River be investigated as threats to a World Heritage Site.
Mark Hume, Globe and Mail, 04-Jun-2008
... more
04 Jun 2008
Obama opposes plan for mine on B.C. river
A wild British Columbia river has become part of the political landscape in the U.S. presidential campaign.
Mark Hume, Globe and Mail, 03-Jun-2008
... more
03 Jun 2008
Rockefeller Rebellion Turns Up Heat on Exxon
Two decades ago, Neva Goodwin Rockefeller grew so tired of all the baggage that came with her fabled family name that she changed it and became plain Neva Goodwin. But now, Ms. Goodwin, 63 years old, is embracing the powerful Rockefeller name as she publicly challenges the management of Exxon Mobil Corp., successor to the oil company founded by her great-grandfather, John D. Rockefeller.
Leslie Eaton & Russell Gold, Wall Street Journal, 24-May-2008
... more
27 May 2008
Enbridge spills oil in Wisconsin
The Wisconsin State Department of Natural Resources is alleging that a Canadian company is responsible for more than 100 environmental violations related to the construction of a 321-mile pipeline spanning much of the state. State says pipeline builder damaged streams, wetlands
Lee Bergquist, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 24-May-2008
Oil spill tainted water table
Lee Bergquist, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 15-Feb-2008
Oil group cleans spill in Clark County
Thomas Content, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 03-Jan-2008
... more
26 May 2008
Dumb as We Wanna Be
It is great to see that we finally have some national unity on energy policy. Unfortunately, the unifying idea is so ridiculous, so unworthy of the people aspiring to lead our nation, it takes your breath away. Hillary Clinton has decided to line up with John McCain in pushing to suspend the federal excise tax on gasoline, 18.4 cents a gallon, for this summer's travel season.
Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times, 30-Apr-2008
... more
03 May 2008
Enbridge considers re-reversing oil flow
and pipeline to west coast
Enbridge Inc. is looking at moving oilsands crude to the U.S. Northeast and Eastern Canada by re-reversing the flow of Line 9 to Montreal from Sarnia, Ontario or building a new pipeline. Enbridge, the country's second-largest pipeline operator, switched direction of Line 9's oil flow a decade ago so it could ship imported oil into central Canada.
Energy Processing Canada, Mar/Apr 2008
... more
30 Apr 2008
Those who control oil and water will control the world
At present, a race for the world's resources is underway that resembles the Great Game that was played in the decades leading up to the First World War. Now, as then, the most coveted prize is oil and the risk is that as the contest heats up it will not always be peaceful. But this is no simple rerun of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, there are powerful new players and it is not only oil that is at stake.
John Gray, The Observer, 30-Mar-2008
... more
30 Mar 2008
Partners to study nuclear role in oilsands
Use of atomic power for oilsands development will be investigated by a research partnership, announced today, between the Alberta and United States governments.
Gordon Jaremko, Edmonton Journal, 28-Mar-2008
... more
28 Mar 2008
Lessons from Germany's energy renaissance
The solar energy market needs priming. Arise Technologies, a Canadian company, would like to make a buck. The ever-so-generous Germans tracked it down and made an offer it couldn't refuse – free money, and lots of it – as long as Arise promised to build a PV factory on German soil.
Eric Reguly, Globe and Mail, 21-Mar-2008
... more
23 Mar 2008
French utility eyes Spanish energy market
The French utility Electricite de France SA has had exploratory talks with the Spanish construction company ACS and is interested in the Spanish energy market, a spokeswoman for EDF said Friday.
Globe and Mail, 21-Mar-2008
... more
23 Mar 2008
The Rising Price of Coal
As the global energy/climate crisis deepens, coal has become the starkest symbol and most telling measure of our predicament.
Kelpie Wilson, truthout.org, 21-Mar-2008
... more
22 Mar 2008
States’ Battles Over Energy
Grow Fiercer With U.S. in a Policy Gridlock
In the absence of clear federal mandates for emissions from smokestack industries, states that have been proving grounds for new environmental approaches to energy are becoming battlegrounds as well.
Felicity Barringer, New York Times, 20-Mar-2008
... more
22 Mar 2008
Energy giant eyes $5B hydro project
Energy and pipeline giant TransCanada Corp., along with ATCO Power Ltd., is eyeing the development of Alberta's last remaining major hydroelectric prospect, on the Slave River -- a potentially $5-billion project supplying emissions-free power.
Geoffrey Scotton, Calgary Herald, 20-Mar-2008
... more
20 Mar 2008
Australia plans carbon storage under ocean
Australia plans to allow greenhouse gas emissions to be stored in the ocean floor around the island continent, with exploration for suitable sites possibly starting in 2008.
Michael Perry, Globe and Mail, 19-Mar-2008
... more
19 Mar 2008
Alberta's nuclear reactor plan doubles to four
Bruce Power, a private sector consortium that operates a nuclear site in Ontario, revealed a bold $10-billion plan to build as many as four reactors and bring nuclear power to Alberta, a province that is run on fossil fuels.
Shawn McCarthy, The Globe and Mail, 14-Mar-2008
... more
17 Mar 2008
U.S. may protect oilsands
In response to concerns that new U.S. environmental legislation will drastically impact development of Canada's oilsands, Washington is considering classifying oil produced from the region as "conventional" fuel rather than subject it to the stringent standards expected of "alternative" fuels.
Claudia Cattaneo, National Post, 11-Mar-2008
Put carbon burden on consumers, petro leaders say
Oil industry leaders called for a national carbon tax on consumers Monday to help pay for building new greenhouse-gas disposal systems.
Gordon Jaremko, National Post, 10-Mar-2008
... more
13 Mar 2008
Forest Grove passes resolution against LNG terminals
Forest Grove has became the first Oregon city to pass a resolution opposing construction of liquefied natural gas terminals near the mouth of the Columbia River and pipelines to Central Oregon.
Jill Rehkopf Smith, The Oregonian, 11-Mar-2008
... more
12 Mar 2008
Enbridge mulls reversal of pipeline
Enbridge Inc. is looking at moving oil sands crude to the U.S. Northeast and Eastern Canada by reversing the flow of one of its pipelines or building a new one, its chief executive officer said Monday.
Reuters, Globe and Mail, 10-Mar-2008
... more
11 Mar 2008
SaskPower tries retrofit route
Saskatchewan's provincially owned utility said Wednesday it will spend $758-million, on top of $240-million provided by this week's federal budget, to rebuild an aging power plant into North America's first clean-coal unit that will capture and store carbon dioxide.
Shawn McCarthy, Globe and Mail, 27-Feb-2008
Clean coal
James Wood, Saskatchewan News Network, 27-Feb-2008
... more
29 Feb 2008
Alaska town sues 24 energy companies on climate change
Village sues energy firms for climate change
Elizabeth Bluemink, Anchorage Daily News, 27-Feb-2008
Alaska town sues 24 energy companies on climate change
Timothy Gardner, Reuters/Guardian, 27-Feb-2008
... more
28 Feb 2008
Stelmach wants full report on oilsands moratorium
The Alberta Conservatives will not decide for months on a request from several major oilsands companies to halt development leases in three huge and environmentally sensitive swaths of the oilsands region, Conservative Leader Ed Stelmach said today.
Jason Markusoff & Renata D'Aleisio, Calgary Herald, 25-Feb-2008
... more
26 Feb 2008
AECL: Canada's nuclear fallout
He was a newcomer to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, a refugee from the Crown-owned nuclear facility at Chalk River who brought with him a sparkling bit of inside knowledge.
Jessica Leeder, Globe and Mail, 23-Feb-2008
... more
24 Feb 2008
Enbridge gets pipeline approval from NEB
This week, the National Energy Board has gave its approval to the $2-billion Alberta Clipper oil pipeline proposed by Enbridge Inc. The pipeline will stretch 1078 km from Alberta to Wisconsin.
Globe and Mail, 23-Feb-2008
On Feb 20, the NEB approved Enbridge's $2.2 billion Southern Lights diluent pipeline from the US Midwest to northern Alberta.
Globe and Mail, 21-Feb-2008
... more
24 Feb 2008
Enbridge revives $4-billion pipeline
Enbridge Inc. has lined up enough support from a clutch of Asian refiners and Canadian oil producers to revive its $4-billion plan to build a pipeline from the oil sands to the West Coast, just months after China pulled out of the project.
Norval Scott, Globe and Mail, 22-Feb-2008
... more
24 Feb 2008
Water Provides an Ocean of Opportunity for Clean Energy
As researchers continue their search for new sources of clean energy, their attention has turned to the Gulf Stream. Rushing at 8.5 billion gallons per second, the Gulf Stream represents a potential non-stop flow of new energy.
RedOrbit News, 14-Feb-2008
Oceans Eyed As New Energy Source
Brian Skoloff, AP, 14-Feb-2008
... more
15 Feb 2008
Oilpatch profits to hit $23B this year
Record high oil prices and rising production from the oilsands should see profits in Canada's oilpatch hitting almost $23 billion this year, the Conference Board said Thursday.
CBC News, 14-Feb-2008
... more
14 Feb 2008
Groups say federal review of Keystone line is inadequate
The TransCanada Keystone Pipeline shouldn’t have a final go-ahead yet because a federal environmental study failed to heed the increased global warming caused by the “dirty” tar sands oil the line would carry, environmental groups said Wednesday.
Janell Cole, The Dickinson (ND) Press, 14-Feb-2008
... more
14 Feb 2008
Proportionality
There is a strange clause in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that applies to only one country, Canada. The clause states that Canada must continue to supply the same proportion of its oil and gas resources to the US in future years as it does now. That’s rather a good deal for the US.
Energy Bulletin, 7 Feb 2008
... more
08 Feb 2008
When oil crisis hits, fantasyland will become nightmare
IN 1980, furious Albertans slapped bumper stickers on their cars stating "Let the eastern bastards freeze in the dark" to protest Ottawa's "Canada First" National Energy Program. Every federal government since has ceded national energy policy to the provinces and, by proxy, to the North American marketplace. This appalling abdication of leadership leaves Canada completely exposed to the supply crisis experts predict is inevitable once the world enters the dark and uncertain time of Peak Oil.
Frances Russell, Winnipeg Free Press, 06-Feb-2008
... more
06 Feb 2008
Suncor presses ahead with Voyageur expansion
Barely hours after reaching an agreement with the province on royalties, Suncor Energy Inc. on Wednesday pushed ahead with its $20.6-billion Voyageur oilsands expansion.
Shaun Polczer, Calgary Herald, 31-Jan-2008
... more
31 Jan 2008
B.C. firm gets U.S. funds for ethanol plant
A Vancouver bioenergy company has been awarded up to $30 million by the U.S. Department of Energy to build a small-scale biorefinery in Colorado.
Gordon Hamilton, Vancouver Sun, 31-Jan-2008
... more
31 Jan 2008
Oil Demand, the Climate and the Energy Ladder
Royal Dutch Shell's Jeroen van der Veer: The crux of the matter is, if the people say, “Hang on, we are really concerned about the climate and we’d better do something on carbon emissions,” that is in the end the powerful force which politicians and companies cannot ignore. And I think we are past that point.
Jad Mouawad, New York Times, 19-Jan-2008
... more
19 Jan 2008
Pipeline rivals race to U.S. Gulf Coast
The race is on to the U.S. Gulf Coast to ship Alberta oilsands to Texas, but it could be a case of pride coming up the backstretch for two old rivals.
Shaun Polczer, Calgary Herald, 19-Jan-2008
... more
19 Jan 2008
Elk Valley Coal pleads for competitive freight rates
British Columbia's biggest mining operation is describing itself as a railway monopoly "captive" in need of freight rate relief in a new submission to a federal competition review panel.
Scott Simpson, Vancouver Sun, 18-Jan-2008
... more
19 Jan 2008
The great coal hole
There used to be a joke about taking coal to Newcastle but these days the laughing stock is getting the stuff out.
David Strahan, New Scientist, 17-Jan-2008
... more
17 Jan 2008
Pipeline to B.C. back on track
Asian demand for Alberta crude makes 1,300-km route to B.C. port feasible, Enbridge president says
Gordon Jaremko, The Edmonton Journal, 29-Dec-2008
... more
17 Jan 2008
How coal can power your portfolio in 2008
Patricia Mohr, commodities market specialist at Bank of Nova Scotia is calling for coking coal prices to jump by 49 per cent in 2008. Ms. Mohr expects thermal prices to climb too.
Conor McCreery, Globe Investor Magazine Online, 02-Jan-2008
... more
12 Jan 2008
TransCanada's Keystone pipeline reaches milestone in U.S.
TransCanada Corp. says its Keystone pipeline partnership has received a favourable assessment from U.S. regulators that asserts the project will have “limited” negative effect on the environment.
Globe and Mail, 11-Jan-2008
... more
11 Jan 2008
Environmentalists target oilsands customers
The Natural Resources Defense Council, a powerful American environmental lobby group, launched a campaign Thursday against airlines using fuel derived from the Alberta tar sands, using the same tactics that proved so successful in limiting clearcut logging in B.C. rainforests.
Gordon Hamilton, Vancouver Sun, 10-Jan-2008
Seeking Friendlier Skies
Natural Resources Defense Council, 10-Jan-2008
Under-Mining the Environment
The Oil Sands Report Card
Pembina Institute & WWF, 10-Jan-2008
... more
11 Jan 2008
Nova Scotia to create test centre for tidal power
Nova Scotia is creating a centre to test tidal power projects in the Bay of Fundy.
Globe and Mail, 08-Jan-2008
N.S. to harness Fundy tide power
The Chronicle Herald, 08-Jan-2008
Parrsboro mayor hopes to turn tide
Tom McCoag, Chronicle Herald, 08-Jan-2008
... more
08 Jan 2008
Nuclear watchdog president blasts Lunn over letter
The president of the Nuclear Safety Commission is accusing Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn of improper interference with the agency.
Globe and Mail, 08-Jan-2008
... more
08 Jan 2008
AECL waits anxiously as Britain considers its nuclear future
Britain's government is expected this week to give the go-ahead for new nuclear reactors in that country, a move that could boost the fortunes of beleaguered Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.
Richard Blackwell, Globe and Mail, 07-Jan-2008
... more
08 Jan 2008
The $100 prize
As one of the world's foremost experts on energy, particularly oil and gas, along with geopolitics, Daniel Yergin is sought out for his insight on the dynamics of world crude and natural gas markets and their impact on the economic and political sphere.
Geoffrey Scotton, Calgary Herald, 06-Jan-2008
... more
07 Jan 2008
Alaska picks TransCanada pipeline bid
ransCanada Corp.'s proposal to build a massive natural gas pipeline from Alaska to Canada is the only one that will be officially considered by the state, Gov. Sarah Palin said on Friday.
Alaska picks TransCanada pipeline bid
David Ebner, Globe and Mail, 04-Jan-2008
Gas pipeline applicants pared to one
Jeannette J. Lee, Anchorage Daily News, 04-Jan-2008
AGIA Completeness Review Finalized
News Release, Governor Sarah Palin, 04-Jan-2008
... more
04 Jan 2008
California Sues EPA Over Emissions Rules
California, joined by 15 other states led by New York, sued the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday over its refusal to allow the state to set its own, tougher vehicle-emissions standards to control greenhouse gases and combat global warming.
Keith B. Richburg, Washington Post, 03-Jan-2008
... more
03 Jan 2008
Did Hydro-Québec miscalculate?
Jean Charest inaugurated Hydro-Québec's newest generating station, the $1.5-billion Péribonka IV project in the Saguenay, with the same boast Quebec premiers have been using on their subjects for nearly half a century.
Konrad Yakabuski, Globe and Mail, 03-Jan-2007
... more
03 Jan 2008
Clean energy attractive
Investment in clean energy worldwide rose by a third last year to $117 billion US, according to a report by London-based New Energy Finance.
Vancouver Sun, 03-Jan-2008
... more
03 Jan 2008
Dialing it down
Most pundits see weakening activity levels in the gas-conscious Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in 2008, as oil prices stay high, gas prices remain depressed, and winter weather continues to be a non-factor
Paul Stastny, Oilweek Magazine, Jan 2008
... more
03 Jan 2008
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