Climate Change is caused by greenhouse gas emissions, in particular carbon. 40% of Canada’s emissions already come from Alberta alone, not counting the entire tar sands infrastructure across North America nor counting the projected increase in tar sands production or the infrastructure built across the continent to accommodate such increases in production. Factor it all in and you get the picture. You haven’t even burned the petrol yet.
BP shuts alternative energy HQ
• 'Beyond Petroleum' boast in doubt as clean energy boss quits
• Renewables budget will be reduced by up to £550m this year
Terry Macalister
Guardian.co.uk,
Sunday 28 June 2009
BP has shut down its alternative energy headquarters in London, accepted the resignation of its clean energy boss and imposed budget cuts in moves likely to be seen by environmental critics as further signs of the oil group moving "back to petroleum".
Separating truth from greenwashing in the West's energy export boom
By Andrea Harden-Donahue
| June 24, 2009
Reading the Saskatchewan government's news release announcing the Energy Council conference, I couldn't help but reflect on the connections with the news of a proposed Western Energy Corridor, recently reported in the Star Phoenix following the Western Governors Association (WGA) Annual Conference. While both are riddled with words like 'sustainability' and 'clean energy,' red flags are going up in seeing emerging themes that raise some serious questions.
June 26, 2009
Tar sands "as they are" provoke negative press coverage
Here's an interesting admission from the first edition of the Canada West Foundation's Oil Sands Media Monitoring Report:
China's unquenchable thirst for oil
Despite recession, the Chinese are aggressively pursuing energy assets
Shawn McCarthy and Eric Reguly
Ottawa, Rome — Globe and Mail
Jun. 27, 2009
A refinery in Singapore. Oil and gas fields in Central Asia. A pipeline in Russia. Ultradeep crude deposits off Brazil. Production wells in Libya.
And now Toronto-listed Addax Petroleum Corp., (AXC-T49.930.180.36%) with its oil fields in western Africa and Iraq's Kurdistan.
Opti's parent corporation is Ormat, the Israeli corporation that developed "orcrude"-- otherwise known in Alberta as "co-generation"-- burning the waste gunk from the bottom of a barrel of tar sands bitumen to provide energy. This would eventually be used in much of historical Palestine to develop oil shale and has been using the Long Lake plant as a laboratory to make this production happen. Long Lake officially went commercial in October of last year.
--M
OPTI sticks to plan to raise cash
DAVID EBNER // VANCOUVER
Globe and Mail
Jun. 27, 2009
Keystone pipeline: Gold mine or environmental disaster?
By WESLEY P. JAMES
The governor wants the pipeline for the jobs, county commissioners want the pipeline for the property taxes and local businesses want the pipeline for the economic activity generated by the construction and operation of the pipeline.
Which Matters Most? The Size of the Tap or the Tank?
Scitizen // Kurt Cobb
22 Jun, 2009
Energy optimists are fond of citing very large numbers for worldwide fossil fuel resources such as oil and natural gas. But they conveniently leave out the critical variable. How fast can we actually produce these resources?
What’s the Real Story Behind the Alaska Pipeline?
Written by Ruedigar Matthes
Published on June 18th, 2009
Posted in Climate Change, Editor's Choice, Natural Resources
With the spotlight shining on clean energy, the stage has been set for the U.S. to rid itself of a harmful addiction to foreign oil. The stars are aligned and the cards have been dealt. Soon we’ll have kicked the dirty habit, right?
he Politics of Bait and Switch
by Jeffrey St Clair and Joshua Frank
CounterPunch (May 21 2009)
After little more than 100 days in office, the Democrats, under the leadership of Barack Obama, have unleashed a slew of anti-environmental policies that would have enraged any reasonable conservationist during the Bush years.
UTS eyes Fort Hills options as Suncor joins group
Tue Jun 16, 2009
By Jeffrey Jones
CALGARY, Alberta, June 16 (Reuters) - UTS Energy Corp (UTS.TO) has begun to plot out new ways to develop the delayed Fort Hills oil sands project but decisions must wait until Suncor Energy Inc (SU.TO) closes its takeover of the operator, Petro-Canada (PCA.TO), UTS's chief executive said on Tuesday.
UTS, which has a 20 percent interest in the Alberta oil sands development, sees cost advantages in shifting some of the processing to Suncor's massive northern Alberta operations, CEO Will Roach said.
