Economics

N.D. Oil Pipeline Should Be Rerouted
By DALE WETZEL 02.08.08, 1:55 PM ET

BISMARCK, N.D. -

Opponents of a proposed oil pipeline want North Dakota regulators to reroute it away from an aquifer, lake and forested river valley, saying the pipeline developer's efforts to safeguard against leaks are inadequate.

TransCanada Corp. (nyse: TRP - news - people ), which is developing the Keystone pipeline, has said it will install heavier pipe near the Fordville aquifer, which is six miles southwest of Park River in southern Walsh County, and close to Lake Ashtabula north of Valley City.

February 8, 2008
Biofuels Deemed a Greenhouse Threat
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL

Almost all biofuels used today cause more greenhouse gas emissions
than conventional fuels if the full emissions costs of producing these
"green" fuels are taken into account, two studies being published
Thursday have concluded.

The benefits of biofuels have come under increasing attack in recent
months, as scientists took a closer look at the global environmental
cost of their production. These latest studies, published in the
prestigious journal Science, are likely to add to the controversy.

Feb. 1, 2008

TransCanada acquisitions boost profit
$250 milion Bruce power overruns the lone dark spot in picture
CALGARY

TransCanada Corp. has seen its recent profits surge as the Calgary-based pipeline and power utility made several acquisitions and juggled a number of expensive mega-projects.

Profit for the fourth quarter was $377 million, up from $269 million. Revenue rose to $2.19 billion from $2.09 billion.

Strategic Petroleum Reserves
It's Not Nice to Let Eastern Canadians Freeze in the Dark

GORDON LAXER

The Globe and Mail
February 7, 2008 - Page A19

When Cape Bretoners were hit with a furnace-oil shortage in December as the
result of an early winter and late-arriving fuel tanker, it concentrated the
mind: With icy winter now gripping Canada, isn't it time to counter the
threat of longer and more widespread oil shortages in the near future?

Canada is usually an avid joiner of international conventions. But we're the

The temporary foreign worker programs, already a grotesque violation of the most basic, elementary labour (and human) rights, are being ramped up for the construction plans associated with Alberta's Tar Sands boom, and the Olympics set to cripple Vancouver and indigenous territories throughout BC. These TFW's are a *needed* component of all of this, thanks to the unprecedented size of the gigaproject/Tar Sands. Further, the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement [Tilma] is the facilitator of policy in Alberta being virtually the same in BC.

How to Avoid Action on Climate Change

The following is the text of Ian Angus’s keynote speech at “Smells Like Green Spirit,” a conference sponsored by the University of British Columbia Student Environment Centre, on January 19, 2008.

by Ian Angus, editor Climate and Capitalism
www.climateandcapitalism.com

Canadians are known for being modest and self-effacing. We don’t brag much, and sometimes we seem to have an inferiority complex, a belief that we do okay, but we seldom excel.

Big oil stokes the fires for the planet to burn
BP promised to go 'beyond petroleum'. But carbon remains at the heart of big energy firms
February 7, 2008 12:01 AM

There is a parallel universe in operation out there. Politicians try to negotiate a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, while business executives lay plans to expand their carbon footprint.

Saskatchewan uranium expert brings warning to eastern Ontario, western Quebec

Four city tour to reveal uranium's long-term ecological and health pain for short-term private economic gain

by Lynn Daniluk

OTTAWA - An expert on Saskatchewan's uranium mining industry will warn people against letting the industry establish itself in the Ottawa River watershed in a 5-day book tour Jan. 22-26, 2008.

This article, while interesting, has a major flaw: There is no sequestration program nor technology, and instead of dealing with the issues of Climate Change RIGHT NOW, with the means available before the next washes into the sea and hurricane hits New Orleans or elsewhere, this "plan" is precisely being taken up to *avoid* planning.

It's interesting, but the logic is not merely flawed, it's criminal.
--M

Looking for solutions to the carbon conundrum

Capitalism and Peak Oil: The Perfect Storm
by Jim Lydecker

Napa Valley Register (January 18 2008)

Americans have recently become aware of converging crises that can end life as we know it, though experts have been warning us for many years.

For example, many economists have been warning for decades of the severe consequences resulting from runaway national debt and an imbalance of trade. And the current mortgage/liquidity crisis was first discussed in the early 1990s by a number of financial experts.