Economics

Such an article as the one below is a very good thing to see, in a certain sense. It means, of course, that stage one & two of social action against the tar sands have now been passed: stage one is they ignore you, and two is they ridicule you. Three, of course-- so goes the old saying, anyhow-- is that we are violently opposed.

If this is not a set-up by the RCMP and/or associated folks, then the bomber is a moron. Either way, this will be used to come after dissent, especially mere moments after the announcement that security costs wold go up five times the planned amount for 2010. The need is for "security" forces to have something to be "secure" from.

--M

Two people reportedly hurt in pipeline blast near Fort St. John
Canwest News Service
February 20, 2009

Damage caused to a natural gas pipeline is seen east of Dawson Creek in this October 12, 2008 photo.
Photograph by: Canwest News Service

Baker Lake hunters, elders oppose uranium mine
"Like part of their spirit."
February 20, 2009
JOHN BIRD

Joan Scottie was on the front lines 20 years ago when the community of Baker Lake said an historic "no" to uranium mining - and she's still fighting the same battle today.

But this time, key Inuit organizations have switched sides.

"I'm frustrated with our aboriginal organizations," Scottie said. "They are the ones who are supposed to represent us. Instead, they are getting revenue in millions of dollars from the mining companies for our hunting grounds."

INTERVIEW-
NASA's Hansen concerned about Canada's oil sands
Wed Feb 18, 2009 5:41pm GMT

By Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent

WASHINGTON, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Canada's oil sands are an environmental "wild card," NASA's James Hansen said in an interview before President Barack Obama's trip to Ottawa, where energy and climate change will be on the agenda.

As director of the U.S. space agency's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City, with a focus on climate change, Hansen has long opposed the burning of oil, gas and coal for their contribution to global warming.

Canada’s Tar-Sands Oil Can Be ‘Clean,’ Obama Says
By Jim Efstathiou Jr.

Feb. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Oil extracted from tar sands in Canada can be made a clean energy source, and the U.S. will work with its northern neighbor to develop the technology, President Barack Obama said.

Funding encourages Baker Lake residents to comment on Areva proposal
Last Updated: Monday, February 16, 2009
CBC News

Some last-minute funding helped about 70 people in Baker Lake, Nunavut, give a regulatory board their thoughts on a uranium mine proposal in the area.

The proposal by Areva Resources Canada Inc. is undergoing a screening by the Nunavut Impact Review Board. The board has extended its deadline for accepting public comments to Feb. 18, at the request of the territorial government.

Oilsands producers gird for Obama’s Canada visit
By Ayesha Rascoe, Reuters
February 17, 2009

WASHINGTON -- Canada’s oilsands industry, battered by collapsing oil prices, also faces the prospect of ballooning costs as the United States and Canada prepare to discuss energy security and efforts to fight global warming.

When U.S. President Barack Obama visits Ottawa Thursday, energy will be a key topic in his talks with Canada Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who often touts Canada as an emerging energy superpower due to its massive oilsands resources.

Dirtier oil sands Coming

By SHAWN BELL, SRJ Reporter 17.FEB.09

The Alberta government has tried sneaking through a policy allowing the oilsands to get even dirtier, according to the Pembina Institute, an Alberta environmental think-tank.
The new policy allows in-situ oilsands operations to burn bitumen, petroleum coke or asphaltenes instead of natural gas to produce steam, processes that increase air emissions by 40 to 66 per cent. The policy was posted to the Alberta Environment website on Dec. 23, 2008, with a deadline for public feedback set for Feb. 13, 2009.

MacKenzie Pipeline one step closer

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Backers of a proposed natural gas pipeline down the Mackenzie Valley in the Northwest Territories have received some good news.

Imperial Oil has worked out a tentative deal on land access with the one remaining aboriginal stake holder not yet on board. The deal still has to be ratified by Dehcho First Nation communities, which cover about 40 per cent of the pipeline's route, in the southwest corner of the terriroties.

Dirty Tar Sands in Canada to Test Obama Green Goals
By Jim Efstathiou Jr.

Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Petroleum extracted from tar sands in Canada may provide the first foreign-policy test for President Barack Obama’s environmental agenda.

U.S. and Canadian conservationists have called on Obama to reject any bid to exempt the oil from proposed climate-protection rules when he visits Canada Prime Minister Stephen Harper this week in Ottawa, his first meeting with a head of government.