Big Rail Cites Bin Laden, Al Qaeda to Fend Off Oil-by-Rail Route Transparency
While many states around the U.S. have released information to the public about the frequency and routes of trains carrying oil obtained from hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) in North Dakota’s Bakken Shale basin, holdouts still remain. Why the delay? Homeland security concerns, claim some companies. In an ongoing Maryland court case over the issue of transparency for in-state […]
The Monckton Files: Threatwatch 1 by Barry Bickmore
This is a guest post by Barry Bickmore, a long-time chronicler of the misdeeds and misdirections of Lord Christopher Monckton. One of the truly amusing facets of being a Monckton-o-phile like myself is watching His Lordship veritably explode in a barrage of bombastic threats when he is cornered… or even when he’s passing random people […]
Leaders Must Put People Before Politics: David Suzuki
This is a guest post by David Suzuki. When we elect people to office, we give them power to make and enact decisions on our behalf. They should have a vision that extends beyond the next election and the latest Dow Jones average — to our children and grandchildren. We expect our leaders to have a clear […]
Court: Key Environmental Law Doesn't Apply to Part of Enbridge Keystone XL "Clone"
A U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has ruled that Enbridge’s 600-mile-long Flanagan South Pipeline, a Keystone XL “clone,” is legally cleared to proceed opening for business in October. Approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers via a controversial regulatory mechanism called Nationwide Permit 12 (NWP 12), Judge Kentanji Brown Jackson, an Obama-appointed […]
Report Reveals Cost Cutting Measures At Heart Of Lac-Megantic Oil Train Disaster
Today the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) released its final report on the July 6th, 2013 train derailment in Lac-Megantic, Quebec. The report produced a strong reaction from Keith Stewart, Greenpeace Canada’s Climate and Energy Campaign coordinator. “This report is a searing indictment of Transport Canada’s failure to protect the public from a company that […]
Major Disasters Linked to Extreme Weather, Climate and Water Hazards On the Rise
Recently published data collected by the World Meteorological Organisation shows there were close to five times as many weather- and climate-change-related disasters in the first decade of this century than in the 1970s. As many as 1.94 million people lost their lives due to these catastrophic weather events between 1970 and 2012, which cost $2.4 trillion […]
The Oilsands Cancer Story Part 3: The Spotlight Turns on Fort Chip Doctor
This is the third installment in a three-part series on Dr. John O’Connor, the family physician to first identify higher-than-average cancer rates and rare forms of cancer in communities downstream of the Alberta oilsands. Part 3: The Spotlight Turns On Fort Chip Doctor After the story of Fort Chip’s health problems broke, Health Canada sent physicians […]
Investor Call: Enbridge's Keystone XL Clone Opens in October, Rail Facility to Follow
In a recent quarter two call for investors, Enbridge Inc executives said the company’s “Keystone XL” clone — the combination of the Flanagan South and Seaway Twin pipelines — will open for business by October. As previously reported by DeSmogBlog, Enbridge has committed a “silent coup” of sorts, ushering in its own Alberta to Port Arthur, Texas […]
Swapping Red Tape for Caution Tape: Why B.C. Can Expect More Mount Polleys
As we pull up to the mouth of the Hazeltine Creek, where billions of litres of mining waste from the Imperial Metals Mount Polley mine spilled into Quesnel Lake on August 4th, I’m thinking to myself what numerous locals have recently said to me: this shouldn’t have happened. All of the warning signs were present that […]
Fuse to the Carbon Bomb: Keystone XL Much Worse for Climate Than Obama Admin Estimated
Last week, supporters of the Keystone XL pipeline got all worked up about a study that purported to find that the delay in approving the project has actually increased greenhouse gas emissions. The narrowly-focused study was based on faulty assumptions (that the tar sands would always find a way to market) and cherry-picked data (disregarding […]