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Post by clone on Oct 4, 2011 20:29:58 GMT -8
Keystone XL jobs overstated: Cornell University• Tue, Oct 04, 2011 A report released last month by Cornell University's Global Labor Institute claims that TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline will not only create fewer jobs than promised, but could destroy more jobs than it creates. The report, titled Pipe Dreams?: Jobs Gained, Jobs Lost by the Construction of Keystone XL, contains findings gathered from TransCanada's financial statements showing that the project's budget is considerably less than is being claimed, with over $3-billion already spent or committed. "The industry's US jobs claims are linked to a $7 billion KXL project budget," the report states. "However, the budget for KXL that will have a bearing on US jobs figures is dramatically lower - only around $3 to 4-billion. A lower project budget means fewer jobs." Proponents of the pipeline, including the American Petroleum Institute (API), have claimed that 20,000 construction and manufacturing jobs would be directly created over the two years the 2,700 km pipeline is built from northern Alberta to Port Arthur on the Gulf Coast of Texas. Cornell's analysts found that while the number of jobs that could be created by the construction of the pipeline is "by no means insignificant," the overall impact on unemployment will be non-existent due to the temporary nature of the jobs, the majority of which will use outside labour, leaving no long-term benefits in the surrounding communities. "The industry's claim that KXL will create 119,000 total jobs (direct, indirect, and induced) is based on a flawed and poorly documented study commissioned by TransCanada (The Perryman Group study)," the report states, noting that Perryman includes over $1-billion in spending and over 10,000 person-years of employment for a section that has already been built and is not part of Keystone XL. "The project will create no more than 2,500-4,650 temporary direct construction jobs for two years, according to TransCanada's own data supplied to the State Department," said the report. "Even if the Perryman figures were accurate, and all of the workers for the next phase of the project were hired immediately, the US seasonally adjusted unemployment rate would remain at 9.1 per cent - exactly where it is now." The Cornell institute goes beyond critiquing job generation to address what it estimates could result in negative economic impacts for the US and Canada, predicting that the price of fuel could rise in 15 states as a result of the pipeline, thus cancelling out any economic benefit implied by job creation. "KXL will divert tar sands oil now supplying Midwest refineries, so it can be sold at higher prices to the Gulf Coast and export markets," it states. "As a result, consumers in the Midwest could be paying 10 to 20 cents more per gallon for gasoline and diesel fuel. These additional costs (estimated to total $2 to 4-billion) will suppress other spending and will therefore cost jobs." API released a statement calling the Cornell report "preposterous," adding that the Keystone XL "promises to be a massive job creator, and an attempt to stop its approval is an affront to the 25 million Americans who are either unemployed or underemployed." "Three long years have gone by and it's now time to immediately put 20,000 Americans to work building this new pipeline," said API executive vice president Marty Durbin. "Obtaining energy from our friendly and reliable North American neighbor will reduce our imports from unstable regions of the world. Surely, enhancing our nation's energy security and providing thousands of new jobs has got to be in the best interest of all Americans." srj.ca/keystone-xl-jobs-overstated-cornell-university-p6564-207.htm2 September 11 Reality Check: New Keystone XL Report Blows Up Steven Chu's "Energy Security" ClaimA report released earlier this week by Oil Change International highlights just how wrong the claim is. In “Exporting Energy Security: Keystone XL Exposed” (pdf), the authors look at Energy Information Administration data, corporate disclosures from TransCanada and Valero Energy, and oil market analyst reports, and conclude that “the idea that Keystone XL will decrease America’s dependence on foreign oil is demonstrably false.” www.desmogblog.com/reality-check-new-keystone-xl-report-blows-steven-chu-s-energy-security-claim
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Post by clone on Oct 5, 2011 18:11:52 GMT -8
Three (More) Reasons to Oppose the XL Pipeline October 4, 2011 1. Lobbying As Usual <snip> The New York Times reports that an official at State Department gave “Fourth of July party invitations, subtle coaching and cheerleading, and inside information about Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton’s meetings” to the Trans Canada lobbyist in Washington. 2. State Department Hires Firm with Trans Canada Connections The State Department was responsible for conducting Environmental Impact Statements and public hearings in the states where the pipeline would be built to gather public comment. The firm that State hired to conduct the environmental impact process, Cardno Entrix, lists Trans Canada as a client. 3. The Oil Isn’t Staying Here <snip> The State Department is involved in the pipeline approval process because the project is ostensibly a matter of national security. Yet a new report from Oil Change International states that the oil from the pipeline, after being pumped 1,700 miles across North America, would be refined in the U.S. and sold abroad and will do nothing to wean Americans off foreign oil dependence; its primary purpose is to give the Canadian producers easier access to overseas markets via a tax-free trade zone in Port Arthur, Texas. www.care2.com/causes/three-more-reasons-to-oppose-the-xl-pipeline.html
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Post by clone on Oct 10, 2011 1:47:29 GMT -8
China dives into oil sands as U. S. balksThe Chinese government pushed its shovel deep into Canada's energy motherlode yesterday when it announced a $2-billion stake in a five-billion-barrel reserve of "dirty oil" that Americans increasingly find unworthy of fuelling their vehicles. The 60% claim by Petro-China in two projects owned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp., while small compared to the great gobs of capital pouring into oil sands expansion and extraction, are the global giant's largest investment in Canadian energy yet. www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=a045c7a5-4146-496c-b477-2e7f77a30ed5U.S. senator warns against killing Keystone XLOct 6, 2011 8:45 AM ET “Canada is going to sell this product. The question is whether they will sell it to us, or sell it to China,” Sen. Graham, a member of the Senate’s armed services, budget and appropriations committees, said in a roundtable interview including Postmedia News. www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=a045c7a5-4146-496c-b477-2e7f77a30ed5China's big move into AlbertaLast updated Friday, Jun. 25, 2010 2:57PM EDT State-controlled Sinopec is spending $4.65-billion (U.S.) to become the first Chinese multinational to buy a direct stake in a major producing oil sands project, paying a rich premium for ConocoPhillips Co.'s 9-per-cent stake in Syncrude Canada Ltd. The deal represents the next stage in Chinese investment in the oil sands, as Beijing-controlled companies scour the globe for energy resources and look to diversify the country's growing imports away from the Middle East. www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/chinas-big-move-into-alberta/article1532062/
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Post by allcash on Oct 10, 2011 19:32:28 GMT -8
Calgary energy firm gets $2.2B bid China's reach into oilsands continues October 10, 2011 The aggressive push by China's state-backed energy companies into the Canadian oilpatch continued Sunday when Sinopec International Petroleum agreed to pay $2.2 billion for Calgary-based conventional oil and gas producer Daylight Energy Ltd. Most of the Chinese energy investments in Canada since 2009 have focused on oilsands projects, but the emergence of liquefied natural gas from North America as a potential fuel source for the energy-hungry Asian economies has prompted interest in conventional oil and gas producers. The all-cash deal for Daylight also marks the first outright takeover of a North American oil and gas producer since the aborted $16-billion US purchase of Californiabased Unocal Corp. in 2005 amid intense political scrutiny in the U.S. over national security concerns. www.calgaryherald.com/business/Calgary+energy+firm+gets/5526912/story.html
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Post by clone on Oct 12, 2011 13:03:15 GMT -8
Nota Bene: The Auditor-General on climate change Oct 5, 2011 – 8:54 PM ET From comments in Auditor-General of Canada’s October 2011 Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Chapter 1: Climate Change Plans Under the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act. We found that there was no financial reporting for the climate-change plan as a whole that provided information on funding allocated and spent to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We found that 6 of the 19 measures with expected GHG reductions in the 2010 climate change plan did not report any financial information in the plan. opinion.financialpost.com/2011/10/05/nota-bene-the-auditor-general-on-climate-change/
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Post by coal on Oct 14, 2011 12:41:29 GMT -8
Alberta doesn't want to play by the rules Province seeking changes to coal plant regulations Published September 29, 2011 The Alberta government is asking for the federal government to make significant changes to proposed regulations on coal plant emissions. Alberta joins Nova Scotia in presenting a formal submission to the federal government during the 60-day review period asking for changes to the regulations, which are slated to come into effect in 2015. www.ffwdweekly.com/article/news-views/news/alberta-doesnt-want-to-play-by-the-rules-8156/
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Post by bill50 on Oct 25, 2011 12:24:44 GMT -8
See also: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) www.pyrelog.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=weapons&action=display&thread=429'Miscommunication' led to Heartland mix-up - Last Updated: Oct 21, 2011 7:21 PM MT The province now says only two major electrical transmission line projects will be put on hold, not three as initially announced Friday. In a letter to the Alberta Utilities Commission, Energy Minister Ted Morton stated that the government "is reviewing its approach" to the projects. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/story/2011/10/21/edmonton-transmission-lines-hearings-suspended.htmlHeartland line critical to economic growth: premierOctober 25, 2011 Premier Alison Redford came under fire Monday from critics who say she compromised the independence of the provincial regulator reviewing the proposed $596-million Heartland transmission line. But Redford shot back, saying she has been on record for months with the view that the proposed line from Wabamun to Fort Saskatchewan is critical to economic development of the province and she is "looking forward" to the decision of the Alberta Utilities Commission. The commission announced Monday that it will hand down its decision on Nov. 1 on the Heartland line, a joint project of Edmonton-based Epcor and AltaLink. The commission has suspended the approval process for two proposed north-south lines as requested by the provincial government last week. Last Thursday, Energy Minister Ted Morton asked the commission to suspend hearings on all three multibillion-dollar transmission projects. But Redford abruptly reversed the Heartland request on Friday, chalking it up to "miscommunication." Redford and Morton said they want the adjournment on the north-south lines so the government has time "to review its approach" to the lines. In the legislature, Wildrose MLA Paul Hindman urged Redford to use the review as a chance to withdraw contentious Bill 50, which gave the cabinet power to designate necessary transmission lines without a full public hearing. But Redford dismissed that suggestion, saying her government's review will be limited in scope to look at the "economic impact." Don Rigney, mayor of Sturgeon County, urged the government to review Bill 50. The Heartland line is "a massive overbuild" and will result in substantially higher power costs for industries in the county, he said. The government has created a double standard by suspending the process for two lines, but not the Heartland approval process, he said. "This is political interference on a scale that concerns me," he said. www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Heartland+line+critical+economic+growth+premier/5600918/story.html
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Post by clone on Oct 30, 2011 1:33:39 GMT -8
Proposal for 2nd oil pipeline sparks opposition Updated 2h 29m ago SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- South Dakota's governor will ask the state Legislature this session to "impose additional protections" on a proposed oil pipeline that would run through the state, similar to concessions that Nebraska lawmakers recently won from the pipeline's builder, a spokesman said Friday. The Nebraska Legislature will hold a special session this week to determine whether the state can force Calgary, Alberta-based TransCanada to reroute the pipeline around the ecologically sensitive Sandhills region overlaying the Ogallala Aquifer. www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2011-10-30/keystone-pipeline-opposition/51000802/1-- The fairness of the federal review was called into question after emails portraying a cozy relationship between the State Department and key TransCanada lobbyist Paul Elliott, a former official in Clinton's presidential campaign were published by an environmental group. And The New York Times this month reported that Cardno Entrix, the company contracted by the State Department to write the environmental impact statements for Keystone XL, also counts TransCanada among its major clients and had, in fact, been recommended to the State Department by TransCanada. -- Along the pipeline route, landowners are fighting eminent domain lawsuits as TransCanada tries to collect the easements it needs to begin construction. The company has been criticized as presumptuous for taking landowners to court before obtaining a federal permit. "At least Nebraska is asking some of the significant questions," he said. "The Republicans in Pierre didn't want to do that. They just wanted to bend over and give $30 million to this pipeline (company)," referring to state construction excise tax rebate that went to the company.
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Post by clone on Nov 1, 2011 5:16:14 GMT -8
Sugar bushes vs oilsands: environmental agency's role under review Friday, October 28, 2011 1:19 PM OTTAWA - It has the power to investigate the environmental implications of a sugar-bush expansion or an addition to a parking lot. But rarely can it look at the impact of oilsands operations. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency is the government body tasked with making sure Canada controls any development that would threaten the air, water or earth, or jeopardize plants and animals. But it is swamped with small projects that eat up precious time and resources, agency president Elaine Feldman said this week. And its mandate prevents it from assessing the cumulative impact of large projects, or even scratching the surface of much of the work going on in the oilsands. www.globalmontreal.com/canada/sugar+bushes+vs+oilsands+environmental+agencys+role+under+review/6442510334/story.html
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Post by 2 hole days on Nov 3, 2011 14:18:06 GMT -8
Alberta Legislature to sit for two days before month-long break Last updated Friday, Oct. 21, 2011 6:24AM EDT In one of her first decisions as Alberta’s new premier, Alison Redford announced that the fall session of the legislature would be cancelled. She promptly flip-flopped after opposition parties kicked up a [weefuss, about demos and gestapberta]. On Thursday, Ms. Redford decreed instead that the session would be quickly adjourned and then significantly shortened. The legislature will sit on Oct. 24-25 – long enough for Ms. Redford to address the global economic crisis in a type of “state of the union address” – followed by month-long break, before returning on Nov. 21 for a two-week session. Government House Leader Dave Hancock was left to explain the decision. www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/alberta-legislature-to-sit-for-two-days-before-month-long-break/article2207905/AUC gives stamp of approval to Heartland Transmission Project - Updated: Tue Nov. 01 2011 17:04:49 edmonton.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20111101/EDM_aucheartland_111101/20111101/?hub=EdmontonHome
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Post by clone on Nov 4, 2011 19:51:11 GMT -8
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Post by clone on Nov 4, 2011 20:40:11 GMT -8
Kent yanks funding from environmental network October 13, 2011 OTTAWA — Environment Minister Peter Kent has cancelled a 34-year-old funding partnership with a major grassroots network that has helped the federal government deliver landmark policy and legislative changes to crack down on industrial polluters and protect fragile ecosystems. The Canadian Environmental Network, which helped the government engage the public in the creation of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency as well as the adoption of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, was actually told by Environment Canada in May that the government was expecting to renew funding of about $547,000 for the year. www.canada.com/technology/Kent+yanks+funding+from+environmental+network/5546925/story.html
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Post by tex on Nov 9, 2011 19:57:31 GMT -8
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Post by clone on Nov 29, 2011 8:24:40 GMT -8
Oilsands emissions data left out of UN report May 30, 2011 Federal government admits deliberately leaving numbers out that indicate pollution from oilsands production outstrips auto emissions The federal government has acknowledged that it deliberately excluded data indicating a 20 per cent increase in pollution from Canada's oilsands industry in 2009 from a recent 567-page report on climate change that it was required to submit to the United Nations.
The numbers, uncovered by Postmedia News, were left out of the report, a national inventory on Canada's greenhouse gas pollution. Overall, the report revealed a six per cent drop in annual emissions for the entire economy from 2008 to 2009, but does not directly show the extent of pollution from the oilsands production, which is now greater than the greenhouse gas emissions of all the cars driven on Canadian roads.
www.vancouversun.com/business/Oilsands+emissions+data+left+report/4861017/story.html Fact Check on Kyoto Distortions By Elizabeth May on 28 November 2011 - 6:53am It has been a good week for the Harper Communications Machine. Peter Kent is a very effective spokesperson. The lines and spin work well. I like Peter Kent as a person. He is extremely kind in many ways. But his job in Cabinet is not unlike his job as a TV reporter. Read the news. Now he reads the spin. Whether on CBC’s The Current and The House, or on CTV Question Period he gets away with enormous distortions. Here are some of the most often repeated. At least when you see them you can hit the comment pages of the media websites and try to correct the garbage. Distortion Number one: Kyoto doesn’t include most countries. Fact Check: Actually, 191 countries have signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol. In fact, the only country outside of Kyoto is the United States. The element of truth in the distortion is that the first Kyoto Period, 2008-2012, by design required industrialized countries to hit specific targets and deadlines. This approach was modelled on the successful 1987 Montreal Protocol to protect the ozone layer. In that protocol, industrialized countries took on emission targets in the first phase, while developing countries could actually increase emissions. Subsequent agreements within the Montreal Protocol brought all countries to phase out ozone depleting substances. Under Kyoto, the developing countries took on the commitment to reduce emissions in a more general way. Brazil has done far more than Canada without specific targets. So too have India and China. Distortion Number two: Kyoto has failed. Fact Check: Most of the countries in the industrialized world have met or exceeded their Kyoto targets. The EU as a unit has exceeded its target. Japan has reduced emissions below 1990 levels but falls short of its target. Canada is the only country within the Kyoto Protocol to have repudiated our legally binding obligations. Moreover, Kyoto is not merely a set of targets to 2012. It is a very detailed set of agreements that cover monitoring, reporting, credits, adaptation, and other mechanisms that took years to negotiate. Distortion Number three: The Copenhagen Accord is a substitute for Kyoto. Kent calls it a “breakthrough.” Fact Check: The Copenhagen Accord was not a result of negotiation in the UN climate talks in Copenhagen. In Copenhagen at COP15, Obama brought a handful of countries to meet him privately, came up with two pages, described as “politically binding.” The document called for cuts to keep emissions below the level that would lead to a 2 degree C global average temperature increase. (Since then the IPCC has evaluated the various non-binding pledges of the Copenhagen Accord countries and found them dangerously high and guaranteed to send emissions to levels that will far exceed 2 degrees C global average temperature increase). It pledged billions to developing countries for adaptation. When brought back to the conference late Friday night on the closing day, the low lying island states denounced it as sacrificing their futures. The head of the Tuvalu delegation said, “In Biblical terms, you are offering us thirty pieces of silver for our children’s future. Our children’s future is not for sale.” All through the Friday night through to Saturday mid-morning, pressure was brought on nations to accept the Copenhagen document. The compromise in the final COP15 decision was that the COP “takes note” of the Copenhagen Accord. The Copenhagen Accord is not real. It is political spin and PR. Distortion Number four: Canada’s position is “reasonable.” Fact Check: Canada is the only country within the legally binding targets of Kyoto to ignore them. Canada was the first country to invent new targets using the non-Kyoto base year of 2006, when all other countries were using 1990. Canada created the opening for the US to also move to a base-year of 2005, which Canada then followed because it further reduced how far we would have to reduce GHG to hit the target. Canada was the first industrialized country to refuse to enter into negotiations for a second commitment period under Kyoto. In Cancun at COP16, the possibility of a second commitment period under Kyoto was kept alive. Since then, Canada’s efforts have been to block success. Canada created space for Japan and Russia to move away from a second commitment period. Distortion number five: We can control greenhouse gases through another, non-Kyoto approach and get large emitters in the developing world on board, such as China, India and Brazil. Fact Check: Developing nations as a block have threatened that if the industrialized world does not continue to work within the Kyoto framework, they will walk. The negotiations to control GHG run the risk of collapse - just as time is running out to get a binding reductions. The situation is dire. And last night CTV reported that the Harper government has plans to withdraw as a Kyoto party calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20111127/durban-south-africa-slimate-conference-setup-111127/20111127/?hub=CalgaryHome but to save the announcement until December 23. This reveals the final level of cynicism and duplicity. Canadians want real action to protect our children’s future. The Prime Minister knows the vast majority of Canadians will not approve of formally withdrawing from Kyoto, after whatever damage we can inflict at the Durban talks which open tomorrow. So save the nasty news until after the House has risen and most of us are thinking about our children’s Christmas stockings and getting the turkey ready.It is for our children that we must mobilize. Somehow, we must force even the majority government to back down and accept that we have a moral obligation to negotiate in good faith. We must support a second phase of Kyoto and we must bring down emissions. greenparty.ca/blogs/7/2011-11-28/fact-check-kyoto-distortions
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Post by clone on Nov 29, 2011 8:31:22 GMT -8
UK secretly helping Canada push its oil sands project Sunday 27 November 2011 19.14 GMT Canadian interests and oil lobby win coalition's support for highly polluting process in runup to European fuel quality vote The UK government has been giving secret support at the very highest levels to Canada's campaign against European penalties on its highly polluting tar sands fuel, the Guardian can reveal. At the same time, the UK government was being lobbied by Shell and BP, which both have major tar sands projects in Alberta, and opened a new consulate in the province to "support British commercial interests". At least 15 high-level meetings and frequent communications have taken place since September, with David Cameron discussing the issue with his counterpart Stephen Harper during his visit to Canada, and stating privately that the UK wanted "to work with Canada on finding a way forward", according to documents released under freedom of information laws. www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/nov/27/canada-oil-sands-uk-backing?newsfeed=true9 January 2011 David Cameron vowed to make the coalition government "the greenest ever"www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12138243
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