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Archive for July, 2013
Key to Keystone XL Pipeline May Be Canada
Posted by Fuel Fix: Jennifer A. Dlouhy on July 8th, 2013
Fuel Fix: The final verdict on the Keystone XL pipeline rests with Obama administration officials in Washington, but the project’s fate may hinge on decisions made in Canada.
Analysts say that the administration is telegraphing willingness to approve the project, which would transport diluted bitumen from Alberta’s oil sands, as long as stakeholders north of the border do more to shrink their carbon footprint.
In a June 25 speech, President Barack Obama vowed that his administration will approve the...
Province Investigates After Spill Complaint on Athabasca River
Posted by CBC: None Given on July 8th, 2013
CBC: The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) is demanding answers and action from the province following reports of a large petrochemical spill in the Athabasca River.
A member of the ACFN first reported seeing a large oily sheen on the river about 60 kilometres north of Fort McMurray on Saturday morning.
By the afternoon, the sheen had grown to over 100 kilometres in length, said Chief Allan Adam in a release made Sunday.
Believing the sheen to be the result of a petrochemical leak, the...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Province Investigates After Spill Complaint on Athabasca RiverCanada: Quebec Oil-Train Disaster Spurs Railroad-Versus-Pipelines Debate
Posted by Bloomberg: Jeremy van Loon and Gerrit De Vynck on July 8th, 2013
Bloomberg: A Quebec train disaster that killed at least five people and left about 40 missing promises to touch off debate over the safety of shipping crude oil by rail or pipelines such as TransCanada Corp. (TRP)’s Keystone XL.
As authorities began investigating the July 6 explosion of refinery-bound tank cars hauled by Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway Ltd. (0128377D), Quebec’s Green Party demanded stricter regulations and an energy industry association predicted tough scrutiny ahead for rail carriers....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canada: Quebec Oil-Train Disaster Spurs Railroad-Versus-Pipelines Debate‘Gasland’ sequel accuses energy industry of corrupting government
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 7th, 2013
Associated Press: Josh Fox galvanized the U.S. anti-fracking movement with his incendiary 2010 documentary "Gasland." Now he`s back with a sequel -- and this time, he`s targeting an audience of just one.
"We want the president to watch the movie, and we want him to meet with the people who are in it," says Fox, whose "Gasland Part II" makes its HBO debut Monday.
He contends President Barack Obama`s professed support of drilling and fracking for natural gas ignores the environmental and public health toll of...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on ‘Gasland’ sequel accuses energy industry of corrupting governmentThe elements of destruction
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 7th, 2013
Herald: As well extreme weather including floods, snow, storms and droughts, there could be plagues of pests, ravaging diseases and toxic algal blooms. Power cuts, food shortages, wildfires, mass travel disruptions and wildlife extinctions are all forecast. As if that were not enough, the list of potential problems caused by global warming also includes more sewer overflows, soil erosion and landslides. More deaths and illness are likely during heatwaves, while air and water pollution could worsen and fogs...
Enbridge’s tar sands pipelines
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 7th, 2013
Living on Earth: CURWOOD: In his recent address on climate change, President Obama pledged not to approve the Keystone XL pipeline if it would add significantly to global warming. Many Keystone opponents heard that as a death-knell for the project, but the overall climate impact of the pipeline will depend on whether the diluted bitumen, dilbit, from the Canadian Tar Sands would be able to get to the market anyway. And there may be another way. According to the online publication InsideClimateNews, the Enbridge Company...
Firefighters warn of extreme fire danger in central California
Posted by Fresno Bee: Mark Grossi on July 7th, 2013
Fresno Bee: Nineteen of the country's best firefighters died last week in Arizona defending Yarnell, population about 700 -- "where a desert breeze meets the mountain air," as the town's entrance sign reads.
It also is where urban living meets wildlands. Firefighters dig in to protect people and property in places like this all over the arid West. Sometimes, nature suddenly takes their lives.
No one remembers this kind of heartbreak over the last century along Fresno County's Highway 168 up to Shaver Lake,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Firefighters warn of extreme fire danger in central CaliforniaConvoy to take remains of fallen Arizona firefighters home
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 7th, 2013
Reuters: A solemn caravan of vehicles carrying the remains of 19 firefighters killed battling an Arizona wildland blaze a week ago is set to leave Phoenix on Sunday on a final journey passing through the crew's hometown.
The convoy is to leave the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's office in central Phoenix late morning, passing beneath crossed fire ladders on a street flanked with fire trucks as it heads for Prescott Valley, about 100 miles north of Phoenix.
It was the greatest loss of life fighting...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Convoy to take remains of fallen Arizona firefighters homeCanadian freight train blast death toll hits three, set to rise
Posted by Reuters: Richard Valdmanis and Julie Gordon on July 7th, 2013
Reuters: At least five people died and 40 were missing on Sunday after a runaway train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded in the center of a small Canadian town in a disaster that raised fresh questions about shipping oil by rail.
The train was hauling crude in 72 tanker cars from North Dakota to eastern Canada. It was parked, without a driver, but then it rolled downhill, gathered speed and derailed on a curve in the small town of Lac-Megantic at 1 a.m. (0500 GMT) on Saturday.
Montreal, Maine...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canadian freight train blast death toll hits three, set to riseOil Freight Train Explodes in Canadian Town, People Killed
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 7th, 2013
Reuters: A fast-moving, driverless train hauling tankers of crude oil derailed and exploded into a sky-high fireball in the middle of a small Canadian town early on Saturday, destroying dozens of buildings and killing several people.
The disaster took place soon after 1 a.m. when the runaway freight train with 72 cars and five locomotives hurtled into Lac-Megantic, a lakeside town of about 6,000 in the province of Quebec, and left the tracks.
Police spokesman Guy Lapointe said one person had died, and...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Oil Freight Train Explodes in Canadian Town, People Killed