There is, in the public arena today, an effort or desire to "do good" with respect to environmental concerns that is, to a certain extent, so sincere and heartfelt that it is almost heartbreaking to point out how futile these efforts are. It’s as though you saw a child trying to revive a dying pet fish with ice cream. This is a reference to those trying to solve global warming by limiting the movement of fossil fuels. I’m being far more generous than many in the oil patch would in ascribing [Read more]
Everyone can appreciate the environment; who can appreciate what it takes to heat a thousand homes?
On a recent trip stateside, a mindless interlude in a hotel room led to some channel flipping, and I lazily settled for a reality show called Undercover Boss or something. It turned out to be somewhat interesting, enough so to be captivating for a couple episodes anyway. Each episode has a corporate CEO going “undercover” to perform some of the crappier jobs in their own company, unbeknownst to the day’s coworkers (who oddly enough never seem to have any idea who their CEO is, which I suppose [Read more]
Response to Tzeporah Berman: If “the power of protest endures,” don’t pretend you’re interested in useful energy discussions, not with your track record anyway
I was asked the other day if I had a response to Tzeporah Berman’s recent opinion piece in the Globe and Mail. I of course felt cold and clammy and started getting the shakes; reading a piece by Berman is like being asked to go take the keys from the 6 foot 6 belligerent drunk who was just kicked out of the bar and is trying to unlock his car to drive home. There’s a feeling of inevitability that there is no way on earth this is going to be a pleasant experience. Invoking the spirit and tools [Read more]
Climate change lawsuits: Apple’s famous totalitarian 1984 commercial is now our life, and shut-in pipelines are the only hammer
A recent fad in the US has certain jurisdictions suing oil producing companies for the effects of climate change. The latest is a group of counties in Colorado, who, according to this piece on the Union of Concerned Scientists website, have decided to hold two companies responsible for their weather-related woes because they produce, process and sell gasoline in their communities. When reading about such events, a basic human instinct kicks in, much like when we see a baby kitten in distress. [Read more]
A climate change breakthrough – 90 percent of oil sands oil will never leave the ground. So please adjust environmental agendas, thanks
A while back, a long while back, the US declared a “war on drugs” in an attempt to shrink the illegal drug trade. In the “ready, fire, aim” way that governments specialize in, they attacked the problem like a donkey attacks a Rubik’s cube. That was in 1971. Today, the “war” remains in the sense of the mythical Japanese soldier on a deserted island that doesn’t know World War II has ended yet. The Obama administration officially dropped the term because it was “counter-productive” which is [Read more]
Premier Horgan: Sorry, you can’t “defend your coast” – but you have a blank cheque to help us protect ours
Canadian fisheries waters means all waters in the fishing zones of Canada, all waters in the territorial sea of Canada and all internal waters of Canada; (eaux de pêche canadiennes) Canadian Fisheries Act Transport Canada is responsible under the Canada Shipping Act to ensure safe and environmentally responsible commercial marine operations, and the Canada Marine Act, to oversee Canada's ports. The Port of Vancouver is Canada's busiest, handling over 70 million tonnes of cargo annually, [Read more]
John Horgan: You can’t put a price on your standard of living either
The following is Terry Etam's rebuttal to John Horgan's recent Medium post Thank you John Horgan for sharing your horrific experience visiting the site of a diesel spill. You are absolutely correct; marine spills are terrible and have impacts. That doesn’t make it right that you draw such a direct line between a tugboat sinking (of which there are apparently a few) and one incremental pipeline. While you are “thinking of British Columbians while in Ottawa”, think also about their standard of [Read more]
Calgary Trans Mountain rally – neophytes lack the polish and venom of the protest industry, and are much the better for it
Yesterday afternoon, I attended what I thought would be the first protest of my life, outside of a few brutally quick, fruitless and humbling ones against food that was put in front of me some time ago by a tired parent. Yesterday’s was my first organized one. I suspect it was for many others, as the growing crowd began to mill about with the same mild awkwardness one does when standing in front of a crowd and not knowing what to do with their hands. What a bunch of freaking amateurs. And [Read more]
Decision time for BC: Should Horgan’s heroes torpedo the Trans Mountain expansion, all bets are off as to where this Canadian crisis will go
The Trans Mountain expansion is turning out to be quite the poker game. Unfortunately, the chips are wild cards and we don’t know quite what the costs will be. I’m referring of course to Kinder Morgan’s Masters-interlude announcement to suspend all non-essential spending on the Trans Mountain expansion. Canada has seen some interprovincial spats before, but should the pipeline indeed be killed off, we’re going to see a new high-water mark. The project has turned into a remarkable lightning [Read more]
New, green-leaning governments: Aww, they grow up so fast… …when they actually need to govern in the real world
There exists a strange medical condition called “Alice in Wonderland Syndrome” (AIWS), described by the ever-wise Wikipedia as a “disorienting neuropsychological condition that impacts perception.” It's unusual effects include a sensation that body parts or external objects are shifting shape and size, and victims may endure a loss of sense of time or velocity. The sum impact can be an alienating period where the common touch points of reality can no longer be counted on. I don’t have the [Read more]
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