27 February 2007
a coal tar primer
Coal tar is a brown or black liquid of high viscosity, which smells of naphthalene and aromatic hydrocarbons. It is the liquid by-product of the distillation of coal to make coke or gas. (1)Coal tar is a black or amber coloured tar-like mixture of many types of petroleum hydrocarbon chemicals. It has a very pungent smell of mothballs due to the presence of naphthalene. (2)
Coal tar and its compounds are hazardous carcinogens. Per City of Kingston website, "There are three principal ways in which people can become exposed to coal tar compounds: by eating or drinking food or water that is contaminated with coal tar compounds (ingestion exposure), by getting coal tar or substances contaminated by coal tar on your skin (dermal exposure), or by breathing in vapours containing coal tar compounds (inhalation exposure)...Each building that is found to have coal tar beneath it should be assessed in order to assure occupants that there are no coal tar contaminants present in the indoor air." (2)
Could our groundwater supplies have been contaminated? per City of Kingston experience: "Because
coal tar is mostly heavier than water, much of the coal tar that leaked from the old gas works settled down through the groundwater into the cracks and joints of the limestone bedrock. The coal tar that remains trapped in the limestone cannot be removed...Can the deep groundwater be cleaned up? A: The short answer is no. Coal tar is a thick, sticky tar material that is stuck in the cracks and joints of the limestone bedrock." (2)
How did it get there? "Before natural gas was available in Eastern North America, coal gas was used extensively
to light and heat homes and businesses. Coal gasification plants processed raw coal to produce the gas. A by-product of gas production was coal tar." (2) "[Kitchener] operated a coal-gasification plant at the corner of Gaukel and Charles streets from 1880 to 1958 to provide lights and heat for businesses and homes in core. (3)
How are other communities dealing with the problem? City of Hamilton will spend $90 millionto clean up Randle Reef, where toxic coal tar is mixed with mud on the bottom of Hamilton Harbour....said to be the second worst case of coal tar pollution in Canada after the notorious Sydney, N.S., tar ponds.The current plan is to build a wall
around 130,000 cubic metres of the worst contamination, then dredge another 500,000 cubic metres and put it inside the wall. The total 630,000 cubic metres is reportedly enough to fill Copps Coliseum three times. Containment is also the option being pursued in Nova Scotia. Federal and provincial officials there say
"stabilizing and solidifying" the tar ponds should not hurt the environment or the health of Sydney
residents -- but the 100-hectare site will be constantly monitored." (4)
How can the lands be used once the contamination has been removed? per City of Kingston experience: "The risk management approach involved determining what the risk would be if buildings were rebuilt over the cleaned up sites, knowing that coal tar was still present in the deep bedrock. The end result was a Risk Management Plan that allows for site redevelopment provided certain restrictions are adhered to. These restrictions include no
below grade or first floor residential occupancy, good ventilation of any underground parking areas and ongoing testing of indoor air quality." (2)
Sources: (1)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal-tar; (2)http://www.cityofkingston.ca/residents/environment/coaltar/faqs.asp; (3) T. Pender, "Coal tar bill at $29.7M,"The Record 6 Feb 07; (4) Eric McGuinness, "Mayor won't play 'blame game' Just wants Randle Reef cleaned up," The Hamilton Spectator; With files from The Canadian Press(Jan 29, 2007).
Coal tar and its compounds are hazardous carcinogens. Per City of Kingston website, "There are three principal ways in which people can become exposed to coal tar compounds: by eating or drinking food or water that is contaminated with coal tar compounds (ingestion exposure), by getting coal tar or substances contaminated by coal tar on your skin (dermal exposure), or by breathing in vapours containing coal tar compounds (inhalation exposure)...Each building that is found to have coal tar beneath it should be assessed in order to assure occupants that there are no coal tar contaminants present in the indoor air." (2)
Could our groundwater supplies have been contaminated? per City of Kingston experience: "Because
coal tar is mostly heavier than water, much of the coal tar that leaked from the old gas works settled down through the groundwater into the cracks and joints of the limestone bedrock. The coal tar that remains trapped in the limestone cannot be removed...Can the deep groundwater be cleaned up? A: The short answer is no. Coal tar is a thick, sticky tar material that is stuck in the cracks and joints of the limestone bedrock." (2)
How did it get there? "Before natural gas was available in Eastern North America, coal gas was used extensively
to light and heat homes and businesses. Coal gasification plants processed raw coal to produce the gas. A by-product of gas production was coal tar." (2) "[Kitchener] operated a coal-gasification plant at the corner of Gaukel and Charles streets from 1880 to 1958 to provide lights and heat for businesses and homes in core. (3)
How are other communities dealing with the problem? City of Hamilton will spend $90 millionto clean up Randle Reef, where toxic coal tar is mixed with mud on the bottom of Hamilton Harbour....said to be the second worst case of coal tar pollution in Canada after the notorious Sydney, N.S., tar ponds.The current plan is to build a wall
around 130,000 cubic metres of the worst contamination, then dredge another 500,000 cubic metres and put it inside the wall. The total 630,000 cubic metres is reportedly enough to fill Copps Coliseum three times. Containment is also the option being pursued in Nova Scotia. Federal and provincial officials there say
"stabilizing and solidifying" the tar ponds should not hurt the environment or the health of Sydney
residents -- but the 100-hectare site will be constantly monitored." (4)
How can the lands be used once the contamination has been removed? per City of Kingston experience: "The risk management approach involved determining what the risk would be if buildings were rebuilt over the cleaned up sites, knowing that coal tar was still present in the deep bedrock. The end result was a Risk Management Plan that allows for site redevelopment provided certain restrictions are adhered to. These restrictions include no
below grade or first floor residential occupancy, good ventilation of any underground parking areas and ongoing testing of indoor air quality." (2)
Sources: (1)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal-tar; (2)http://www.cityofkingston.ca/residents/environment/coaltar/faqs.asp; (3) T. Pender, "Coal tar bill at $29.7M,"The Record 6 Feb 07; (4) Eric McGuinness, "Mayor won't play 'blame game' Just wants Randle Reef cleaned up," The Hamilton Spectator; With files from The Canadian Press(Jan 29, 2007).
Labels: brownfields, coal tar
black ghost haunting
Photos copyright Sandamara Images 2006 counterclockwise R to L: 1) Joseph Street reconstruction pending removal of coal tar contamination--note green transit building on right, in background the former post office building with red brick Manulife in background; 2) Joseph Street reconstruction with Victoria Park Heritage District trees immediately adjacent; 3) historic St. Paul's Church on top of sandhill corner Queen and Church Streets; 4) historic St. Paul's Church south entrance looking east to crest of remaining sandhill.
Gentle reader, this blog explores the relationship between now and then to shed light on a taxing issue locally: the escalating costs for coal-tar removal as part of the Joseph Street reconstruction process.
this is now....
As of 2007, taxpayers are slated to pay $29.7 million for entire project; the removal of 20,000 tonnes of coal-tar contaminated soil will cost $18.4 million. These costs are in addition to $5-million already payable to settle a lawsuit filed by Manulife against the city, post office and federal government over coal tar that had trickled over the property line at 44 Gaukel and contaminated some land owned by Manulife. Part of that settlement required the City to purchase the former Canada Post property for a $1.00-- a classic loonie purchase of a taxing asset that has increased the financial burden on Kitchener taxpayers. Canada Post built on the site in the early 1960s knowing about the contamination. Twenty thousand tonnes of toxic soil will be trucked to a landfill site in Quebec @ $156 a tonne." (2)
Coal-tar is proving to be a very slippery substance that is being transferred here, there, and everywhere. However, "before the coal tar can be removed, portable water-treatment plants are needed on site to pump out water and lower the groundwater table."(1)
Staff and Council are committed to this clean-up--whatever the cost as per the Chief Building Official: "I don't think we can afford to let this migrate more...The City wants the site cleaned up so it meets Ontario Ministry of the Environment regulations for residential housing."** (2) Once the job is done and the money thus allocated has been spent, will Kitchener taxpayers be rid of this black ghost? or will it return to bedevil future budget discussions? Herewith, a compendium of coal-tar related comments: a)" we didn't anticipate that the coal tar had migrated across Joseph Street and was coming up against some private property, also seeped under the sewer lines on Richmond Avenue, and some was even found in Victoria Park at the end of Gaukel Street"; b)"The city had based its estimated cost of the cleanup on consultants' reports. The consultants looked at old records and reports to produce their estimates, which were way off the mark." (2)
... that was then.. per old records...
The official history of the City of Kitchener *** traces its origins to 1807, the year its first settler Joseph Schneider arrived here to take possession of German Company Tract lot #17. That 448 acre lot was for the most part forested with a stream (Schneider Creek) running through it and circumscribed by steep sandhills to the north-east (south and east sides of present King and Queen Streets) and lower-lying swampy section adjacent to Schneider Creek (present-day Victoria Park). Note: the swamp/marshlands on the Schneider holdings had historically been used as camping grounds by the Mississauga Indians who ceded the lands to the colonial government & thereby enabled the Haldimand Grant of 1864 to the Six Nations who sold off these lands to the first Mennonite settlers here.
During the 1820's, another wave of immigration brought German migrant skilled artisans here to what was then known as "the Sandhills" community. These new immigrants leased or purchased bits of land near the King Street (formerly the Great Road) and Queen Street**** (formerly Schneider's Road ) from either Joseph Schneider or his cousin Bishop Benjamin Eby, who held the neighbouring eastern tract of land. The town of Berlin grew from this primary intersection and by 1877, per local historian Prof. K. McLaughlin, the sandhills were finally levelled to allow for more urban settlement. Other local historians provide other details: for example, historical St. Paul's Church (1889/Gothic Revival) in photo above is acually the second church building on this site. The first St. Paul's is said to have stood twelve feet higher than it does now. What happened to all of the sand? where did it go? downhill to the post office site to reclaim swamp land?
Further historical notes re sandhills and swamps:
a) “There was a troublesome sand hill from Queen Street eastward on Church and another one at
the corner of King and Frederick Street. This latter was cut down about eight or nine fee to the level of the
cellar floors, some time after the first buildings had been erected.”
b) Foundry (now Ontario) to Queen Street– Almost the whole of the block was a spongy swamp, with
willow trees along the edge. Cattle could scarcely go into it as they would sink. Up to 1850 there
was no building up to Gaukel’s Hotel at the corner of King Street. Along the street [i.e. King} front
there was an elevated sidewalk erected on cedar posts with stringers. The sidewalk was about six
feet wide and high enough to enable boys to explore underneath as, of course, they used to do.” (4)
As the town of Berlin grew and more swampland was reclaimed, more houses, businesses, and factories were built. By 1882 Berlin Gas Company, a private firm --owned and operated by the Breithaupts who also owned the electric utility and transit company--built a coal-burning plant on Gaukel Street *****to produce electricity and flammable gas. In 1903 the Town of Berlin purchased Berlin Gas Co to set up the publicly-owned Berlin Light Commission to serve its customers (440 gas, 79 electricity, 26 industrial to begin). By 1913, the Public Utilities Commission(PUC)supplied 2,000 gas, 1,078 electric, and 102 industrial customers with energy at lower prices using hydro-electric power from Niagara Falls @ a net profit to city $7,159. In 1957-58 PUC negotiated with Union Gas to lay natural gas pipelines in city & closed the GaukelStreet gas works & sold off the land to Canada Post. (5)
An interesting tale of sand, water, and oil coming together to create one sticky, gooey mess just waiting to be cleaned up.
In closing, RR would like to share another bit of local history and the gasworks under the headline "martyrs to duty & the1897 fire": "The gas company had run out of oil & decided to use barrels of coal-oil to maintain the town's gas supply. Company manager Ezra Breithaupt (son of Louis Breithaupt) and two others were about to empty oil into the empty oil tank when alantern caused explosion and fire. Breithaupt and one other man died from injuries, but the third injured man recovered. Per local historian Uttley, “The citizens mourned the deaths of the two martyrs to duty.” (6)
** not new residential housing, the residential housing immediately adjacent in the Victoria Park Heritage District! Residents there don't have funds available to Manulife but must trust their Council to get the job done as soon as poassible.
*** In actual fact, the village of Doon -- now part of Kitchener--- was settled before Joseph Schneider's arrival.
**** Kitchener's oldest street
***** more historical trivia: Per historian McLaughlin, "The post office at Gaukel and Charles Street was said to have been floated 'on a concrete pad' as a concession to the still existing swampy soil conditions,while to the east the sandhills still remain at Queen and Church Streets as an enduring legacy of the past." (3)
******* Kitchener was known as Sandhills to 1833, Berlin until 1916, and City of Kitchener to present.
Sources: (1)T. Pender, "Coal tar bill at $29.7M," The Record 6 Feb 07; (2) T. Pender, "Why cost of coal-tar cleanup tripled," The Record 7 Feb 07; (3) Kenneth McLaughlin, Histoy of Kitchener, 1982; (4) Jacob Stroh, “Reminiscences of Berlin (now Kitchener),” WHS 1932. (5)Www.kitchenerutilities.ca/about_us/ourhistory.asp;
(6) Uttley, History of Kitchener, 1937.
Labels: Berlin/Kitchener history, coal tar
23 February 2007
tiny green bubbles
All is procession; the universe is a procession
With measured and beautiful motion. --Walt Whitman
With measured and beautiful motion. --Walt Whitman
In his weekly newsletter, David Suzuki writes about two myths he keeps encountering in his cross-country tour thus:
"Myth number one: Canadians aren't willing to accept the changes necessary to truly address global warming ...Canadians are willing - they're just looking for real leadership that will ensure that everyone does their part fairly so it isn't just dumped on the average citizen. ..It's the federal government's job to make sure that any national global warming plan is fair and equitable, with no sector unduly taking on an unfair burden.
Myth number two: the notion that it's impossible to meet Kyoto...The truth is that meeting Kyoto now, even after years of stalling, is still readily achievable for Canada. ...If Canada truly embraces a low-carbon future and becomes a leader in renewable energy and energy-efficiency technologies, international carbon credits can also help Canada's economy. Developing countries have to buy their low-carbon technologies from somewhere. If our leaders play their cards right, that somewhere could be from Canadian businesses."
Suzuki closes with this reminder: We mustn't forget that Canada made an international promise when we signed and ratified Kyoto. You can subscribe to his newsletter here: The David Suzuki Foundation subscribers@davidsuzuki.org
Rambling Rose is currently reading George Monbiot's Heat: How to Stop the Planet from Burning (2006), in which the British journalist painstakingly details that meeting Kyoto is possible but will require governments to act. A challenging book that introduces us to our low-carbon future and the changes that are ahead of all of us. In his introduction, Monbiot confesses to being "an environmental hypocrite" in that he purchased a house built in 1900 for all the eco-friendly right reasons but now finds that it will require major upgrades to become truly energy-efficient. Same here as the will may be there but it takes hard cash to implement those strategies.
However, even baby steps count. Today's mail brought postage-paid envelopes to recycle HP print cartridges.
Per Hewlett-Packard website: "What happens when you return an HP print cartridge or any brand of computer hardware to use for recycling? Our state-of-the-art recycling facilities process each return in an environmentally
responsible manner through a multi-phase recycling process. Products are sorted and shredded, then separated into plastics and metals. Print cartridges are further separated into residuals of ink, foam or toner. Materials are then processed into their raw forms so they can be used in automotive parts, microchip processing trays, serving trays, spools, hangers and other everyday products. The cost of this service ranges from $13 to $34 per item, depending upon the type and quantity of hardware to be returned. The actual cost of your recycling service will be calculated when you enter your order. See the pricing web page for instructions on how to approximate
your costs before ordering the service. More information can be found here: (====> oops link to follow after reboot)
Today's photo of spring-flowering skunk cabbage leaf reminds us that spring is just around the corner. Daily we get three minutes more of sunlight-- a change so gradual we hardly notice it. Success is an incremental process and every tiny bit does add up.
Labels: climate change, waste
19 February 2007
the federal report card
Last week the federal Auditor General Sheila Fraser issued her annual report -- just in time for today's national Heritage Day reflections.The 2007 report follows up on whether issues highlighted in the 2003 report have been addressed. The Record summed up the heritage section of the report thus: 'Sheila Fraser pressed the government to step up conservation efforts and decide which federal buildings, battlegrounds, archeological sites and canals need urgent preservation. More public reporting on progress is also needed....Fraser blames a gap in protection offered to sites run by Parks Canada compared with those managed by National Defence or Public Works." (1)
Much of the 2007 report on Canada's cultural heritage zeroes in on the gap between the identified needs and the insufficient resources to meet those needs. A familiar tale to most heritage advocates. Interesting also was that all of the government departments agreed with the AG's findings and recommendations and promised to do their best to improve.
More interesting in the 2007 report is the issue that local rag did not pick up on but one which CTV National news chose to spotlight: the Coast Guard's deteriorating equipment and history of incompetent bungling of repairs. This issue should have captured the attention of all as we are a maritime nation bounded by three oceans (Pacific, Arctic, and Atlantic) and with one of the longest shorelines in the world to protect. The Coast Guard's deteriorating equipment is an issue of national security that politicians have failed to address. As is, the Coast Guard's failure to complete an assessment of maritime fishing stocks-- so crucial to the economies of our Maritime provinces. And yet, there has been no discussion or the AG's findings to date.
Nor has there been any mention in the news media of the AG's findings that the department procuring advertising contracts has been 1) behaving in an accountable and transparent fashion; and 2) implemented the recommendations flowing from the Gomery inquiry. How sad that good news and the good report card don't get the attention they deserve. For those who may have forgotten, it was the 2003 Auditor General's report that led Prime Minister Martin to appoint Justice Gomery to hold an official inquiry into alleged kickbacks from advertising contracts. Those who were criminally responsible in the affair were duly investigated by the RCMP and sentenced by the courts to imprisonment. Paul Martin lost the ensuing election but not his integrity and has ridden off to his eastern Ontario farm -- with his latest grandchild in his arms and his wife Sheila beside him.
Postscript: the AG assigns grades thus: 1) satisfactory; and 2) needs improvement. Rambling Rose would like to suggest that Canada's fourth estate, the print and broadcast media, need to improve their reporting of significant national issues. Currently their reporting veers like a weathervane during a hurricane and offers up a flavour of the moment for mental ingestion.
Photos copyright 2006 Sandamara Images of the federal Employment & Immigration Building, Duke Street West, Kitchener ON--- dating back to the 1930's still speaks of the values of order and good government so fundamental to the Canadian character.
Sources: (1)CP, "Heritage sites facing a slow descent into ruin." The Record 14 Feb 07.Links to this year's report which follows up on government departments reviewed previously in 2003 are to be found here:
http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/domino/reports.nsf/html/20070202ce.html#ch2hd3a
Note:
The 2003 report provides an excellent overview of this nation's built heritage treasures and the various departments responsible for their preservation.
Note:
The 2003 report provides an excellent overview of this nation's built heritage treasures and the various departments responsible for their preservation.
Labels: built heritage, politics
14 February 2007
national heritage assets
Trivia culled from the AG's 2003 and 2007 reports to Parliament:
1. The federal government's basic inventory of built heritage consists of about 1,300 federal heritage buildings and 206 national historic sites.
2. Any Canadian citizen may nominate a historic site for designation. Almost 95 percent of the proposals considered by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada are nominated by the public.
3. Parks Canada Agency ... has a specific mandate to protect and promote the country's built heritage.
4. The National Library of Canada owns the largest and most comprehensive collection of federal, provincial, and territorial official publications published since 1867 @ more than 19.5 million publications, including books, journals, CD-ROMs, microforms, sound recordings, software, and electronic documents. The public can access the numerous collections of the National Library of Canada through municipal, provincial, and university libraries that participate in the interlibrary loan network.
5. In 2003, the Auditor General found: "built heritage was at risk because of a marked decrease in financial resources allocated to heritage conservation in the previous years, and because of shortcomings in built heritage management mechanisms and in the legal protection framework."
6. The importance that the public attributes to heritage can be seen in a number of ways. Every year, the Parks Canada Agency welcomes 25 million visitors to its parks and national historic sites. The National Archives of Canada responds to more than 120,000 queries of all kinds, including a large number related to genealogy alone. The National Archives' and the National Library's Web sites are consulted annually more than 14 million times.
7. Previously, the concept of heritage was limited to architectural and archaeological heritage and to movable objects. This concept gradually expanded over time and now includes cultural landscapes, historic districts, buried remains, and other intangible elements such as language, customs, and folklore. Heritage value—The aesthetic, historic, scientific, cultural, social, or spiritual importance or significance for past, present, or future generations. The heritage value of a historic place is embodied in its materials, forms, location, spatial configurations, uses, and cultural associations or meanings.
Photos copyright Sandamara Images 2005: Via Train Station and architectural details, Kitchener ON.
Labels: built heritage
smart meters are here to stay
Photos copyright Sandamara Images 2003-2006 L to R: Puslinch Twp hydro transmission tower, Puslinch Twp power transmission corridor, and Kitchener hydro transmission line adjacent to Strasburg Creek wetlands-- in the forefront excavation for new subdivisions adjaent to Fischer-Hallman Road. Public ownership of hydro generation and transmission is thanks to Berlin initiatives in early twentieth century. That type of leadership still informs the management of Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro and is the subject of today's blog.
Gentle reader, if you live in Kitchener, you should be aware that Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro filed public notice yesterday re its application for electricity distribution rate change and notice of hearing re smart meters. In effect, Kitchener-Wilmot hydro customers will be among the first to have smart meters installed by the end of 2007.
Why? According to the Ministry's website this measure is being undertaken “to create a conservation culture in Ontario and become a leader in energy efficiency” but elsewhere RR leans that by 2,010 Ontario's demand for electricity will exceed supply. During her trip to Newfoundland last spring, RR had already learned of Ontario's plans to purchase hydro from Newfoundland's Churchill Falls power development. The old law of supply and demand is kicking in and we will find electricity prices rising as demand outstrips supply.
In order to reduce consumption of electricity, Ontario plans to install 800,000 smart (time-of-use and interval) electricity meters by December 31, 2007. All Ontario customers will have smart meters installed by December 31, 2010. When this program has been fully implemented, 4,500,000 meters will have been installed province-wide.
The costs? per meter to install, the average capital cost @ $175 plus annual operations and maintenance costs $14. Total cost more than $1 billion to install the meters across the province. Note: costs will be recovered from consumers over time. To recover that cost, the Ministry suggests that one and four dollars a month to the average electricity bill & this cost will be shown as a line "smart meter add-on."
The benefits? 1. There should be a decrease in distribution costs as the meters possess two-way communication capabilities(1) so that the local distribution company will be able to communicate with the meter and will be able to retrieve billing quantities automatically (meters don't have to be read manually at your house). 2. It will become easier for local utilities to spot theft of power as for example, mrijuana grow-ops. 3. For the consumer, a tool to manage hydro use and cost. A trial in Woodstock, Ont., found the average participant cut electricity use by 15 per cent.
Currently Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro charges $0.0580 per kwh for first 1200 kwh consumed and $0.670 per kwh above that threshhold as of 31 August 06 hydro bill. Add to that $1.10 per kwh transmission cost + $1.51 per kwh distribution cost. The new pricing for the cost of electricity portion based on time of use* will be:
a. 9.7cents/kwh on-peak: weekdays 7 am to 11 am & 5 pm to 8 pm ***
b. 7.5 cents/kwh mid-peak: Weekdays 11 am to 5 pm & 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.**
c. 3.5 cents/kwh off-peak: weekdays 10 pm to 7 am, all weekends and holidays
*Note: These periods will be different in the summer May 1 to October 31 than they are in winter
November 1 to April 30. **Summer weekdays: 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. ***Summer Weekdays: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For most readers who work a day job and need the electricity during on-peak times, there's a big price increase ahead--from 5.8 cents to 9.7 cents per kwh as the lowest price on weekdays would find them sleeping.
There's some tools available online to calculate current hydro usage and energy saving measures. Just for the fun of it, RR performed some calculations. Herewith some of the results:
Cost of appliances per month: water heater $45.60, conventional range/cooktop $22.50 (cf. microwave $1.35), furnace fan $14.40, standard clothes dryer $9.00, auto-defrost refrigerator $4.59, and desktop computer $3.84.
Potential energy savings per another calculator: turning off computer monitor $12.31, insulating the hot water tank $33.21 are the easy first steps. More costly will be to replace washing machine ($87.31 per annum savings) and the refrigerator ($57.38 per annum savings). RR did not calculate lighting fixtures or television costs as those energy-saving measures have already been implemented.
Note (1)-- this preliminary research indicated that in some pilot communities wireless transmission is being used. Was the 2006 sale of tax-payer-owned Atria premature? as the wireless network was already in place using taxpayer-owned transmission lines? with the sale of these Atria assets a done deal, will the local utility now have to lease the same lines to achieve the advantages of that technology?
Sources:
09 February 2007
carbon sinks
Gentle reader, now that we are all quite familiar with the word broadband, it's time to brush up on the "c" words entering our vocabulary: carbon (an element known to physicists), carbon credit (a financial commodity that can be traded), carbon sequestration (a technique to combat climate change), and carbon sinks (assets held by all Canadians in trust for future generations). Much too confusing? No worries as allowing this blog's photos to make it easier to digest the science of climate change.
Today's text messages will be brief signposts to meatier websites on the topic. Links to follow in due course as RR rebooted without saving one key document and will have to backtrack later today to provide the sources summary.
1. " The boreal is one of the three last great forests left on the planet. It is an air purifier, water filter
and climate regulator. As we move into a carbon constrained time, forests become increasingly
important to keep intact. Forests sequester carbon and mitigate the effects of climate change.
The vast boreal forest is a climate regulator on a planetary scale. It must not die the death of a
thousand cuts from thousand industrial incursions. The goal, if we are to stabilize the climate, is
to keep CO2 levels at 450 ppb. Fragmenting the boreal forest will significantly add to our
emissions, whether it is releasing carbon from trees or plentiful bogs." (1)
2. "The Victor Diamond Project is a massive diamond mine being proposed by the DeBeers diamond
conglomerate in northeastern Ontario near Attawapiskat on James Bay. This region is part of one
of the largest, intact wilderness areas left on earth and currently has no industrial development.
There are several First Nations communities in the area that are accessible by winter road only.
This wilderness supports abundant wildlife, including threatened woodland caribou, healthy
fisheries, clean and plentiful water, and sustains the traditional activities of First Nations." (2)
Both the Moose and Albany Rivers were highways to the early fur traders; in modern times, the two rivers have been dammed to generate power for lumbering and mining operations in the North. In spite of its wilderness isolation, the Moose River is contaminated by PCB's from the creosote-coated railway ties used the entire 186 mile length of the railroad. In Moosonee, the contamination has been further compounded by the residue left when the American military dismantled the DEW line base here. A few summers back heavy equipment was trucked in to be shipped on barges up the coast to Attawapiskat to remove PCB contaminated soil dating back to DEW times(the Cold war era that pitted Russia and the United States against each other). The contaminated soil had to be barged back to Moosonee, loaded on to the train, and taken out by rail for disposal. Too bad when the Americans left, they did not clean up the mess they left behind. Will we learn from our history?
Photos copyright Sandamara Images 1998-2007. L to R clockwise: 1. the boreal forest hugs the banks of the Moose River north of Cochrane, deep greens of black and white spruce mixed with golden whispering aspen stands; 2. Ontario Northland Engine 8202 arrives at the end of the track in Moosonee; points farther north can only be reached by airplane, boat or the winter road to Attawapiskat once the muskeg has frozen solid; 3. new growth conifer hugs the rocks of the Canadian Shield near Temagami; 4. barges and freighter canoes connect Moosonee to Moose Factory Island and also with the coastal communities of Hudson and James Bay; 5. the Moose River as seen from Moose River Crossing; 6. the Abitibi River as well as the car ferry crossing it to connect to the last road into the northern boreal forest just to the west of Cochrane, ON.
Sources: (1) (2) (3)
Labels: boreal forest, James Bay Lowlands
07 February 2007
the uneasy elephant
This blog refers back to Prime Minister Trudeau's description of Canada's relationship with its neighbour to the south as that of "sleeping beside an elephant." Our current Prime Minister has changed that description to "sleeping with the elephant." There's a significant difference. Apolicy shift has taken place that is worrisome as it portends a much too easy accommodation of American interests at tremendous cost to Canadians.
What's at stake is highlighted in the map accompanying this post. Source of this map is Ryan Borke's study of Canadian environmental issues, Much is Taken, Much Remains published in 1973. This particular map comes from a chapter dealing with fresh water export. Dotted lines in the base map refer to one proposal to divert water from Canada to the United States. Borke also confirmed that water is being taken on a regular basis from the Great Lakes via Lake Michigan* cf below. A visit to a Georgian Bay cottage a few summers ago revealed how drastically the level of the Great Lakes has dropped since the 1970's when RR's hosts purchased the cottage.
Back to the map now. Outlined for you are the two largest watersheds on the North American continent: the Peace-Athabasca-MacKenzie River system draining into the Arctic Ocean (egg-shaped) and the Mississippi River system draining into the Gulf of Mexico. The northern system is currently at risk because of the extensive oil development at Fort McMurray (#2 on map) that is only returning 10% of the water used to the river. Apparently the once clean river is now polluted and the water supply of the North West Territories, Alberta and Saskatchewan are at risk.
If you look closely, you can see #2 the location of the water diversion from Lake Michigan to replenish the Mississippi River system--which during the last drought was so dry that no freighters could use that waterway. In the western United States, RR has indicated the arid Desert West region --source of many of our foods trucked into Canada and requiring vast quantities of water for irrigation.
Not marked on the map but stretching south of the Alaskan border to the northern tip of Vancouver Island lies the Great Spirit Bear Rainforest that was in the news last week. The Prime Minister announced his "New Government's" funding of $30,000,000 to support a much-touted initiative to protect the last remaining rainforest (Total cost $120,000,000 with $30M and $60M private donors.) The agreement is to take in effect in 2009. However, there are reports that currently five times the normal quantity of prime Sitka spruce and cedar are being clearcut in advance of that deadline.
Where's the catch? There is a provision in NAFTA that requires any Canadian oil and gas reserves to be drawn to meet U. S. demands. Source? Linda McQuaig's, It's The Crude, Dude. Likewise NAFTA does not protect Canadian water supplies. Source? can't remember but noted it while reading NAFTA backgrounders during the 1980's. Time to tuck in Borke's reference now: "Many people do not realize that water is already being exported from Canada to the United States (i.e. in the 1970's)....the permitted withdrawal by Chicago of up to 3,200 cubic feet per second from Lake Michigan to transport partially treated waters via the Illinois River to the Mississippi.Water withdrawn from the Great Lakes is replaced in part by water diverted southward from the Ogoki and Longlac tributaries of the Albany River into Lake Superior. The purpose of these diversions was not water export but power generation by Ontario Hydro [sic---read that again? and again?}
What's so worrying about all of this? --the blatant rape and destruction of Canadian resources in the name of what? jobs? for whom? for how long? and the sneaking suspicion that our national policies are being made for us in Washington. Now that the US has failed to secure its cheaper oil supplies in Iraq and Afghanistan, it's time to look north? Meanwhile the mess created by US misguided imperialism in those two countries has yet to be cleaned up and is now requiring an increased military budget. In case you haven't noticed, the Canadian armed forces are actively recruiting (the deceptive ads that begin with our soldiers doing diaster relief during the Winnipeg flood, etc. but repeating the word "fight"), the US is sending more troops, and has fasttracked for the Canadian military an order for those big planes to carry massive equipment overseas.
All the while, our politicians are out hustling the votes even though Parliament is in session following its 45 day recess over Christmas. Their speeches make for good sound bites & warrant consideration in advance of casting your ballot.
Today's examples:
a)Stephen Harper: "His comments also included dark predictions of a Canada without his party at the helm, "a country where the streets are ruled by guns, gangs, and drugs."--- positively prime ministerial??? (not)
or
b)Stephane Dion: "When even one Canadian child is threatened because of her religion, we all feel the cold breath of intimidation."
Prior to the 2006 election that gave this minority government its mandate, former Conservative leader & party faithful Joe Clark took the unusual step of advising Canadians that it would be better to stick with the devil we knew, then to vote for one we didn't know.
This is a wakeup call as the votes cast in the upcoming election will determine all of our futures. Please take your time with the blogs -- as RR has. When it comes to vote, cast your vote with your eye on the Canada your great- grandchildren and mine will inherit from us.
We who currently inhabit this planet must see ourselves as stewards for the generations to come.
If we fail this challenge, we will also fail our children."
--Stephane Dion
If we fail this challenge, we will also fail our children."
--Stephane Dion
Labels: NAFTA, oil and gas, politics, water
the uneasy elephant backgrounder
Left photo of Alberta's oil and gas country, the Peace River Plateau; right photo of the Peace River crossing bridge at historic Fort Dunvegan, an historic fur trading post. Copyright Sandamara Images 1983.
1. Gentle reader, please peruse these quotations carefully. If you can endorse this basic statement of principles, use the link to take you the online petition. Please and thank you.
"The renewed prospect of pipelines and hydrocarbon development in the North is perhaps the greatest
social, economic and environmental challenge the North has yet faced. Where development is appropriate, it must conform to northern values, benefit northern peoples and contribute to sustainable communities.
Canadian interests must be respected in any oil/gas or pipeline development for the benefit of the United States. The export of new oil and gas from the North and/or use of northern Canadian lands for pipelines must be based on the following commitments from the United States that they will: * rejoin international negotiations to reach an international agreement on the reduction of
greenhouse gas emissions; * protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from any oil and gas
exploration; and * introduce and maintain energy demand management measures and develop
renewable energy. Go to to sign the petition: http://www.advocacyonline.net/eactivist/ http://www.cpawsyukon.org/conservation/northern-ngo-oilgas-principles.html (7)
2 Globalization continues in a rash of forestry consolidation (aka US firms buying Canadian ones) in the forestry sector as companies try to get bigger to deal with increased competition and to cut an increase in operating costs due to higher fuel, transportation and raw material costs and the rising loonie. Just this month, Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. (Canadian) and Bowater Inc.(American)merged to create North America's third-largest publicly traded paper and forest products; as well, Domtar is expected to soon close a $3.3-billion deal to merge with the fine-paper division of U.S.-based Weyerhaeuser. These mergers will ultimately lead to more mill closures and job losses.(2)April 30, 2005 - VANCOUVER – Industrial clear-cut logging is rapidly denuding the most prized areas of Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest, posing a dire threat to coastal communities, Kermode and grizzly bears, wolves, salmon and other threatened species, according to an extensive analysis to be released today by the David Suzuki Foundation. (8) Visit also this website for story on current logging practices in western B.C. http://www.mostlywater.org/great_bear_rainforest_the_clearcut_truth
3. Canada's involvement in Afghanistan: Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, said in an interview that Taliban attacks surged by 200 per cent in December and predicted, "It's going to be a violent spring,'' (3) The American air force is letting Canada jump the assembly-line queue to acquire four giant Boeing transport planes within about 18 months. The first Canadian C-17 is expected to arrive by the end of August, with a second by the end of the year and the last two coming in the middle of next year. Under normal conditions, it would take years to build the Canadian order. (4) CIDA representative...[said] the Canadian contribution would only be $3.1 million & USAID -- would provide $500,000 Cdn; CIDA claims it has spent -- or is about to spend -- as much as $65 million on myriad redevelopment initiatives. Yet until lately there have been very few visible signs of that investment, almost one year after Canadian troops deployed to the volatile southern region of the
country. (7)
4. Response to Climate change? "U.S. President George W. Bush continues to reject mandatory limits on so-called "greenhouse'' gases. (5)Prime Minister Stephen Harper said yesterday that for the time being, Canada can only hope to stabilize its emissions rather than aim for cuts. (6)“Would be politically difficult for Conservatives to impose hard emissions-cutting targets on the oil industry, a major base of their traditional support, especially when the industry is growing so fast." (8)
5. US interests: Because Nigerian oil is so vital to the American economy, President Bush's State Department declared in 2002 that—along with all other African oil imports—it was to be considered a "strategic national interest." That essentially meant that the president could send in the U.S. military to protect our access to it.”--Sebastian Junger, "Blood Oil" (9)
"Politicians are bullet proof but not ballot proof.
You are never really going to change a politician
but you can try to influence the public.–Roy Carless, local cartoonist (1)
Sources: (1) (1) Traudi Down,"Carless: A Cartoonist Q&A
http://www.echoweekly.com/viewstory.php?storyid=6026
; (2)CP, "Forestry gets Facelift," The Record 30 Jan 07; (3)NATO troops in Afghanistan bracing for 'violent spring' AP the Record 17 Jan 07; (4)Canada jumps queue for transport planes The Record 3 Feb 07; (5)Who's to blame? Humans The Record 2 Feb 07; (6)Peter Gorrie, Quick reduction in emissions is just a 'fantasy,' Harper says, The Record 3 Feb 07; (7)Millions for Afghan reconstruction The Record 31 Jan 07; (8)Conservative Party stalled everywhere but Alberta, poll says The Record 19 Jan 07; (9)
Labels: climate change, oil and gas, politics
triple crisis
The world now faces a triple crisis oftoo much energy consumption, greenhouse gas creation and air
pollution.--Prof. Roger Suffling (1)
According to the two women Arctic adventurers who are dogsledding to the North Pole right now,there are a number of ways people can combat the effects of global warming in their everyday lives:
* Turn down the thermostat
* Plant a tree in your backyard: a mature leafy tree produces as much oxygen in a season as 10 people inhale in a year.
* Leave the car at home whenever possible: The average car releases 136 kilograms of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning for every 15 gallons of gasoline.
* Appeal to politicians to do more but act now to take advantage of the reinstated grant to homeowners who improve the energy efficiency of their homes (what one politician gives, another taketh away).
* Purchase carbon emissions offset credits to compensate for pollution created by your air travel. The
scheme allows travellers to buy credits that are invested in environmentally friendly initiatives such as
planting trees, or wind power projects to "offset" the damage. Uniglobe Travel, for example, allows
passengers to calculate and purchase the amount of carbon credits they need to offset their portion of
CO2. A return flight from Vancouver to Toronto would cost as little as $22.75. (2)
Today's photos highlight: 1) the promise of spring around the corner i.e. marsh marigold growing in Nith River wetland; and 2) icicle formations on two homes built in the early 1950's by the same builder. The home with fewer icicles has undergone a thrifty energy retrofit following an initial consultation with REEP (Regional Energy Efficient Program) consultant* @ $100 fee. First, a contractor was hired to insulate the attic @ $1.700 qualifying for approx $500 federal energy rebate. Second, the resourceful owner insulated the basement ceiling and headers himself with a variety of insulating materials for approximately $400. ^5 to a thrifty, resourceful Kitchener citizen willing to roll up his sleeves and take action to keep this city green!
REEP can be reached locally at 519-744-9799
Sources: (1)T Pender, Kitchener's environment proposals called measly, The Record 23 Jan 07; (2)Andy Johnson, Arctic adventurer on small changes for climate change, CTV online 25 Jan 07.
Labels: climate change
05 February 2007
bear tracks
Gentle reader, photo of stuffed polar bear in The Rooms, provincial museaum in St. John's, Nfld. copyright 2006; base map by R. Borke in Much is Taken, Much Remains (1973) with other maps by Borke superimposed to create one composite map. The two images are meditation prompts for these musings:
The Mackenzie Valley pipeline is expected to begin delivering oil southwards ca 2,010 and construction thereof will impinge directly on polar bear (orange line) and grizzly bear (green line) habitats.
Just before Christmas 2006, the United States Wildlife Service put the polar bear on its endangered species list. Rambling Rose is not advocating an "Have you hugged a bear today?" campaign as such** but does wish to spotlight the function of our wild animals as "the canary in the gold mine" indicators of how environment-friendly and sustainable our economic decisions are.
Also marked in red on this map is the fabled Northwest Passage route as it becomes an alternative for shipping oil to European markets and was already being considered in Rorke's 1973 publication.
(**Thus far, RR's non-experience with bears of a furry nature took place in Rainbow Lake, Alberta. Whenever the dogs in town began barking in unison signalled," There's a bear roaming about town," RR stopped whatever to determine just where her children were and to bring them safely inside until the all clear word was passed from neighbour to neighbour.)
Elsewhere there is a report that "industry and labour sources said it may be possible for exports from Alberta's oil sands to reach five million barrels a day, a fivefold increase from current levels, but only in the long-term and after a massive investment of money and labour. They were responding to a Radio-Canada report that said American and Canadian oil executives met in Houston in January 2006 and discussed ramping up daily oil sands production from the current 1.1 million barrels in a "short time span.'' The report has raised the spectre that Canada is being pressured to dramatically increase production to meet the energy needs of the United States.
Sources: Oil's not well The Record 19 Jan 07; map taken from R. Borke, Much is Taken Much Remains (1973).
Labels: Arctic, climate change
fire or ice?
SOME say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favour fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice. ----Robert Frost (1874–1963)
Gentle reader, Robert Frost wrote the above poem in 1920--long before climate warming dominated the public agenda. For the past several months, the media have published reports detailing the shrinking ice mass be it in glaciers in the Alps or permanent sea ice in the circumpolar regions that provide conclusive proof that climate warming has become the most critical issue of the 21st century. It is far more likely now that our world will end in fire. For example, the vast boreal forest located within the Kluane National Park has already been devastated by the impacts of climate change and Yukoners are wondering when--not if--those forests will burn up.
Today's photos and map were chosen to highlight our Arctic "hinterland"--the next great frontier. To date, most oil and gas production originates in the Peace/Athabaska Delta straddling two provinces: Alberta and British Columbia. However, the global pressure to bring into production new sources of energy will bring the oil & gas resources to be found in Alaska, the Yukon and Northwest Territories increasingly to the forefront.
"The Arctic is basically the cannery of climate change.
In the Arctic we're seeing 3 to 6 times more global warming than the global average.
So if the world warms by 2 degrees the Arctic could actually experience 10 degrees, so
the impacts are much more magnified in the Arctic and drawing awareness to that is crucial." (2)
In the Arctic we're seeing 3 to 6 times more global warming than the global average.
So if the world warms by 2 degrees the Arctic could actually experience 10 degrees, so
the impacts are much more magnified in the Arctic and drawing awareness to that is crucial." (2)
According to Stephen Kakfwi, Premier of the Northwest Territories: "Oil and gas reserves in the NWT are an integral source of supply to support a North America energy policy" and "the Arctic contains 40% of Canada's oil and gas resources. Gas discoveries in the Liard and Mackenzie Delta regions...amount to 14.5 trillion cubic feet. This is more than Alberta was estimated to have when its oil and gas industry started 70 years ago... The four major Mackenzie Delta gas producers--imperial Oil, Gulf, Esso and Shell-- ...are in last stages of collecting the information required to put forward an application for a Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline... priced at between $2.3 billion and $3 billion... For a relatively small additional investment, a link coulbe be made to the Alaskan gas reserves at Prudhoe Bay. Sharing the cost of a pipeline with Canadian producers must surely look attractive to the giant Alaskan producers, BP, Exxon and Phillips." (3)
In the news recently:
1. A judge has decided that all scheduled social and environmental hearings into a proposed $7-billion natural gas pipeline down the Mackenzie Valley can go ahead.(4)
"Implementing Kyoto will cripple the oil and gas industry,
which is essential to the economies of
Newfoundland*, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia . . ."
--Stephen Harper in 2002 fund-raising letter to party faithfuls (5)
2. Revenue at Exxon Mobil Corp-- the world's largest publicly traded oil company -- which owns Calgary-based Imperial Oil Ltd. (TSX:IMO), Canada's largest energy producer -- rose to $377.64 billion for the year, surpassing the record $370.68 billion Exxon posted in 2005.(6)which is essential to the economies of
Newfoundland*, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia . . ."
--Stephen Harper in 2002 fund-raising letter to party faithfuls (5)
"Obviously the prime objective for foreign investment is a healthy profit,
preferably to be derived reasonably quickly."(7)
preferably to be derived reasonably quickly."(7)
3. Exxon's past record also resurfaced i.e. The Exxon Valdez ran aground March 24, 1989, emptying 41 million litres of crude oil into Prince William Sound. The spill contaminated more than 1900 kilometres of shoreline and killed hundreds of thousands of seabirds and marine animals.The estimated 85 tons of oil remaining at Prince William Sound is declining about 4 per cent a year and likely even slower in the Gulf of Alaska, according to research chemist Jeffrey Short of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. At that rate of decline, oil could persist for decades below the surface of some beaches cf. In the Valdez spill study, researchers found that thick, emulsified oil — called “oil mousse” — resists weathering and thus can be preserved in oxygen-containing sediments. Exxon estimates it has paid $3-billion (U.S.) in cleanup costs, government settlements, fines and compensation. But it still has not paid an unresolved punitive damage judgment, originally set for $5-billion by a federal jury in 1994. The case has since bounced between the federal court and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In December, the appeals court ruled that the oil giant must pay $2.5-billion to compensate thousands of fishermen and others affected by the spill. Earlier this month, Exxon asked the court to reconsider its decision.
Roger Green who was involved in this study (2004) commented: “ I have seen the oil in the subsurface gravel. All you have to do is dig holes. The sea otters dig holes and get it in the face. The oil seeps into estuaries and impacts herring larval development, including genetic effects. It's still biologically active in other words... Exxon has always minimized the impacts. They denied there was any significant impact right after the 1989 spill and every year since have said that all significant impacts were gone.” (7)
4. The booming oil-based economy of Alberta and, in a lesser measure, Saskatchewan are also a major
reason for Canada being the farthest away from attaining its emissions targets under the protocol, with the two provinces combining for some 60 per cent of the growth in Canadian emissions since 1990. Ottawa still won't aim to achieve Canada's Kyoto Protocol target -- to cut emissions to six per cent below 1990 levels by 2012. Nor will it impose "green" taxes on fossil fuels. Most disturbing to environmentalists, it also won't set a national cap on emissions, at least in the short term. Instead, it's negotiating "intensity targets" with the country's large industrial polluters, which account for about half of Canada's greenhouse gases. (8)
5. In the polls, The Tories have been falling everywhere but Alberta - where support has shot up to an astonishing 63 per cent. But while this 63 per cent support in Alberta puffs up national numbers for Tories, there are still only 28 seats to be won in Alberta and the Tories won them all last time....the Tory decision to spend millions on expensive prime time TV ads (even during the Super Bowl)*** in order to ridicule and discredit Dion before he has a chance to resonate with the public, reveals the panic and desperation of the Harper team. (9)
* Just recently, Newfoundland-Labrador (population 500,000) overturned a conditional approval to develop the Hibernia South** offshore oilfield as the government lacked information on a tax regime, commercial arrangements between the companies involved, and any impacts it could have on future natural gas development."
"We must not decide the fate of our resources
based on piecemeal decisions and short term gains." -- Nfld Natural Resources Minister (10)
** Hibernia Management and Development Corporation includes Exxon, Mobil, Chevron, Petro-Canada, Norsk Hydro, Murphy Oil, and Canada Hibernia Holding.based on piecemeal decisions and short term gains." -- Nfld Natural Resources Minister (10)
***Cost of 30 second television commercial? $2,100,000.(11) The schoolyard-bully attack ads targeting Dion are being aired at least twice during each newscast daily. Five airings daily would cost $10,500,000 -- we are told the ads are funded by the Conservative Party of Canada-- dependent on political contributions. Who is funding these ads? Who, other than Stephen Harper and his minority government, stand to benefit? Note also: by running these ads now, their cost is not limited by government-imposed controls on election spending.
Photo copyright to Sandamara Images 1999: Moose River freezeup October 1999. Once the river has frozen to depth of approximately thirty inches, an ice road connects Moosonee to Moose Factory Island until spring breakup.
Sources: (1)http://www.bartleby.com/155/2.html; (2) Arctic explorers Moorhouse and Bancroft as reported by Andy Johnson, Arctic adventurer on small changes for climate change, CTV online 25 Jan 07; (3) Stephen Kakfwi, " A Mackenzie Valley Pipeline--the Winning Conditions," Speaking Notes to Arctic Gas Symposium, Calgary Alberta 8 March 2001; (4)Judge changes ruling to allow all hearings on Mackenzie pipeline to proceed, Canoe online 31 Jan 07; (5)Letter derides Kyoto Accord The Record 31 Jan 07; (6)Exxon Mobil posts record annual profit of $39.5B US The Record 2 Feb 07; (7) Bryan Rorke, Much is Taken, Much Remains (1973)l (7)Rachel D’Oro, Crude oil lingers from Exxon Valdez spill,” AP in Globe and Mail 31 Jan 07; (8)Daniel Schwanen, Solutions will cost Canada, The Record 3 Feb 07; (9)J. F. Conway, Slide in polls driving change in Tory tactics, The Record 1 Feb 07; (10) Canadian Press, "Hibernia rejection sparks concern," The Record 18 Jan 07: (11) Canada AM program 5 Feb 07.
Labels: Arctic, boreal forest, climate change, oil and gas, politics
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