News &amp; Announcements

Energy

Conventional Oil & Gas

Pipelines

Nov

2010

Conservation groups launch Save Our Parks Week

and say "back to drawing-board" on new parks act

Stewards of Alberta Protected Areas Association

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society

Federation of Alberta Naturalists

Source: Sierra Club Prairie

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society

Stewards of Alberta Protected Areas Association

Wilderness & Parks

Nov

2010

Pembina reacts to Minister Prentice's resignation

OTTAWA, ON — Marlo Raynolds, Executive Director of the Pembina Institute, made the following comments in response to Minister Prentice's resignation on Thursday afternoon:

"Minister Prentice made significant progress on issues like national parks and toxics, and he certainly appeared to want to make meaningful progress on climate change.

"Unfortunately, the Harper government has failed so far to take substantial action to meet Canada's climate change commitments, manage the environmental impacts of the oilsands, and invest in renewable energy. Read More

Climate Change

Nov

2010

Alberta likely headed into “Park-gate” with overhaul of the parks legislation

Source: Sierra Club Prairie

CPAWS Southern Alberta

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society

Wilderness & Parks

Nov

2010

“Potatogate” Deal is Dead: Now it is Time to Fix the Real Problem

Source: “Potatogate” Deal is Dead: Now it is Time to Fix the Real Problem

“Potatogate”, the shady Alberta government deal to sell off 16,000 acres of public land – scarce native grassland and endangered species habitat – has finally been shelved, following an unprecedented public outcry. But while this particular piece of land has received a temporary reprieve, the system which allows for secretive backroom deals to sell off public land, and with no public input, is still very much in place. Read More

Land Management & Stewardship

Agriculture

Oct

2010

Weakened policy risks destroying thousands of hectares of Alberta wetlands

Policy ignores input of advisory group and Albertans

Water Matters

CALGARY, AB - After years of delays, the Alberta government has dismissed the no-net-loss recommendation of its own advisory group and is proposing a complex wetland policy that risks the permanent loss of thousands of hectares of wetlands.

Alberta Environment Minister Rob Renner confirmed the shift today to a group of stakeholders in Calgary. Read More

Water Matters

Oil Sands

Wetlands

Oct

2010

Pembina reacts to U.S. senators’ environmental concerns with Canadian oilsands

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Danielle Droitsch, U.S. Policy Director for the Pembina Institute, made the following statement in response to a letter sent by 11 American Senators to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton regarding her department's review of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which would more than double U.S. imports of Canadian oilsands: Read More

Oil Sands

Oct

2010

Capital Power seeks to renege on commitment to cut coal plant greenhouse gas pollution in half at Thursday hearing

A major player in the dirtiest electrical energy system in Canada attempts to back out of its legal obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Alberta

EDMONTON, AB – Environmental groups and landowners, alongside major utility companies, are opposing an application by Capital Power to renege on a legal obligation to offset more than half its greenhouse gas emissions from the new Genesee 3 power plant.

If the Alberta Utilities Commission agrees to allow Capital Power to no longer honour this commitment the company will cease to offset 1.34 MT of greenhouse gas emissions annually, the equivalent of putting 224,000 cars on the road. Read More

Electricity Generation & Transmission

Climate Change

Coal

Oct

2010

“Potatogate” Continued: What We Have Here is a Failure to Communicate

Alberta WIlderness Association

There appears to have been a major failure to communicate within Alberta Sustainable Resource Development (AB SRD). A new report Canadian Biodiversity: Ecosystem Status and Trends 2010 was released by the federal, provincial and territorial governments last week. Read More

Source: “Potatogate” Continued: What We Have Here is a Failure to Communicate (AWA)

Land Management & Stewardship

Agriculture

Oct

2010

Sierra Club Prairie comment on Syncrude sentencing for death of 1603 ducks

Sierra Club Prairie

Dustin Johnson, Energy Campaigner with the Sierra Club Prairie had the following comment on the sentencing of Syncrude for the death of 1603 ducks in their toxic tailings pond.

Justice was not served today. Sierra Club initiated this law suit with the hopes that is would send a message to the Tar Sands industry. The guilty verdict alone from this trial should have been enough to have industry and government commit to phase out toxic tailing lakes with a moratorium of further tar sands development until it is proven that is is possible to safely dispose of all toxins, and the completely mitigate the environmental damage done thus far. Today's sentencing did nothing to prevent Syncrude from continuing on with business as usually and rather provided them with a monetary fine of $3 million dollars - an amount this company makes in less than 16 hours.

The fact is that the death of these 1603 ducks is only one aspect of the tar sands exploitive assault on the ecosystem and people of the North. The rising cancer rates in downstream communities like Fort Chipewyan, the poisoning of the Mackenzie River Delta, and the increasing toxic contamination of wildlife are criminal acts and would be considered such if done by any entity other than a corporation. Today's sentencing shows justice for the North is still far from being served.
Read More

Source: Sierra Club Prairie comment on Syncrude sentencing for death of 1603 ducks (Sierra Club Prairie)

Wildlife Protection