Recently in Climate Change Category

(CP) - 56 minutes ago

FORT SASKATCHEWAN, Alberta -- Shell Canada vowed to ramp up security to keep protesters out of its properties after Greenpeace activists scaled smokestacks and a construction crane to unfurl banners at an oilsands upgrader expansion project northeast of Edmonton.

After spending 24 hours roped high up on the structures near Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., the Greenpeace activists were arrested by members of a special police climbing team just after 5 a.m. Sunday at Shell's Scottford project.

"It was a peaceful resolution to what could have been a very dangerous situation," said RCMP spokesman Cpl. Darren Anderson.

In Calgary, Shell spokesman Phil Vircoe expressed concern about "Greenpeace's unsafe and confrontational tactics. This placed their own safety at risk and also the safety of others who were on site at that time and throughout this process."

Four protesters had agreed to an RCMP request to climb down from their perches Saturday evening after hours of negotiations.

But nine others refused to budge, and members of an RCMP and Edmonton Police Service climbing team donned ropes and harnesses and scaled the towering structures to arrest them, said Anderson, the RCMP spokesman.

"These police officers are specially trained in rappelling and use of ropes and have some background in mountaineering training as well," he said.

Many of the protesters agreed to climb down using their own equipment, Anderson said. But two of them refused to descend on their own and had to be brought down by the police team.

A total of 16 Greenpeace protesters were arrested during the incident.

Charges, including mischief and breaking and entering, were expected to be laid against all of them and they were expected to appear in court at a later date, Anderson said.

Mike Hudema, a Greenpeace activist who remained outside the plant, said the people who took part in the protest are passionate about trying to draw attention to an industry his group blames for dramatically increasing greenhouse gases.

"Every activist that was in there was prepared to be arrested and was willing to face the repercussions of that to hopefully push our world leaders to turn away from toxic developments like the tarsands," Hudema said.

The protest began early Saturday morning. Streaming video on a Greenpeace website from climbers dangling above massive storage tanks and a network of large metal pipes showed protesters unfurling banners that read "Climate Crime" and "Climate S.O.S."

After mounting several such protests in recent weeks at Alberta oilsands facilities, Hudema said he hoped that interrupting the industry's activities helped Greenpeace make its point about the oilsands industry.

"We've been able to stop at least a portion of the damage that the tarsands are doing to our planet. I think that's one thing that we've accomplished," he said.

Shell officials said the latest protest did not affect the neighbouring petrochemical refinery in Fort Saskatchewan and was confined to an area under construction, where few employees were working at the time.

Last month, protesters chained themselves to heavy earth-moving equipment at a Shell oilsands mine near Fort McMurray, Alta., bringing work at one pit to a halt. They were not charged in that incident.

Nearly a week ago, 10 protesters were arrested trying to block shipments of thick tar-like bitumen to a Suncor plant near Fort McMurray.

Hudema said the latest action was aimed at nudging negotiators to look for greener options at a climate-change conference in Bangkok. Officials there are paving the way to a new pact to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

Vircoe said Shell has launched a full-scale audit to determine how security at the Fort Saskatchewan site was breached and to fix any problems.

The number of security staff there has been increased and protocols tightened, including increased patrolling of the perimeter of the fenced-in site, he said.

The latest incident has also highlighted the need for the industry as a whole to be more vigilant about security, Vircoe said.

"The incident serves as a reminder, a stern reminder, that our industry must work even harder to strengthen our approach to security across the province here in Alberta and right across the country," he said.

Premier Ed Stelmach has expressed frustration at the number of protesters who've been able to gain access to such sites in recent weeks, and has said they are being coddled while breaking the law.

"We understand his frustration and we share his concerns around security at all of the various energy sites across the province," Vircoe said.

As to whether company officials are coddling the protesters in allowing their actions to go on for several hours at a time, Vircoe said the company's main goal is to ensure the safety of everyone involved.

"Our concern, right from the very beginning, is for the safety of the activists, to make sure nobody gets hurt, the safety of our employees on the site and any of the public who are in the area around the facilities," Vircoe said.

-By Lisa Arrowsmith in Edmonton.

Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Original here:

Globe and Mail: Calgary -- PetroChina International Investment Company Ltd. [PTR-N] will buy a 60 per cent stake in privately-owned oil sands firm Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. in a deal that oil patch insiders see as a key vote of confidence in Alberta's massive bitumen reserves.

The $1.9-billion deal will give PetroChina a large stake in a company whose assets contain about five-billion barrels of bitumen.

"Oil sands projects are very capital-intensive long-term investments and difficult to fully finance in the traditional equity market," Athabasca chairman Bill Gallacher said in a release. Athabasca "therefore decided to look for joint venture partners, and these strategic joint venture arrangements with PetroChina, one of the world's largest energy companies, can ensure that the MacKay River and Dover projects will be developed in timely manner, which is excellent news for Alberta and the rest of Canada."

Rumours of the impending deal pushed up shares in several small junior oil sands companies, including UTS Energy Corp. [UTS-T] and Connacher Oil and Gas Ltd. [CLL-T], on a belief that major outside investment interests are once again prepared to invest in the oil sands.

"It's great news for the oil sands business. It shows that there are still large, sophisticated, deep-pocketed companies out there prepared to write big cheques," said one Calgary banker.

In return we get the chance to 'invest' in the dollar store crap this oil grab will enable China to continue to produce to satisfy our 'needs'

Original here:

Canada's biggest dollar-store chain, which expanded and prospered while consumers pinched their pennies, now plans to go public as the economy heals and markets thaw.

Dollarama Group LP, the Montreal-based chain with 585 stores, plans an initial public offering of more than $250-million this fall, cashing in on its success during the recession, investment banking sources said.

The deal marks the continued thawing of an IPO market that froze during the financial crisis. It also gives its majority owner, Bain Capital LLC, a much-needed win.

An IPO from a name-brand company such as Dollarama would mark the third large corporate debut on Canadian public markets in as many months, marking the end of a nine-month drought in IPOs that began in 2008. Insurer Genworth MI Canada Inc. and power company Magma Energy Corp. went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange this summer, raising $850-million and $100-million respectively.

A number of companies have also sold stock recently as investors bet on a full-fledged recovery. WestJet Airlines Ltd. raised $150-million this week, and investment bankers said Dollarama would make much the same pitch to potential shareholders.

Discount and dollar stores have generally been able to make sales gains in the recession as cash-strapped consumers look for bargains.

Dollarama recently hired advisers to work on the sale of 25 to 30 per cent of the company, sources said. The chain is 80 per cent controlled by Boston-based Bain, which purchased its stake in 2004 from chief executive officer Larry Rossy in a deal that valued Dollarama at $1-billion.

Bain is expected to target its IPO campaign at Canadian investors, as domestic retailers such as Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. and Loblaw Cos. Ltd. draw premium valuations compared with U.S. peers. As the leading player in its sector, Dollarama will attempt to claim the same lofty status. Bain was a minority owner of Shoppers when the drugstore chain went public in 2001.

<Critical Mass is a monthly cycle ride in Vancouver, growing in popularity each month, which has start points and a destination but no planned route between these.>

So let me get this straight. The gasoline addicted drivers, the Mayor (Happy Planet) and the Chief of Police (I see a stapler) don't like the once a month Critical Mass bike ride because it is not formally organized, doesn't post its route in advance, may delay the journeys of others and can cause tension with other road users.

What exactly then is the twice daily car commute? Drivers in their tens of thousands leave their houses without posting a formal route, join in what is essentially a huge game of follow my leader without any rules, able to change direction and route without any consultation, cause massive gridlock, pollution and delays for others, and slow down or endanger travellers using other modes of movement.

This lemming like event happens twice a day, every working day and yet is seen as normal. Isn't this the point of the Critical Mass monthly ride? By reducing the situation to the absurd it forces us to reconsider what we see as normal, and view car obsession and commuting as repetitive, thoughtless and addicted behaviour.

Imagine the response if car drivers ('...because there are so many involved...') had to post their routes in advance, keep the police informed of their overall intentions, identify leaders, and enter into discussions with the authorities about the effect of their journeys on other road users.

Sort of harm reduction for gasoline addicts. Sounds fine to me.

Sure it's good to do without plastic bags, but do we have to buy something extra and do we have to advertise for a company?

Like hockey or football (soccer) supporters wearing team colours, hoards of shoppers making their way the 100 feet to and from car to supermarket carrying these nasty new addictions seem oblivious to the minute tokenism of their actions.

Vancouver's wildly successful restoration program raises questions about trade in 'density bonuses'

VANCOUVER -- Robert Fung is the most active player in Vancouver's hugely successful heritage restoration program, undertaking six of 25 buildings that have been saved in the past five years. He spearheaded multimillion-dollar projects on the promise of incentives from city hall intended to help pay extra costs associated with preserving the city's history.

But Mr. Fung now suspects the city may have a memory problem, forgetting its commitments to those who took risks on heritage restoration.

A proposal to modify the program to help other neighbourhoods would be a betrayal to those who invested in the projects, he said in an interview.

"We negotiated in good faith years ago," Mr. Fung said. Any move by the city to alter the nature of the program "is really reneging on a good-faith arrangement."

In progress - Stephen

So a truck plant is closing because thankfully people aren't buying macho trucks.

GM and the CAW both whine about the loss of jobs.

Can neither see the opportunity?

The hundreds of coaches needed as we stop flying.

The electric scooters, the tiny cars so popular in Europe, but not available in Canada.

The railcars needed as we return to passenger rail.

The home generators required as we leave a one way electrical grid and produce heat and power on site.

Hasn't anyone heard the phrase 'transferable skills'?

And then GM says it will produce 'hybrid' vehicles at the plant...

and the losers with the CAW say

"We're going to continue to press General Motors to keep the best truck plant in the industry open and we're going to continue our fight," he said.

Hybrid trucks to be built in Oshawa, CAW says

Updated Sat. Jun. 21 2008 1:57 PM ET

ctvtoronto.ca

The Canadian Auto Workers union says General Motors has reversed its decision not to build any hybrid pickups in Oshawa, Ont., and will start assembling a hybrid truck this fall.

The company made the decision despite plans to close the truck plant there next year, CAW local 222 president Chris Buckley told CTV Newsnet on Saturday.

"It's a small win," Buckley said. "We need to take some larger steps to secure the jobs of our 2,600 members that will be affected (by the closure)."

The decision came out of a meeting between CAW officials and GM management on Friday, but the company has not commented on the reversal and the reasons for it.

Buckley said adding the hybrid at the truck plant shows "a glimmer of hope" that the plant can remain open, especially if hybrid truck sales take off.

Earlier this month, GM announced it was closing the Oshawa truck plant because of slumping demand for large vehicles. The plant employs 2,600 workers.

The decision was announced just two weeks after GM reached a tentative agreement with the union,  promising to continue production at the plant through 2011.

The CAW is considering taking its dispute with GM to the Ontario Labour Relations Board.

Angry GM workers have demonstrated against the closure since it was announced. Earlier this week, an injunction forced them to end a 12-day blockade at GM's head office in Oshawa.

Buckley said union officials will be meeting with GM officials next week to look at what new product can be brought to Oshawa.

"We're going to continue to press General Motors to keep the best truck plant in the industry open and we're going to continue our fight," he said.

This article from Francis Bula at the Vancouver Sun suggests private money is required to provide enough homes for people. In July over $400 million will be 'given' to the people of B.C. in the shape of $100 environmental cheque for each inhabitant.

Now the $100 isn't enough to make any real 'green' improvements, but if even if 25% of the B.C.  population of 4.1 million gathered together and pooled their $100 cheques that would raise $100 million, enough for a least 400 homes for 'low income' poor people in our midst.