Nouvelles des groupes
- Détails
- Publié par : Nature Moncton
- Affichages : 20594
GULL WORKSHOP – NATURE MONCTON
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16……1:00-4:00 PM
TANKVILLE SCHOOL, 1665 ELMWOOD DRIVE
MONCTON
Gull Identification Workshop
Gulls are present in virtually all habitats in southern New Brunswick yet often don’t receive the same level of attention of many other bird groups. Identification of even our most common gulls can be challenging as they take from two to four years to attain their adult plumages. Would you like to learn more about our gulls and improve your identification skills? If so, Nature Moncton is offering a comprehensive workshop led by NB naturalist, Nelson Poirier of Moncton. The workshop will take place at the Tankville School, 1665 Elmwood Dr. in Moncton. For those coming on the TCH take exit 459 going north on Elmwood Dr. on Rte. 115 with the Tankville School 3.4 km from the exit ramp.
This workshop will include:
-
Specie by specie accounts concentrating on the commonly encountered gulls and brief overviews for what to watch for with rarer gulls that may be encountered in the region
-
Background on gull behaviour, life history and ecological roles
-
Information on how to identify gulls in their various immature and adult plumage
Seating is limited: please pre-register with Judi Berry-Steeves at 387-4778 or email Judi at [email protected]">[email protected]. Registration is $6 payable at the door to cover costs.
GULL WORKSHOP – NATURE MONCTON
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16……1:00-4:00 PM
TANKVILLE SCHOOL, 1665 ELMWOOD DRIVE
MONCTON
- Détails
- Publié par : Terry Wishart
- Affichages : 19662
Economic fear mongering is alive and well
The Daily Gleaner - Letters to the editor, 23 January 2013
Re: Shale gas development
Curiously, Minister of Health Ted Flemming, Dr. LaPierre, geologist Adrian Park and some letter-to–the-editor writers use identical language to claim that opponents of shale gas rely on inaccurate data from the film Gasland, and indulge in hysterical fear mongering.
How dishonest, hypocritical and desperate! Unable to convince the public about the wonders of shale gas, they attempt to discredit the opposition.
Gasland served as a wake-up call several years ago, but has been superseded by much history and science. I can’t remember any public forum in two years where it was cited as a reference.
Shale opponents cite Dr. Anthony Ingraffea, international expert in rock fracturing, peer-reviewed scientific studies in prestigious journals, the US EPA, the Lawrence Livermore Laboratories, government records of violations, and the industry’s own reports of failure.
We cite the only long-term public health study by the University of Colorado, and The Endocrine Disruption Exchange on the toxicity of fracking chemicals. We point to the scholarly report done by New Brunswick’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Eilesh Cleary, which notes that we know almost nothing about shale’s public health threats.
Recent peer-reviewed studies from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Colorado are cited showing that shale worsens climate-change.
Economists, financial analysts, science-based non-profit organizations, and the testimonies of people affected by shale gas from across North America are our sources. We’ve brought many expert speakers to the New Brunswick public.
Where are the voices for the pro side? We hear only from gas-producing interests. Where are the independent studies proving that wells don’t leak, that water doesn’t get contaminated and air isn’t polluted, that there are no health problems, that methane isn’t leaking, that fracking chemicals aren’t toxic/carcinogenic, that roads aren’t destroyed, that quality of life doesn’t suffer, that shale gas’s boom and bust economic shell game doesn’t leave a place worse off? The silence is deafening.
We offered to debate publicly, but government and industry were no-shows.
The government merely repeats the totally false and unsupported idea that shale gas is our only economic hope. Talk about fear mongering propaganda.
Jim Emberger
Taymouth, N.B.
- Détails
- Publié par : Sam Arnold
- Affichages : 11068
Is the Pipeline a “Game Changer?”
by Keith Helmuth
Like a shooting star bursting into the gloom of New Brunswick’s economic life, the prospect of a pipeline bringing Alberta crude to the Irving oil refinery in St. John has caught the attention of political leaders and pundits.
There seems to be a deep conditioning in our culture for pinning our hopes on the coming of a miracle-like economic transformation that will, in the words of Frank McKenna, be a “game changer.”
This is not the first time NB has looked to development of this kind for a great economic boost. The building of the Mactaquac hydroelectric dam was accompanied by the promise that the Saint John Valley would become like the Ruhr Valley in Germany – a site of intense industrial development.
Then the Point Lepreau nuclear plant was sold to the Province in the fading days of the nuclear industry’s promise of producing electricity “too cheap to meter.” It has turned out to be more expensive than any other generating source and has spawned no noticeable spin-off of industrial development.
Then came the first “McKenna miracle” with a great influx of call-centers. But they rose and fell like the passing of the seasons. Then came the Graham government’s dream of a “great energy hub” centred in southern NB that included a second nuclear plant at Point Lepreau to serve the New England market. The market disappeared and so did the dream.
Next up on the roster of “game changers” we have the potential of shale gas, which may or may not be a goose with a golden egg for the Province. It may turn out to be short term gain with long term environmental costs and damaged property values.
And now we have the promise of 6000 construction jobs delivered by the mega-project of pipeline construction for bringing bitumen from Alberta. And then what? When the construction is done, will the workers have to go back to Alberta to help dig up more bitumen until it’s gone? Is this a “game changer” or just another version of the same old game of looking for a mega-project miracle.
Is there a way New Brunswick can develop an economy that is not continually in search of a “game changer?”
Maybe, if we start thinking like Wayne Gretzky. When asked about the secret of his success, he replied, “I skate where the puck is going to be.” If we translate that strategy into thinking about energy, we might get a lead on where a new platform of sustainable economic development could come from.
Historically, every society has been based on a dominant energy resource. Our society is now based on the “miracle” of oil. Petroleum came into the economic life of North America, and then the whole world, like a shooting star, fueling great swaths of technological innovation and virtually miraculous economic growth.
Those of us old enough to have lived through the great transformation of the oil era, know how “miraculous” this energy resource has been. Those born into the high point of its trajectory just think of it as normal, and now, being in charge of the economy, see continuing to maximize its benefits as a rational course of action. But is it?
Like a shooting star, the oil era has a trajectory and it is now bending toward the horizon of depletion. Oil that is now being found through fracking does not reverse this depletion. Oil production worldwide is flat-lining, yet global demand for oil is increasing at almost a million barrels annually. And the faster we collectively burn it, the steeper the curve to depletion.
In this context, a new pipeline is not so much a game changer, as it is part of an endgame for the decline of the oil era. The more we ramp it up, the quicker the era of easy and inexpensive oil will fade. Is this the best way to invest our resources and prepare for a different energy future? It’s time to skate where the next energy “puck” is going to be.
No one disagrees that the next energy future is in renewables, and especially in solar energy. The question is, are we planning to burn all the fossil fuels we can before getting serious about solar and other renewable energy technologies? If so, the term “game changer” takes on an ominous new meaning. Climate scientist, James Hansen, along with others, has calculated the effect of completely exploiting the Alberta oil sands and advises that this source of fossil fuel alone is enough make it “game over for the climate.”
A report just released by the highly respected International Energy Agency has startled everyone by saying that two-thirds of the world’s known fossil fuel reserves must be left in the ground if we expect to retain a liveable climate for human civilization. This is a real head shaker.
The “game changer” we need – that the whole world needs – is a shift to renewable energy as rapidly as possible so most of what’s left of earth’s fossil fuel deposits can be remain safely in the ground. This shift is obviously needed at a global level, but the political jurisdictions and the industrial capacity of highly developed regions must take the lead in this transformation – and this includes New Brunswick.
You might ask, but what can we do? For one thing, the NB government could immediately mandate all new public building to not only be energy neutral, but, in so far as possible, be energy producers. There is no mystery about how be to do this. Germany is doing it.
Second, the government could begin a program of retrofitting all public buildings toward energy neutral and energy producing standards. This leadership would begin the build up of renewable energy businesses and increased employment across the Province. This is not flashy development, but it would result in solid, incremental gains that would help move our Province into the renewable energy future, and, in the long term planning perspective, save the government a whack of money on future energy costs.
Third, a no-cost-to-government financing plan for home and business owner conversion to renewable energy could be put in place in every community. Again, this financing innovation has been well developed in other jurisdictions and needs only to be copied and implemented. (Google Energy Financing Districts for further information.) Good, long lasting employment would be increased by the steady conversion of home after home and business after business to renewable energy.
Fourth, the NB government and NB Power could reset their policy and planning priorities around the creation of a smart grid that helps build up and serve a distributed energy network moving more and more to the link up and coordination of renewable energy generating sites.
These steps may not have the feel of a dramatic, “game changing” miracle, but they would help get NB in sync with the coming energy platform on which continued prosperity will more and more depend.
Keith Helmuth is a member of the Woodstock Sustainable Energy Group (SEG). SEG has just published From Oil Dependency to Renewable Energy: An Energy Transition Guidebook for the Woodstock Region; Assessment, Planning, Resources. Complimentary copies may be obtained by contacting [email protected]">[email protected]
- Détails
- Publié par : Tashina Thomas
- Affichages : 7898
Le commissaire fédéral de l’Environnement et du développement durable, Scott Vaughn, démissionnera de son poste le 1er avril. M. Vaughn était commissaire en poste depuis 2008 et son mandat ne devait pas se terminer avant deux autres années. Son bureau est en dessous du Bureau du vérificateur général du Canada. Durant le temps qu’il était commissionnaire, il a publié plusieurs rapports dans lesquels il évaluait l’efficacité de la réalisation des obligations environnementales et des objectifs de l’administration. Ses responsabilités incluaient les pétitions relatives à l’environnement, les obligations selon la loi fédérale sur le développement durable et la loi de mise en vigueur du protocole de Kyoto. Au RENB, nous avions trouvé M. Vaughn et son personnel très accessible et dynamique afin de garantir que les Canadiens avaient accès au processus de présentation des pétitions environnementales. M. Vaughn a accepté le poste de président et chef de la direction de l’Institut international pour le développement durable basé au Manitoba.
Article sur Canada.com
Biographie
- Détails
- Publié par : Tashina Thomas
- Affichages : 7917
- Détails
- Publié par : Michael McKinley
- Affichages : 9809
January 03, 2013
The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2
Email: [email protected]">[email protected];
Fax: 613-941-6900
Dear Mr. Prime Minister,
We are a diverse group of community committees and organizations representing many thousands of New Brunswickers who are actively concerned about the quality of their environment. We are writing you today to express our alarm concerning the direction that you have taken Canada with respect to recent legislation impacting our Aboriginal brothers and sisters.
Bill C-45 has become the latest focus of Aboriginal discontent. The Idle No More protests sweeping our nation and the Chief Theresa Spence hunger strike attest to the level of anger and frustration felt not only by First Nations people but by many other Canadians as well. We agree with our Aboriginal brothers and sisters that much of the legislation in Bill C-45 will repress Aboriginal rights, remove environmental protections and thereby facilitate the irresponsible exploitation of Canada’s natural resources. We would argue that the Bill C-45 legislative process lacked the required “meaningful consultations with indigenous peoples on issues that concern them” as supported by the Supreme Court of Canada. We would also argue that the process circumvented Article 19 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which Canada has endorsed and which provides that
States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free, prior and informed consent before adopting and implementing legislation or administrative measures that may affect them.
We sincerely hope that your government will endeavour to make new attempts at meaningful consultation and new attempts to cooperate in good faith with our Aboriginal population.
Given the grave circumstances and great potential for irreparable harm to First Nations people and their way of life as a consequence of this legislation, we request that you consult with First Nations leadership, including traditional leadership, and rescind those objectionable policies that will be enacted by Bill C-45. We also strongly urge you meet with Chief Theresa Spence and all Aboriginal leadership and embark on a policy of inclusion, reconciliation and renewal of our First Nations communities.
Otherwise we strongly believe that we will have missed a very important opportunity to address past injustices and abuses and failed to ensure the healthy physical and spiritual environments that our First Nations people require to survive and thrive peacefully in Canada.
Sincerely,
Citizens Coalition for Clean Air
Concerned Citizens of Penobsquis
Conservation Council of New Brunswick
Corn Hill and Area Residents Association
Council of Canadians – Fredericton Chapter
Council of Canadians – Saint John Chapter
Friends of Mount Carleton
Hampton Water First
Harvey Environmental Action Team
Memramcook Action
New Brunswickers Against Fracking
Parents Against Everyday Poisions
Taymouth Community Association
Tantramar Alliance Against Hydrofracking
Notre Environnement, Notre Choix
Upriver Environment Watch
Upper Miramichi Stewardship Alliance
Darlings Island Fracking Intervention Naguwigewauk
Friends of UNB Woodlot
Penniac Anti-Shale-Gas Organization
Quality of Life Initiative
Petitcodiac Watershed Alliance
Stanley Area Action Group
Sustainable Energy Group
Sierra Club Atlantic
Maliseet Grand Council
Water and Environmental Protection for Albert County
Copied to:
Chief Theresa Spence
Attawapiskat First Nation
Attawapiskat ON P0L 1A0
(705) 997-1101 Fax: (705) 997-2116
Media release: [email protected]">[email protected]
Chief Shawn Atleo
National Chief
Assembly of First Nations
Trebla Building 473 Albert Street
Ottawa, ON K1R 5B4
Tel: (613) 241-6789 Fax: (613) 241-5806
[email protected]">[email protected]
His Excellency the
Right Honourable David Johnson
Governor General of Canada
Rideau Hall
1 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A1
E-mail: [email protected]
Fax: 613-998-8760
The Honourable John Duncan
Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern
Development Canada
Terrasses de la Chaudière
10 Wellington, North Tower
Gatineau, Quebec
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H4
Email: [email protected]
Fax: 1-866-817-3977
The Honourable Robert Douglas Nicholson
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of
Canada
House of Commons Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Email: [email protected]">[email protected]
The Honourable Thomas J. Mulcair
Leader of the Official Opposition
House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario, 1A 0A6
Telephone: 613-995-7224
Fax: 613-995-4565
E-Mail: [email protected]">[email protected]
The Honourable Bob Rae
House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A6
Email: [email protected]">[email protected]
Ms. Elizabeth May
House of Commons
518 Confederation Building
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Phone: 613-996-1119
Fax: 613-996-0850
E-mail: [email protected]">[email protected]
Professor James Anaya
Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
C/o OHCHR-UNOG
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Palais Wilson
1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Fax: +41 – 22 917 90 06
Email: [email protected]">[email protected]
