Source: The Guardian

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is currently starting its investigation into eco-sabotage in the state of Washington. It has been reported that are over 40 cases of environmental crimes committed largely by people to damage oil and transportation companies—eco sabotage occurs by outside parties on railways and rail lines connected to oil production.

The most serious allegation occurred on December 22, 2020, when a train got derailed and caused a spill of 29 000 gallons of oil, leading to the evacuation of 120 people nearby. This incident was thought to be caused by activists sabotaging railways to show their solidarity with indigenous communities nearby.

Similar incidents occurred around the same time, the most notable one being on November 28, 2020; two women were arrested for placing a shunt (a wire that when placed across a track to stop a train by a series of electrical signals). Both women face up to 20 years in prison for acts of eco-terrorism and violating Title 18 of the US Code. It is thought that these two women were also “acting on behalf” (even though the following Indigenous community did not urge or promote such behaviour) of the Indigenous people in the Wet’suwet’en territory.

This group is located largely in northern British Columbia, where a new pipeline (Coastal Gaslink) is being created. In order to stop this construction, protestors have taken to acts of eco-sabotage, however, have failed to see that more environmental damage has been caused in due process. It is not to suggest that such developments (pipelines) do not deserve fair protest, as it does lead to societal harm by infringing on indigenous rights and environmental harm. Although, violence is likely not the route to take as it radicalizes an issue that can be diplomatically handled. That issue is:

Building a pipeline across the land owned by the most important people in your country. How is that respectful at all?

Snap Election?

Source: Green Party

Our friends at GreenPac, the environmental non-partisan, nonprofit that works year-round to identify, elect, and support environmental leaders, (and provides parliamentary internship opportunities for young Canadian environmental students – a great program!), has their fingers on the pulse of Parliament Hill and thus we paid attention when we received their most recent dispatch:

It looks like a federal election call may be right around the corner.

In the face of wildfire and heat domes, this is an election where climate and the environment – and their intersection to health, economy, and justice – need to be front and centre. That’s where GreenPAC comes in! Elections are all about platforms and promises. But, at GreenPAC, we work to activate and inspire environmental leadership, action, and accountability in politics.

In terms of ‘moving the needle’ on environmental issues, federal legislative changes hold the potential to provide the national mandates to hit the fast-forward button on many key environmental fronts. Making that legislative change happen comes by electing ‘environmental leaders from all political stripes. And that’s where GreenPac helps out, by endorsing candidates with strong environmental bona fides and by working with local organizers to host ALL CANDIDATES DEBATES. 

Specifically, GreenPac has launched a campaign in anticipation of the writ’s drop called 100 DEBATES ON THE ENVIRONMENT:

The mission is simple: Ensure Canadian politicians across the country know they need an ambitious and actionable climate plan in order to win votes in the 2021 Election. How? By organizing 100 Debates on the Environment. We did it in 2019 and we’re doing it again! We already have 45+ organizers coming on board to organize a debate in their ridings. What are you waiting for? Become an organizer now! We’ll give you all the tools & support you need to make it a breeze.

Sounds like an interesting idea and something that we at A\J will be following closely in the weeks and months ahead.

Here and Now

Source: IIED

A new report released this week by the UK’s Meteorological Office entitled State of the UK Climate 2020 makes it abundantly clear that the impacts of the climate crisis are already changing the localized climates for our communities. The report, the ninth in a series of exhaustively researched and reviewed, provides unequivocal evidence in its Executive Summary:

• The UK’s climate is changing. Recent decades have been warmer, wetter, and sunnier than the 20th century.

• The year 2020 was the third warmest, fifth wettest, and eighth sunniest on record for the UK. No other year has fallen in the top-10 for all three variables for the UK.
• The UK has warmed at a broadly consistent but slightly higher rate than the observed change in global mean temperature.

As the report’s lead author, Mike Kendon, a climate information scientist at the UK Met Office, shared with the BBC:

“A lot of people think climate change is in the future – but this proves the climate is already changing here in the UK. “As it continues to warm we are going to see more and more extreme weather such as heatwaves and floods.”

So what does that mean in terms of real-world, right-now impacts? Again, from the BBC:

Liz Bentley, head of the Royal Meteorological Society, said that even if governments could achieve the challenging outcome of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5C – which looks very unlikely – that would still lead to a 10% increase in the amount of water the air can hold.

“In the UK,” she said, “we are likely to see temperatures of 40C. As we get 1.5C warming, that’ll be something we see on a regular basis.

“People don’t realise that even a small temperature rise of 0.1 or 0.2 degrees overall can make a huge difference – especially in the frequency and intensity of extreme events.

“We had roads melting last year, rails start to buckle, electric cabling starts to buckle. It often takes a massive high-impact event to change attitudes to the climate – so let’s hope what’s been happening recently with extreme weather will raise the will to tackle the problem.”

And hopefully, the leaders of our communities pay heed to researchers like Dr. Bentley and summon their own will to enact policies and promote projects that align our actions with the facts as they’re unfurling in front of our eyes.

Mangrove Forests Are Disappearing, The Answer Lies in its Invertebrates

Source: Oceana

A journal article published this week suggests that mangrove forests (forests located by the coast of many tropical countries) might be threatened by the reduced diversity of invertebrates in them. Mangrove ecosystems are important in many countries as they prevent flooding into inland areas and provide many other ecological benefits. Unfortunately, they are also threatened by deforestation and other anthropocentric activities).

It is thought that this deforestation has also impacted the diversity of invertebrates (largely aquatic) in the area and has reduced the appearance of less common species. This is quite terrible news, as the main ecological functioning in mangrove forests relies on mutual relationships with a healthy and diverse group of invertebrates—these small organisms sustain both flora and fauna in this ecosystem.

Researchers found that mangrove ecosystems have “low functional redundancy”. This means that it does not have that great of ecological insurance. For example, in ecosystems with high functional redundancy if one species were to disappear another would likely be able to fulfill its function in the ecosystem. In mangrove ecosystems and others with low functional redundancy, if a species were to disappear there would be no replacement and that would likely lead to its ultimate downfall.

It is now crucial to address the functional diversity in mangrove ecosystems, lest we see them gone forever in the next decade.

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Almost every sector of the economy would benefit from oil sand development. But through all the positive economic growth Canada would receive, it is necessary to look at the impact on the environment it will have.

The refined oil will be transported through pipelines. Any released bitumen through a spill, leak, or rupture can contaminate the surrounding land or water. Tailing ponds to store the liquid to retrieve the oil can be shown to leak chemicals into the surrounding water supply like the Athabasca River and the Mackenzie River. Additionally, the environmental impact assessment (EIA) conducted in the area shows that the overall quantity of chemicals (PAH) is lower than that which naturally occurs in recovering petrol. A change in formula can have health risks to the surrounding population.

These chemicals can cause upper respiratory issues on site. Moreover, the chemicals that are released through a spill, leak, or rupture, that do not work directly on-site will soon have more complicated issues like headache, nausea, skin rashes, and respiratory symptoms which coincide with exposure to crude oil.

Working on the oil sands can have an increased health risk, and during the current COVID-19 pandemic it will make it much worse. According to unnamed contractors, workers did not have inadequate distancing, testing, or sanitization Those that currently work at CNRL Horizon in the Alberta Oil sands have stated, “We don’t feel safe here, but we keep working because everybody wants to work,” one contractor at Horizon said.

It is difficult for these workers to bring complaints about these safety issues to those higher on the corporate ladder,  due to fear of losing their job. The liability does not fall on the oil sand operators anymore regarding the environment or the health and safety of the workers.

“We’re all feeling like, head down, blinders on. Don’t even look around you and just try to get through your shift without getting sick.”

It is frivolous to think that mining for crude oil will disappear in the next 10 years. But companies should have federal and provincial policies in place to protect the health of their workers – and the general public – from irreversible harm. “Personally, with experience in seeing all sides of corporate and environmental relationships, I know products must exist for now. But it is difficult for me to understand why an unexplored market could be so scary to a company when investments are made all the time for new products. 

Do you think you could help me understand?

The post The liability falls where in Alberta? appeared first on A\J.

A well-known oil company, Imperial Oil, had its name in a bold white font at the top of the letter. The name of the project was Waterdown to Finch and it gave a detailed, yet brief, account of the replacement of an existing pipeline (Sarnia Products Pipelines) in six municipalities within the GTA; Toronto, Mississauga, Milton, Oakville, Burlington, and Hamilton. And of course, the project predicted the impact of removing “some” vegetation and trees.

Had I been anyone else, but a writer for Alternatives Journal or an environmental activist, I am sure I would have turned a blind eye. Predictably, I took the notice to my writing nook and started my research immediately. I had two main questions to answer:

1. How did the replacement of a pipeline that spanned over 60 kilometers and five jurisdictions not catch my attention when it was first being proposed in 2018?
2. What information existed about the environmental repercussions of such a development?

The first question had more to do with how “big oil” and general construction groups actually receive permission to develop on municipal land. The process is relatively simple if done correctly and discreetly. In Canada, oil companies have to follow the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act. The legislation suggests that proper operating licenses and permits to developing near or on natural spaces (as regulated by a conservation authority) must be acquired prior to construction.  Additionally, the developer also has to notify the Ontario Energy Board for the construction and (if applicable) comply with the Navigable Waters Act. Imperial and the Waterdown to Finch Project received regulatory approval from the Ontario Energy Board in March 2020.

After receiving confirmation and required approvals from federal, provincial, and environmental authorities the company must then start a consultation process with residents in the development area (i.e. the people near the pipeline). 

The consultation process could be done in any manner deemed appropriate by the head developer. In the case of this project, two community information sessions were conducted in each municipality and two separate online sessions were conducted in 2018. The company did not release the results of these sessions to the public nor did they continue such consultations in the future. And many people, me and my neighbours included, only found out about this pipeline replacement from our post box three years later. At that point there was nothing we could do; it was just a decision that had been made and not a discussion to be had.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with this consultation process from a legal standpoint, however, it is socially dubious. A fair process would include multiple sessions to contact community members prior to construction. Even if Imperial Oil has promised to continue the engagement with residents in the development area, this now only pertains to present construction activities. In short, our hands are tied, but our eyes are definitely not covered.

In Imperial’s environmental report on this project, the line would likely affect the following directly: numerous wetland crossings or watercourses, significant woodlands and wildlife habitat, animal movement corridors, and species at risk. The company has yet to release the results of environmental surveys on the aforementioned affected groups, so currently, the true impact of such a development remains unknown. They have mentioned in this report that “Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA)” would be protected from the development and remediation/mitigation would occur if damage were done in construction. An example of this could be the planting of new trees and vegetation if these entities are impacted. However, there is always a considerable risk when working with ecologically sensitive areas and often remediation only aids certain species in a geographical area and not the whole ecosystem that was disrupted. Nature is illogical and random, but complex overall and people may try to replicate natural systems, however, often do so insufficiently.

So, what is the point of me describing to you the construction of yet another pipeline, of seemingly hundreds being developed currently in North America, and its impact? Well, firstly if you were in the GTA area and wanted to be involved as a concerned citizen with this project that seemingly appeared out of nowhere, perhaps this article will alert you to monitoring its development—I have provided the contacts for Imperial’s consultation team below and I urge you to ask them any questions you have about the implications of this development, I know I will.

Although, my true reason for this article was more selfish. I received news of something that would affect my hometown and its nature, in a simply worded letter. Something as big as a 63km pipeline shortened down to a few words and delivered through post. I knew I had to write something about it. If only to appeal and remind others:

Let’s stop running lines through the places we grew up in and let’s hold groups accountable when they try to. 

Contact Imperial Oil About the Waterdown to Finch Pipeline Project:

Imperial will also be hosting a virtual public information session for community members in Mississauga that are adjacent or nearby the Project footprint to share important information about the construction phase and answer questions. Keep on the lookout for this session!

Email: questions@imperialon.ca  or  Phone: +1 (416) 586-1915

Information about Project: https://www.imperialoil.ca/en-ca/Company/Waterdown-to-Finch

*This article has been edited on May 18, 2021, to reflect some information provided to us by Imperial Oil

The post A Pipeline in the Post – The Development of the Waterdown to Finch Pipeline appeared first on A\J.