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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the second of three reports in its 6th Assessments on February 28th. Julia Levin, Senior Climate and Energy Program Manager with Environmental Defence in Toronto, gives us an overview of the report.
The BC budget last week had a lot about climate in it. Jens Wieting, Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner with the Sierra Club of BC, discusses it, in light of the IPCC report.
March 8 and 9th, the Friends of Kootenay Lake Stewardship Society holds its 8th annual summit with sessions on sustainable boating and the health of the fish population. Joelle Burnie, the Environment Outreach Coordinator talks about it.
LlNKS AND EVENTS
8th Annual Kootenay Lake Summit. See more at FriendsOfKootenayLake.ca
Nelson Chapter Council of Canadians Petition for Just Transition signing in the 400 block of Baker Street Saturday March 12 from 10 am to 2 pm.
Climate Action Network analysis of IPCC Report
Barry Saxifrages’ informative carbon data analysis and charts http://www.saxifrages.org/eco/
ENVIRONMENT NEWS
The fossil fuel industry has a big methane problem—and we’re only just beginning to realize how serious it is. Methane emissions and leaks from the fossil fuel industry are being massively underreported according to the report from The International Energy Agency. The methane released could be 70% higher than official estimates provided by countries around the world.
Methane isn’t as long lasting as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere but it’s about 80 times more potent over a 20-year period. Cutting methane emissions quickly can help a lot to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.
The IEA report says that big oil producers in the Middle East have “relatively low emissions intensities” of methane, with few major leaks. But, Turkmenistan and other oil- and gas-producing parts of Central Asia producing huge amounts of methane. The U.S., is the third largest emitter of methane from fossil fuel production, and Canada isn’t far behind.
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Coastal GasLink has been hit with a $72,500 fine for environmental violations that lasted for at least a year in the construction of the 670-kilometre pipeline through northern B.C.
Erosion and sediment-control issues were seen multiple locations during inspections in April and May last year. But the problems first appeared B.C.’s Environmental Assessment Office in October 2020. They remained a year later, the EAO found in followup inspections.
Coastal Gas Link says it has now cleaned up along its lengthy construction sites.
https://thetyee.ca/News/2022/02/25/Coastal-GasLink-Fined-Environmental-Infractions/
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British Columbia’s emissions reduction plan is “based on a fantasy” of bountiful hydroelectric power says a new report from the University of British Columbia Clean Energy Research Centre (CERC). The report says the CleanBC is going to fail to meet the Paris targets set for the province and says BC should begin rapid expansion of solar and wind to meet the need to electrify transport, heating and the BC economy.,
The province’s CleanBC plan hasn’t done the math, says UBC professor Roland Clift. He points out that only 16.7% of the province’s current energy needs are met by hydroelectricity, 70% comes from fossil fuels—including 40% from gasoline and other petroleum products, and 30% from natural gas.
Clift says “All the low-carbon electricity is already committed,”“That means you’ve got to find other energy sources, which are many times the current electricity supply.”
B.C. will find itself 20% short of the electricity needed to meet its 2030 goal of reducing emissions 40% below 2007 levels
The CERC researchers found it would take roughly 700 wind turbines or 30 square kilometres of solar panels to match the Site C dam’s expected power production.
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The Dakota Access pipeline in North and South Dakota has been attempting to sidestep a new environmental review that could ultimately shut it down. But the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case and the review will have to go ahead.
The Dakota Access Pipeline of course was the site of the huge Standing Rock protests in 2016. President Barack Obama’s administration called for a “voluntary” construction pause along the fiercely-contested, 40-mile section of the pipeline in September 2016, to allow for nation-to-nation negotiations with the Standing Rock Sioux. But incoming President Donald Trump gave the go ahead.
“The Dakota Access pipeline has been the subject of a lengthy court battle between tribes seeking its closure and Dallas-based Energy Transfer.”
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The boreal forest is the “lung of the world” and Canada must become its most committed steward says author and activist Ben Rawlence in a recent op-ed in the Globe and Mail.
He says the boreal is “the most critical terrestrial engine that sets the terms for much of life on Earth,”
Rawlence, is the author of The Treeline: The Last Forest and the Future of Life on Earth.
He says Canada, as home to one third of this all-important forest, holds an “awesome responsibility” to all the rest of life on Earth. “Halting forest degradation and deforestation was one of the key planks of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s plan for keeping global warming below two degrees,” writes Rawlence, emphasizing Canada’s duty to protect the forest.
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A new marina with room for 60 more boats is part of the latest plan to develop the Kutenai Landing Property across the street from the Prestige Hotel in Nelson.
The development would also feature a mix of multi-family residential units and commercial space.
Developer Mike Culos has purchased the property and he says his proposal should be before Nelson City Council in late April or early May. He hopes building could start in late August.
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