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Ottawa’s new anti-terrorism strategy lists eco-extremists as threats
After vowing to take on radical environmentalists determined to stop the Northern Gateway pipeline, the Harper government has released a new anti-terrorism strategy that targets eco-extremists as threats.
With his announcement this week, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews has increased the concern among environmentalists that Ottawa regards them as implacable adversaries to be monitored and battled, rather than well-meaning advocates to be consulted.
“This is just one more step in their attempt to marginalize the environmental movement and to quiet its voice,” John Bennett, executive director of Sierra Club Canada, said Friday. “It’s an indirect suggestion that somehow environmentalism is attached to terrorism and that’s just wrong.”... Read more »
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Are Canadian environmentalists a terrorist threat?
In a report released yesterday outlining the federal government’s new counter-terrorism strategy, Public Safety Canada listed environmentalists among other “issue-based domestic extremists” that could pose a threat to Canadians.
Responding to the report, Sierra Club Canada director John Bennett said this portrayal is aligned with officials’ attempts to silence environmental groups opposed to major energy projects like the Northern Gateway pipeline.
“We are one of the few segments of Canadian society that has continually stood up to the present Conservative government and been able to be effective at raising issues," said Bennett.... Read more »
Deadline passes for steam generators
Bruce Power’s licence to transport steam generators containing radiation for recycling expired Friday.
The nuclear power generator has not reapplied and said in a news release Friday it will do so “when it’s appropriate.”
It also said there is “no urgency” to ship the generators.
Company spokesman John Peevers declined to answer questions about it.
“Bruce Power continues to believe recycling offers the best environmental solution for reducing our footprint and is something we remain entirely committed to,” the company said in a statement.
If Bruce Power applies to renew its licence, the Canadian Nuclear Safety and Control Act requires the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to hold another public hearing, the Council of Canadians said in a news release this week.... Read more »
Fukushima fallout hit Canada
After the Fukushima nuclear accident, Canadian health officials assured a nervous public that virtually no radioactive fallout had drifted to Canada.
But last March, a Health Canada monitoring station in Calgary detected an average of 8.18 becquerels per litre of radioactive iodine (an isotope released by the nuclear accident) in rainwater, the data shows.
The level easily exceeded the Canadian guideline of six becquerels of iodine per litre for drinking water, acknowledged Eric Pellerin, chief of Health Canada's radiation-surveillance division.
"It's above the recommended level (for drinking water)," he said in an interview. "At any time you sample it, it should not exceed the guideline."
Canadian authorities didn't disclose the high radiation reading at the time.
... Read more »
Avoiding fracking earthquakes: expensive venture
(Reuters) - With mounting evidence linking hundreds of small earthquakes from Oklahoma to Ohio to the energy industry's growing use of fracking technology, scientists say there is one way to minimize risks of even minor temblors.
Only, it costs about $10 million a pop.
A thorough seismic survey to assess tracts of rock below where oil and gas drilling fluid is disposed of could help detect quake prone areas.
But that would be far more costly than the traditional method of drilling a bore hole, which takes a limited sample of a rock formation but gives no hint of faults lines or plates.
The more expensive method will be a hard sell as long as irrefutable proof of the link between fracking and earthquakes remains elusive.
... Read more »








