Why focusing on Bobby Hull’s hockey legacy but not his abuse allegations is a problem

Claire Clarkson

CBC

February 1, 2023


Celebrity obituaries are never short of lavish praise or glorification, but when a star has a legacy that includes allegations of domestic violence and racism, as in the case of Canadian hockey legend Bobby Hull, the flattering tributes can be hard for some to stomach.

Hull died Monday at the age of 84 after a storied career in the NHL.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, who is celebrating his 30th anniversary this week, remembered Hull as a “sociable” and “explosive” player praising his string of achievements. The league made no mention of Hull’s troubling past in either its statement or its four minutes Career review video shared on social media, and Hull’s image was projected onto the ice at NHL games Monday night.

The Hockey Hall of Fame that Hull introduced in 1983, and two of the professional teams he played on Chicago and the Winnipeg Jets (the Hartford Whalers no longer exist as a franchise), issued statements expressing sorrow and sympathy. But even in their monuments, Hull’s personal history was not recognized.

As of Tuesday, Hockey Canada had made no statement on its website or social media channels about Hull, who won the 1976 Canada Cup as a member of Team Canada. The sports governing body in that country is mired in a scandal of its own over its handling of sexual assault allegations.

“We cannot reflect on the history of this player and his importance to football without considering that he was another player whose career was marked by violence against women,” said Kristi Allain, associate professor of sociology at St .Thomas University in Fredericton. Allain has explored cultures of violent masculinity in men’s elite ice hockey.

As hockey grapples with allegations of abuse, discrimination and a toxic culture, Allain is concerned that glamorizing Hull’s career achievements without serious scrutiny of his behavior could spell a step backwards in efforts to reform the sport.

While it may be difficult “to speak ill of the dead,” she said, it’s important to be transparent.

“If we are demanding a change in hockey culture, we cannot bury [this]. His legacy is not just human shortcomings.”

LOOK AT | Bobby Hull’s Complicated Legacy:

NHL legend Bobby Hull has died at the age of 84

Former NHLer Bobby Hull has died at the age of 84. He was tough and unstoppable on the ice throughout his 23-year professional career, but his personal life has been marred by allegations of domestic violence and controversial comments.

Allegations against Bobby Hull

One of the biggest blemishes on Hull’s reputation are allegations that he abused two of his wives.

Joanne McKay divorced him in 1980 after an allegedly abusive relationship. “I got a real beating there,” she said in one 2002 ESPN Documentarydescribing an alleged attack that took place while vacationing in Hawaii in 1966.

“[Bobby] Just picked me up, threw me over his shoulder, threw me into the room and just kept beating me to death. He took my shoe – with a steel heel – and hit me on the head. I was covered in blood. And I remember he held me over the balcony and I thought, this is the end, I’m going.”

Bobby Hull and his wife Joanne toast champagne to celebrate Bobby’s signing of two contracts with the World Hockey Association and Winnipeg Jets in June 1972. (The Associated Press)

Hull was charged with assault and battery in December 1986, in connection with an alleged assault on his then-wife Deborah Hull. That charge was dropped a few months later when she said she didn’t want to testify.

In 1987, Hull pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer who attempted to intervene in that incident. According to Chicago Sun TimesHull was ordered to pay a $150 fine and six months in court surveillance.

There were also allegations of racism and anti-Semitism. In a 1998 interview with a Russian-English language news agency, he was quoted as having spoken positively about Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

Hull reportedly told the Moscow Times that “Hitler, for example, had some good ideas. He just went a little too far,” when discussing his thoughts on black population growth.

Hull would later deny he made the remarks and sued the source of defamation, along with the Canadian newspaper Toronto Sun, which reported on the interview. He claimed he was tricked.

How sport has reacted to the Hull story

Hull’s off-ice behavior overshadowed his legacy to some degree, says Gare Joyce, author of the 2012 book The Devil and Bobby Hull: How Hockey’s Original Million Dollar Man Became the Lost Legend of the Game.

“Even before ‘Me Too’, I think there had been some adjustment in the way people in hockey viewed Hull,” Joyce said in an interview with CBC News on Monday. “In that first group of great players, he’s not talked about [such as Jean Béliveau, Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky]. He’s not in the conversation.”

But the sport’s organizations don’t seem to be having conversations about Hull’s dark past – at least not publicly.

CBC News reached out to the NHL, Hockey Canada, the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Winnipeg Jets and Chicago’s NHL franchise to ask if they considered the allegations against Hull before releasing tributes and why they didn’t mention his troubles had past.

Neither organization responded in time for publication.

In a news conference Monday, Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness brushed aside a question about how to reconcile Hull’s off-ice demeanor with his rink legacy.

“I’m not going to get into that,” Bowness said. “Listen, he was a great hockey player. He had influence on the league, [he was in the] hall of fame. Let’s leave it at that.”

Chicago — a team Hull has played 15 seasons with — may have realized its history was an issue when the franchise announced nearly a year ago that it had dropped the former left winger as one of its ambassadors.

Former Chicago player Bobby Hull is introduced to fans during the NHL hockey team’s convention in Chicago in July 2019. (The Associated Press)

According to Chicago Sun Timesthe team said it “redefined the role of team ambassador” while dealing with the fallout from the sexual assault allegations in Kyle Beach, and there was a mutual agreement that Hull would “retire from any official team role.”

But as the Sun-Times pointed out, Hull had been appointed ambassador in 2008, many years after allegations were leveled against him suggesting “the Hawks haven’t taken care of them until now,” despite having a “black eye.” for the organisation.”

Joyce said Hull should not have been appointed ambassador at all and that “red flags were waved that stretched back to his playing days”. He noted that Hull was “estranged” from the team for several years before a change of ownership opened the door to restore the relationship.

“It just says how willingly the hockey establishment, especially hockey fans, are in ignoring all of the personal failings and the horrific story of his life,” he said.

CLOCK | Court documents reveal details of sexual assault in junior hockey:
Documents reveal new details about allegations of sexual assault in junior hockey

Recently filed court documents explain why police are seeking search warrants to further their investigation into five members of the 2018 World Junior Hockey Team they believe were involved in an alleged sexual assault of a woman in London, Ontario. None of the police allegations have been tested in court and no charges have been filed.
Dealing with violence on and off the ice

Allain believes that because ice hockey is so ingrained in Canadian cultural identity, it can tend to whitewash or downplay the sport’s problems. But criticism of harmful behavior should come first, she said.

She said she finds it interesting that Hull took a stand against the violent brawls in sports, but is said to have behaved so aggressively in private.

“There’s a relationship between the kind of violence that happens on the ice and the kind of violence that happens off the ice,” she said.

Bobby Hull, playing for Chicago and suffering a black eye from injury, scores a goal against Detroit in April 1963 in the second period of the Stanley Cup playoff game. (The Canadian Press)

2016 the NHL announced It joined other professional sports leagues in requiring all of its players to submit to sexual assault, harassment and domestic violence after a number of its players faced lawsuits or investigations related to alleged abuse.

Allain, who has closely watched the fallout of Hockey Canada’s controversial handling of sexual assault allegations against junior hockey players, is skeptical of the steps the sport’s institutions have taken to reform hockey.

She said there has been a lot of lip service, particularly when it comes to being accountable and transparent for the actions of players – including former players like Hull.

“Bobby Hull is a pioneer in many ways. It’s not a legacy I want to celebrate as a woman,” she said.

HEAR | Remembering a legend with a disputed past:

Information Radio – MB6:37The Golden Jet was a legend on the ice with a controversial past

The Golden Jet Bobby Hull has died. While a legend on the ice, he had a controversial past. CBC’s Jim Agapito heard from former sports broadcaster Matt Leibl how he will be remembered.

Source: www.cbc.ca

COACHING IS ABUSE

Harvard women’s hockey coach under fire after reporting racist comments to Indigenous Canadians

Claire ClarksonFebruary 1, 2023



The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations is calling on Katey Stone, Harvard Crimson women’s ice hockey coach, to resign.

Stone reportedly made racist comments towards players, including two BC Indigenous players

According to the Boston Globe, Stone accused the players of disrespect and that the roster was a group of skaters “with too many chiefs and not enough Indians” after stopping practice in the 2021-22 season.

“I am just disgusted by the statements that have been made. It’s completely disrespectful to our people and of course our youth,” Heather Bear, deputy director of the FSIN, told The Canadian Press on Tuesday.

“In our eyes, she has no place in hockey.”

Harvard did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Canadian Press.

FSIN, which represents 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan, sent a letter to Harvard’s athletic department demanding Stone’s firing.

“I don’t even care about discipline right now. She should just be let go,” said Bear, who is from the Ochapowace Nation.

An independent panel found that racism and discrimination are “significantly present” in the Greater Toronto Hockey League – the largest minor hockey league in the world.

The Boston Globe reported that Indigenous players Maryna Macdonald of Ditidaht First Nation, BC, and Taze Thompson, a member of Metis Nation Alberta and Okanagan Indian Band, BC, have left the team.

The daughter of Philadelphia Flyers assistant coach Rocky Thompson, Thompson played two years at Harvard before joining Northeastern this season.

The 20-year-old forward was the 2020-21 Ivy League Rookie of the Year.

Macdonald, a four-season defenseman with the Crimson, told the Boston Globe that Stone looked her in the eye when she made the comment.

14 players have left the program since 2016

“I had learned to navigate a lot of their toxic environment,” Macdonald said. “But now she respected me and my family and my heritage above anyone else.”

Macdonald and Thompson were among 14 recruited players to have left Stone’s program since 2016, including three this season, The Globe reported in its history.

The newspaper also said former Crimson captain Sydney Daniels of Mistawasi’s Nehiyawak First Nation, Sask., is suing Harvard over alleged racial discrimination related to Stone and the athletic department.

CBC’s Greg Ross caught up with Akim Aliu when he made a surprise visit to a group of kids new to Canada and the sport of hockey.

The university has until February 8 to respond to the lawsuit.

Daniels, who is now an NHL scout with the Winnipeg Jets, was team captain in 2016-17 and Stone’s assistant coach for four years from 2018-2022.

Stone has coached Harvard to a dozen NCAA tournament appearances in the event’s 20-year history.

She was the head coach of the US women’s team that lost 3-2 in overtime to Canada in the 2014 Ice Hockey Olympic final in Sochi, Russia.

The Boston Globe wrote that Harvard conducted an internal review following Stone’s comment and that the athletic director informed the players that Stone would remain head coach of the Crimson.

“I would urge the Harvard Board of Governors to take serious steps to correct this,” Bear said.

Source: www.cbc.ca

St-Onge is urging provinces to step up efforts to make sport safer for athletes

Claire Clarkson

February 1, 2023



OTTAWA — Sports Secretary Pascale St-Onge plans to urge her provincial counterparts to speed up their efforts to investigate abuse in sports when she meets them in Prince Edward Island in February.

St-Onge said in August she had asked provinces to register provincial-level grievances with the new national office of sports integrity officer or develop a similar program of their own. She said they all committed to it.

“I’ll ask them how their progress is, where they’re going, what their schedule is,” she said. “This must be done as soon as possible. I think we face an urgent matter. We hear these stories of abuse and mistreatment at every level. It shouldn’t be a court issue. All athletes should know who to turn to when faced with these situations.”

The Federal Office for Sports Integrity opened in June to handle complaints and investigations for athletes at the national level in sports organizations affiliated with the program. St-Onge said any of the 64 national sports organizations that have not registered by April 1 will lose their federal funding.

On January 10 there were 22 full participants, but the Sports Integrity Officer’s website says many more are on track to do so. There are six other sports groups that are signatories, including training institutes in the Atlantic and Ontario and the Canadian Olympic Committee.

Read Also: Canadian Bobsleigh and Skeleton Athletes Again Call on St-Onge to Eliminate Toxic Culture

But the national office is limited to complaints and investigations affecting athletes at the national level, and St-Onge said the vast majority of athletes in Canada train and compete at a non-national level. These include provincial athletes, high schools, and community clubs, all of which fall under provincial jurisdiction.

Currently, only Quebec has a provincial-level grievance system, Sport’Aide, which was established in 2014 to address the growing problem of violence in sport in the province.

The matter will be raised by St-Onge when she meets provincial sports ministers on February 17 and 18 when they are in Charlottetown for the Canada Winter Games opening ceremony.

Hundreds of athletes from more than a dozen sports have come forward in recent years, accusing coaches, coaches and others of abuse. In some cases, athletes said their abusers used their power to decide national team spots, while others have made chilling allegations of abusive training practices and sexual assault.

There have also been concerns that a lack of inter-provincial information sharing on allegations of abuse has allowed coaches accused of abuse in one province to simply relocate and resume coaching and abusing athletes in another province.

The Commission received 24 complaints in the first three months, but only eight concerned sports organizations that had already joined the program and only two of these could be investigated. The others involved athletes whose national sports federation was a member but the athlete was not, or the complaint did not fall under the universal code of sport.

In the second three months, between October and December, a further 24 complaints were filed, but by then more organizations were taking part, so 18 were from athletes in sports falling under the bureau’s powers.

However, only eight of these complaints can be investigated as the others do not fall within the Commissioner’s jurisdiction.

The Code of Conduct prohibits psychological abuse, including verbal assaults in person or online, and body shaming, physical abuse including denial of adequate food or water, neglect and sexual abuse. It also covers those who fail to report suspected abuse by others, those who make false reports, and retaliation against those who make complaints.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on January 31, 2023.

Mia Rabson, The Canadian Press

Source: www.orilliamatters.com

Calgary launches program to fund clean energy upgrades in homes

Peter Harris

February 1, 2023

Workers install solar panels on a new home in the community of Ambleton in northwest Calgary on Thursday, January 19, 2023. Gavin Young/Postmedia

The Clean Energy Improvement Program is designed to help with the upfront costs of certain home improvement projects

Posted January 31, 2023 • 

The city is making it easier for Calgarians to modernize their homes with clean energy through a new loan program that ties repayment to the property rather than the borrower.

The Clean Energy Improvement Program is designed to reduce the upfront costs of certain home improvement projects, including installing solar panels, upgrading heating and air conditioning, and upgrading water heaters and lighting. If the home is sold before the loan is repaid, the remaining costs are passed on to the next homeowner.

In a press release, the city said 65 percent of Calgary’s greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings. The program addresses the fact that many buildings that are standing today will still be around in 2050 when the city aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to zero.

Mayor Jyoti Gondek said the city has heard from residents who want to make these types of upgrades but can’t always afford the upfront cost.
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“With what we’ve seen in terms of inflation, it’s just been a little bit difficult for people to do the things they wanted to do,” the mayor said. “With this program that’s available to them, they can upgrade the things they want right away and they can slowly pay it back through their property tax bill.”
Loan linked to owner’s tax bill

Under CEIP, homeowners can qualify for a loan of up to $50,000 to cover the cost of upgrades. The city says it offers “competitive interest rates” and repayment terms of up to 20 years, though homeowners can repay the loan in full at any time with no penalty.

The loan is attached to the owner’s tax bill. David Kelly, CEO of solar installation company SkyFire Energy, said this could be the key to getting more people to do solar power installations.

“A lot of people argue, ‘I don’t want to solar power my house if I have to move in five years,'” Kelly said. “With this program and the loan that comes with the house, if you live in a house for five years, you pay your five years on the loan and then the next owner pays their five years on the loan.”

He said the cost of adding solar power to an average home is between $8,000 and $15,000.
Federal program to help Alberta homeowners finance energy retrofits

City Hall adopts an updated climate change strategy and aims for a net zero target by 2050

Council greenlights a funding program to upgrade homes with clean energy

Kelly said there are other federal loans and grants as well.

“Solar energy makes sense today,” he said. “Especially with the subsidy programs and the loans, it’s cheaper than mains electricity.”

CEIP has been rolled out across Alberta

According to the city’s website, the program has a limited amount of money that can be borrowed. The program is currently valued at $15 million.

CEIP has already been rolled out in eight other communities across Alberta, including Lethbridge, Edmonton and Canmore. Alberta Municipalities is the third party administrator of the program.

Alberta Municipalities President Cathy Heron said Calgary is serving as the program’s provincial director.

“It is the largest program in the province to date, funding hundreds of residential energy efficiency and renewable energy projects over the next four years,” she said in a release. “Alberta Municipalities is proud to serve Calgarians as administrators of the program.”

Loan details are available at Calgary.ca/CEIP.

brthomas@postmedia.com
Twitter: @brodie_thomas

Dying for sex: Critically endangered male quolls may mate to death instead of sleeping, scientists say

Layla Nelson

 February 1, 2023



Male northern marsupials appear to sacrifice sleep in favor of sex, a behavior that may account for their early deaths, new research on the endangered marsupials suggests.

Australian scientists have investigated why male northern quolls typically mate to death after one season, while females of the species breed once but live up to four years.

By tracking the activity of the carnivorous marsupials on Groote Eylandt, off the coast of the Northern Territory, researchers found that a lack of rest during the breeding season can contribute to the annual mass die-off of males.

Critically endangered in mainland Australia, northern quolls are the largest mammals known to exhibit semelparity, a breeding strategy in which an organism dies after it has reproduced for the first time. Males can weigh up to 600g and reach the size of a small domestic cat.

Read Also: Sex and no sleep can kill endangered quolls

The researchers tracked the northern quolls during the seven weeks of the breeding season using accelerometers contained in miniature felt rucksacks.

Their study, published in the Royal Society Open Science journal, found that male quolls only rested about 8% of the time, while females rested three times as long (24% of the time). The team collected data from seven men and six women.

The male quolls also spent more time on the move. Two men, whom the researchers named Moimoi and Cayless, walked 10.4 km and 9.4 km, respectively, in one night — the human equivalent of walking about 35 to 40 km, they estimate.

“The males put all that energy into… finding the females, because that’s how they maximize their reproductive output. But they just don’t rest in between,” said Dr. Christofer Clemente, co-author of the study and senior lecturer in animal ecophysiology at USC.

Because they measured rest periods, the researchers cannot say with certainty whether sleep deprivation is the cause, but they believe it would be responsible for the men’s gradual deterioration and eventual death.

It “might explain the causes of death found in the males after the breeding season (e.g., becoming easy prey, unable to avoid collisions, or dying of exhaustion),” they wrote.

“At the end of the breeding season, these quolls look just awful,” Clemente said. “They start shedding their fur, they can’t groom themselves efficiently, they lose weight and … they also fight with each other all the time.”

Previous research has shown that sleep-deprived rodents exhibit similar problems.

In mammals, semelparity is rare and known only in some marsupials, including the Antechinus, a genus of mouse-like native animals whose males experience a post-breeding cortisol spike that leads to organ degradation.

Male northern quolls do not show the same hormonal changes as the antechinus.

Other semelparous animals include the Pacific salmon, whose males and females die after swimming upstream to spawn at their birthplace, and some species of squid.

Related: Unusual sightings of ‘devil birds’ over Melbourne raise migration mysteries for researchers

Dr. Vera Weisbecker, an associate professor of evolutionary biology at Flinders University who was not involved in the research, described semelparity as “a really extreme mode of reproduction” that produced interesting evolutionary insights.

“[Natural] The selection is easier to see in something that reproduces very, very quickly,” she said. “And if you have a semelparous species where the males are constantly dying off, that means we can expect evolution to be more easily at work.”

Weisbecker added that the northern quoll had an unusually wide range, ranging from Queensland and the northern parts of the country to the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

However, the animals are threatened by cane toad poisoning, competition from invasive predators, and habitat fragmentation.

“We have individual groups of animals that survive on their own, but they’re separated by really big gaps,” Weisbecker said.

Groote Eylandt’s study is part of broader research into quoll behavior and predator-prey interactions, which Clemente hopes can inform conservation management planning.

UK
Innes FitzGerald: The teenager turns down championships for the planet

Layla Nelson

February 1, 2023

Innes Fitzgerald of Great Britain competing in the U20 Women’s 4000m during the SPAR European Cross Country Championships at Piemonte-La Mandria Park in Turin, Italy.

At 16, athlete Innes FitzGerald refuses to be left behind.

The promising long-distance runner turned down participation in the Cross Country World Championships.

your justification? The competition takes place in Australia, thousands of miles from her home in Devon. Innes says she can’t justify flying in a climate crisis.

“I had to do something. I had to do something just to make people aware of the problem,” she says.

“I just thought I had to do something,” Innes tells BBC Newsbeat.

“So when I had the opportunity to go to Australia, I thought, well, now I should say something.”

She wrote a letter to British Athletics, first published in Athletics Weekly, where she wrote that travel fills her with “deep concern”.

“I would never feel comfortable knowing that people could lose their livelihoods, homes and loved ones as a result,” her letter reads.

“The least I can do is express my solidarity with those suffering on the front lines of climate change.

“It wasn’t easy making a decision, but little compares to the sadness I would feel if I accepted the flight.”

‘It’s an emergency’

British Athletics’ response was muted – the organization declined to comment when approached by BBC Newsbeat and Innes says she only received a brief reply herself.

However, others have praised Innes for showing leadership on climate action. Now the teenager hopes that other athletes will follow her example.

“I hope more athletes start questioning their decisions,” says Innes.

“Obviously I don’t expect everyone to behave like me, but I think just doing small things that they think they might be able to do.

“And more high profile athletes that have such a large media platform should use it and speak out about the issues.”

Innes’ election highlights a problem in global competitive sport: Is there a way to be less travel-intensive?

The World Cup in Qatar had promised to be the first carbon-neutral tournament, but there were an estimated 500 daily flights in and out of the capital, Doha, casting doubt on those ambitions.

And Nottingham Forest had to defend themselves after being flown to and from Blackpool for a game in January – 20 minutes each way.

For Innes, she appreciates that sport is a global event, but for now, she limits herself to only competing in the UK and Europe.

She finished fourth at the U20 European Women’s Cross Country Championships in December – she took the train to Italy to compete – and she is aware that her choices could impact her future career.

“It’s really difficult because you can only do a limited number of competitions with the same people in your home country,” she says.

“Even now I think I’ve let go of something, I may have let down my younger self a little bit.

“But I think the climate situation is an emergency – you have to act as if it’s an emergency.”

A return flight in economy class from London to Sydney generates around 2,484 kg of CO2 per passenger, just from burning the fuel. However, CO2 emitted at high altitude has an increased effect – by a factor of 2.7 – which would correspond to 6,707 kg of CO2.

There is no doubt that Innes’ decision not to fly to Australia has already sparked debate and raised awareness of the relationship between sport and climate change.

For athletes who train so hard and already give up so much for their sport, missing out on a world championship is not to be underestimated.

The bigger picture, and literally the bigger problem, is the sport’s enormous environmental and geographic footprint. Sport is now more than ever and is becoming increasingly global, making emissions ever higher.

The World Cross Country Championships actually buck this trend. It used to be an annual event, but since 2010 it has been held every two years, effectively halving emissions.

However, until there is real progress on global warming, maybe there is room for Inne’s beloved sport and everyone else to follow her example and make more sacrifices.

This must be led by the federations and governing bodies of all sports, not left to young athletes alone to take a stand, show leadership and make sacrifices.

“The choices I make now may not be the choices I make in the future,” says Innes.

She’s open that she might choose to fly in the future, especially if it becomes more eco-friendly, but right now her heart is telling her not to travel and she listens.

“It’s going to be tough,” she says. “But I am ready to accept this challenge.”

Rare earth minerals could help in climate change fight, but mining raises environmental concerns: expert

Tue, January 31, 2023

A worker at the Nechalacho rare earth mine in the Northwest Territories. The Vital Metals rare earth processing plant in Saskatoon will process rare earth elements from the Nechalacho mine.

 (Bill Braden/Vital Metals Ltd., Cheetah Resources Corp. - image credit)

While rare earth minerals are now being touted as a key part of efforts to reduce greenhouse gases, there are environmental concerns in extracting these minerals from the ground, says an expert in environmental considerations around mining.

Demand is growing for rare earth elements — a group of metals and minerals that includes lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt and copper that are used in batteries for everything from vehicles to smartphones.

Rare earth elements are being prioritized for investments in exploration, production and processing as part of Canada's critical minerals strategy, which was announced last month.

Some of Canada's experience in mining things like gold or potash is now being used to hunt for rare earth minerals, and Saskatchewan is playing a role through the Vital Metals rare earth processing plant in Saskatoon, which is expected to begin production in the next couple of months.

The plant will process rare earth elements from the Nechalacho rare earth mine in the Northwest Territories before shipping the refined product to another facility in Norway.

But Isabelle Demers, the Quebec-based Canada Research Chair in Integration of Environment in the Mine Life Cycle, says while Canada has the technology to mine these minerals, it's different than mining something like gold.

"We definitely need to produce more of these minerals, and ideally we want to produce them in a responsible manner," Demers said in an interview with CBC Saskatchewan's Morning Edition.

"They are very important because up to now they have been mined mostly in China and other countries, and demand was quite low compared to the upcoming demand to produce all those batteries to meet the commitments for climate change adaptation."

Besides the environmental footprint of the mine itself and the waste it produces, there are concerns elements like lithium or strontium could be released into the environment.

"Those [are] rare earths that are already locked into rock, and once exposed to the atmosphere … they could change form and go into a soluble form and into the environment," Demers said.

"Those are elements that we have not seen as much with base-metal mining or gold mining."

Plant draws on Sask.'s mining expertise: manager

At the Saskatoon Vital Metals processing plant, general manager Vincent Laniece said equipment is being assembled and the facility should be up and running in a couple of months.

The plant processes metals and minerals extracted at the Nechalacho mine into a concentrate.

That product will then be shipped to another facility in Norway for the next step, where the rare earth elements will be separated.

Laniece said while the materials are mined in the Northwest Territories, Saskatoon was chosen for the plant site because of the mining expertise in the province, a knowledgeable workforce and supports like reliable transportation systems.

Theresa Kliem/CBC

"We do have all the facilities in Saskatoon for disposing of the waste, for getting the proper contractors for building the plant, and for maintaining the plant," he said.

"If everything goes well and the demand is very strong … there is a very good opportunity that we will expand."

Once up and running the facility is expected to employ 50 to 60 people.

Demers believes the precautions now in place and expertise in Canada mean that when it comes to mining for rare earth elements, we have a better idea of what the impacts will be, and there are already efforts to mitigate them.

"So I believe that we're going to be able to reduce these impacts right from the start and not afterwards, like we did several years ago with the gold mine tailings and all that."

The rare earth elements are needed as society transitions where energy comes from, said Demers.

"What I hope is that we do it responsibly … that we will prevent or mitigate most impacts and minimize those impacts both on the environment, and also on the communities, and that all this development will be done in the most optimal way for everyone," she said.

GM to help Lithium Americas develop Nevada's Thacker Pass mine
By Ernest Scheyder

The GM logo in Detroit, Michigan, U.S.

Jan 31 (Reuters) - General Motors Co (GM.N) will invest $650 million in Lithium Americas Corp (LAC.TO) and help it develop Nevada's Thacker Pass lithium mining project, which holds enough of the battery metal to build 1 million electric vehicles annually.

The deal, announced Tuesday, is the latest by an automaker to lock up supply of the key metal as industry rushes to go green. It gives Lithium Americas a major partner as it tries to develop North America's largest lithium mine, which is mired in a long-running court case.

Shares of Lithium Americas rose more than 14% to close Monday at $25.23. Shares of GM, which on Tuesday unveiled a robust earnings forecast for the year, rose 8.4%.

In a speech to the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, Senator Joe Manchin called the GM investment in Lithium Americas "exciting" and a "tangible result" of the Inflation Reduction Act, which was passed last year.

Lithium Americas aims to extract lithium at Thacker Pass from a large clay deposit, something that has never been done before at commercial scale. The investment marks the second in as many years by the auto giant into novel lithium processes. GM signed a supply deal in 2021 with Controlled Thermal Resources Ltd, which is trying to filter lithium from geothermal brines in California.

GM would supplant China's Ganfeng Lithium (002460.SZ) to become Lithium Americas' largest shareholder. GM has also agreed to buy all the lithium from Thacker Pass when it opens in 2026 - roughly 40,000 tonnes per year.

The deal was in the works for nearly a year and came after rival U.S. lithium companies ioneer Ltd (INR.AX) signd a deal to supply Ford Motor Co (F.N) and Piedmont Lithium Inc (PLL.O) inked a pact to supply Tesla Inc (TSLA.O).

"We wanted the right and holistic parter, rather than a bunch of offtake agreements," Jon Evans, the Lithium Americas chief executive, said in an interview. "It was worth it to wait."

Under the agreement, GM will buy $650 million of shares in Lithium Americas in two equal parts, with the first tranche coming only if Lithium Americas prevails in a court case. A U.S. judge this month said she would rule "in the next couple of months" in the case, which centers on whether former U.S. President Donald Trump erred when he approved the mine just before leaving office in 2021. Evans said the chances of the company losing the case and its permits are "extremely low."

The second tranche of funding would come after Lithium Americas completes a long-planned split, expected later this year, of its North and South American operations.

Lithium Americas raised its budget for the first phase of the Thacker Pass project to $2.27 billion, up from $1.06 billion, reflecting changes to its production plans.

The company plans to build several processing facilities at the site, including a plant to produce 3,000 tonnes per day of sulfuric acid, used to extract lithium from the clay.

Lithium Americas has applied for a loan from the U.S. Department of Energy, which Evans expects to fund a "major component" of the remaining project cost.

Lithium Americas has the support of one Native American tribe, but several other tribes and environmental groups worry it would harm wildlife and water supplies. "If I were GM, I would be asking some hard questions about how the company can remedy the issues at Thacker Pass," said John Hadder of Great Basin Resource Watch, a plaintiff in the court case.

Reporting by Ernest Scheyder in Houston; additional reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri, Mark Porter and David Gregorio

Huge new North American lithium mine closer to reality with GM investment in Lithium Americas

Peter Harris

January 31, 2023



Lithium Americas Corp. LAC-T has completed a $650 million financing and supply agreement with General Motors Co., paving the way for the Canadian lithium developer to build the Thacker Pass lithium mine in Nevada.

The equity financing is subject to Vancouver-based Lithium Americas receiving legal approval to construct the mine.

Once it goes into production in 2026, Thacker is expected to be the largest lithium mine in the U.S., and it should help tremendously to meet North American lithium needs.

The deal also underscores that the big global automakers are increasingly taking stakes in mining companies to ensure access to battery metals in an industry dominated by China.

Under the terms of the agreement, GM GM-N will become the largest shareholder in Lithium Americas and will also be entitled to supply of lithium carbonate to be mined in the first phase of the mine.

Read Also: Snow Lake Lithium expects its all-electric mine to produce enough lithium to power 5 million electric vehicles in North America

As part of their respective critical minerals strategies, the United States and Canada are attempting to break away from their dependence on Chinese-controlled lithium.

While lithium supply deals between miners and automakers like Tesla are commonplace, more and more automakers are investing directly in miners to accelerate lithium projects.

GM in October acquired a $69 million equity interest in Queensland Pacific Metals, an Australian cobalt and nickel developer. Stellantis NV acquired a $52 million equity stake in Australian lithium producer Vulcan Energy Resources in June.

Under President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, US consumers can receive subsidies of up to $7,500 for the purchase of electric cars assembled in North America. These subsidies motivate automakers like GM to source battery metals from North America. Canada is under pressure to increase Biden’s subsidies and all eyes will be on the upcoming federal budget.

Lithium Americas is set to receive an initial $320 million infusion from GM after a U.S. district court at Thacker Pass made a decision expected later this year.

The balance of the financing will be released after Lithium America separates its operations in the United States and Argentina.

The Argentine business is important to the company, but politically it has caused tension in North America as Chinese company Ganfeng Lithium is a 46.7% joint venture partner in its Cauchari-Olaroz lithium project. Ganfeng, one of China’s largest lithium producers, has invested in the Canadian company since 2017. Ganfeng is also a major shareholder in Lithium Americas, with a stake of around 11 percent.

Assembly of First Nations CEO Janice Ciavaglia resigns

Tue, January 31, 2023 

The CEO of the Assembly of First Nations oversees the non-political arm of the national advocacy organization, known as the secretariat. (Ka’nhehsí:io Deer/CBC - image credit)

The CEO of the Assembly of First Nations is resigning, according to an email seen by CBC News, another blow to the national organization that has been hounded by allegations of a toxic workplace.

In an email sent to all secretariat staff on Monday, the AFN's vice-president of operations and administration Jonathan Thompson said Janice Ciavaglia has tendered her resignation effective March 10.

The AFN executive, which is composed of regional chiefs and the national chief, will discuss the process to hire a new CEO and someone in the interim, the email said.

The email did not say why Ciavaglia resigned. An email sent to her AFN address bounced back saying she does not currently have access to emails.

AFN communications officer Kelly Reid said, "We have no comment," when asked about the resignation.

Ciavaglia filed complaint against national chief

The CEO is the top administrative official who oversees the AFN's non-political arm, known as the secretariat, which has more than 170 employees who focus on policy work. The AFN advocates for more than 600 First Nations.

Ciavaglia, a teacher by training, joined the AFN as director of education before the executive committee hired her as CEO in 2020 during Perry Bellegarde's last term as national chief.

She helped the organization navigate new federal Indigenous child welfare legislation, the response to the pandemic, and a proposed $20-billion settlement of a class-action lawsuit over the underfunding of on-reserve child and family services.

EdCan Network

In 2021, Ciavaglia was named as one of Canada's top 40 leaders under the age of 40 for making positive change for First Nations.

Ciavaglia is also one of five complainants who filed workplace misconduct complaints against National Chief RoseAnne Archibald, which are all under investigation.

The complaints allege Archibald exhibited "paranoia" against Ciavaglia, who the national chief has accused of collusion, according to a July 4 briefing note from the law firm Stockwoods Barristers.

Archibald called the complaints a "smear campaign" designed to undermine her leadership.

Murray Sinclair no longer working with AFN as mediator

Archibald's acting chief of staff Joyce Hunter filed a complaint against Ciavaglia, members of the AFN executive committee and the four other staffers accusing Archibald of misconduct.

The executive didn't order an investigation into that complaint. The investigation into the five against Archibald is ongoing.

AFN chiefs were told in December Archibald hadn't made herself available for an interview with investigators despite their repeated requests to sit down with her between August and then.

Archibald also faced an external investigation in 2020 during her role as Ontario regional chief. The investigator found the allegations "credible," but the investigation was dropped since none of the complainants wanted to file official complaints. Archibald maintained those allegations were reprisal for her allegations of financial improprieties at the AFN.

Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press

Aaron Detlor, Archibald's legal counsel, said he had no information about Ciavaglia's resignation. When asked if he's concerned Ciavaglia could take legal action against the national chief, he said the AFN needs fewer lawyers.

"We're hoping, generally speaking, that less lawyers, less litigation means better results," he said.

After Archibald survived an attempted ouster as national chief, she announced in December 2022 that the AFN was hiring Murray Sinclair, former chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as a mediator to help with conflict resolution.

CBC News has learned Sinclair has temporarily stepped away from professional commitments to manage a health issue.

Ciavaglia's departure comes as the AFN seeks to fill multiple senior positions within the secretariat, including directors of economic development, communications and human resources.

Justin Trudeau stands by appointee Amira Elghawaby, says she will continue fight against Islamophobia

Mon, January 30, 2023 

Amira Elghawaby is a human rights advocate and was just appointed as the representative to combat Islamophobia. (Simon Gohier/CBC - image credit)

The Quebec government is calling on the federal government to withdraw its support of Amira Elghawaby, the new representative to combat Islamophobia, only four days after she was first appointed.

This comes a day after her attendance at the sixth commemoration of the deadly mosque attack in Quebec City, honouring the six men who were killed in 2017 when a gunman opened fire just before 8 p.m. in the Islamic Cultural Centre in the Sainte-Foy neighbourhood.

Since her appointment on Thursday, the journalist and human rights activist has been pressured to clarify her position on Quebec's secularism law.

In 2019 she wrote a column for the Ottawa Citizen where she denounced the "anti-muslim sentiment" that surrounded the adoption of Bill 21 — which bans public servants from wearing religious symbols such as hijabs.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated his support for Elghawaby on Monday.

WATCH | Elghawaby wrote op-ed piece criticizing Quebec's secularism law:

Trudeau said that over the years, she has had the opportunity to consider the impacts of various pieces of legislature on the community — part of what makes her role important. He said Elghawaby was appointed because she knows the Muslim community well and can share their concerns.

"She is there to speak for the community with the community and build bridges," said Trudeau.

"Her job now is to make sure that she is helping the government and helping everyone move forward in the fight against Islamophobia."

Shaheen Ashraf, a board member of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women, says Muslim women and women of colour in leadership often face increased scrutiny and criticism.

She herself was "thrilled" by the appointment and said it's unfair to base an evaluation of Elghawaby on one editorial.

"There is no freedom of speech if these things can happen. [If] you're asked to resign just because of some comments you made against the Quebec government many years ago," said Ashraf.

She noted that many Muslim women naturally have strong feelings toward Bill 21 because it directly affects their ability to work in the public sector.

Courtesy of Quebec City

Jean-François Roberge, CAQ minister responsible for the French language, said Elghawaby has not properly apologized for her comments about Quebec. She "seems to be overcome by an anti-Quebec sentiment," said Roberge.

"All she did was try to justify her hateful comments. That doesn't fly. She must resign and if she doesn't, the government must remove her immediately."

In an interview with CBC's Quebec AM, Elghawaby said she has nothing to apologize for.

"The article in question actually provides the context in it," said Elghawaby.

"It was never meant to suggest that my opinion is that the majority of Quebecers are Islamophobic. I don't believe so. I was merely analyzing the polling numbers … [an] opinion piece is meant to cause people to think, to talk, to reflect."

WATCH | NDP leader says it's time to get to work fighting Islamophobia:

Elghawaby was present for the evening ceremony at the mosque alongside Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and the minister of housing and diversity and inclusion, Ahmed Hussen.

Premier François Legault did not attend.

Boufeldja Benabdallah, co-founder and former president of the mosque, thanked politicians for their presence while pointing to the premier's absence at a ceremony which included reflections on the problem of Islamophobia.

"We have just one thing to ask of you," said Benabdallah, referring to Genevieve Guilbault, CAQ deputy premier. "Talk to Mr. Francois Legault and tell him: 'You have to come.'"

Rachel Watts/CBC

Guilbault took to the podium and said Legault wished he could be there.

On Monday, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet requested an "urgent meeting" with Elghawaby, saying her actions were "more divisive than unifying."

The Liberal opposition critic for immigration, francization and integration, Monsef Derraji, agreed that it is not good to starting a new mandate with the declaration that Quebec has an issue with Islamophobia.

The Parti Québécois is not calling for Elghawaby's resignation, but Joël Arseneau, the Parti Québécois transportation critic, says they are questioning Trudeau's decision.

"She's made several declarations showing prejudice against Quebec society and we don't think it's a good start for someone who wants to bring people together," said Arseneau.

Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, spokesperson for Quebec Solidaire, said it's important to fight against racism in an inclusive way and the statements Elghawaby made were "hurtful to Quebecers."

"That being said, the Legault government has done nothing — nothing in four-and-a-half years — to fight Islamophobia so I think they should look at themselves and make a little more effort to work against Islamophobia because it's not an issue on which they are very credible," said Nadeau-Dubois.

Nature Conservancy of Canada purchases land for protection in southern Alberta

Tue, January 31, 2023 

The Nature Conservancy of Canada said the property will become part of the 130-square kilometres of private conservation lands known as the Waterton Park Front, 

(Nature Conservancy of Canada - image credit)

A property that includes fescue grasslands, forests and wetlands near Waterton Lakes National Park in southern Alberta has been purchased by the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

The organization said Tuesday that the 2.5-square-kilometre property between the national park and Twin Butte, Alta., is its newest conservation site.

"Waterton Lakes National Park is renowned for its incredible wildlife, but these species rely on an area much larger than the park itself throughout the year," Tom Lynch-Staunton, regional vice-president for the Nature Conservancy of Canada, said in a statement.

"By conserving this property, we are ensuring it will continue to offer habitat and safe movement routes for these incredible animals."

The Nature Conservancy of Canada said the property will become part of the 130-square kilometres of private conservation lands known as the Waterton Park Front, which is now about 75 per cent conserved.

"This property is just another piece of that larger puzzle," said Sean Feagan, an Alberta spokesman for Nature Conservancy of Canada.

"It's a victory for nature."

Land conservation in the area, he said, is important because it features a unique and relatively intact ecosystem that provides a corridor for wildlife such as grizzly bears and elk.

"It's where the grasslands butt up right against the mountains," said Feagan. "There's not a ton of foothills, so it's a unique part of the province geographically and geologically.

"So, you get a mixture of grasslands species and montane species living together."

He said mammals such as elk, deer and moose congregate in the areas outside of the national park in the winter to forage grasses such as fescue, which has high nutritional value.

"It's a really important winter foodstuff for these animals," he said.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada said the protected area will continue to be used for cattle grazing while being managed in a way that allows nature to thrive.

Difficulty measuring methane slows plan to slash emissions

Tue, January 31, 2023 


NEW YORK (AP) — The doors of a metal box slide open, and a drone rises over a gas well in Pennsylvania. Its mission: To find leaks of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, so that energy companies can plug the leaks and reduce the emissions that pollute the air.

The drone is among an array of instruments whose purpose is to detect leaks of methane, which scientists say causes roughly 30% of manmade global warming. Along with satellites, ground sensors and planes armed with infrared cameras, drones are part of the backbone of a new federal policy to compel energy companies to record and slash their methane emissions.

The problem is, no one knows when — or even whether — that will be possible. Technology that might allow for precise methane measurements is still being developed. Under the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act, enacted into law last year, companies must start producing precise measurements of their methane emissions next year and face fines if they exceed permissible levels. Yet if no one knows how much methane an energy company has emitted, it's unclear that any fines could be justified.

“They don’t measure the methane because the capability hasn’t been there,” Drew Shindell, a professor of earth science at Duke University, said of regulators. “It’s challenging to really go measure all these methane sources.”

Even energy companies that have begun developing systems to reduce their methane emissions are likely years away from being able to make comprehensive calculations Most of them are measuring leaks for only a fraction of their operations.

Satellites, which help connect emissions to a single source, aren't widely enough available. Ground-based sensors and drones require vast amounts of money and time to widely distribute.

On top of all that, any agreement on what equipment would be acceptable to measure methane and how it should be used requires a rigorous process involving industry, government and environmental scientists.

“We need to develop these standards, and this can take years, so the process is slow,” said Thomas Lauvaux, a climate scientist at University of Reims in France.

Despite the obstacles, climate scientists and environmentalists say they still welcome the administration's effort, under the Inflation Reduction Act, to slash methane emissions. Even if the timeline outlined in the law's methane reduction program is unrealistic, they say, it's likely to prod companies to accelerate their efforts to reduce leaks.

“The fact that there are these rules and now a pricing regime for methane for the first time is a huge benefit for dealing with the oil and gas sector that we just haven’t had the tools to do until now,” said Deborah Gordon, senior principal at the Rocky Mountain Institute, which seeks to accelerate a transition to clean energy.

Under the new law, the EPA can fine companies $900 per ton of methane starting in 2024, rising to $1,500 in 2026. For companies with significant leaks, the costs could be substantial. Kayrros, a satellite analytics firm, observed a Texas natural gas compressor station that released about 2,000 tons of methane over eight days in 2020. That leak would trigger fines of of $1.8 million if it occurred in 2024 or $3 million in 2026.

Most energy companies don’t measure their actual methane emissions. Instead, they produce estimates based on how much methane they say typically escapes from their equipment.

Scientists have found that those estimates vastly understate the problem. Using data from satellites and aerial surveys, they concluded in peer-reviewed studies that nations and companies are emitting double or triple as much methane as they're reporting.

“The past three years have been the fastest-growing years on record in terms of methane emissions, which is kind of scary,” said Daniel Jacob, a leading climate scientist at Harvard University. “It’s absolutely critical because ultimately, from the standpoint of evading climate change, you want to stop methane from increasing and you want it to start decreasing.”

And while scientists count it as progress that energy companies will eventually have to accurately measure emissions of the destructive gas, it seems doubtful that this can be achieved within a year, after which the government could fine companies for emitting too much methane.

“We need many more satellites before we can even pretend that we are tracking,” Lauvaux said.

The companies that are now gathering emission measurements from planes, drones, ground sensors or infrared cameras on satellites face a significant obstacle: Those efforts are sporadic and cover only a sliver of the vast oil and gas industry.

The EPA hasn’t yet released details on how companies should measure methane emissions. And the task of sorting out the details falls on an EPA staff that was depleted under the Trump administration.

Methane, the main ingredient in natural gas, has been shown to produce roughly 80 times the climate-warming power of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. The gas is released from pipelines, storage tanks and energy facilities. It also wafts from landfills and the cattle industry. Scientists say a substantial reduction in the emissions is among the changes that could make the swiftest impact on climate change.

Though oil and gas companies have equipment to capture methane leaks, it's not widely deployed. Even the most advanced such equipment is often improperly installed or maintained and is prone to failure.

“If we can collectively get our act together over the next eight years and dramatically slash methane emissions around the planet, we still have a chance as a society to get our arms around the larger climate problem and avoid the worst impacts,” said Riley Duren, CEO of Carbon Mapper, a nonprofit that analyzes emissions data from satellites and flights.

In recent years, climate scientists and companies have found and fixed methane leaks using infrared cameras on airplanes or satellites. In a series of flights over California and other states since 2016, Carbon Mapper detected 8,000 methane plumes and published its findings on a public portal. When Carbon Mapper alerted the facilities to the problem, Duren said, roughly half the leaks were fixed.

“It’s still a patchwork quilt,” he said of the nation’s ability to measure methane emissions. “It’s not comprehensive and continuous, but it’s becoming more expansive.”

Aided by philanthropic donations, Carbon Mapper hopes to launch a network of satellites that would share data publicly. It would start this year with two philanthropy-funded satellites that can detect roughly 200 methane plumes each day. (Planes can typically find 10 to 20 a day.)

“The goal is to expand to many more satellites, but that’s contingent on securing the capital to do that,” Duren said.

The company has suggested that government help would be needed to operate at the scale necessary to combat climate change.

A handful of orbiting satellites can detect methane plumes and pinpoint the source of the leak within about 100 feet (30 meters). Most are privately owned by companies such as GHGSat, which sells data to energy companies. Using that data, scientists at a satellite data firm or energy company can try to pinpoint leaks and, based on the image and wind speed at the time, estimate how much methane was emitted.

Yet there are limitations to the technology. Infrared cameras use the sun’s rays, so they can’t detect methane at night or on cloudy days. And they provide only a snapshot in time. So it can be hard to determine how much methane escaped before a leak was detected.

With GHGSat’s six orbiting satellites, the company can produce images of a site once every three to five days. The company plans to have 10 of them in orbit by year's end, after which it could observe each site roughly once a day.

“The biggest challenge for us is to scale faster, to offer the service to more people in more places around the world more often,” said Stephane Germaine, president of GHGSat. “How do we respond to that in a way that is commercially viable, short of a government standing up and spending billions of dollars to deploy this kind of system?”

Drones produced by American Robotics, like the one in Pennsylvania, have found unlit flares emitting methane. These drones can make several trips each day to check oil wells or storage tanks. But they’re not widely deployed. American Robotics expects to have 30 drone systems deployed by year's end, said Reese Mozer, the company's CEO.

“There’s more demand for our systems than we have the capacity to serve right now,” Mozer said.

Exxon Mobil has been using airplanes equipped with infrared cameras to find methane leaks for several years. But data from aerial flights is imperfect. A plane may fly over an oil production site for two or three seconds, perhaps six times a year.

“The problem with quantification is, you don’t know what happens when the plane’s not there," said Matt Kolesar, Exxon’s chief environmental scientist. "What was going on right before that airplane, and what was going on right after that airplane? And so that’s where industry has always struggled to say, ‘Do I assume it happens until I go look again? Do I assume it goes away?’ ”

Exxon is installing around-the-clock methane detectors in the Permian Basin, the nation's most productive oil and gas field, comprising large chunks of Texas and New Mexico. It's installed the sensors in 14 sites; its goal is to deploy sensors at 700 sites by 2025. But just 15% of the oil and gas Exxon produces comes from the Permian Basin. So most of Exxon’s sites won’t receive the sensors soon.

“It requires an awful lot of additional capacity, both continuous coverage and covering a much larger portion of the facilities,” said Shindell, the Duke professor.

Thousands of sites of methane leaks, he said, might exist in areas like the Permian Basin.

“There are just tons of lines that gather from wells and then compressor stations that move the gas along and then storage tanks and just one thing after another, so getting a sense of that really is a big endeavor,” Shindell said. “Even the best companies are not doing that. So it requires building this whole new system to improve understanding.”

The EPA is still in the early stages of implementing the climate law. The agency plans to propose a rule this year that would change emissions reporting rules to ensure that reporting and calculation of fines are based on empirical data, said Khanya Brann, an EPA spokeswoman.

The EPA has also proposed allowing energy companies to use a broader range of technologies to detect methane leaks than what’s now allowed. This could make it easier for varying types of companies to comply.

The American Petroleum Institute, which represents the oil and gas industry, wants companies to have the flexibility to use a variety of technologies. The API doesn't track how much of the industry already uses methane monitors, drones, aerial flights or satellite data to find and measure emissions, said Cole Ramsey, a vice president of the institute.

“This is a process that’s going to take some time,” Ramsey said.

The challenges don’t end with adding satellites and sensors. Any measurement system created by scientists must withstand legal challenges. If a company is accused of emitting methane, it could dispute the accuracy of the satellite images or the way scientists calculated how much leaked.

“The minute we release a policy," Lauvaux said, “they’re going to jump at it with 50 lawyers and look at any loopholes, gaps, mistakes, unclear sentences.”

Even so, climate scientists and environmentalists generally say they're hopeful that even if the system is imperfect, the eventual fines for improperly emitting methane would cause the offending companies to take the steps necessary to reduce emissions.

“That’s the great thing about the methane fee: There’s actually a benefit to stopping it quickly because there’s a financial reward for not leaking,” said Gordon, of the Rocky Mountain Institute.

“I think the problems are way smaller than the opportunity to finally, finally deal directly with a greenhouse gas — and especially a very powerful greenhouse gas that has never been on the agenda."

Cathy Bussewitz, The Associated Press