AGRICULTURE IS OUR PRIMARY INDUSTRY

Alberta seeing 'crisis' in veterinarian staff shortages, emergency animal care

Story by Madeline Smith • 

Pet owners and veterinarians are sounding the alarm about a shortage of veterinary professionals in Alberta, and they say more action is needed for short-term relief.

One vet clinic that previously offered after-hours emergency services shifted last week to a referral-only practice, and animals that need urgent care after business hours have to be sent to one of the two other Edmonton and area clinics that are open at night.

Zoe's Animal Rescue co-director Kath Oltsher recently brought a critically sick kitten to an emergency vet, only to find them so full overwhelmed they couldn't even get in to wait — they had to rush her across town to the other after-hours vet instead.

"There is an unbelievable shortage and it's happened since the pandemic," Oltsher told CBC News.

"We have so many dogs now and so many cats now, I think we're well over what our system can handle."


Kath Oltsher, the co-director of Edmonton-based Zoe's Animal Rescue, says the shortfall in emergency veterinarian services is a "crisis." (Ayesha Haq/CBC)© Provided by cbc.ca

According to Alberta Veterinary Medical Association president Natasha Kutryk, Alberta has a higher pet ownership rate than the Canadian average, sitting above 60 per cent.

And while the vet shortage is a problem globally, Albertans trying to get care for their animals are facing daily frustrations, with vets left scrambling to help.

The same problems affecting access to emergency care are showing up in general veterinary practice too.

Glenora Family Pet Clinic veterinarian Nick Barbaza said he sees staffing problems as the "top issue" in vets' minds, as they struggle to find qualified vets and veterinary technicians to meet demand at their practice.

Barbaza's clinic doesn't offer after-hours emergency services, but he said he often hears about animals waiting eight or 10 hours to be seen at emergency centres.

"When they cannot get that care, it can be very tough," he said.

"As a result, the pets are going to suffer, or prices are going to increase — and mental health, we're struggling. People are angry, and we're trying to help everybody, but it's only so much we can do."

'The crisis is real'

The province's only veterinary medicine program at the University of Calgary received additional funding in the 2022 provincial budget to bolster enrolment to 100 students by 2025..

But University of Calgary faculty of veterinary medicine dean Renate Weller said even as more vets are trained, it will take time for them to cycle into the province's workforce.

"We're putting more vets on the market. It will take us until 2029 to feel the effects of that. So we need to do something in between, really."

Weller said workforce retention is one problem, and the U of C is revising its curriculum to better prepare future veterinarians for the stresses that come with the profession.

But she added that the university also has a role to play in helping recruit and onboard veterinarians trained in other countries, making sure they can get the credentials they need to practice in Alberta.

Barbaza said that's a critical piece of the puzzle.


Veterinarian Nick Barbaza says it's difficult to find enough qualified vets and vet technicians to meet the demand for care. (Nathan Gross/CBC)© Provided by cbc.ca

"Part of the solution is to bring more foreign-trained veterinarians that are already out there but they have a hard time coming in," he said.

"We don't see the support that we need here."

At Zoe's Animal Rescue, Oltsher said people trying to get help paying to get their pets spayed or neutered are facing waits for vet care too, potentially exacerbating the current issue even more.

"We are now looking at booking up to a month out in order for us to help people prevent their animals from having more babies. ... We're not able to handle the amount we have now," Oltsher said.

"The crisis is real. So real."

Net-zero electricity grid for Alberta is possible, Wilkinson says




DRUMHELLER, Alta. — Against the backdrop of Alberta’s newest solar farm, federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said Tuesday he still believes the province can get its electricity grid to net zero by 2035 – in spite of Premier Danielle Smith’s insistence to the contrary.

Wilkinson made the comments in Starland County near Drumheller, Alta., in front of the thousands of gleaming solar panels that make up the latest solar project to be connected to the province’s electricity grid.

“The federal government’s view is that it can be done,” Wilkinson said, moments after renewable energy firm Capstone Infrastructure formally cut the ribbon on its 25 MW Michichi solar project, which will produce enough renewable power to offset approximately 30,000 metric tonnes of CO2 each year.

“But we also have to be willing to listen to the concerns of Alberta and Saskatchewan and try to find ways to address those concerns – and ideally, address those within the 2035 time frame.”

Wilkinson announced more than $160 million in federal investments for nine Alberta-based solar projects Tuesday.

As part of its sweeping climate goals, the federal government plans to soon release a draft of its promised clean electricity regulations, which will aim to ensure Canada's electricity grid is a net-zero emitter of greenhouse-gas emissions by 2035.

Canada's current electricity grid is more than 80 per cent non-emitting, and in provinces with vast amounts of hydro-electric generating capacity, decarbonizing within the next decade is feasible.

But though Alberta has committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050, the province's lack of hydroelectricity and heavy reliance on natural gas for power generation means its grid faces steeper transition challenges than many other jurisdictions.

Saskatchewan, too, has said the 2035 time frame is unachievable and has said it will aim to achieve a net-zero electricity grid by 2050 instead.

On Monday, Smith reiterated her government's belief that any federal electricity regulations that are "too aggressive" would infringe on the province's constitutional authority over its natural resources.

“We’re just not going to anything that is going to damage our economy or do anything that’s going to indicate that our oil and gas sector is going to be phased out," the premier said at a Stampede breakfast in Calgary.

However, Wilkinson said Tuesday that by agreeing to Alberta's proposal to form a bilateral working group, Ottawa is showing it is willing to listen to the province's concern

The working group, which Wilkinson said will be made up of "senior people on both sides," will aim to come to some sort of federal-provincial alignment on emissions reduction – including on the issue of greening the electricity grid.

Wilkinson pointed out that not that long ago, Alberta was largely reliant on coal for electricity. He said the fact that the province is now slated to be off of coal entirely by next year is an immense achievement.

The province is also in the midst of a boom in wind and solar development. Alberta is now home to more than 3,800 megawatts of wind and solar capacity, and last year forecaster Rystad Energy predicted the province would lead the country in total installed utility-scale wind and solar power by the middle of the decade.

Still, at this point, more than 70 per cent of the province's total electricity generating capacity is non-renewable. Wilkinson said his government understands that wind and solar will only take Alberta so far.

"For Saskatchewan and Alberta, I would say that natural gas with carbon capture is going to continue to be part of the conversation," he said.

"And small modular reactors and nuclear power, understanding there's going to be some time that will take, is also going to be part of the reality."

Wilkinson said the aim of the working group will be to determine what technical and financial barriers to getting to net zero exist for Alberta, and how the federal government can help.

While he said Ottawa has already made significant financial commitments, it may be willing to do even more to get provinces over the finish line.

"I would say the federal government has to be open to that conversation," he said, adding the most recent federal budget included funding for an investment tax credit for electricity generation and inter-provincial transmission.

"The reason we did that is we saw the scale of the challenge, and our view was it was beyond the fiscal capacity of any of the provinces in terms of what's going to be required in the coming decades," Wilkinson said.

"So we have put money on the table for those provinces that are willing to engage in that conversation. It may be that we have to do more."

In an interview at solar site Tuesday, Capstone Infrastructure CEO David Eva said he also believes net-zero electricity is possible for Alberta by 2035.

He said within the span of a few short years, the cost of solar technology has come down so much that it's now cheaper than fossil fuel generation, and many of Alberta's traditional oil and gas companies are signing off-take agreements with renewable power companies for their own electricity needs.

"I believe (net zero) is possible," Eva said.

"It's a challenge, but at the rate we're going, as long as we invest into the grid to enable these projects to connect, and we continue to see support from all levels of government ... I have every confidence that we'll get there."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 11,2023.

Amanda Stephenson, The Canadian Press

Explainer-How big oil won the bidding for German offshore wind sites

 Wind turbines, including some from RWE's new Kaskasi offshore wind farm, are pictured during the opening of the RWE-Offshore-Windpark Kaskasi

© Thomson Reuters

By Vera Eckert and Susanna Twidale

FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters) - Energy majors BP and TotalEnergies have won a 7 gigawatt (GW) offshore wind site auction in Germany worth a record 12.6 billion euros ($14.1 billion), allowing them entry to the central European market without a partnership.

Previous auctions have been won by consortia, as happened in 2021 when British tenders were awarded to BP and EnBW, and Macquarie and TotalEnergies.

The awards for capacity due to come online in 2030 also excluded leading offshore wind developers, such as RWE and Orsted.

Guaranteed rights to grid connection are included in the new leases, but the cost of developing and operating the infrastructure is not included.

Below are details of the auction, which will be followed by one other in August.

AUCTION DESIGN

The 7 GW electronic auction officially opened in January and bidders had until June 1 to submit offers. The winning bids for the four leases ranged from 1.56 million to 2.07 million euros per megawatt and set a record for Germany.

In previous German lease auctions, companies have made low or negative bids with the expectation of subsidies from the state. This time, some companies pledged to build projects without subsidies, triggering what the regulator Bundesnetzagentur called a "dynamic bidding process".

The auctions were hourly electronic get-togethers.

Bidders had to offer 30,000 euros minimum per MWh in the first round, with bids rising by that amount for as long as all bidders stayed on board. Once bidders dropped out in successive rounds, the bids rose in steps of 15,000 euros.

As part of a total of 8.8 GW to be auctioned this year - more than doubling Germany's existing 8.2 GW installed at the end of 2022 - the country will also tender 1.8 GW of offshore wind on pre-developed sites in August under different criteria.

USE OF THE REVENUE

Germany has a target to develop 30 GW of offshore capacity by 2030 and will use revenues from the auction to help improve transmission networks and invest in environmental projects.

Improving and developing transmission infrastructure to accommodate all the new renewable power on the grid could cost some 128 billion euros by 2025, Germany's grid companies have said.

ARE THEY VALUE FOR MONEY?

With the headline cost of the sites equating to $2 billion per GW, analysts at Bernstein said the cost was high compared with other similar tenders, such as the 2021 auctions for sites off the coast of England.

Wind industry profits have been sapped by supply chain problems, quality issues and competitive pressures.

Industry groups have said the high costs of the leases could drive up the cost of offshore wind projects.

"These costs must be passed on. Either to the supply chain which is already struggling with inflation and surging input costs. Or to the consumers who already face higher electricity prices and costs of living," industry group WindEurope said.

Danish wind developer Orsted said it exited the auction because of the costs involved. Norway's Equinor, which also participated, said it would continue to evaluate opportunities in Germany as part of its strategy of developing profitable growth in renewables.

BP said the projects aligned with its strategy of targeting returns of 6%-8% for its renewable projects and of transitioning to an integrated energy company with the possibility of using the power for its electric vehicle or hydrogen businesses.

TotalEnergies said the projects fit with plans to be a profitable player in the electricity market and said it will sell the power either directly on the market or via power purchase agreements (PPAs) made directly with end users.

($1 = 0.8945 euros)

(Reporting by Vera Eckert, Susanna Twidale, Christoph Steitz, Ron Bousso and Nora Buli; editing by Nina Chestney and Barbara Lewis)

ITS NOT A HUNT ITS A MASSACRE

78 whales killed in front of cruise ship passengers

Story by Aliza Chasan • Yesterday 

Cruise ship passengers arrived in the Faroe Islands as dozens of whales were killed as part of a traditional hunt, the cruise line confirmed Thursday.

Ambassador Cruise Line apologized to the passengers of the ship Ambition. Passengers were there as 78 pilot whales, which are techncally one of the largest members of the dolphin family, were killed in the port area on Sunday.

Hunting whales and dolphins is a common and regulated practice in the islands, which are a self-governing, semi-autonomous region of Denmark. The local government describes the pilot whale hunt, also known as "grind," as "an ancient and integral part of Faroese food culture."

"We strongly object to this outdated practice and have been working with our partner, ORCA, the marine conservation charity dedicated to studying and protecting whales, dolphins and porpoises in UK and European waters, to encourage change since 2021," a spokesperson for the cruise line said.

The killing of more than 1,400 dolphins in the region sparked outrage in 2021. At the time, the chairman of the Faroese Whalers Association told the BBC that while the number of dolphins killed was excessive, it was accidental.

"It was a big mistake," he told the BBC. "When the pod was found, they estimated it to be only 200 dolphins."

The Faroese catch an average of 600 pilot whales annually, according to government data. From 2000 to 2020, no more than 773 white-sided dolphins were caught in a single year.


Fishermen on a boat drive pilot whales towards the shore during a hunt on May 29, 2019 in Torshavn, Faroe Islands. / Credit: ANDRIJA ILIC/AFP via Getty Images© Provided by CBS News

"Whaling in the Faroe Islands is conducted in accordance with international law and globally recognized principles of sustainable development," according to the island's government website. "It is sustainable and fully regulated, with a strong emphasis on animal welfare, and a requirement today for participants to be licensed to use the mandatory methods and equipment. Whale drives only take place in bays that are officially approved for the purpose, and only schools of whales found in close proximity to land, usually within one nautical mile, are driven ashore."

Whatever is caught during the hunt is distributed to island residents for free.

Ambassador Cruise Lne said the company told "guests and crew not to buy or eat any whale or dolphin meat and stand against any profiteering from commercial whaling and dolphin hunts."

Conservationists from ORCA were on board the shp as it arrived in the Faroe Islands. According to the organization, small boats and jet skies were used to herd the pilot whales into shallow waters. The whales were hauled ashore and killed.

"It defies belief that the Faroese authorities allowed this activity to take place in clear sight of a cruise ship packed with passengers sitting in dock," ORCA CEO Sally Hamilton said. "On one hand, they promote their pristine environment and spectacular wildlife while simultaneously wielding gaff hooks and lances to kill whales and dolphins. It's almost as if they are flaunting the hunt and taunting the tourists."

Long-finned pilot whales live 35-60 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They grow to be 19-25 feet long and weigh 2,900 to 5,000 pounds. The species is threatened by whaling, entanglement in fishing gear, disease and contaminants in ocean waters, NOAA says.

The oceans are rich in critical minerals. But will miners be allowed to get them?

Story by Susan Ormiston and Carly Thomas • TODAY

Gerard Barron, the CEO and chairman of The Metals Company, pulls a fist-sized black rock out of his pocket and displays it proudly in his hand.

"Everything you need to build an EV battery cathode is in here," he says. "It's an amazing mix of metals that are just made for this time we find ourselves in."

Barron carries that rock everywhere and has finely tuned his pitch over hundreds of investor meetings as he tries to explain his vision of mining the deep seabed, which has never been done before.

The rock, technically a polymetallic nodule, is laced with high concentrations of nickel and copper, along with cobalt and manganese. Barron calls it a "battery in a rock" — another pitch line.

Registered in Canada, The Metals Company (TMC) is operationally an international mining start-up headed up by Barron, an Australian.

Dressed in a navy T-shirt and designer sneakers, Barron is in his mid-50s and gave off an air of part-prospector, part-promoter when CBC met him in late June by the ocean in Los Angeles, a pit stop in his international travels to sell deep sea mining to a wary public.



Gerard Barron, the CEO of The Metals Company, holds a piece of a polymetallic nodule laced with high concentrations of nickel and copper, along with cobalt and manganese. (Andrew Lee/CBC)© Provided by cbc.ca

"What we need are base metals so that we can build batteries and wind turbines and solar panels so we can move away from fossil fuels and address climate change and global warming," says Barron.

But to get them, TMC is going to vacuum the bottom of the sea in two parcels in the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ), a 4.5-million-square-kilometre area in the Pacific Ocean partway between Mexico and Hawaii.

There are potentially big profits in the CCZ, one of the richest areas for nodules in the world's oceans.

"The reason they want to mine the deep seabed is not to protect the Earth from climate change," said Catherine Coumans, research co-ordinator at MiningWatch Canada. "They want to mine the deep sea because they want to make a profit."

This month, high-stakes international negotiations in Kingston, Jamaica, hosted by the International Seabed Authority could determine the future of deep sea mining and whether TMC can successfully pursue a permit this year to mine commercially.

Barron, who is in Kingston all month, is staring down a growing chorus of critics, including environmentalists and marine scientists who warn of irreversible damage, as well as a number of skeptical countries, including Canada, which signalled this week that it supports a "pause" on exploitation.

Massive deposits

Trillions of polymetallic nodules lie on the seafloor — "like golf balls on a driving range," says Barron. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the nodules in the CCZ could hold more critical metals than all of the world's terrestrial reserves.

While this "green rush" to the bottom has attracted about a dozen competing companies and countries, TMC is leading the charge.

Last October, the company, with its partner Allseas, lowered an 80-tonne robotic "collector" to the ocean floor in exploration trials. Fitted with tracks, the vehicle rolled along the seabed sucking up nodules and everything else in its path.

Barron insists that the impact in the ocean is reduced compared with the bulldozing and blasting that takes place in terrestrial mines. But the robotic collector vehicle stirred up sediment, creating big plumes before the nodules travelled up a 4.5-kilometre-long riser to the surface.

Allseas retrofitted a former deepwater drill ship — renaming it The Hidden Gem — to do the trials, collecting 3,200 tonnes of rock.

"This one is about four million years old," said Barron, caressing the nodule in his hand.

But this is exactly the point, said Coumans. "This is an ecosystem that took millions of years to form and it has been untouched by human activity and it will take millions of years for this ecosystem to come back."

Mining it "is so destructive and so irreversible," she said.

Surging demand

But it's clear that to meet decarbonization goals, the world will need more critical minerals.

Josipa Petrunic, president and CEO of the Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium, said electric vehicles are "growing rapidly in Canada and globally."

The International Energy Agency estimates the world will need 19 times more nickel by 2040 to meet its decarbonization targets. Indonesia, the world's biggest nickel supplier, is bulldozing rainforests to expand mines.

"It is essentially like a gold rush — the exploration of the unknown without a lot of regulatory oversight right now, with the potential for billions and billions of dollars in profit," said Petrunic.



An increase in domestic electric vehicle production has been a priority for the Canadian government. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is seen at an announcement on a Volkswagen electric vehicle battery plant in St. Thomas, Ont., in April 2023.

 (The Canadian Press/Tara Walton)© Provided by cbc.ca

But some marine scientists are climbing onboard an international campaign to stop the moves toward commercial mining.

More than 700 marine scientists and policy experts signed an open letter in 2021 stating "we strongly recommend that the transition to the exploitation of mineral resources be paused."

Last month, the European Academies' Science Advisory Council echoed the warning: We should pause to reflect instead of rushing to an early decision that will later be regretted," wrote Peter Haugan, policy director at the Institute for Marine Research in Bergen, Norway.

A habitat for unique sea creatures

Earlier this year, Diva Amon, a marine biologist from Trinidad and Tobago wrote an op-ed in the New York Times titled, "A rush to mine the deep sea is underway. It must be stopped."

"For me, using deep sea mining to help fight the climate crisis is like smoking to lower stress," Amon told CBC News during a visit to Vancouver.

Contrary to the image of the deep sea as dark and lifeless, she says it is actually full of creatures who survive without light and at low oxygen levels.


Diva Amon, a deep sea marine biologist from Trinidad and Tobago, says the deep sea is full of creatures who survive without light and at low oxygen levels. (JAMSTEC/UH/TMC)© Provided by cbc.ca

"It looks like something from a Dr. Seuss novel — just this weird, wonderful, colourful but still just incredibly amazing life."

In May, scientists at the Natural History Museum in London released a database of new species discovered in the CCZ, including 5,000 that had never before been formally identified, like a mauve-coloired creature nicknamed "gummy squirrel."

In a statement, museum researcher Adrian Glover said, "It is imperative that we work with the companies looking to mine these resources to ensure any such activity is done in a way that limits its impact upon the natural world."

Amon argues mining is "short-term action that will cause long-term damage" to oceans, "which are critical for absorbing heat and sequestering carbon and storing it away for millions of years."

Not all countries on board

Barron admits he's not "feelin' the love" from his many critics. But he and The Metals Company also dispute many of the "desktop predictions" being fired his way.

He says TMC has spent $150 million US so far on scientific research and assessing the environmental impact. In fact, about 80 scientists and researchers went out on the exploration trials in the Pacific last year.


Diva Amon, a deep sea marine biologist from Trinidad and Tobago, said mining the deep seas to help fight the climate crisis 'is like smoking to lower stress.'

 (Martin Diotte/CBC)© Provided by cbc.ca

The company says the sediment plumes will not travel as far or as high in the water column, as claimed, and the noise from the mining is mostly at the surface.

He's called the opposition "noise," and claims "the debate over deep sea mining is over, done."

That point is hyperbole, if the talks in Jamaica this month are any indication. The politics are thick at meetings of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), which grew out of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Created in 1994, the ISA regulates activities in international waters, guided by its 167 member nations, plus the European Union.

The ISA has been trying to come up with regulations — a mining code — but it's come up against a deadline, what's called the "two-year rule."

TMC partnered with the tiny island country of Nauru, which triggered the rule in 2021. The deadline passed last Sunday, meaning the ISA is obligated to consider applications for commercial mining.

Barron says his company will apply near the end of this year. But with mining regulations still not in place, a growing number of countries and observers are firmly opposed to fast-tracking permits.

Canada taking wait-and-see approach

On Monday, Canada announced it supported an interim moratorium on deep sea mining, essentially signalling it would not agree to mining regulations until it had seen more science on how to do it with the least impact on the environment.


Greenpeace protesters demonstrate against deep sea mining near a ship operated by Allseas called The Hidden Gem. 

(Gustavo Graf/Greenpeace)© Provided by cbc.ca

Canadian Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, along with the ministers of Fisheries and Oceans and Global Affairs Canada, released a statement clarifying their position.

"We recognize the importance of marine ecosystems as a climate regulator, and will continue to take and advocate for a precautionary approach to development."

In an interview with CBC News, Wilkinson said "it's not 'no' forever," but that there's a lot more science that needs to be done.

"It may well be that after we accumulate the science, that we actually make a decision that this can be done in a certain way, perhaps in certain places, but I'm not going to prejudge that," he said.



Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson has said that more science needs to be done to ensure the safety of seabed mining on marine ecosystems. 

(Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)© Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

Environmental groups who've been advocating for more countries to sign onto a moratorium applauded Canada's stance.

We definitely see it as a small win and a step in the right direction," said Sarah King, head of Greenpeace Canada's Oceans and Plastics campaign. "Every country that voices opposition to this industry sends a signal that it's unacceptable that we allow a destructive industry to proceed."

Petrunic said mining is inherently "dirty" no matter where it occurs.

"There's no pretty picture to mining, whether it's under the water or above ground. And our question to ourselves, as Canadians and internationally, is how much destruction are we willing to accept in the interest of decarbonizing?"

Gerard Barron remains undeterred. When asked what will happen if the ISA decides to pause or block his company's application for commercial mining, he waved it away.

"I rate that as 0.1 of one percent chance," he says, the final point in his pitch.

ONTARIO

Kincardine council says people in this area ‘get it’ about nuclear

Story by The Canadian Press


KINCARDINE – Kincardine council met the evening of July 5, hours after the announcement that the province is beginning the planning and consultation process for what the council is already referring to as “Bruce C.”

Kincardine Mayor Kenneth Craig raised a number of points, saying pre-development work will take five to seven to 10 years before there’s a shovel in the ground. However, “the consultations will start soon,” he said.

He drew council’s attention to a county meeting in September on municipalities inventorying land that would be suitable for housing. “The importance of that has just skyrocketed,” Craig said.

He noted that when construction does begin, there’ll be an additional 3,000 employees in the area. He spoke of the need to find a middle ground between remaining a beachfront community, and undergoing quick, unplanned growth. “Progressive, fruitful development – this is the direction we want development to go,” he said.

Coun. Bill Stewart raised the matter of the water agreement the municipality and Bruce Power are working on. The agreement would see Kincardine supply drinking water; Bruce Power would continue with its own supply of water for use in the production of nuclear energy.

Stewart said the announcement raises the question of how much water the municipality will be asked to supply, and whether it will be possible without adding major infrastructure. “Part of the discussion will have to be with this in mind,” he said.

Coun. Mike Hinchberger said the announcement was “a pleasant surprise – 4,800 megawatts – that’s Bruce C and then some!”

Coun. Doug Kennedy was openly pleased with the news. “We deserve this,” he said. He referred to the area’s acceptance of and support for nuclear power. “People around here get it!”

Pauline Kerr, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Walkerton Herald Times

TC Energy urges Canada to speed permits for energy transition projects

Story by By Nia Williams • Yesterday 

FILE PHOTO: Illustration shows smartphone with TC Energy's logo displayed© Thomson Reuters

By Nia Williams

VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Canada's TC Energy on Wednesday urged policymakers to streamline permitting for repurposing oil and gas infrastructure to advance energy transition projects and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

TC Energy has more than 20,000 kilometers (14,300 miles) of pipeline in western Canada that could be repurposed to carry carbon dioxide for sequestration underground or transport low-emissions hydrogen, Chief Executive Francois Poirier said.

"Does there need to be same timeline and level of regulatory scrutiny as for a greenfield project on a new right of way? These are the conversations we are having with governments," Poirier said at the LNG 2023 conference in Vancouver.

"Policymakers are driving us towards significant emissions reduction by the end of this decade and we will not achieve those goals if it takes seven years to permit and put an asset into service," he added.

Related video: Alberta premier compares clean energy transitions between provinces 

(Global News)  Duration 1:00  View on Watch

Canada, the world's fourth-largest oil and sixth-largest natural gas producer, aims to cut carbon emissions to 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2030.

Its oil and gas industry, the country's highest-polluting sector, is counting on deploying carbon capture and storage (CCS) and cleaner fuels like hydrogen to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But those nascent energy transition industries will require a significant build-out of new infrastructure.

Paul Marsden, head of Bechtel Corp.'s energy business unit, said forcing new technologies that repurpose existing assets to go back to the beginning of the permitting process risked choking innovation.

"We are not asking for corner cutting," Bechtel said, speaking on the same panel, noting the cost of building new infrastructure was getting more expensive.

Trinidad and Tobago's Energy Minister Stuart Young said repurposing assets to help speed the transition to cleaner forms of energy was the next frontier.

"Why are we putting the private sector through the hurdles as though (they're) starting from ground zero and from scratch," Young said. "That's where I think governments and policymakers and regulators need be able to listen."

(Reporting by Nia Williams in Vancouver; Editing by David Gregorio)

Religious freedom vs. 'gray water.' AP explains ruling favoring Amish families who shun septic tanks

Story by The Canadian Press • Yesterday 

Religious freedom vs. 'gray water.' AP explains ruling favoring Amish families who shun septic tanks© Provided by The Canadian Press

Along-running religious freedom case has come full circle, with a court ruling this week that a deeply conservative Amish community in Minnesota cannot be threatened with the loss of homes if its members don’t install septic systems to dispose of their bath, laundry and dish water.

The state Court of Appeals on Monday found that members of the Swartzentruber Amish community in southeastern Minnesota don't need to install septic systems to dispose of “gray water,” which is dirty water left from dishwashing, laundry, bathing, and other tasks not involving toilet waste. Two years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed court rulings that had required the group to install septic tanks.

The Supreme Court ruling said governments can infringe on sincerely held religious beliefs only as a last resort and sent the case back to Minnesota, where the appellate panel ruled that state and local officials “failed to demonstrate a compelling state interest” to justify overriding the Amish families' religious freedom.I

Here's a look at the legal dispute and the traditionalist religious community at the root of it.

Who are the Swartzentruber Amish?

The Amish are a Christian religious group that, based on its religious beliefs, shuns many modern technologies like electric and gas-powered machinery. Members are likely most recognizable by their use of horse-and-buggy transportation. There are more than 360,000 Amish in the U.S., and at least 32 states had an Amish population as of 2022, concentrated in the Midwest and East Coast states.

The Swartzentruber Amish are among the most restrictive concerning the use of technologies and eschew everything from tractors and refrigeration to phones and flushing toilets.

What is the dispute?

It's essentially about plumbing — specifically, the disposal of gray water. The Swartzentruber Amish do not have modern running water in their homes. Water arrives through a single line and is either pumped by hand or delivered by gravity from an external cistern.

In 2013, Fillmore County adopted an ordinance requiring most homes to have a septic system for the disposal of gray water. The Amish community sought an exemption “in the name of our Lord,” explaining that their religion forbids the use of such technology. They also offered an alternative used in more than a dozen other states that would allow them to funnel gray water from their homes by pipes to earthen basins filled with wood chips to filter solids and grease from the water as it drains, similar to how a septic system would work.

But the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency refused, and filed an administrative enforcement action against 23 Amish families in Fillmore County, threatening criminal penalties, civil fines and even to force them from their homes if they didn't comply. State officials presented testimony from an expert in court that said the mulch basins would not be as effective and that the mulch would quickly clog with solids and grease, requiring frequent relocating of new mulch pits.

State courts acknowledged that the requirement for septic tanks systems burdened the Amish community's religious beliefs. But the courts also found that septic systems — not mulch basins — would be the least-restrictive means for the Amish families to meet the government's interest in protecting public health and the environment.

The case made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2021, which found that Minnesota courts overstepped. It said the burden was on the government to prove that the mulch basins wouldn’t work, not on the Amish to show they would. And it sent the case back to the Minnesota courts for reconsideration. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote that if “the government can achieve its interests in a manner that does not burden religion, it must do so.”

Is gray water really a problem?

Gray water is more hazardous to public health than it might sound, wastewater treatment expert Sara Heger testified in the lawsuit over the Fillmore County septic system requirement.

Heger, a researcher at the University of Minnesota, acknowledged that gray water is less dangerous than toilet waste, or “black water." But gray water carries contaminants such as human fecal material, harmful bacteria and viruses, and a variety of chemicals, commercial soaps and detergents that contain nitrogen and phosphorous that pose environmental problems.

“Whatever might make you sick, that’s also present in the gray water," she said.

The lower courts also found that while mulch basins may work in other states, the topography of Fillmore County — including fissures, fractures and sinkholes in the area's limestone bedrock — lends to more rapid travel of wastewater to ground and surface water than in other places.

If dumping gray water is occasional — like washing a car or wastewater by hunters and anglers — it poses very little risk, experts said. But large families produce much more wastewater where they live, testified Brandon Montgomery, with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

An attorney for the families, Brian Lipford, argued that it made little sense for the state to target his clients over gray water disposal when it allows their use of outhouses — where residents essentially relieve themselves in a hole dug into the ground.

But state officials argued there are already regulations in place governing outhouses that require them to be a certain distance from wells and other sources of water. It's the addition of water in wastewater, they argued, that has the potential to spread contaminants much further.

Is there a next step in the court fight?

Fillmore County Attorney Brett Corson is hoping to decide in the coming days whether to appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court. He has 30 days from Monday's ruling to decide.

“We’re just taking the chance to digest the decision and consider what we’re going to do," he said.

Officials with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether they’ll appeal.

Corson said he recognizes the issue is important to both the county and to the Amish.

“In a county like ours, the Amish community is a big part of our community,” he said. "They’re our neighbors and friends. We work together. It’s one of those things we have to make a solid decision on.”

Margery A. Beck And Steve Karnowski, The Associated Press

DEREGULATED POWER
Grande Prairie scrutinizing electricity costs amid concerns about disparities across Alberta

Story by CBC/Radio-Canada • 

For about 30 years, ERCO Worldwide produced sodium chlorate, used to bleach pulp, south of Grande Prairie.© Luke Ettinger/CBC

The City of Grande Prairie plans to gather data on commercial buildings' electricity bills as they raise concerns about disparities in electricity pricing across the province.

The move comes a year after production ceased at a northern Alberta sodium chlorate facility partly because of the cost of electricity in the province.

For about 30 years, ERCO Worldwide produced sodium chlorate, used to bleach pulp, south of Grande Prairie. But last August, the company started shipping the product from B.C. and Manitoba.

John Christie, vice president of operations at ERCO, said production is more viable elsewhere because of current and future electricity costs in Alberta. He said ERCO had to temporarily curtail production when manufacturing costs were too high at the Alberta plant.

"And over the last number of years, we found that we were shutting that plant down more often than we were operating it."

Grande Prairie Mayor Jackie Clayton said the closure of a business like ERCO affects other industries in the region, and that's part of why the city wants to look more closely at how electricity transmission and distribution costs look different across Alberta.

"We know that the disparity [across the province] is significant in residential and we're quite confident that it's significant in commercial too. However, we just need accurate data," Clayton said.

In 2022, the city moved an Alberta Municipalities resolution to more evenly distribute electricity costs around the province.

"The report that's going to come from administration in the next couple of months will focus on any changes that we've seen in [residential] rates, but also a lot of focus on commercial utility rates," Clayton said.

Large consumer lost

ERCO is a member of the Alberta Direct Connect Consumer Association, which represents some of Alberta's largest power users.

Executive director Colette Chekerda said electricity comprises between 25 to 60 per cent of members' operating costs. She said losing a large electricity consumer in the province, like ERCO, increases costs across the grid.

"Those responsible for paying have shrunk, but the costs haven't changed, so everyone picks up a bigger share," she said.

Chekerda said transmission fees, due to overbuilt infrastructure, are just one part of the increased cost of electricity-intensive business in Alberta.

"It doesn't matter whether you're a residential customer or a large industrial customer opening your power bills — the last six months has truly been a shock."

Chekerda said it requires policy change.

Ministry of Affordability and Utilities spokesperson Andrea Farmer said in a statementthat they are "constantly reviewing" the electricity system, and that work includes evaluating the province's existing transmission policy.

Christie said the ERCO facility near Grande Prairie is now acting as a distribution hub for sodium chlorate transported by rail to the region. But ending production contributed to around two dozen jobs lost.

"It's a very sad day when you have to close down a plant, and particularly when you have to release really good operating people and mechanical people and administrative people from a plant site," Christie said.

Christie said the feasibility of electricity-intensive production decreased following deregulation of generation in Alberta. He said the company closed its Bruderheim, Alta., plant in 2006, also due to rising electricity rates.

"Manufacturing costs for electricity began to rise. Transmission costs began to rise. And shortly afterwards, the competitiveness of electricity prices in Alberta began to become such that manufacturing these types of plants just became more and more uneconomical," he said.

Christie added that the loss of ERCO also affects economic diversity, noting the company used to purchase raw materials from the Windsor salt plant near Lindbergh, Alta.

The plant closed in August 2022, "shortly after we announced that we were going to shut down," Christie said.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_chlorate

Sodium chlorate - Wikipedia 

Sodium chlorate is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula NaClO3. It is a white crystalline powder that is readily soluble in water.

https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/516902

Sodium Chlorate | NaClO3 | CID 516902 - PubChem 

Sodium chlorate is an inorganic sodium salt that has chlorate as the counter-ion. An oxidising agent, it is used for bleaching paper and as a herbicide. It is ...

How trans influencers are amplifying community's visibility in spite of hate

Yesterday 


Maintaining transparency and vulnerability on social media is not easy,

The other side of social media: Transgender visibility online

Sixteen years ago, Gigi Gorgeous hit record on her digital camera and began to upload unusually candid videos to a new and fast-growing website called YouTube.

"I remember being in high school and I was, like, the only one that was online. They thought that it was weird, talking to a camera alone in a room before anyone else was really doing it is a little weird," Gigi told ABC News Live.

While classmates may have poked fun, a growing community of viewers online eagerly watched as Gigi came out as a transgender and later documented the intimate process of transitioning to her followers. In the process, she became one of the first internet stars to bring trans visibility to social media.


Social media star Gigi Gorgeous is shown during an interview with ABC News Live.© ABC News

The other side of social media: Transgender visibility online | Watch (msn.com)

"People go through these transitions every single day. But it's like, if you have the power to share your story and put it all out there, that is, like, one of the most vulnerable things that you can do and I commend people for that," said Gigi, who now has nearly 3 million subscribers on YouTube and just over 2 million followers on Instagram.

But that kind of visibility also comes with online attacks, especially as trans rights have recently become a battleground issue in state legislatures across the country.

"I have days where I don't read the comments, for sure. It can really hit you deep. And you can act like it doesn't, but it really does," Gigi said.

Jesse Sullivan is another content creator who is part of a new generation of transgender activists and influencers on TikTok. His videos documenting his transition went viral overnight, generating more than 60 million views.

He's also a father to 14-year-old Arlo, who he had as a teenager, before his transition.

"There was times when I was younger, and I had just come out as a lesbian. And Arlo was so accepting. There was never anything but love. And then coming out a second time as, you know, their dad and as trans, once again, just so much love and support," Sullivan said.

Reality TV personality Francesca Farago, Sullivan's fiancée, is also part of the family, which Sullivan says has been a prime target for anti-trans hate.

"I'm everything that they want to hate. [People said,] 'Your child should be taken away from you,' like, 'You're a pedophile if you're trans,' and, 'You shouldn't have children around you,'" Sullivan said.



TikTok star Jesse Sullivan is shown with family during an interview with ABC News Live.

© ABC News

Raquel Willis, an activist and author, says only about one-fourth of Americans know a trans person in their everyday life.

"Social media continues to be a bridge for a lot of folks who may be isolated from folks that are similar to them, isolated from stories that can empower them," Willis said.

Some of the first and most common ways both trans and cisgender people learn about trans and non-binary people is through the media, according to data from the Human Rights Campaign.

Meanwhile, prominent transgender influencers are facing more criticism than ever amid a barrage of anti-LGBTQ legislation sweeping the country.

The latest example was a boycott of Bud Light, spearheaded by conservative activists upset by an advertisement spotlighting transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. After months of backlash and criticism, Mulvaney posted on social media that she felt abandoned by the brand.

"For a company to hire a trans person and not stand by them, is worse in my opinion than not hiring a trans person at all," Mulvaney said.MORE: 'Genocidal': Transgender people begin to flee states with anti-LGBTQ laws

In a statement to ABC News, an Anheuser-Busch spokesperson said, "We remain committed to the programs and partnerships we have forged over decades with organizations across a number of communities, including those in the LGBTQ + community. The privacy and safety of our employees and our partners is always our top priority. As we move forward, we will focus on what we do best – brewing great beer for everyone and earning our place in moments that matter to our consumers."

They have not publicly commented on the backlash Mulvaney received.

Emira D'Spain, the first Black trans model to work with Victoria's Secret, says she believes that "if a brand is willing to put forth that talent, they have to stand behind that talent."

D'Spain has partenered with brands, including Nars, Google and Charlotte Tilbury.

"Still to this day, I struggle like whether or not I want to share certain things on social media that have to do with my identity," D'Spain said.

As one of the first transgender content creators, Gigi believes she has an obligation to use her platforms to amplify the fight for trans rights.

"Trans people are not a threat. We're not here to disrupt the community in a negative way. We are just living in our true bodies and our true souls," she said.