New Study Highlights the Complex Impacts Multiple Disasters Have on Public Health

By UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE MARCH 19, 2022

There is a growing number of cases where communities experience more than one disaster – from bushfires, Covid-19 and flooding in Victoria to Tonga, which recently had a volcanic eruption and a tsunami. Credit: Tonga Geological Services

Findings from a review conducted by University of Melbourne researchers shows multiple disasters can have complex impacts on physical health, mental health, and well-being which go beyond what has been observed after single disasters.

The study reviewed all empirical research that could be identified on direct and indirect public health effects associated with experiencing multiple disasters and included 150 articles published globally.

Published recently in the Lancet Public Health, Dr. Claire Leppold and fellow University of Melbourne co-authors Professor Lisa Gibbs, Dr. Karen Block, Dr. Lennart Reifels, and Ms. Phoebe Quinn detail the ways multiple disaster exposures can impact physical health, mental health, wellbeing, and resilience. It also details indirect influences on health such as impacts on healthcare facilities, changes in risk perception and evacuation behaviors, and government responses to multiple disasters.

Most public health research in this field has been based on the premise of a single disaster occurring, but there is a growing number of cases where communities experience more than one disaster. For example, some communities across Victoria, Australia, experienced the 2019-20 Black Summer Bushfires, the COVID-19 pandemic from early 2020, and then major flooding events in 2021. International examples of multiple disaster exposures abound; most recently, the Hunga Tonga volcanic eruption which then led to a tsunami. Tonga now faces impacts from two types of disasters at the same time.

“To our knowledge, this is the first review of the public health implications of multiple disasters. This is an important topic given the projected increases in frequency and severity of disasters due to climate change, and the fact that many people ad communities are already experiencing multiple disasters,” Dr. Claire Leppold, the lead author of the study, said.

While some researchers have previously speculated that exposure to one disaster could have a positive effect of preparing people mentally for future disasters, Dr. Leppold said the review could not find any consistent evidence to support this.

“Our review finds evidence that risks of poor mental health and physical health outcomes tend to increase with each disaster experienced, highlighting a cumulative effect. These findings underscore the importance of developing further support for people and communities affected by multiple disasters, and for policy responses to reduce the likelihood of climate hazards leading to disasters.”

Dr. Leppold notes the complex nature of health and wellbeing impacts. “This review also identified, for example, mixed evidence on how experiencing multiple disasters can affect risk perception and evacuation decisions, which can affect public health in terms of non-evacuation or delayed evacuation. There is a need for more research in this area.”

Co-author Dr. Lennart Reifels said: “Research in the burgeoning area of multiple disaster exposures will be vital to informing the ways in which we can best assist affected communities and prepare public health systems to avert the future health risks and impacts of multiple disasters. This seminal review makes an important contribution by summarising the current state of the evidence on the public health consequences of multiple disaster exposures with a view to fostering future research and inform effective responses.”

Reference: “Public health implications of multiple disaster exposures” by Claire Leppold, PhD; Prof Lisa Gibbs, PhD; Karen Block, PhD; Lennart Reifels, PhD and Phoebe Quinn, MPH, 19 January 2022, Lancet Public Health.
DOI: 10.1016/S2468-2667(21)00255-3

Decades-Old Equation Upended: Ice Flow Is More Sensitive to Stress Than Previously Thought

By BECKY HAM, MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY MARCH 19, 2022

The rate of glacier ice flow is more sensitive to stress than previously calculated, according to a new study by MIT researchers that upends a decades’ old equation used to describe ice flow. Pictured is the Juneau ice field in Alaska. Credit: Joanna Millstein

Changes to a key ice flow equation could refine estimates of sea level rise.

The rate of glacier ice flow is more sensitive to stress than previously calculated, according to a new study by MIT researchers that upends a decades-old equation used to describe ice flow.

Stress in this case refers to the forces acting on Antarctic glaciers, which are primarily influenced by gravity that drags the ice down toward lower elevations. Viscous glacier ice flows “really similarly to honey,” explains Joanna Millstein, a PhD student in the Glacier Dynamics and Remote Sensing Group and lead author of the study. “If you squeeze honey in the center of a piece of toast, and it piles up there before oozing outward, that’s the exact same motion that’s happening for ice.”

The revision to the equation proposed by Millstein and her colleagues should improve models for making predictions about the ice flow of glaciers. This could help glaciologists predict how Antarctic ice flow might contribute to future sea level rise, although Millstein said the equation change is unlikely to raise estimates of sea level rise beyond the maximum levels already predicted under climate change models.

Joanna Millstein, pictured here in Western Greenland. Viscous glacier ice flows “really similarly to honey,” explains Millstein. Credit: Robert Hawley

“Almost all our uncertainties about sea level rise coming from Antarctica have to do with the physics of ice flow, though, so this will hopefully be a constraint on that uncertainty,” she says.

Other authors on the paper, published in Nature Communications Earth and Environment, include Brent Minchew, the Cecil and Ida Green Career Development Professor in MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, and Samuel Pegler, a university academic fellow at the University of Leeds.

Benefits of big data

The equation in question, called Glen’s Flow Law, is the most widely used equation to describe viscous ice flow. It was developed in 1958 by British scientist J.W. Glen, one of the few glaciologists working on the physics of ice flow in the 1950s, according to Millstein.

With relatively few scientists working in the field until recently, along with the remoteness and inaccessibility of most large glacier ice sheets, there were few attempts to calibrate Glen’s Flow Law outside the lab until recently. In the recent study, Millstein and her colleagues took advantage of a new wealth of satellite imagery over Antarctic ice shelves, the floating extensions of the continent’s ice sheet, to revise the stress exponent of the flow law.

Pictured is the Juneau ice field in Alaska. Credit: Joanna Millstein

“In 2002, this major ice shelf [Larsen B] collapsed in Antarctica, and all we have from that collapse is two satellite images that are a month apart,” she says. “Now, over that same area we can get [imagery] every six days.”

The new analysis shows that “the ice flow in the most dynamic, fastest-changing regions of Antarctica — the ice shelves, which basically hold back and hug the interior of the continental ice — is more sensitive to stress than commonly assumed,” Millstein says. She’s optimistic that the growing record of satellite data will help capture rapid changes on Antarctica in the future, providing insights into the underlying physical processes of glaciers.

But stress isn’t the only thing that affects ice flow, the researchers note. Other parts of the flow law equation represent differences in temperature, ice grain size and orientation, and impurities and water contained in the ice — all of which can alter flow velocity. Factors like temperature could be especially important in understanding how ice flow impacts sea level rise in the future, Millstein says.

Cracking under strain

Millstein and colleagues are also studying the mechanics of ice sheet collapse, which involves different physical models than those used to understand the ice flow problem. “The cracking and breaking of ice is what we’re working on now, using strain rate observations,” Millstein says.

The researchers use InSAR, radar images of the Earth’s surface collected by satellites, to observe deformations of the ice sheets that can be used to make precise measurements of strain. By observing areas of ice with high strain rates, they hope to better understand the rate at which crevasses and rifts propagate to trigger collapse.

Reference: “Ice viscosity is more sensitive to stress than commonly assumed” by Joanna D. Millstein, Brent M. Minchew and Samuel S. Pegler, 10 March 2022, Nature Communications Earth and Environment.
DOI: 10.1038/s43247-022-00385-x

The research was supported by the National Science Foundation.

Scientists Warn: Nutritious Fish Stocks Are Being Squandered by Salmon Farming

By UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE MARCH 17, 2022

Eating wild-caught fish instead of using it as feed in salmon farming would allow nearly four million tonnes of fish to be left in the sea, while providing an extra six million tonnes of seafood for human consumption, a study finds.

Scientists studying the Scottish salmon farming industry say that using only fish by-products — such as trimmings — for salmon feed, rather than whole wild-caught fish, would deliver significant nutritional and sustainability gains.

This would allow 3.7 million tonnes of fish to be left in the sea, and enable global annual seafood production to increase by 6.1 million tonnes.

“If we want to feed the growing global population well and sustainably, we must stop catching wild fish to feed farmed fish.” — David Willer

The study, led by a team of scientists from the Universities of Cambridge, Lancaster and Liverpool and environmental NGO Feedback Global was published on March 1, 2022, in the journal PLOS Sustainability and Transformation.

As the world’s fastest growing food sector, aquaculture is often presented as a way to relieve pressure on wild fish stocks. But many aquaculture fish — such as Atlantic salmon — are farmed using fish oil and meal made from millions of tonnes of wild-caught fish, most of which is food-grade and could be eaten directly to provide vital nutrition.

The team collected data on fish nutrient content, fishmeal, and fish oil composition, and salmon production, and examined the transfer of micronutrients from feed to fish in Scotland’s farmed salmon industry. They found that over half of the essential dietary minerals and fatty acids available in wild fish are lost when these fish are fed to farmed salmon.

Dr. David Willer, a researcher in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Zoology and first author of the paper, said: “Fish and seafood provide a vital and valuable micronutrient-rich food source to people worldwide, and we must make sure we are using this resource efficiently. Eating more wild fish and using alternative feeds in salmon farms can achieve this.”

The team developed various alternative production scenarios where salmon were only produced using fish by-products, and then added more wild-caught fish, mussels or carp for human consumption. All scenarios produced more seafood that was more nutritious than salmon, and left 66-82% of feed fish in the sea.

Feedback’s Dr Karen Luyckx said: “If we want to feed a growing global population well and sustainably, we must stop catching wild fish to feed farmed fish. Until the salmon industry kicks its wild-caught fish oil and fishmeal habit, chefs and retailers should help citizens switch away from unsustainable salmon by offering ultra-nutritious mussels and small oily fish instead.”

Based on their findings on the Scottish salmon industry, the researchers collected global salmon, fishmeal, and oil production data to apply their alternative scenarios at a global scale. One scenario shows that farming more carp and less salmon, using only feed from fish by-products, could leave 3.7 million tonnes of wild fish in the sea while producing 39% more seafood overall.

The authors caution that not enough is known about the source and species composition of fishmeal, but there are positive signs that the use of plant-based feeds is growing.

Dr. James Robinson of Lancaster University said: “Aquaculture, including salmon farming, has an important role in meeting global food demand, but nutritious wild fish should be prioritized for local consumption rather than salmon feed, particularly if it is caught in food-insecure places.

“Support for alternative feeds can help this transition, but we still need more data on the volumes and species used for fishmeal and fish oil, as this can show where salmon farming places additional pressure on fish stocks.”

Ultimately, the authors call for a reduction in marine aquaculture feeds, as this will offer opportunities to produce more nutritious seafood while reducing pressure on marine ecosystems.

Willer added: “If we want to feed the growing global population well and sustainably, we must stop catching wild fish to feed farmed fish. There is an urgent need for the food industry to promote the consumption of more sustainable seafood species — like mussels or carp — that don’t require other fish as feed.”

Reference: “Maximising sustainable nutrient production from coupled fisheries-aquaculture systems” by David F. Willer, James P. W. Robinson, Grace T. Patterson and Karen Luyckx, 1 March 2022, PLOS Sustainability and Transformation.
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pstr.0000005

This research was funded by the Cambridge Philosophical Society, via a Henslow Fellowship to David Willer.

How Grains of Dust Can Grow Into the Seeds of New Planets

By RIKEN MARCH 19, 2022

Computer artwork depicting two protoplanetary disks. These disks of gas and dust host planetesimals, the seeds of new planets. RIKEN astrophysicists have developed a model that explains how dust avoids falling toward the star long enough to coalesce to form kilometer-sized planetesimals. Credit: © Mark Garlick/Science Photo Library

By amassing in high-density regions, dust grains avoid drifting toward the star they are orbiting.

A key step in the formation of new planets may have been uncovered by a new theoretical model of a protoplanetary disk developed by a RIKEN astrophysicist and two collaborators that explains how dust in the disk overcomes a tendency to drift toward the star.

Planets are birthed from a swirling disk of dust and gas that surrounds a young star, but it is unclear how dust grains can grow into larger objects before they spiral inward toward the star.

In the classical theory of planet formation, minuscule dust particles collide and stick together to form centimeter-sized grains. These grains gradually build up to form kilometer-sized planetesimals, the first major step in producing a new planet.

But the dust grains feel a drag from the gas in the protoplanetary disk. This slows the dust grains down, so that they fall toward the star. The speed at which they fall increases as the dust grains grow larger.

Previous studies have suggested that this effect should prevent the grains from forming objects larger than a meter, which poses a major conundrum for astronomers. “Various mechanisms have been proposed to explain the formation of planetesimals, but they are still under debate,” notes Ryosuke Tominaga of the RIKEN Star and Planet Formation Laboratory.

Tominaga and two colleagues have now proposed a model that suggests a possible solution to this problem—small variations in the distribution of dust in the protoplanetary disk are quickly amplified into regions of high and low dust density.

In areas having slightly higher densities, dust coagulates more efficiently, and it forms larger clumps that drift toward the star more quickly. When these clumps meet smaller dust particles, they form regions of even higher dust density, accelerating grain growth. Meanwhile, the regions vacated by the large clumps end up with relatively low densities.

The team found that this positive feedback creates multiple bands of high and low dust density in the protoplanetary disk. These bands can arise in a matter of 10,000 years or so, a remarkably short time for such astronomical processes. These high-density areas are ideal sites for further aggregation, allowing planetesimals to form before the dust grains are pulled into the star.

“Unlike previous theories, this coagulation mechanism works even when there is far more gas than dust in the protoplanetary disk,” says Tominaga.

The team is now working on more-detailed models that include the formation and evolution of the disk itself, along with the eventual formation of planetesimals.

Reference: “Coagulation Instability in Protoplanetary Disks: A Novel Mechanism Connecting Collisional Growth and Hydrodynamical Clumping of Dust Particles” by Ryosuke T. Tominaga, Shu-ichiro Inutsuka and Hiroshi Kobayashi, 8 December 2021, The Astrophysical Journal.
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ac173a

Happy March Equinox, Earthlings!

By LANCE D. DAVIS, NASA MARCH 19, 2022

An illustration of the March (spring) and September (fall or autumn) equinoxes. During the equinoxes, both hemispheres receive nearly equal amounts of daylight. (Image not to scale.) Credit: NASA/GSFC/Genna Duberstein

March Equinox Welcomes ‘Astronomical’ Spring

Did you know our planet has two types of seasons? They are meteorological and astronomical. What’s the difference?

“Meteorological seasons” follow the changing of the calendar, month to month, and are based on the annual temperature cycle – seasonal temperature variations modified by fluctuations in the amount of solar radiation received by Earth’s surface over the course of a year. For instance, the meteorological season of spring begins each year on March 1 and will end on May 31.

However, “astronomical” seasons happen because of the tilt of Earth’s axis (with respect to the Sun-Earth plane), and our planet’s position during its orbit around the Sun.

The March equinox – also called the vernal equinox – is the astronomical beginning of the spring season in the Northern Hemisphere. Seasons are reversed in the Southern Hemisphere where it will be autumn, also known as fall. These simultaneous seasons will occur March 20, 2022, at 15:33 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) or 10:33 a.m. CDT (Central Daylight Time).

Credit: NASA/Space Place

The Sun will pass directly above the equator, bringing nearly equal amounts of day and night on all parts of Earth. At the equator, an equinox results in about 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night.

Equinoxes and solstices are caused by Earth’s tilt on its axis and the ceaseless motion it has while orbiting the Sun. Think of them like events happening as our planet make its journey around the Sun.

North of the equator, the March equinox will also bring us earlier sunrises, later sunsets, softer winds, and budding plants. With the reversed season, those south of the equator will experience later sunrises, earlier sunsets, chillier winds, and dry, falling leaves.

If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, watch the Sun as it sets just a bit farther north on the horizon each evening until the June solstice – when the Sun reverses directions, moving back to the south. Also, get outside to enjoy the warmer weather and extended daylight!

Happy March equinox, Earthlings!

Avengers star Mark Ruffalo joins campaign against B.C. pipeline with call for RBC to end funding

S

• 

Numerous Hollywood A-listers have signed petition against

Coastal GasLink financing

CBC News · Posted: Mar 18, 2022 

Actor and activist Mark Ruffalo said he doesn't want his money funding the Coastal GasLink pipeline in northern B.C. (Craig Ruttle/Associated Press)

Avengers star Mark Ruffalo says concerns about how his money is used are driving his public campaign calling on the Royal Bank of Canada to stop funding the Coastal GasLink pipeline in northern B.C.

The American actor is one of more than 65 Hollywood celebrities and Indigenous climate activists who've signed a petition demanding that RBC and its subsidiary City National Bank (CNB) defund the natural gas pipeline.

In an interview with Gloria Macarenko, host of CBC's On The Coast, Ruffalo said he banks with CNB, and tried to take action shortly after learning about the financial connection a few months ago.

"I said, hey guys, I don't know if you know this, but most of your clients are fighting for climate change action and Indigenous rights, and you have our money funding the tar sands and the Coastal GasLink pipeline," he said.

"I don't want my money funding this, I know that people in Hollywood who've signed on to this letter don't want their money funding this."

• Pipeline work resumes after blockades in northern B.C., Coastal GasLink says

The petition, titled "No More Dirty Banks," describes CNB as the "bank to the stars," and has been signed by A-listers including Robert Downey, Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Jane Fonda, Leonardo DiCaprio and Marisa Tomei.

It says RBC and CNB are supporting "violating Indigenous rights and fuelling climate chaos" by financing the project.

"As much as they speak about being champions for climate change and being champions of Indigenous rights and Indigenous people, everything that I've seen is absolutely contrary to those two claims," Ruffalo said.

RBC spokesperson Rafael Ruffolo wrote in an email that the bank had no comment on the campaign.

Celebrity support 'means the world to us'

Ruffalo was interviewed alongside two key Wet'suwet'en Nation leaders fighting against the pipeline through their traditional territory — Sleydo' (Molly Wickham) and Hereditary Wet'suwet'en Chief Na'Moks.

Both said they were grateful that so many people with big names and influence were lining up to support their protest against the pipeline.

"It absolutely means the world to us," Na'Moks said.

• Coastal GasLink failed to fix nearly 2 dozen environmental violations along pipeline route, B.C. officials say

The hotly contested pipeline, which is planned to extend from northeast B.C. to Kitimat on the province's North Coast, is being built through the territory of the Wet'suwet'en Nation.

Coastal GasLink has said the project is fully authorized and permitted by government, and has the support of all 20 First Nation band councils, including five of the six band councils in the Wet'suwet'en Nation.

However, Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs have opposed the project, saying band councils do not have authority over land beyond reserve boundaries.

On Friday night, Coastal GasLink sent CBC an unsolicited statement outlining the support the project has had from Indigenous groups including recent news that 16 First Nations intend to purchase equity in the pipeline. 

"Coastal GasLink recognizes that Indigenous reconciliation and addressing climate change are essential to creating a better, more sustainable world," the company said.

"We would encourage everyone interested to take the time to understand all the facts and the important role Indigenous communities have in developing and building the project."

With files from On the Coast

Mark Ruffalo, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Stiller and more stars sign letter protesting Canada Gas Pipeline

Janelle Ash
Thu, March 17, 2022

Hollywood stars have joined together to write a letter to City National’s parent company, the Royal Bank of Canada, to defund the Canada Gas pipeline.

The letter, signed in solidarity, urges the Royal Bank of Canada to "withdraw support from the Coastal GasLink pipeline, effective immediately."

The letter goes on to say, "City National Bank's parent company Royal Bank of Canada is bankrolling the climate crisis and violating the rights of Indigenous Peoples."

Mark Ruffalo narrates a two-minute video explaining what the Coastal GasLink pipeline is doing to the land of the Wet’suwet’en nation. Getty Images

More than 65 celebrities, including Mark Ruffalo, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Stiller, Scarlett Johansson, Taika Waititi, Jane Fonda, Susan Sarandon and Robert Downey Jr., banded together to send the letter to City National Bank’s parent company.

City National Bank has been dubbed as the "Bank of the Stars" and acquired the Royal Bank of Canada in 2015.

Some of the celebrities mentioned filmed a video together to raise awareness, using the hashtag #NoMoreDirtyBanks.

Ruffalo kicked off the video explaining the bank’s involvement with the Coastal GasLink pipeline.

"Right now, major banks like the Royal Bank of Canada are financing a fracked gas pipeline bulldozing through the land of the Wet’suwet’en nation in Northern British Columbia, Canada."

He went on to say, "The Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs never consented to this pipeline construction through their terrorities, which would risk the sacred headwaters of the Wedzin Kwa River, but here’s where it gets complicated."

Ben Stiller is joined by a long list of celebrities boycotting the Canada Gas pipeline. Getty Images

"The Supreme Court of Canada recognized Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs as rightful title holders of the land, but corporations still get away with consulting only ‘elected leadership’ put in place by the colonial government."

In a statement to Variety, which published the letter as an ad, Coastal GasLink stated: "Since the beginning of the Project, Coastal GasLink has sought to engage and consult with the Wet’suwet’en Houses through the Office of the Wet’suwet’en and the elected leadership. We want to listen and seek meaningful ways to address interests and concerns including ensuring the pipeline is built under the Morice River using the safest technology available."

"Coastal GasLink recognizes that Indigenous reconciliation and addressing climate change are essential to creating a better, more sustainable world," the statement added. We would encourage everyone interested to take the time to understand all the facts and the important role Indigenous communities have in developing and building the Project."

The Royal Bank of Canada hasn’t responded to the video or the letter.

A representative for the Royal Bank of Canada said it does not have a comment to share at this time. Reps for the City National Bank did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.

Mark Ruffalo ‘saddened’ by John Horgan’s response to anti-Coastal GasLink campaign

By Amy Judd Global News
Posted March 18, 2022 

Actor Mark Ruffalo is showing his support for Wets'uwet'en Hereditary Chiefs who oppose the Coastal GasLink Pipeline, and are calling for big banks to stop funding the project. As Ted Chernecki reports, the contentious project also has its supporters.

Hollywood actor and environmentalist, Mark Ruffalo, is firing back at B.C. Premier John Horgan after he commented on Ruffalo’s efforts to stop the Coastal GasLink pipeline.

He is one of several celebrities who have signed on to the No More Dirty Banks campaign calling on Royal Bank to pull its financial support for the pipeline.

Horgan said the campaign was disappointing and made a joke about Ruffalo’s latest project.

“I really liked The Adam Project. Mark Ruffalo was great in that. Ryan Reynolds was better,” Horgan joked.

“Look, I have a lot of respect for people who have opinions. If Mark Ruffalo had a full understanding on the intricacies of economic development in British Columbia then he has a role to play,” Horgan added. “Taking shots from the sidelines without understanding the impact on Indigenous peoples, the impact on our climate plan. If he read our climate plan I’d be excited to hear his thoughts.”

READ MORE: Hollywood celebrities call on RBC to stop financing B.C.’s Coastal GasLink project

2:08 First Nations communities agree to equity stake in controversial Coastal GasLink pipeline projectFirst Nations communities agree to equity stake in controversial Coastal GasLink pipeline project – Mar 9, 2022

Ruffalo responded on Twitter Thursday night saying “respectfully, I am saddened Horgan doesn’t like hearing from people, no matter what work they do, about things like climate change and First Nation’s rights and what our money is being used to fund. I thought that’s what he was in office to do.”



Ruffalo and other celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Jane Fonda are throwing their support behind Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs and other leaders who are calling on the Royal Bank of Canada to withdraw its support from the northern B.C. pipeline.

According to the campaign, RBC has invested more than $160 billion since 2015 to finance tar sands, fossil fuel extraction and transport.

RBC is also the lead financier of Coastal GasLink, the campaign states.

The campaign is asking RBC to withdraw support for the Coastal GasLink project, particularly as its company, City National Bank has extensive relationships with numerous Hollywood celebrities and companies.

However, many groups are in support of the pipeline. The elected council of the Wet’suwet’en Nation and others nearby have agreed to the project.

The project is permitted under Canadian law, but does not have the blessing of Wetsuwet’en Nation’s hereditary chiefs. Concerned for the wellbeing of ecosystems and sovereignty over their land, the chiefs have said the pipeline is “illegal” under their laws — the only ones they recognize on their territory.

If built, the 670-kilometre pipeline would transport natural gas from northeastern B.C. to a liquefied natural gas facility in coastal Kitimat, where it would be exported to global markets.

4:21 Coastal gaslink indigenous communities agreement – Mar 9, 2022

READ MORE: Indigenous communities ink Coastal GasLink option deals with TC Energy

The project is being built by Calgary-based company, TC Energy Corporation.

In a statement to Global News, it said “Coastal GasLink is very concerned that important facts are not being shared with groups and individuals who are concerned about Indigenous rights and climate change issues. After years of thoughtful engagement and dialogue, the Coastal GasLink project received unprecedented support from all 20 elected Indigenous communities along our project corridor. Building on this support, last week, we were proud to announce that we have signed equity option agreements with two entities representing 16 Nations across the project corridor for a 10 per cent equity ownership interest in Coastal GasLink – a first for a project of this scale.”

The company added that since the beginning of the project, Coastal GasLink has sought to engage with the Wet’suwet’en Houses and they want to continue to engage with the Chiefs and open communication.

“Coastal GasLink recognizes that Indigenous reconciliation and addressing climate change are essential to creating a better, more sustainable world. We would encourage everyone interested to take the time to understand all the facts and the important role Indigenous communities have in developing and building the Project,” TC Energy said in the statement.

For the B.C. government, Horgan said he is “always disappointed when celebrities stop doing their trade and start giving out practical advice.

“They are completely entitled to do that,” he added “but I take it as someone who lives somewhere else having a comment about B.C.”
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

    

1995 THE YEAR THE ROCK PLAYED FOR THE CALGARY STAMPEDERS

Michigan wants 'to have its cake and eat it too' on Line 5: chambers of commerce

This photo taken in October 2016 shows an aboveground section of Enbridge's Line 5 at the Mackinaw City, Mich., pump station. 

THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-John Flesher

James McCarten
The Canadian Press
Staff
Updated March 17, 2022 9:36 a.m. MDT

WASHINGTON -

Business leaders from the United States and Canada are again wading into the fray over Line 5, accusing the state of Michigan of dragging its heels to ensure the controversial cross-border pipeline remains in a state of legal limbo even as both countries contend with a looming energy crisis.

In a new joint amicus brief, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, its U.S. counterpart and chambers in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin reiterate their concern that shutting down the Enbridge Inc. pipeline would have "tremendous negative consequences" on both sides of the border.

"Such a shutdown would constrain an already disrupted energy supply, an especially problematic development given recent decisions related to importation of petroleum products from Russia," reads the brief, a copy of which was obtained by The Canadian Press.

Gasoline prices have been spiking across the U.S. and Canada, a combination of production and supply-chain pressures created by the COVID-19 pandemic and exacerbated by bans on imports of Russian energy, part of the global effort to sanction Russia over its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

The dispute over Line 5 has been raging since November 2020, when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer -- citing the risk of a spill in the ecologically sensitive Straits of Mackinac, where the line crosses the Great Lakes -- abruptly revoked the easement that had allowed it to operate since 1953.

Enbridge insists the pipeline is safe and has already received a level of state approval for a $500-million concrete tunnel beneath the straits that would house the line's twin pipes and protect them from anchor strikes. The company has repeatedly insisted it would not shut down the pipeline voluntarily.

The court dispute, however, has less to do with pipeline safety and environmental impact than it does with legal jurisdiction. Whitmer and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel have been trying to get the case heard in state court, while Calgary-based Enbridge has argued successfully that it belongs before a federal judge.

Enbridge won that argument last fall, prompting Michigan to abandon that challenge, instead taking up a separate case that was still at the county court level. That case is once again seized with the identical question of whether the dispute should be elevated to federal court.

Their tactics suggest "state officials are trying to have their cake and eat it too," the chambers argue in their latest filing.

"The governor abandoned efforts to enforce the shutdown order -- for the explicit reason of avoiding resolution of these arguments by the federal court."

The fact that shutdown order remains in place, albeit unenforced, "carries real harm to Enbridge and to businesses that depend on the interstate and international energy economy to function smoothly," they argue.

With the order still in place, Michigan regulators, as well as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, may be required to consider Enbridge's applications for the tunnel project as if the original pipeline didn't exist. Arguments to that effect have already been made before the Michigan Public Service Commission.

In other words, "whether the project is environmentally beneficial is a more complicated analysis if governmental agencies must analyze a fictional reality in which resources no longer flow through the pipelines."

The federal government in Ottawa has already submitted two amicus briefs of its own, the latest of which makes clear that Canada and the U.S. are engaged in talks to settle the dispute under the terms of a 1977 bilateral treaty designed to ensure the continued flow of energy between the two countries.

Advocates for the pipeline say Line 5 delivers more than half the propane and home heating oil consumed in Michigan, and is a vital source of energy for Ohio and Pennsylvania as well, to say nothing of Ontario and Quebec.

Shutting it down would be an environmental disaster in its own right, they argue, resulting in gasoline shortages, price spikes and some 800 additional oil-laden railcars and 2,000 tanker trucks per day on railways and highways throughout Central Canada and the U.S. Midwest.

"It is time for the federal court to resolve the question of the legality of the governor's shutdown order," said Mark Agnew, the Canadian chamber's senior vice-president of policy and government relations.

In a statement, Agnew described the case as a "litmus test" for North American energy security -- one that could have a major impact on consumers on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border amid the ongoing transition to more sustainable forms of energy.

"Reliable access to energy products (is) needed to create predictable market and political conditions that support our transition to net zero in the years to come, and that's why the Line 5 court case is so important."

Environmental groups, however, aren't giving up the fight.

A new brief filed this week by a non-profit known as For Love of Water argues that Michigan is obliged to shut down any "non-public trust use" that poses a threat to public trust uses such as navigation and fishing -- and also to revoke permission for that use in the event the public trust is violated.

The group argues that when another Enbridge pipeline in Michigan, Line 6B, ruptured and polluted the Kalamazoo River in 2010, state authorities were obliged to reconsider the company's easements.

The resulting inquiry found that Enbridge had "flouted" the terms and conditions of the easement "for decades" and had altered its pipeline operations without authorization from the state.

"Based on these collective findings, the state fulfilled its duty under the public trust doctrine to revoke and terminate the 1953 easement."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 17, 2022.

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NDP Leader Rachel Notley ridicules accusations she’s colluding with new UCP MLA Brian Jean

By Staff The Canadian Press
Posted March 18, 2022 

The clock is ticking for supporters and opponents of Premier Jason Kenney to sign up members in time for the leadership review. They have until Saturday at midnight to purchase a UCP membership so they can vote on April 9 in Red Deer. As provincial affairs reporter Tom Vernon explains, campaigns on both sides are working hard to identify their support.

Alberta’s Opposition leader is ridiculing accusations from the governing United Conservatives that she and the UCP’s newest member of the legislature are in cahoots.

Rachel Notley calls it one of the “most tortured attack lines” she has ever heard and she suggests Premier Jason Kenney’s staff and supporters spreading the idea “really need to get a little bit more sleep.”

Former Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean won a byelection for the UCP this week on a platform to get Kenney ousted as party leader at a leadership vote on April 9.

Critics, including government house leader Jason Nixon, say Jean has struck an alliance with Notley.

They point to Jean saying he would have brought Notley into cabinet on a short-term basis to remove partisan bickering and improve the response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Notley says it can be helpful to bring all sides together to some degree when fighting a crisis.

READ MORE: Fort McMurray wildfire: A harsh homecoming for Brian Jean

She noted Jean was given full access to get information from her government when wildfires struck Jean’s hometown of Fort McMurray in 2016.

© 2022 The Canadian Press

 

 Brian Jean calls on UCP to bring in auditor and keep leadership review in Red Deer

Lisa Johnson 

EDMONTON JOURNAL

Newly-elected MLA Brian Jean is calling on the United Conservative Party to commit to keeping its leadership review meeting in Red Deer on April 9 and bring in an outside auditor amid a ballooning number of party registrants.

© Provided by Edmonton Journal The Alberta legislature on Nov. 5, 2020.

As of Thursday, party executives confirmed to Postmedia that there are at least 10,000 registrations to cast an in-person ballot in a leadership vote to decide party leader Premier Jason Kenney’s fate. More registrations are expected before the midnight Saturday deadline.

In a statement released Friday evening, Jean said members and potential members have “made choices” based on what they were told about the meeting.

“Making substantial changes now would be unacceptable,” said Jean.Party spokesman Dave Prisco said in an email later Friday the UCP will be retaining an auditing firm, a returning officer, and a group of party volunteers to count the ballots which will be overseen by constituency association presidents.

“We’re open to any suggestions to improve the process, but we’re confident in how things are shaping up because we’ve got the best people running things — our party members,” said Prisco. The party has not officially announced a change of venue or additional venues.

Jean also raised concerns about the UCP member list, potential back door registrations done without the knowledge of members, the facilitation of paper payment and registration forms, and staffing.

His appeal comes as the RCMP have yet to release the results of an investigation into the 2017 UCP leadership race.

© VINCENT MCDERMOTT Newly elected UCP MLA Brian Jean speaks to supporters at his campaign office in Fort McMurray as early unofficial results roll in from the Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche byelection on Tuesday, March 15, 2022.

Meanwhile, dozens of UCP government staffers were signed up to campaign Friday in the final push ahead of the deadline for party registrations.

In emails obtained by Postmedia, a chief of staff to a government cabinet minister appealed to political staff to make phone calls drumming up support for Kenney, including signing off work at 4 p.m. this week and taking Friday off work to do so.

The emails include a link to a public online document, which had more than 75 political staffers including senior political staff signed up to make calls on Friday at the end of the work day.

In budget estimates Wednesday, Kenney said it’s routine for party leaders and party members to deal with internal political party responsibilities outside of their elected responsibilities.

“That is standard operating procedure,” he said.

Lori Williams, a political scientist at Mount Royal University, said Friday the emails show a significant amount of pressure on people whose jobs potentially depend on their response.

“It speaks to the panic and desperation in the premier’s office,” said Williams.
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Senior staffers have already been pulled from their regular work to help staff the leadership drive. Last month it became public the premier’s chief of staff, Pam Livingston, was taking an unpaid leave of absence to campaign.

When asked if Livingston was the only one at the Wednesday committee, Kenney said he was only aware of one other staffer from his office, Chad Hallman, who works in issues management, who had taken a leave.

“I don’t think it’s at all extraordinary that political staff periodically work on political campaigns. It’s important when they do so that they take an unpaid leave,” said Kenney.

On Friday, the premier’s office confirmed that Brock Harrison, executive director of communications, will go on leave to work on Kenney’s leadership review campaign effective Saturday.

NDL Leader Rachel Notley told reporters at the legislature Thursday staff being asked to clock out is not a sign of a government “firing on all cylinders” to address the challenges confronting Albertans.

“The staff who have been hired to do the work of the people should be focused on doing that, they should not be focused on leaving early to make phone calls for their boss,” said Notley.

On Thursday, Jean was asked by a reporter whether he thought it was appropriate for government staffers to be told to volunteer for Kenney’s campaign.

“I do not,” he said.

Premier Jason Kenney debuts on Corus radio call-in show

Brian Jean back in the Alberta legislature Thursday, won't be officially sworn in until next month