Hydrogen 'twice as powerful a greenhouse gas as thought before': UK government study

Landmark report from Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy highlights importance of preventing leakage from future H2 infrastructure


Illustration of hydrogen molecules.Photo: iStock

8 April 2022 
By Leigh Collins

A study released on Friday by the UK government’s Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has found that hydrogen is twice as powerful a greenhouse gas as previously thought.

The 75-page report, Atmospheric Implications of Increased Hydrogen Use, explains that H2 is an indirect greenhouse gas, which reacts with other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to increase their global warming potential (GWP).

“While hydrogen-induced changes in methane and ozone in the troposphere [the lowest layer of the atmosphere] have been considered previously, we have also considered, for the first time, previously ignored changes in stratospheric [that is, in the second-lowest layer of the atmosphere] water vapour and stratospheric ozone in our calculations of hydrogen’s GWP,” explain the authors, scientists from the National Centre for Atmospheric Sciences and the universities of Cambridge and Reading.


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“We estimate the hydrogen GWP(100) [that is, over a 100-year period] to be 11 ± 5; a value more than 100% larger than previously published calculations.”

In other words, the study says the GWP figure is somewhere between six and 16, with 11 being the average — whereas the GWP of CO2 is one. A previous study from 2001, which has been frequently cited ever since, put the GWP of hydrogen at 5.8.

The report, which was commissioned by BEIS, continues: “The majority of uncertainty in the GWP arises from uncertainty with regard to the natural budget of atmospheric hydrogen, where the magnitude of the soil sink for hydrogen is the most uncertain factor. Future work is required to resolve these atmospheric uncertainties.”

This all means that leaks from hydrogen pipes and equipment must kept to a minimum.

“Any leakage of H2 will result in an indirect global warming, offsetting greenhouse gas emission reductions made as a result of a switch from fossil fuel to H2,” the study points out.

Hydrogen is a much smaller molecule than methane, so it would much more easily leak from existing natural-gas pipelines if they were used to carry H2, particularly around joints and if they are made from iron, rather than polyethylene or copper.

“Leakage of hydrogen into the atmosphere during production, storage, distribution and use will partially offset some of the benefits of a hydrogen-based economy,” the study explains.

“Minimisation of leaks needs to be a priority if hydrogen is adopted as a major energy source."

The report does not take into account the GWP of producing hydrogen, only the impact of H2 released into the atmosphere.

A second study, also released on Friday by BEIS, sets out expected hydrogen leakage from the production, transport, storage and end uses of H2.

The report, Fugitive Hydrogen Emissions in a Future Hydrogen Economy, states that with 99% confidence, electrolysis production of H2 would result in 9.2% of the hydrogen produced making its way into the atmosphere through “venting and purging”, but this would fall to 0.52% “with full recombination of hydrogen from purging and crossover venting”.

The study, commissioned by BEIS and written by Frazer-Nash Consultancy, says that the worst offender for H2 leakage would be tanker transport of liquid hydrogen, with 13.2% of its cargo leaking into the air, followed by above-ground compressed-gas storage (6.52%), fuel cells (2.64%) and refuelling stations (0.89%). All other production, transportation, storage and uses of hydrogen would see leakages of less than 0.53%).

The full reports are available here and here.

STUDY CALCULATES EMISSIONS SAVINGS, BUT BASED ON A DUBIOUS SCENARIO


The first study sets out calculations of hydrogen emissions based on leakage rates of 1-10%, but uses a scenario in which all fossil fuels used for heat and cooking in buildings today is switched to pure hydrogen.

“In our illustrative future global hydrogen economy scenario, we estimate additional H2 emissions of between 9 and 95 Tg [million tonnes] per year [from leakage rates of 1-10%]. Using a H2 GWP(100) of 11, this is equivalent to… carbon dioxide emissions of about 100 and 1,050Tg per year, respectively.”

This scenario is based on an unlikely world in which “100% of the final energy consumption of fossil fuels in the buildings sector switches to H2, along with 50% of the final energy consumption of fossil fuels in the transport sector and 10% of the final energy consumption of fossil fuels in the power generation sector”.

At least 16 independent studies have shown that heat pumps are a far better alternative to hydrogen when it comes to heating homes.

The report adds that H2 replacement of fossil fuels, under this unrealistic scenario, would lead to an expected GHG reduction of about 26 billion tonnes per year, with a further reduction of about 1.2 billion tonnes annually due to reduced methane emissions.

“Therefore, in this global scenario, the increase in equivalent CO2 emissions based on 1% and 10% H2 leakage rate offsets approximately 0.4 and 4% of the total equivalent CO2 emission reductions respectively.”

 Toronto

Metro workers end strike at Etobicoke distribution centre, negotiate 'significant wage gains'

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Agreement ‘will raise the bar for warehouse workers across

Ontario,’ says Unifor Ontario regional director

CBC News · Posted: Apr 09, 2022 

Workers at Metro's Etobicoke warehouse distribution centre went on strike on April 2. They ratified a new collective agreement on April 8. (Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)

The ratification of a new collective agreement with "significant wage gains" has brought to an end a weeklong strike among more than 900 full-time workers at Metro's Etobicoke warehouse distribution centre.

Workers went on strike on April 2, after voting to reject a tentative agreement. 

The full-time employees work at a distribution centre that supplies products to grocery stores across southern Ontario along the Kingston-Windsor corridor, according to a statement from Unifor. The union said its members had been without a contract for six months. 

This new deal, ratified on Friday, is valid for 4.5 years, according to separate press releases from Unifor and Metro Ontario Inc. 

It will see workers receive an hourly wage increase of $2.25 in the first year of the deal, which includes retroactive pay back to October 2021. 

The average wage is expected to increase by nearly 16 per cent over the entire 4.5-year deal.

"This collective agreement achieves the best maximum pay rate and fastest progression in the industry," Unifor Ontario regional director Naureen Rizvi said in a statement. "There is no doubt it will raise the bar for warehouse workers across Ontario." 

Carmen Fortino, a senior vice-president with Metro Ontario Inc., said in a statement: "We are pleased to have reached what we believe is a fair and reasonable outcome." 

SOCIALISM FOR THE RICH

Varcoe: Federal incentive for carbon capture puts ball back in Alberta's court

'It is a subtle nudge to the province to come to the table'

Author of the article: Chris Varcoe • Calgary Herald
Publishing date:Apr 08, 2022 •                       

 A view of Shell's Quest Carbon Capture and Storage facility in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada, October 7, 2021. 

PHOTO BY REUTERS/TODD KOROL

Ottawa has put its marker on the table by providing a multibillion-dollar tax credit to companies willing to make big investments in carbon capture and storage projects in the country.

Will Premier Jason Kenney’s government do the same in Alberta?

The Liberal government extended an olive branch to the oilpatch in its budget on Thursday, providing details on a federal investment tax credit for carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) developments.

It arrives as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is moving ahead on aggressive climate plans, which include a cap on emissions from the oil and gas sector, beginning in 2025.

The new tax credit quickly garnered support from industry leaders while getting mixed reviews from the province.

“We love the first step, think it’s a good number. Could it have been stronger? Sure. But we don’t think it’s a fatal flaw,” said Michael Belenkie, CEO of Advantage Energy, a mid-sized producer that is pursuing carbon capture and storage developments.

“Overall, (we’re) pleased that it was included,” added Finance Minister Travis Toews. “We are not sure that this is going to be enough.”

The budget now puts pressure on the Alberta government to pony up some money if it wants to get the ball rolling faster on CCUS projects, which capture carbon dioxide emissions and store them deep underground or use them in other processes.

Getting the investment conditions right will be critical if Ottawa wants to trigger a wave of new capital spending by industry and also significantly curb emissions from the oil and gas sector by 2030.

“Our members are telling us this will be enough to get started,” said Adam Legge, president of the Business Council of Alberta.

The tax credit will be set at 60 per cent for investments made in equipment for direct air capture developments, and 50 per cent for investments in equipment to capture CO2 in CCUS projects.

It will also provide a 37.5 per cent credit for spending on equipment used for transportation and storage in such developments.

The budget document also says it will “engage with relevant provinces in the expectation that they will further strengthen financial incentives to accelerate the adoption of CCUS technologies by industry.”

Hello, Alberta.

That is a nifty way of throwing the ball back in the court of the Kenney government, a major supporter of using the technology to lower emissions in the province and ensure the energy sector’s long-term future in a net-zero world.

“It is a subtle nudge to the province to come to the table,” said Legge.

Earlier this week, the head of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said the group was looking for a 75 per cent tax credit.

While the federal announcement didn’t hit that mark, it took a step forward for companies now considering investments in CCUS, said MEG Energy CEO Derek Evans.

MEG is part of the Oilsands Pathways to Net Zero Alliance, a group of six companies working together to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. The alliance has proposed building a CO2 trunk line connecting more than 20 oilsands facilities, primarily in the Fort McMurray area, to an underground storage hub near Cold Lake.

Suncor’s base plant with upgraders in the oilsands in Fort McMurray. 

PHOTO BY JASON FRANSON/THE CANADIAN PRESS

The first phase of its CCUS project could reduce oilsands emissions by 10 megatonnes annually by 2030. It would cost in the neighbourhood of $14.5 billion, Evans said.

It would also create thousands of construction jobs in Alberta and ensure a long-term royalty payment stream as the province becomes a preferred global supplier of net-zero oil.

The alliance had called for a tax credit in the range of 75 per cent and said the province “could bridge the difference,” Evans said.

“We have seen the federal government step up to the table with a 50 per cent number and challenge the province — not make it obligatory — but challenge them to step up,” he said.

“Until we see where the province gets to, I don’t think we’re really in a position to say whether we are a go or no go.”

In an interview, Toews pointed out Alberta has already made major investments in carbon capture and storage (starting under the Stelmach government) that have topped $1.8 billion.

But should Alberta make up the gap between what the Trudeau government offered and what the energy industry is seeking?

“I would suggest not,” Toews replied.

“These were federal emissions targets and the federal government needed to ante up and ensure that this (investment tax credit) was calibrated appropriately.”

Alberta’s Minister of Finance Travis Toews in Calgary on Monday, February 28, 2022. PHOTO BY DARREN MAKOWICHUK/POSTMEDIA

What is abundantly clear is carbon capture and storage will be needed if Canada is to meet its climate ambitions, cutting total emissions in the country 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels by the end of the decade.

The International Energy Agency has reinforced the need for CCUS, calling it an important emissions reduction technology and noting more than 100 new facilities were announced around the world last year.

Canada aims to reduce emissions by at least 15 megatonnes annually with CCUS. The budget says a refundable credit will be available beginning this year for businesses that spend money on developments that permanently store captured CO2 or utilize it in industrial processes — although it specifically excludes enhanced oil recovery projects.

That puts it at odds with a similar U.S. incentive.

Tristan Goodman, president of the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada, said the tax credit is constructive, although he was disappointed enhanced oil recovery projects were ruled out.

It’s expected the overall tax credit will cost $2.6 billion over five years, beginning this year, before hitting $1.5 billion annually.

Some environmental groups lambasted the feds for the new measure, but Jan Gorski of the Pembina Institute said the 50 per cent level was appropriate. Combined with other federal policies, such as a national price on carbon and the incoming clean fuel standard, it will provide an incentive for companies to invest.

In the oilpatch, Belenkie agreed.

“What this tax credit is about is increasing the number of projects that are potentially economic and it has to help,” he added.

“There is an opportunity — and the opportunity is real.”

Chris Varcoe is a Calgary Herald columnist.

THE REALITY IS THAT CCS IS NOT GREEN NOR CLEAN IT IS GOING TO BE USED TO FRACK OLD DRY WELLS SUCH AS IN THE BAKAN SHIELD IN SASKATCHEWAN
https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-myth-of-carbon-capture-and-storage.html

ALSO SEE https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=CCS

1.7M hectares of old-growth deferred, protesters block Highway 1 in West Van

Save Old Growth protesters blocked traffic on the North Shore for the third time this week as they call for an immediate end to old-growth logging in B.C.

Charlie Carey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
2 days ago
Save Old Growth protesters blocked Highway 1 Friday morning (April 8), calling on an immediate end to old-growth logging in B.C.Save Old Growth

For the third time this week, traffic on the North Shore was blocked by old-growth protesters, this time along Highway 1 in West Vancouver.

Around 8 a.m. on Friday morning (April 8), Save Old Growth protesters blocked the highway eastbound between Taylor Way and 15th Street.

The old-growth advocacy group have been blocking traffic on a rolling basis this week, with protests on Monday and Wednesday mornings snarling traffic along both the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing and the Lions Gate Bridge.

Both actions resulted in multiple arrests by police.

“We’re past signing petitions, writing letters and doing marches. The people in power have ignored these for decades. Unfortunately, that isn’t enough. At this time we all need to be entering into civil resistance,” Julia Torgerson, a spokesperson for Save Old Growth, said.

The group said actions will continue until the provincial government passes legislation to immediately end all old-growth logging in the province.

“This is on the government. Our collective future is being destroyed before our very eyes. As soon as the government passes legislation we will be off the highways. Until then, disruptions will continue,” Tim Brazier, who was arrested on the Lions Gate Bridge on Wednesday, said.

North Vancouver-Lonsdale MLA Bowinn Ma said she completely understands the passion that people bring to the table regarding old-growth protection, and she’d heard from countless people across the North Shore and British Columbia about the practice.

“For a long time, British Columbian governments have failed to protect the unique biodiversity that exists in our province,” Ma said. “And it's a big part of the reason why our government is working on implementing this new vision for B.C. forests, where our oldest and rarest forests are better protected, where Indigenous peoples are full partners in sustainable forest management, and where communities and workers are benefiting from secure and sustainable jobs for generations to come.”

Ma’s comments come off the back of a recently announced provincial old-growth logging deferral plan which has secured 1.7 million hectares of old-growth forest from logging.

The announcement is the latest step after the provincial government shared in November 2021 that it would work with First Nations rights and titleholders to find agreement on deferring harvest of old-growth forests. As of April 1, 75 First Nations, in partnership with the government, have agreed to the deferral, with more than 60 asking for more time to create deferral plans.

“But having said that, the work isn't done. There are 204 Nations in British Columbia, we've received responses from about 188 of them. … So this is an interim update. It is not the end of the work,” Ma said.

Ma said that while she wishes she could “wave a wand and instantly protect all old-growth, the reality is British Columbia was practically built on the forestry sector, and is very deeply integrated into our provincial and local economies, and the well-being of many communities and families are tied to it.”

Noting there’s a huge amount of work that goes into protecting the forests, including consulting with each and every First Nation, the government is providing millions in funding to communities affected by the deferrals.

“We're also looking to shift British Columbia's forestry sector from this volume based model that we've been under for so long, to a value based model. So, mass timber products, engineered wood products, those are the kinds of products that British Columbia can be a leader in providing that don't depend on large diameter trees,” She said. “The old forestry sector just depends so much on these large diameter trees in order to be economically viable, and that's just not sustainable.”

Ma said while deferrals may look like a temporary measure, the government is using them to immediately prevent further biodiversity loss while permanent solutions are developed.

“The deferrals are not the permanent solution, there's still more work that has to be done after the deferrals are put in place. But it gives us time and space that's needed to work with First Nations and local communities to develop these new long-term approaches to managing B.C. forests in a way that that is sustainable.

“We heard really loud and clear that First Nations want to be involved in old-growth management in their territories. And in many cases, this requires time to develop a strategy around it, like how it's going to impact their communities, and manage negative impacts and bring out the positive impacts,” Ma said.

UGANDA
This 900-Mile Crude Oil Pipeline Is a Bad Deal for My Country — and the World

April 8, 2022

Chalk drawings from a protest in Johannesburg, South Africa, 

on March 12, 2021, against a crude oil pipeline through Uganda and Tanzania.

Credit...Kim Ludbrook/EPA, via Shutterstock


By Vanessa Nakate
Vanessa Nakate is a Ugandan climate justice activist.


KAMPALA, Uganda — This week, the panel of climate experts convened by the United Nations delivered a clear message: To stand a chance of curbing dangerous climate change, we can’t afford to build more fossil fuel infrastructure. We must also rapidly phase out the fossil fuels we’re using.

In moments like this, the media rarely focuses on African countries like mine, Uganda. When it does, it covers the impacts — the devastation we are already experiencing and the catastrophes that loom. They are right to: Mozambique has been battered in recent years by cyclones intensified by climate change. Drought in Kenya linked to climate change has left millions hungry. In Uganda, we are now more frequently hit by extreme flash floods that destroy lives and livelihoods.

But this latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent more of these impacts, has implications for Africa’s energy systems, too. Africa isn’t only a victim of the climate crisis, but also a place where infrastructure decisions made in the coming years will shape how it unfolds.

TotalEnergies, a French energy company, this year announced a $10 billion investment decision, which involves a nearly 900-mile oil pipeline from Kabaale, Uganda, to a peninsula near Tanga, Tanzania. From there, the oil would be exported to the international market.

Despite local opposition, TotalEnergies and a partner, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, have pushed ahead. The project might have a difficult time securing additional financing, as many banks have already ruled out the project. The multinational insurance company Munich Re has also vowed not to insure it, at least in part because of the harm it would do to the climate.

Burning the oil that the pipeline will transport could emit as much as 36 million tons of carbon dioxide per year, according to one estimate. That is roughly seven times the total annual emissions of Uganda.

More immediately, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline will have terrible consequences for people in Uganda and Tanzania. An estimated 14,000 households will lose land, according to Oxfam International, with thousands of people set to be economically or physically displaced. There are reports that compensation payments offered to some communities are completely insufficient. The pipeline will also disturb wildlife habitats. The climate writer and activist Bill McKibben said that it looks almost as if the route had been “drawn to endanger as many animals as possible.” An oil spill would be even more catastrophic for habitats and our freshwater supplies. (TotalEnergies and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation previously said they are working to avoid causing damage to the countries.)
Oil pipelines have become a symbol around the world of the fight for climate justice. In 2021 the Biden administration halted the Keystone XL pipeline in the United States after a decade-long fight led by Indigenous groups, climate activists and farmers. In East Africa the Stop EACOP campaign is a similar alliance that has emerged to fight fossil fuel infrastructure. Over a million people have signed a petition calling on TotalEnergies and the pipeline’s other backers to stop the project.

However, the Ugandan government remains largely in favor of the pipeline. Politicians have seemingly bet their political futures on the promise of revenues it could generate. Understandably, many people in Uganda not directly affected by the pipeline also think the oil could be a door to wealth. Our country has low levels of formal employment, and many people struggle to feed their families. Oil was discovered in the Lake Albert basin in 2006, when I was in primary school, and I remember my teacher proudly announcing to the class that Uganda had found “black gold.”

But the discovery of oil in Nigeria, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo has not brought widespread prosperity. Instead, it has brought poverty, violence and the loss of traditional lands and cultures. Much of the profits have gone to foreign multinationals and investors and to the pockets of corrupt local officials. TotalEnergies and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation will own 70 percent of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, with Uganda and Tanzania sharing the remaining 30 percent. This pipeline is not an investment for the people.

It is also not an investment for the long term. The International Energy Agency projects that growth in renewable energy will accelerate in the next four years. Fossil fuel projects like EACOP could lead to short-term gains but eventually huge losses — and might end up among the estimated $1.3 trillion of stranded oil and gas assets by around 2050.

Research presented by the International Renewable Energy Agency found that sub-Saharan Africa can meet almost 70 percent of its electricity needs from local renewable energy by 2030, which would provide up to two million additional green jobs in the region by 2050. Africa possesses 39 percent of the world’s potential for renewable energy, according to Carbon Tracker, but along with the Middle East, receives only 2 percent of annual investment. Africa needs the climate financing it has been promised by rich countries, as well as from private institutions, to develop clean energy.

There is a huge appetite for clean energy alternatives here. I have seen it through my work to install solar panels and clean stoves in rural schools. These efforts sometimes feel hopeless when money floods in from foreign banks and governments for fossil fuels. But Africa is where critical investments should go in our fight for a stable climate in the coming years. Financial institutions must reject the East African Crude Oil Pipeline and fossil fuel projects like it, in favor of clean energy. The science is clear. So is the case for investment.

More on oil pipelines

The End of the (Pipe)line? Germany Scrambles to Wean Itself Off Russian Gas
April 6, 2022

Months Before Oil Spill, Pipeline May Have Taken Quiet Damage
Oct. 9, 2021

The Keystone XL pipeline project has been terminated.
June 9, 2021

'Big crunch summer' expected as labour shortage strains Jasper's tourism industry

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Hiring on hold for some as staff housing reaches capacity

Wallis Snowdon · CBC News · Posted: Apr 10, 2022 

Businesses in Jasper, Alta., are struggling to find enough employees with a busy summer season lying ahead. (Tourism Jasper)

A labour shortage in Jasper has cooks emerging from the kitchen to wait tables, office managers vacating their desks to scrub lobby floors and hotel toilets.

With COVID-19 travel restrictions eased, international visitors are expected to return to the Rockies in droves. But hotels, restaurants and bars are struggling to get enough workers on the job to keep those travellers fed, housed and entertained.

Service workers are already doing double — even triple — duty to contend with a lack of manpower in the mountain town, said Pattie Pavlov, executive director of the Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce.

And there is little relief in sight.

"It's a serious problem," she said. "We totally see this as a big crunch summer." 

'Wishing they had more people'

Jasper's chronic labour shortage is being compounded by a pandemic-driven loss of seasonal workers and an ongoing accommodation deficit. 

Housing is expensive and hard to come by. Constraints on construction in the national park mean Jasper's footprint hasn't kept up with the growth, especially when the population balloons each summer.

"The market is not wide open in that regard, and it is very expensive," she said. 

Most job offers come with the offer of housing, either in shared apartments or dedicated staff suites, but those accommodations have been nearing capacity for years, Pavlov said.

It's at the point where many unfilled positions aren't even being posted, she said.  

"It's buzzing and people are getting ready and prepared," she said about the looming summer season. "They're just wishing they had more people to be prepared with." 

• The labour shortage isn't over — and employers are having to lower their hiring expectations

• Temporary foreign workers for tourism likely won't help this year, says industry group

With housing demand continuing to outstrip supply, some businesses simply don't have the space for new employees, Pavlov said.

Those pressures are being felt at Bear's Paw Bakery, where customers often line the sidewalk for plump cinnamon rolls and piping hot coffee.

The housing shortage is not new but it's getting worse, said general manager Mircel Randall, one of many Jasper workers who have struggled to find affordable accommodation in town.

He has worked in Jasper since 2009 but moved to Hinton in 2014, making the hour-long (in good weather) commute to and from his job.

The bakery is about five workers short but has put hiring on hold because its staffing accommodations are full. As a result, many employees will likely work overtime and forgo their days off in the busy summer ahead. 

"I do have a lot of applications, a lot of good candidates that could be joining my workforce," he said.

"My number one problem is not finding people," he said. "It's just finding accommodations for them."

• As Alberta's oil and gas industry rebounds, there's a new problem: not enough workers

• Alberta ski resorts feeling effects of dramatic winter weather changes

A scan of the jobs board at the Jasper Employment and Education Centre shows more than 300 employers are searching for kitchen workers, housekeeping and guest services staff and other seasonal jobs like kiosk cashiers, Skytram workers, lifeguards, and whitewater rafting guides. 

There are more than 600 current job vacancies.

The labour shortage has been particularly acute in retail and housekeeping but every business is feeling the pinch, said Ginette Marcoux, executive director of the centre.

While the housing shortage remains the largest barrier, she said the town — like many other tourism-driven communities — is also contending with an exodus of service workers. 

Students and international workers used to flock to the town each spring in search of jobs but the pandemic saw many move on to more stable occupations, Marcoux said.

"There's been such a labour shortage, we've had to close [hotel] rooms. Restaurants have had to close for a couple of days a week just so they don't burn out their staff," she said.

She's worried that If workers don't arrive within the next few weeks, this summer might again see businesses having to limit their operations.

"If we don't see more workers coming into our community looking for jobs, I think it's absolutely going to happen again."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Wallis Snowdon

Journalist

Wallis Snowdon is a digital journalist with CBC Edmonton. Originally from New Brunswick, her journalism career has taken her from Nova Scotia to Fort McMurray. Share your stories with Wallis at wallis.snowdon@cbc.ca

 Quirks & Quarks

Indigenous-led conservation program saves caribou herd from extinction

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The Klinse-Za caribou herd in B.C. tripled in size over 8   

years

CBC News · Posted: Apr 08, 2022

A group of female caribou with their calves. An Indigenous-led conservation program included the use of maternal pens, which safeguarded young caribou until they were old enough to run away from predators. (Line Giguere/Wildlife Infometrics Inc)

Quirks and Quarks17:28Indigenous-led conservation program saves caribou herd from extinction

An innovative caribou conservation program led by two First Nations communities has brought one of Canada's many dwindling caribou herds back from the brink of extinction.

"It was an all out effort. We didn't go into it half-hearted," said Chief Roland Willson, of the West Moberly First Nation. "I'm extremely proud of what we're doing. But at the same time, I'm mad that we're the only ones doing it."

The program is a collaboration between the West Moberly and Saulteau First Nations, in partnership with the University of British Columbia and the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative. It involved a holistic approach to conservation, combining Indigenous knowledge and Western science to almost triple the size of a local caribou herd, called the Klinse-Za herd, in less than a decade.

A caribou is released into the mountains of Northern B.C. (Clayton Lamb/Wildlife Infometrics Inc.)

"There hasn't been a lot of good caribou news in quite a while," said Clayton Lamb, a wildlife biologist from University of British Columbia who was part of the research. "One of the big takeaways from this work is that caribou conservation is possible."

The research was published recently in the journal Ecological Applications.

From thousands of animals to nearly extinct

Caribou play a significant role in Indigenous culture, not only as a source of food, but also as a part of traditional medicine. 

"The bones on caribou were used as fleshing tools [for cleaning hides]," said Willson. "The hides were used, like every aspect of the caribou was utilized."

Caribou excel at surviving in undisturbed old growth forest. But human activity, like oil and gas exploration and logging, have fragmented their herds from thousands of animals into smaller residential herds, which compromised their reproduction and made them more vulnerable to predators. 

"Our elders had noticed a decline in the populations, and they had decided to pass an internal law that we wouldn't harvest caribou until the populations started to increase, which never happened. They kept going lower and lower," said Willson, who added that at 55 years old, he has never been able to hunt a caribou.

Caribou eating grasses and lichen in Northern B.C. (Line Giguere/Wildlife Infometrics Inc)

Many of the fragmented herds in Canada are now considered functionally extinct. Between the 1990s and 2013 the Klinse-Za caribou herd shrank from approximately 250 animals to just 38, and research suggested the herd would disappear completely within 10 to 15 years without intervention.

Recovery plans for the most part have been ineffective.

"We sat with [scientists] and said, 'well, what can we do? What do we do? Like, what can be done? What has been done?' And we found out really quickly, nobody's actually doing anything on these things," said Willson. 

"It was actually our elders that said to us, the caribou were there for us when we needed them, and they need us now. So we need to step up and be there for them and try and help."

Protecting calves for the best chance at survival

The conservation program started with several meetings in Saulteau First Nation in 2012.

"We organized workshops with local governments, local First Nations, industry, even federal and B.C. governments. We invited everybody to the table here at Saulteau," said Naomi Owens-Beek, the Treaty Rights and environmental protection manager for Saulteau First Nation.

The group came up with three action items: predator management, habitat restoration and maternal pens. 

A researcher is seen in a helicopter, preparing to catch caribou using a net gun. The caribou were then taken to a pen to be kept safe from predators. (Wildlife Infometrics Inc.)

"It all makes sense because you're restoring the habitat for them to live in, you're reducing the predators so they don't get killed. And you're protecting the calves when they're in the maternal pen because they're pretty vulnerable when they're small," said Owens-Beek.

The province took charge of the wolf culling program, and the First Nations took charge of the maternal pens, with the help of scientists from the University of British Columbia.

Every winter, the scientists captured pregnant females from a helicopter using a net gun. Then, they brought the animals back to the maternal pens, which are fenced-in areas designed to keep the caribou in, and predators out. 

"It's not like they're in this random pasture," said Owens-Beek. "It's a wild enclosure which they're familiar with."

A researcher holds a pregnant caribou on the back of a snowmobile, as they travel into a maternal pen. The fencing that keeps predators out of the pen can be seen on the right. (Wildlife Infometrics Inc.)

Specially-trained Indigenous Guardians watched over the caribou from a distance for the next several months, making sure the enclosure was secure, supplementing the animals food, and only intervening if they saw an animal was sick.

"I think every year we're fortunate that we're able to release more than what we bring in. And I don't think we'll ever take it for granted, that's something special," said Willson.

The program, now in its ninth year, has seen a total of 65 calves raised in the maternal pens. This has allowed the herd's population to grow 12 per cent each year, going from 38 animals to 114. And the group has no plans to stop anytime soon.

"It's not something that we want to be doing, but if we want caribou, I think it's something that we have to do," said Willson. 

A caribou feeds from a trough inside the maternal pen near Moberly Lake, B.C. (Clayton Lamb/Wildlife Infometrics Inc)

And the work continues in other ways. In 2020, the First Nations worked with provincial and federal governments to secure nearly 8,000 square kilometres of habitat protection, making up more than 85 per cent of the Klinse-Za herd's territory, to ensure that the landscape can sustain caribou on its own.

A second study looked at the effects of only wolf reduction on caribou populations compared to areas with both wolf reduction and maternal penning, and found that reducing the number of predators only allowed caribou populations to stop declining. But in areas where maternal pens were used in collaboration with predator reduction, herd sizes grew significantly.

'Braiding' Western science and Indigenous knowledge

Lamb hopes that this project can be an inspiration to scientists looking to collaborate with Indigenous communities. 

"The braiding of knowledge systems is something that science is working fairly hard to do, or at least there's a lot of talk about it. But it's unclear how to do it in practice," said Lamb. 

"I think that this example was really a strong case of where Western scientists and Indigenous peoples came together and were able to co-produce a piece of science that really speaks to both of our strong suits, and is really richer as a result."

Willson agrees that collaboration was one of the keys to the program's success.

"I think the strength of this is that the First Nations, the local government, the provincial government and the federal government, were working together on this…. It's not a finely tuned machine yet. But, you know, we listen and we learn from each other and we're able to talk and bounce ideas off of each other and try things out."

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Produced and written by Amanda Buckiewicz.

Starbucks baristas are oppressed by TikTok Frappuccinos

APRIL 8, 2022
STAFF

Most coffee shops have customers who drop in occasionally and Starbucks has a boss who does the same. Howard Schultz started his third stint in 35 years as chief executive this week with a pledge to restore the heart of a global chain that grew from one café in Seattle.

“We are longing for love, to be embraced, to be valued, to be cared for . . . Over a cup of coffee, we bring people together,” he told a gathering of employees, many of whom are feeling unloved themselves. His first act was to suspend share buybacks and attempt to quell discontent that has led to baristas at several US stores joining a union.

His vision of Starbucks cafés as comforting “third places” beyond home and work, at which locals can gather to chat over coffee prepared by passionate experts, is familiar. He said something similar last time he took back control, in 2008. Even Schultz admits that his platonic ideal has “kind of been dissipated in the last few years”.

Some of the pressures it faces are common to other businesses. Supply chains are stretched, and raw material prices are rising. Many US companies are struggling to recruit and retain staff after the “great resignation” of the pandemic. Discontented employees want better pay and conditions: Amazon workers at a New York warehouse voted to unionise last week.

But Starbucks has a problem of its own concoction among its staff. Ray Oldenburg, the sociologist who popularised the notion of the “third place”, lauded cafés and hostelries for easing “the atomisation of life” in urban America. The burden on today’s baristas is the atomisation of the Frappuccino.

One of these blended iced drinks became notorious last year when Starbucks fired a barista for tweeting an image of the “Edward”, named after the customer for whom he had to mix it. The Venti Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino with 13 modifiers (Starbucks’ term for additions) included five bananas, seven pumps of caramel sauce and extra cinnamon dolce topping.

The Edward is a Frankenstein’s monster of mass customisation but it is not unique. In Schultz’s mind, baristas may work in cafés crafting their espresso crema. In reality, they are often at drive-through stations, pumping extra shots of syrup and cream into White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccinos.

There are 170,000 ways to customise drinks at Starbucks stores, including all the multicoloured, off-menu blends that Gen Z customers request before posting videos on TikTok. Flavour diversity has been made easier by the Starbucks mobile app, which allows customers to pre-order crazy combinations to pick up, without having to face a resentful barista in person.

Frappuccinos have been around since 1995, during Shultz’s initial tenure as CEO, but have proliferated in recent years. Cold drinks, including cold brew coffee, iced lattes and Frappuccinos, accounted for 70 per cent of US sales last year, up from half in 2018.

That is deliberate. Schultz last retook the helm amid the coffee wars of the mid-2000s with McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts, when Starbucks was being undercut by cheaper cappuccinos. Since then, it has regained its premium — and grown around the world to 34,000 outlets — by offering higher priced, individual beverages.

Starbucks has changed in another way. The pandemic shift to working from home and population movement to suburbs mean that many Americans no longer linger in city centre stores, such as its original café in Pike Place Market, Seattle. They are more likely to grab a frothy drink at a drive-through.

The company has closed 420 US stores and is opening new drive-throughs and walk-by “pick-ups” for pre-ordered drinks: 45 per cent of outlets will be in such formats by next year. These are designed to satisfy individual consumer preferences, but communal third places they are not.

Nor is this a recipe for employee happiness: it all tends to make the barista’s job more stressful and less fulfilling. Many complain of overwork from having to juggle a flow of digital and in-person orders, while blending ever more fancy Frappuccinos. The personal touch is reduced to hailing customers through windows, or on screens.

Schultz is going on a listening tour to restore “kindness and joy” to his alienated baristas. I suspect he will hear that they feel like the face of a machine, with the artificial intelligence software in its mobile app advising customers digitally while they provide a thin layer of humanity at the front end.

Starbucks has historically been a good employer. It stood out among quick-service chains in offering its staff healthcare, educational and parental benefits, as well as share ownership. It has increased hourly wages to an average of $17 in the face of the union drive, and Schultz this week promised to “do better for our partners”.

But the discontent goes deeper than money. BMW has called time on letting buyers endlessly customise their cars, and I advise Schultz to do the same for Frappuccinos. Otherwise, no matter how sweet the vision, his baristas will not feel cared for.

john.gapper@ft.com