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Air Water Land - Energy Evolution —November 6, 2006
A senior research associate at an Ontario-based agricultural industry
think-tank and research centre says the construction of new ethanol plants in
the U.S. represents a “huge issue” for Canadian farmers, with the
prospect of hundreds of new plants driving up commodity prices and making it
difficult for livestock producers in Canada to survive.
Dennis McKnight must have been thinking about famed media, communications and
culture researcher Marshall McLuhan when he decided his message about the need
for Canadian business leaders and others to scour the world to learn how to
innovate had outgrown television.
The public is being asked to comment on two sets of draft regulations
regarding setting up a wholesale market for electricity competition in Nova
Scotia, including a discussion paper regarding additional opportunities for
renewable energy developments as part of the process.
When Casey Gaetz looks at Vancouver’s skyline he sees dozens of cranes,
building hundreds of new pricey condominiums, but he doesn’t see any new
office towers under construction -- which means business is good for the company
he is a partner in.
Clifford Maynes is fighting to get the federal government to resurrect a
program that encouraged thousands of homeowners a year to retrofit their houses
to make them more energy efficient -- and he’s also fighting for the life
of the organization he heads.
Last May, after the rug was pulled from under its largest program by the
federal Conservatives, a program responsible for 50% of its revenue and which
had been by far its largest initiative, Green Communities Canada had to fight
for its life.
For a Vancouver-based architectural firm that specializes in environmentally
sustainable building design and redesign of theatres and other cultural centres,
there’s something a little theatrical about the work it does.
Time is of the essence — get on with it — was the message pulled
from the Ontario Power Authority’s consultation process incorporating
conservation and demand management (CDM) into the Integrated Power System Plan
(IPSP) for the province.
Reaction was strong and immediate last week from Canadian environmentalists
and from strong pro-Kyoto Protocol advocates like the federal New Democrats to
the release of a British report saying global warming will devastate the world
economy on a scale of the world wars and the Great Depression.
It will be very difficult for anyone to successfully sue companies for the
greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) they may be responsible for, says a Toronto law
firm that specializes in environmental law.
While the federal Conservatives have killed the Climate Fund Agency, an
entity established last fall with $1 billion in funding to buy domestic and some
foreign greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction credits, some of the world’s
largest financial institutions see the trading of credits as a growth
opportunity.
Provincially-owned utility Hydro-Québec and a
U.S. partner are retreating from a bold, costly attempt to successfully market a
lightweight, long-lasting battery intended to be a breakthrough in electric car
and telecommunications technology.
If recent forecasts hold true, the cost of fuels used for power generation in
North America and Canada in particular are not expected to cause electricity
prices to rise substantially this winter.
Growth in coalbed methane (CBM) development in Western Canada is expected to
more than offset a slight decrease in total annual average deliverability of
conventional natural gas to 2008, says a new National Energy Board (NEB)
report.
The National Energy Board (NEB) expects annual average deliverability of
conventional natural gas to decline slightly to 16.4 bcf per day in 2008 from
16.8 bcf a day in 2005.
Significant increases in sales to the commercial and residential sectors more
than offset a decline for residential natural gas use for August compared to
2005, Statistics Canada reports.
Construction should begin in the first quarter of 2007 on the Terasen
Pipelines (Trans Mountain) Inc. TMX-Anchor Loop project through Jasper National
Park and Mount Robson Provincial Park.
A requirement that TransCanada Corporation or crude oil shippers assume the
risk of increased costs for natural gas suppliers could put the proposed
Keystone pipeline at risk, according to testimony at a National Energy Board
(NEB) hearing.
The Newfoundland and Labrador government is encouraged by the interest and
progress being done on the possibility of adding refining capacity in the
province.
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