Monthly Archives: July 2013

Ecocide

Cold Lake bitumen blowout first test for new energy regulator

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By Chris Severson-Baker, reposted from the Pembina Institute. July 29, 2013

A slow-motion disaster has been unfolding for months at an oilsands extraction site in Cold Lake, Alberta, a few hours north of Edmonton. Provincial authorities and media reports have called it a series of “releases” or “spills”, but a more accurate description would be an uncontrolled blowout in the oilsands reservoir deep underground.

According to the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER), that blowout has caused roughly 5,975 barrels of bitumen to surface at the Primrose and Wolf Lake facility, killing wildlife and contaminating groundwater aquifers, soil, vegetation and a nearby water body. As of July 27, the regulator has indicated the incident is ongoing.

In addition to the environmental impacts, this blowout has the potential to make or mar the reputation of the province’s fledgling regulator, which has been promoted as a symbol of Alberta’s commitment to transparent and rigorous enforcement of environmental standards. How the province handles this situation will help to determine how the AER is perceived by industry, Albertans and our customers beyond our borders.

Lack of public disclosure

The latest incident is the fourth that has occurred since May 20 at the Primrose and Wolf Lake in situ oilsands site, operated by Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL). This latest incident started on June 24 and was in an emergency stage until July 17, but information about the cumulative volume of bitumen released at the site was not made public until July 29. Even last week the province was significantly underreporting the size of the release and the area impacted relative to internal company documents that showed the cumulative spill volume to have reached thousands of barrels of bitumen, compared to just 176 barrels as reported by the AER.

Bitumen seeps from an underground blowout at one of CNRL’s in situ oilsands sites. Photo: Emma Pullman/CNRL

CNRL has disclosed virtually nothing about the blowout to the public. The only reference to the incident was made in a one-page statement issued on July 25 after several days of consecutive media coverage of the incident.

 

The company says it immediately reported the incident to the AER, but the regulator delayed making the blowout public until June 27, when it released a statement indicating it had ordered CNRL to stop injecting high-pressure steam into the underground bitumen deposits.

It was the third time the province had given such an order at this site, with the first dating back to 2009. Since the company has transitioned from the steaming phase to the production phase, it is not clear that this order has had any benefit to the environment.

What went wrong

It’s not yet apparent what caused the blowout, or any of the previous incidents at the in situ facility.

Roughly 35 per cent of all in situ production uses a technique called High Pressure Cyclic Steam Stimulation (HPCSS), which cycles between two phases: first, steam is injected into an underground oilsands deposit to soften the bitumen; then, the resulting hot mixture of bitumen and steam (called a “bitumen emulsion”) is pumped up to the surface. The process is then repeated multiple times.

It appears the CNRL Primrose and Wolf Lake facility was near the end of the steam injection phase (the time when pressure in the formation is highest) when the blowout occurred. Cracks oozing at the surface indicate that bitumen emulsion has burst through the cap rock and travelled approximately 500 metres before reaching the surface of the ground. The exact route the emulsion followed as it pushed its way to the surface is currently unknown.

CNRL has yet to state whether or not bitumen emulsion continues to flow from the pressurized formation, or whether it has relieved the pressure to protect groundwater and the surface from further impact. CNRL maintains that production will continue as usual at the site.

The design of HPCSS projects is geared towards maximizing bitumen production by maximizing the pressure injected into the formation, up to a level that is deemed safe by both the company’s engineers and Alberta’s regulatory authorities.

Blowouts of this manner represent a fundamental failure in the design and integrity of this project.

Not the first time

 

The CNRL blowout will be an important test of the new Alberta Energy Regulator. Photo: Toronto Star.

CNRL had a similar blowout occur in January 2009, which saw 5,686 barrels of bitumen recovered from the surface. The Energy and Resources Conservation Board (or ERCB, the predecessor to the AER) investigated, using steam injection tests to determine how the blowout occurred. However, the results were inconclusive leaving the ERCB to speculate on how the bitumen emulsion made its way to the surface.

Following this investigation, the ERCB restricted the volume of steam CNRL could inject per cycle, but ultimately determined that HPCSS operations could continue safely.

This latest incident calls that decision into question. Even one blowout would be unacceptable — but four blowouts signify a complete failure in the project design and approval.

First test of the new regulator

Expectations are high for the new single regulator, as the Government of Alberta has promised a more transparent and proactive approach to regulating energy projects.

The CNRL Primrose project will be a test for the AER. Stakeholders and the public will be able to compare and contrast the response of the AER to this recent incident to the response of its predecessor organization, the ERCB, when it decided to uphold the Primrose approval after the 2009 incident.

CNRL has placed the full burden of public disclosure and transparency on the AER by maintaining near silence about the failed project. This shifts the spotlight to how the AER will handle its responsibility to be accountable to the public in these types of cases.

To its credit, the AER recently launched an online public incident reporting archive, containing up-to-date information on events related to energy development, such as pipeline spills, well releases, and impacts to water bodies. Unfortunately, this database only includes two months’ worth of reports — meaning reports from earlier incidents at CNRL appear at this time to be no longer publicly available.

Many questions remain

Many questions remain to be answered about this incident and the implications it may have for similar projects in the future.

The systemic nature of these failures points to a potential design failure and calls into question the project’s approval. It remains to be seen whether the process to review the approval will be transparent and whether it will have any significant consequences for the future of this project.

The blowouts have introduced a bitumen emulsion into groundwater-bearing zones. It’s critical to understand how extensive the contamination is, what can be done to remediate groundwater contaminated with bitumen, and how long the area will require maintenance as a contaminated site.

Looking forward, the CNRL blowouts are an important a test case for the AER. It’s also an opportunity to chart a new course for Alberta’s regulatory regime, by taking a more proactive approach in public disclosure of environmental problems in the oilsands and by demonstrating that regulatory approvals will be withdrawn if necessary to protect the environment.

As bitumen continues seeping to the surface at the CNRL site, it won’t take Albertans long to make up their minds about whether the move to a single regulator represents a change for the better, or simply a change.

 

Ecocide ALert, Preventing Ecocide

Greenland And Antarctica ‘May Be Vulnerable To Rapid Ice Loss Through Catastrophic Disintegration’

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by Joe Romm reposted from ClimateProgress, July 30, 2013

Humanity faces 70 feet of sea level rise, possibly coming much sooner than has been expected if we continue with unrestricted carbon pollution. Two recent studies underscore our perilous situation.

The first study found, “East Antarctica’s Ice Sheet Not as Stable as Thought,” as Science reported. This conclusion is consistent with other recent research that found we’re all but certain to end up with a coastline at least this flooded (20 meters or 70 feet):
70 feet SLR

Some taken solace in the notion that this amount of sea level rise might take more than a thousand years. But a second study finds, “stretches of ice on the coasts of Antarctica and Greenland are at risk of rapidly cracking apart and falling into the ocean.”

The lead author, Jeremy Bassis from the University of Michigan, explained that if this new analysis is right, “we might be closer to the higher end of sea level rise estimates for the next 100 years.” That “higher end” is about 5 or 6 feet.

Here’s a video of Bassis discussing his findings:

 

 

A key point of the study is that current ice sheet models don’t capture what is already being observed with our modest 1.5°F warming to date — 60% faster sea level rise than models had projected. MORE

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Burn now, pay later - today’s emissions lock in long term sea level rise

Politics

Stephen Harper doesn’t get new world economy: Walkom

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by Thomas Walkom reposted from Toronto Star, July 30, 2013

Stephen Harper (left) and his government have remained focused on old-style projects, such as the Keystone XL pipeline, which U.S. President Barack Obama (right) has hinted he may reject, writes Thomas Walkom.
Stephen Harper (left) and his government have remained focused on old-style projects, such as the Keystone XL pipeline, which U.S. President Barack Obama (right) has hinted he may reject, writes Thomas Walkom. ADRIAN WYLD / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO

Stephen Harper’s Conservatives pride themselves on managing the economy. Oddly enough, the economy may turn out to be one of his government’s biggest failures.

This is not to diminish the real strengths that Canada has displayed during the worst slump since the 1930s. When the prime minister boasts that this country has fared better than the United States, he is correct.

Nor has the Conservatives’ overall approach to government finances been insane. Harper and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty may talk tough about the need for other governments to practice brutal fiscal austerity. Yet their approach at home has been more nuanced than that of, say, Britain’s slash-and-burn, centre-right, coalition government.

But the secret truth of this recession is that Ottawa hasn’t had much to do with Canada’s relatively good fortune. Rather it has been our natural resources that — up to this point — have pulled us through.

As long as countries like China are willing to pay top dollar for petroleum and other commodities, the countries that possess such resources do well. Australia, a resource economy governed by the leftish Labour Party, has survived the Great Recession as handily as Conservative-run Canada.

To put it another way, Canada would probably be at about the same place today in terms of jobs and growth if the Liberals or New Democrats had been in power since 2008.

The Harper government’s failure is longer-term. It still operates under the assumption that free trade and free markets will conquer all. This is an old model. It is out of date. True, the Great Depression of the 1930s was aggravated because there were too many barriers to the free movement of labour, goods and capital. But the Great Recession of the 21st century is aggravated by the fact that there are too few. MORE

RELATED:

Stephen Harper’s government withholds details of $16-million PR campaign for oil industry

Ecocide

Alberta oil spills cause concern over Canada’s approval of tar sands project

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By Press Association reprinted from The Guardian, Jul29, 2013

Spillages creating toxic ponds harming forests, killing wildlife and contaminating ground water, campaigners say

Tar Sands : Photos from a government scientist of the site of an oil spill in Cold Lake, Alta
Photos provided by a government scientist show the site of an oil spill in Cold Lake, Alberta. Photograph: Handout

Campaigners have raised new concerns over controversial “tar sands” after it emerged a series of oil spills have occurred at one site in recent months.

The unconventional fuel is being produced in Canada, but opponents warn it is more polluting than conventional oil as it requires significant energy to extract, pushing up its carbon emissions, and have also raised concerns over local environmental impacts.

Tar sands opponents are campaigning for the European Union to class it as more polluting than conventional oil under the fuel quality directive on reducing emissions from transport fuel, which could effectively stop its import to EU countries.

News has emerged of four bitumen spillages in recent months which have polluted water and land at a site at Cold Lake, Alberta, run by Canadian Natural Resources Ltd (CNRL), killing birds, beavers, frogs and shrews and damaging habitats.

Regulators and the company involved insist they are working hard to tackle the problem at the site, which falls within the traditional territory of the indigenous Beaver Lake Cree Nation, and investigate why it happened.

But the co-operative, which has backed the Beaver Lake Cree’s legal fight against tar sands over concerns extraction interferes with their constitutionally-protected rights to hunt, fish and gather plants in the area, has hit out at the news.

Colin Baines, campaigns manager at the co-operative, said: “What is happening within Beaver Lake Cree ancestral lands is nothing short of an environmental disaster. MORE

RELATED:

‘Every Plant And Tree Died’: Huge Alberta Pipeline Spill Raises Safety Questions As Keystone Decision Looms

 

Uncategorized

Sea Level Rise ‘Locking In’ Quickly, Cities Threatened

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By Ben Strauss reposted from ClimateCentral July 29, 2013

Measurements tell us that global average sea level is currently rising by about 1 inch per decade. But in an invisible shadow process, our long-term sea level rise commitment or “lock-in” — the sea level rise we don’t see now, but which carbon emissions and warming have locked in for later years — is growing 10 times faster, and this growth rate is accelerating.

An international team of scientists led by Anders Levermann recently published a study that found for every degree Fahrenheit of global warming due to carbon pollution, global average sea level will rise by about 4.2 feet in the long run. When multiplied by the current rate of carbon emissions, and the best estimate of global temperature sensitivity to pollution, this translates to a long-term sea level rise commitment that is now growing at about 1 foot per decade.

We have two sea levels: the sea level of today, and the far higher sea level that is already being locked in for some distant tomorrow.

In a new paper published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences(PNAS), I analyze the growth of the locked-in amount of sea level rise and other implications of Levermann and colleagues’ work. This article and its interactive map are based on this new PNAS paper, and they include extended results.

To begin with, it appears that the amount of carbon pollution to date has already locked in more than 4 feet of sea level rise past today’s levels. That is enough, at high tide, to submerge more than half of today’s population in 316 coastal cities and towns (home to 3.6 million) in the lower 48 states. MORE

Preventing Ecocide, solutions

The Greener Revolution – New technology to lessen dependence on fertilisers and cut farming costs

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Press release from Azotic Technologies, July 26, 2013

Only a very small number of plants, most notably legumes (such as peas, beans and lentils) have the ability to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere with the help of nitrogen fixing bacteria.

A new nitrogen-fixing technology has been developed which will help transform agriculture. This patented technology enables all crops to take up nitrogen from the atmosphere rather than from expensive and potentially environmentally damaging nitrogen based fertilisers.

The benefits are potentially massive: less reliance on nitrogen fertilisers; reduced nitrogen pollution of the environment from the use of nitrogen based fertilisers; and reduced fertiliser costs for the grower. Sustainable agriculture will depend on the greater use of biological nitrogen fixation at a time when more food is needed to feed an increasing population.

Nitrogen fixation, the process by which nitrogen is converted to ammonia, is vital for plants to survive and grow. However, only a very small number of plants, most notably legumes (such as peas, beans and lentils) have the ability to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere with the help of nitrogen fixing bacteria. Most have to obtain nitrogen from the soil, and for a huge proportion of crops currently being grown across the world, this means a reliance on synthetic nitrogen fertiliser.

Professor Edward Cocking, Director of The University of Nottingham’s Centre for Crop Nitrogen Fixation, has developed a unique method to put nitrogen-fixing bacteria into the cells of plant roots. His major breakthrough came when he found a specific strain of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in sugar-cane which he found could intracellularly colonise all major crop plants. This ground-breaking development potentially provides every cell in the plant with the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen. The implications for agriculture are enormous as this new technology can provide much of the plant’s nitrogen needs.

A leading world expert in nitrogen and plant science, Professor Cocking has long recognised that there is a critical need to reduce nitrogen pollution caused by nitrogen based fertilisers. Nitrate pollution is a major problem as is also the pollution of the atmosphere by ammonia and oxides of nitrogen.
In addition, nitrate pollution is a health hazard and also causes oxygen-depleted ‘dead zones’ in our waterways and oceans. A recent study estimates that that the annual cost of damage caused by nitrogen pollution across Europe is £60 billion ‐ £280 billion a year (Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, UK – March 2011).

Speaking about the nitrogen fixation technology, which is known as N-Fix, Professor Cocking said: “Helping plants to naturally obtain the nitrogen they need is a key aspect of World Food Security. The world needs to unhook itself from its ever increasing reliance on synthetic nitrogen fertilisers produced from fossil fuels with its high economic costs, its pollution of the environment and its high energy costs.”

N-Fix is neither genetic modification nor bio-engineering. It is a naturally occurring nitrogen fixing bacteria which takes up and uses nitrogen from the air. Applied to the cells of plants (intra-cellular) via the seed, it provides every cell in the plant with the ability to fix nitrogen. Plant seeds are coated with these bacteria in order to create a symbiotic, mutually beneficial relationship and naturally produce nitrogen.

N-Fix is a natural nitrogen seed coating that provides a sustainable solution to fertiliser overuse and nitrogen pollution. It is environmentally friendly and can be applied to all crops. Over the last 10 years, The University of Nottingham has conducted a series of extensive research programmes which have established proof of principal of the technology in the laboratory, growth rooms and glasshouses.

The University of Nottingham’s Plant and Crop Sciences Division is internationally acclaimed as a centre for fundamental and applied research, underpinning its understanding of agriculture, food production and quality, and the natural environment. It also has one of the largest communities of plant scientists in the UK.

Dr. Susan Huxtable, Director of Intellectual Property Commercialisation at The University of Nottingham, believes that there is likely to be huge interest in the N-Fix technology. “There is a substantial global market for the N-Fix technology, as it can be applied globally to all crops. N-Fix has the power to transform agriculture, while at the same time offering a significant cost benefit to the grower through the savings that they will make in the reduced costs of fertilisers. It is a great example of how University research can have a world-changing impact.”

The N-Fix technology has been licensed by The University of Nottingham to Azotic Technologies Ltd to develop and commercialise N-Fix globally on its behalf for all crop species. In the commercial world N-Fix know-how is unique to Azotic.

The Azotic management team has significant experience in agriculture, technology development and subsequent commercialisation. Peter Blezard, CEO of Azotic Technologies added: “Agriculture has to change and N-Fix can make a real and positive contribution to that change. It has enormous potential to help feed more people in many of the poorer parts of the world, while at the same time, dramatically reducing the amount of synthetic nitrogen produced in the world.”

The proof of concept has already been demonstrated. The uptake and fixation of nitrogen in a range of crop species has been proven to work in the laboratory and Azotic is now working on field trials in order to produce robust efficacy data. This will be followed by seeking regulatory approval for N-Fix initially in the UK, Europe, USA, Canada and Brazil, with more countries to follow.

It is anticipated that the N-Fix technology will be commercially available within the next two to three years.

BACKGROUNDER on Nitrogen Pollution

Preventing Ecocide

Why is Canada waiting on climate change?

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by CATHY ORLANDO AND GERRY LABELLE, reposted from the Sudbury Star, July 29, 2013

With bitumen extraction from Canada’s tar sands becoming non-viable, why is Canada waiting to address climate change? An economy based on denial makes no economic sense.

With examples of extreme weather we’ve seen recently in Calgary and Toronto, and the catastrophe in Lac Megantic, isn’t it time for Canada started taking more serious action on climate change and transitioning to a low-carbon economy?

Canada has so far been following the U.S. when it comes to implementing policies that address the climate crisis, but its greenhouse gas emissions have still increased in both 2010 and 2011.

In a recent speech, U.S. President Barack Obama addressed this global crisis. With time running out to contain global warming to manageable levels, Obama spoke of the only option left at his disposal — government regulation to curtail greenhouse gas emissions from new and existing power plants, new rules which will no doubt help bring down greenhouse gas emissions.

But his proposal will be opposed from both conservatives who, in general, do not like expansion of government bureaucracy, and consumers who are all too aware that these new regulations will increase the cost of energy and place an additional economic burden on them.

However, an April 2013 Angus Reid public opinion poll indicated 58% of Canadians believe climate change to be a fact and is caused by emissions from vehicles and industrial facilities. Furthermore, 60% of Canadians support protecting the environment, even at the risk to economic growth. As well, a July 2, 2013 Pew Global Poll indicated that 54% of Canadians feel that climate change is a serious threat to our well-being.

Two questions arise from both Obama’s speech and the polls: First, should Canada continue to follow what the U.S. is doing? And, second, how can it reduce emissions without inflicting economic pain on households while, at the same time, assuaging the concerns of some conservative by not increasing the size of government?

One way is for Canada to embrace a revenue-neutral carbon tax, which will ensure that fossil fuels pay for their true costs to society. A carbon tax corrects a distortion in the free market in which dirty energy gains an edge over clean technology. Take away the distortion, and the market will move away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. By returning carbon tax revenue to households, Canadians will be able to make the transition without economic pain. Across Canada, conservative-minded people looking for an alternative to government expanding regulations should consider the market-based approach of a revenue-neutral carbon tax.

Fears that domestic manufacturers would be hurt with the implementation of a carbon tax are unfounded. They would be protected competitively by border tax adjustments at the World Trade Organization and by the environmental provisions contained within the North America Free Trade Agreement.

Transitioning to a low-carbon economy will also create jobs in Canada. In a November 2012 report, Blue Green Canada determined that $1 million invested in oil and gas creates only two jobs while creating 15 jobs in the clean energy sector (wind, solar, hydro and biomass).

That leaves us with the question: What is Canada waiting for? A January 2010 MIT Joint Report on the Science and Global Policy of Climate Change provides a possible clue: It states “with CO2 emissions caps implemented worldwide, the Canadian bitumen production becomes essentially non-viable, even with carbon capture and sequestration technology, at least through to our 2050 horizon.”

Back in the 1980s, Canada led the charge on reducing acid rain and protecting the ozone layer. Since then we have been global laggards on the climate file, but it is not too late to change.

Cathy Orlando is the national manager of Canada’s Citizens Climate Lobby, a not-for-profit, non-partisan volunteer organization. Gerry Labelle is a former Progressive Conservative candidate in Sudbury.