The North American Institute

Our True North

2009-07-01T18:54:00-06:00

The New York Times, July 1, 2009 - “Today, on Canada Day, 11 Canadians living in the United States share what they miss most about home. UNTIL 1982, Canada Day was known as Dominion Day. I always thought that had more of a ring to it. Beyond the zippy alliteration, it reminded us citizens that our domain of orderly domesticity was graced by the dominant power of our “Dominus.” And the rights granted therein to us by the glorious English crown through her colonial appointee, the right honourable governor general.There was another problem with Dominion Day. Dominion was the name of a national grocery store chain. It would be like calling the Fourth of July D’Agostino’s Day. Independence (now there’s a great name for a day!) came slowly to our country. In 1965, we dumped the old, staid British ensign for our own new flag. in lIt’s the one with the big red maple leaf in the middle. A simple, sweet leaf! We also have moose and beavers on our coins. And we call our dollars loonies because the coin has an image of a loon. Another old bird, the Queen of England, is on the other side of the coin. Read More.

Just Do It

2009-07-01T18:50:00-06:00

The New York Times, July 1, 2009 - “There is much in the House cap-and-trade energy bill that just passed that I absolutely hate. It is too weak in key areas and way too complicated in others. A simple, straightforward carbon tax would have made much more sense than this Rube Goldberg contraption. It is pathetic that we couldn’t do better. It is appalling that so much had to be given away to polluters. It stinks. It’s a mess. I detest it. Now let’s get it passed in the Senate and make it law. Why? Because, for all its flaws, this bill is the first comprehensive attempt by America to mitigate climate change by putting a price on carbon emissions. Rejecting this bill would have been read in the world as America voting against the reality and urgency of climate change and would have undermined clean energy initiatives everywhere. More important, my gut tells me that if the U.S. government puts a price on carbon, even a weak one, it will usher in a new mind-set among consumers, investors, farmers, innovators and entrepreneurs that in time will make a big difference — much like the first warnings that cigarettes could cause cancer. The morning after that warning no one ever looked at smoking the same again. Ditto if this bill passes. Henceforth, every investment decision made in America — about how homes are built, products manufactured or electricity generated — will look for the least-cost low-carbon option. And weaving carbon emissions into every business decision will drive innovation and deployment of clean technologies to a whole new level and make energy efficiency much more affordable. That ain’t beanbag. Read More.

Oil sands to take hit from U.S. bill

2009-06-30T13:29:00-06:00

Globe and Mail, June 30, 2009 - “Producers and their U.S. refiners face sharply higher costs - Alberta’s oil sands producers and their U.S. refiners face sharply higher costs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under legislation approved by the U.S. House of Representatives and championed by U.S. President Barack Obama. The American Clean Energy and Security Act, if passed by the U.S. Senate, could also result in new tariffs on Canadian exporters of energy-intensive goods from cement to chemicals if Washington deems Ottawa’s climate-change regulations to be lacking. Under the cap-and-trade plan, U.S. refiners will have to buy permits for each tonne of carbon dioxide that they send into the air. While utilities will be provided free allocation of those permits to reduce the impact on power users, the oil industry will have to purchase virtually all of its permits. Such a system would heavily penalize oil companies that ship oil sands bitumen to the United States because refining the raw bitumen into petroleum products such as gasoline and heating oil is more energy-intensive and higher in emissions than is the processing of conventional oil. U.S. refiners processing the heavier oil sands crude will face higher permit costs, cutting into profit margins for producers and refiners. Both producers and refiners would likely share that cost. A resulting drop in demand would in turn drive down the price of bitumen. Many U.S. refiners have been moving to retool their refineries in recent years to accommodate the heavy crude from Alberta’s oil sands. But the proposed legislation could put all of that at risk.” Read More.

Betraying the Planet

2009-06-29T13:10:00-06:00

The New York Times, June 29, 2009 - “So the House passed the Waxman-Markey climate-change bill. In political terms, it was a remarkable achievement. But 212 representatives voted no. A handful of these no votes came from representatives who considered the bill too weak, but most rejected the bill because they rejected the whole notion that we have to do something about greenhouse gases. And as I watched the deniers make their arguments, I couldn’t help thinking that I was watching a form of treason — treason against the planet.
To fully appreciate the irresponsibility and immorality of climate-change denial, you need to know about the grim turn taken by the latest climate research. The fact is that the planet is changing faster than even pessimists expected: ice caps are shrinking, arid zones spreading, at a terrifying rate. And according to a number of recent studies, catastrophe — a rise in temperature so large as to be almost unthinkable — can no longer be considered a mere possibility. It is, instead, the most likely outcome if we continue along our present course.”
Read More.

Obama Opposes Trade Sanctions in Climate Bill

2009-06-29T13:04:00-06:00

The New York Times, June 29, 2009 - “President Obama on Sunday praised the energy bill passed by the House late last week as an “extraordinary first step,” but he spoke out against a provision that would impose trade penalties on countries that do not accept limits on global warming pollution. “At a time when the economy worldwide is still deep in recession and we’ve seen a significant drop in global trade,” Mr. Obama said, “I think we have to be very careful about sending any protectionist signals out there.” He added, “I think there may be other ways of doing it than with a tariff approach.” The passage of the House bill on Friday night was an important, if tentative, victory for the president, becoming the first time either chamber of Congress had approved a mandatory ceiling on the gases linked to global warming.
Mr. Obama, hoping to build momentum in the Senate after the narrow victory in the House, delayed the start of a Sunday golf game to speak to a small group of reporters in the Oval Office. Read More.

Proximity, reality, strategy, destiny

2009-06-27T20:24:01-06:00

Globe and Mail, June 27, 2009 - “The forces of history are challenging Canada’s relationship with the U.S. – it’s time to make some choices - South of the border, Barack Obama is bringing a strategic focus to American foreign policy. An emphasis on multilateralism, a determined effort to refurbish the image of the United States, the pursuit of dialogue with Iran, a reaching out to the Islamic world, reinvigorating negotiations in the Middle East, a renewal of nuclear disarmament with Russia, leadership on climate change – these are all part of the President’s new global agenda. One item that seems to be missing is any strategic focus in Washington on its northern neighbour. Aside from Mr. Obama’s campaign proposal to renegotiate NAFTA (since abandoned), the new initiatives coming out of Washington seem directed to the hardening of our common border, the unleashing of a flood of Buy American laws and the badmouthing of our oil sands. Unlike Ronald Reagan, who had a vision of a deep trilateral relationship in North America and free trade throughout the Western Hemisphere, Mr. Obama and his advisers, notwithstanding his choice of Ottawa for his first official visit, show little interest in the relationship with Canada. If there is no sign in the U.S. government of a strategic vision toward Canada, our own government has reciprocated by showing no sign of interest in a strategic review of our relations with the United States. But now the forces of history and economic change are challenging the dominant characteristic of our foreign policy for more than half a century: our privileged relationship with the United States.” Read More.

House Passes Bill to Address Threat of Climate Change

2009-06-27T20:20:00-06:00

The New York Times, July 27, 2009 - “The House passed legislation on Friday intended to address global warming and transform the way the nation produces and uses energy. The vote was the first time either house of Congress had approved a bill meant to curb the heat-trapping gases scientists have linked to climate change. The legislation, which passed despite deep divisions among Democrats, could lead to profound changes in many sectors of the economy, including electric power generation, agriculture, manufacturing and construction. The bill’s passage, by 219 to 212, with 44 Democrats voting against it, also established a marker for the United States when international negotiations on a new climate change treaty begin later this year. At the heart of the legislation is a cap-and-trade system that sets a limit on overall emissions of heat-trapping gases while allowing utilities, manufacturers and other emitters to trade pollution permits, or allowances, among themselves. The cap would grow tighter over the years, pushing up the price of emissions and presumably driving industry to find cleaner ways of making energy. President Obama hailed the House passage of the bill as “a bold and necessary step.” He said in a statement that he looked forward to Senate action that would send a bill to his desk “so that we can say, at long last, that this was the moment when we decided to confront America’s energy challenge and reclaim America’s future.” Read More.

US Funding for the United Nations: An Update.

2009-06-25T16:16:00-06:00

Better World Campaign, June 2009: Each year, Congress is responsible for approving and allocating the payments requested by the President for U.S. assessed contributions to the United Nations regular and peacekeeping budgets. Currently, the U.S. is assessed 22% of the UN regular budget and 26% for UN peacekeeping operations. For many years, due to Administration and Congressional underfunding, the U.S. fell well behind in its treaty-obligated payments to the UN. But in June 2009, Congress voted for and the President signed legislation that erases all the debts that had been building over the last decade. Read more.

Death and American Guns in Mexico

2009-06-25T13:26:00-06:00

The New York Times, June 25, 2009 - “Drug-related murders in Mexico doubled last year, to 6,200, as cartels fight for the American addict’s dollar while relying on American gun dealers for their weapons. A new report to Congress traces over 90 percent of guns recovered in Mexican drug crimes in the last three years back across the border, where legal and illegal American dealers flout federal laws rife with loopholes. The findings contradict gun rights groups’ claims that foreign dealers are supplying the cartels’ arms. In fact, 70 percent of 20,000 weapons recovered were traced to legal gun shops and unregulated gun shows in Texas, California and Arizona, according to the Government Accountability Office report. The report confirmed the arguments of Mexican officials who are pressing Washington for stricter gun controls. While the Obama administration has sketched a new strategy to combat gun trafficking, the report warns of considerable obstacles. It found that the separate American agencies charged with controlling the sales of firearms and policing immigration are doing a poor job of sharing information and coordinating policy. Gun tracking software is yet to be translated into Spanish for full use by Mexican authorities. What is also clear is that the American gun dealers — 6,700 of them clustered along the border — are supplying increasingly powerful military style weapons as the cartel wars intensify. America must finally act. Private home-based dealers and gun show armorers should finally be regulated as rampant threats to public safety. Congress must repeal restrictions that prevent a national gun registry and bar local enforcement agencies from sharing in federal tracing information. Read More.

Oilsands operations change, evolve to silence detractors

2009-06-25T13:20:00-06:00

Calgary Herald, June 25, 2009 - “With myriad challenges facing the oilsands--economic, political, social, environmental or regulatory --it’s astonishing that any company, let alone investor, has the stomach for dealing with all the hurdles. On Wednesday, there was yet another missive lobbed, by U. S. environmental group ForestEthics, asking U. S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton not to sign permits that would allow Enbridge’s Alberta Clipper 450,000-barrel-a-day pipeline to ship bitumen to refineries in the United States. The argument, as usual, is about the carbon footprint of the oilsands, though when looked at in terms of global emissions or relative to other sources of imported oil, or even California Thermal, the impact in either context doesn’t amount to a “hill of beans.”
But the oilsands producers are taking note of what’s happening around the world and how it is bound to affect their business. They’ve seen everything from the comments made Wednesday by U. S. President Barack Obama on the need to proceed with the clean energy legislation to investor protests at annual meetings of European companies involved in the oilsands.The reality is that these companies are setting aggressive environmental goals on their own. In Shell’s case, it is doing research and development that will put it beyond basic compliance of the new Energy Resources and Conservation Board Regulation 74 governing tailings ponds reclamation. After years of being a footnote in presentations and annual reports, the environment is garnering an increasingly larger share of the limelight.
Shell is hard at work --both in the Calgary Research Centre Lab and at its Muskeg River Mine-- looking for the solution to tailings ponds; the stuff that is part of the mining process that serves as a vehicle for the recycling of water but also contains higher concentrations of naturally occurring elements. But Shell’s not the only one. All the oilsands players are engaged in a race to find the answer to this issue, which will expedite the reclamation of the land associated with the mining process. Darrell Martindale, manager of environmental and regulatory compliance for Shell’s Albian operations and who previously worked in Indonesian copper mines, believes the solution to the tailings issue is not far off. Clearly, there seems to be a school of thought that if this issue is solved, it will take away some of the controversy over the oilsands. Still, it’s the collective size of an oilsands mining operation that remains arresting --and such an easy target. Read More.

Energy Stocks Will Surge When the Recession Ends:

2009-06-22T12:23:00-06:00

Bloomberg, June 22, 2009 - “The U.S. produced about 88 percent more oil in 1970 than it does today. Production has been declining for 39 years since hitting that level. When will world oil production peak? Many energy experts believe it already may be happening or will within four years. One of them is Matthew Simmons, head of Houston-based Simmons & Co., an investment bank specializing in the energy market. His 2006 book, “Twilight in the Desert,” popularized the idea that Saudi Arabia has less oil than widely supposed—and that therefore the world has less of the fuel than we think. The theory is controversial, though I believe it. Finds of monster oilfields are rare these days, and depletion of existing fields is quickening. That’s one reason the portfolios I manage tend to be heavy in energy stocks. Energy stocks may be especially timely now. They usually do quite well after the end of a recession. No one knows when the current recession will end. A few months ago, most economists were guessing 2010 or 2011. Today, many are predicting it will end this year—a view I share.
Read More.

Alberta’s oil sands show signs of life

2009-06-22T12:15:00-06:00

Globe and Mail, June 22, 2009 - “Run-up in oil prices contributing to guarded optimism, as trades begin to rebound - Unlimited overtime pay was just one of the many perks John Halbauer enjoyed as a welder during Alberta’s super-sized energy boom. That’s disappeared, along with 11 of the 25-year-old’s 13 co-workers who got laid-off in January. “I was worried. I didn’t know if I was going to have to move back home or what,” the Kimberley, B.C., native said.His employer, Harley’s Welding Inc., is located in Nisku, an industrial park south of Edmonton that caters to the province’s notoriously unpredictable oil and gas industry. Most companies were hit hard when the global economic crisis and plummeting energy prices side-swiped Alberta late last year.But in recent weeks, Mr. Halbauer and many others in the province have noticed that the economy is slowly improving, especially in the northern half of Alberta.“We are almost really busy. Work is rolling in,” Mr. Halbauer said. Indeed, a run-up in oil prices and recent news that two oil sands projects, including Imperial Oil Ltd.’s $8-billion Kearl mine outside Fort McMurray, are going ahead has buoyed many. But the optimism is guarded, and no one is predicting another unprecedented boom for Alberta, once the country’s hottest economy. Read More.

U.S. Energy Secretary wants to cut carbon in the Americas

2009-06-15T22:18:00-06:00

Reuters, June 15, 2009 - “U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu urged officials from the Americas on Monday to throw their weight behind a new initiative to reduce carbon emissions and make cities in the Western Hemisphere more energy efficient.
Chu launched the “Low Carbon Communities of the Americas” program at an event on energy and climate change that was put together after presidents at the Fifth Summit of the Americas in April agreed to collaborate more on green energy issues.
The Obama administration is pushing renewable energy and energy-saving technologies, and Chu encouraged other countries to participate in the new program. “The cities of our hemisphere are growing rapidly. How these cities develop will determine the carbon footprint for the region for generations to come,” he told participants at the event in Peru’s capital by video link. “We must pursue energy efficiency as aggressively as possible for both economic and environmental reasons. Energy efficiency is the most cost effective way of combating climate change.” Read More.

Canadian premiers and US governors attending the Western Governors’ Association Conference.

2009-06-15T22:13:01-06:00

AHN, June 15, 2009 - “Canadian premiers and United States governors attending the Western Governors’ Association yearly conference are pushing for a cross-border Western Energy Corridor. If the plan pushes through, it would be the largest in the globe to develop both non-renewable and green energy options. The corridor, planned by Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall and Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, could open new markets to Wall’s province and two other Canadian provinces. These are Alberta and Manitoba.

Schweitzer pointed out, quoted by the CanWest News Service, “The most important energy corridor on the planet is no longer the Persian Gulf. It runs from the oilsands, Fort Mc-Murray to Port Arthur, Texas.... A large part of energy independence is going to be dependent upon developing the oilsands.” Manitoba Premier Gary Doer said the western region of both nations is uniquely positioned to join efforts on energy issues. Doer said in a statement, “Manitoba supports necessary security measures that protect Canadians and Americans alike. At the same time, we will continue to work with our American neighbors to ensure that our integrated economies are open to each other. North America’s strength as a region lies in working with our top trading partner to increase trade and build of economies.” Read More.

Calderon: Pemex Must Be Freed From “Ideological” Prejudice

2009-06-13T14:52:00-06:00

Herald Tribune, June 12, 2009 - “Mexican President Felipe Calderon said state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos must be freed from political and ideological “prejudice” and from interests that have prevented it from remaining in the vanguard in terms of technology and investment. During the inauguration of the 2009 Mexican Petroleum Congress in the eastern state of Veracruz, Calderon said he will try to make sure Mexico once again becomes a world “oil power” because of that industry’s importance in spurring the country’s “growth and development.” Speaking to representatives of more than 100 oil companies from 17 countries, he said the recent decline in the Mexican state oil company’s output and the strides made by its counterparts in other parts of the world have left Pemex in a position of relative backwardness. Compared with other state-run firms, Pemex is the third-largest crude oil producer, the 11th biggest integrated oil and gas company and in 12th place in terms of proven reserves. “Today, thanks to the reform of Pemex (approved in October 2008), we have the chance to improve the company’s exploration and production capacity,” the president said. Calderon last year sought to push a controversial plan through Congress to overhaul Pemex, including allowing the cash-strapped company to take on private oil firms as full partners in the exploration and drilling of new deepwater deposits in the Gulf of Mexico.” Read More.

ERCB rejects new hearing on Alberta oilsands mines

2009-06-13T14:49:00-06:00

Calgary Herald, June 12, 2009 - “Alberta’s energy regulator has turned down a request from environmentalists to order a new public hearing into Royal Dutch Shell’s Jackpine mine and Muskeg River mine expansion projects north of Fort McMurray.The groups said Shell failed to live up to voluntary pollution reduction agreements signed with them that earned their support in 2004 and 2006 for the bitumen expansion projects. The Oilsands Environmental Coalition (OSEC), which includes the Pembina Institute, asked the Energy Resources Conservation Board in April to order new hearings into the two projects, which were put on hold late last year as oil prices fell. “In the decision, the ERCB agrees that Shell has broken its commitment for greenhouse gas pollution, but the ERCB is refusing to do anything about it,” said Simon Dyer, Pembina’s oilsands program director. “We think the ERCB has an obligation to reopen the public hearing, and we are evaluating our legal options. This sets a very bad precedent for the ERCB, and is giving companies a licence to break commitments to Albertans with no consequences.” Read More.

Influenza Q & A

2009-06-12T12:35:01-06:00

Globe and Mail, June 12, 2009 - “The flu and Canada -The WHO declared that there is a pandemic. That implies things are much worse. What does the move to phase 6 mean to me as an individual? Is the risk greater today than yesterday? For a Canadian, the risk posed by pandemic influenza A/H1N1 (also known as swine flu) is exactly the same today as yesterday – and that risk is pretty minimal. The pandemic alert phases refer strictly to geographic spread of the flu. Influenza started spreading slowly in North America in March. Now it is making its way around the world. Australia is currently seeing the rapid spread of flu – and related panic – that we saw in Canada a month ago. Practically, the move to phase 6 means nothing to Canadians. We have been in pandemic mode for a number of weeks. As David Butler-Jones, Canada’s chief public health officer, has said repeatedly: The real worry for Canada is what will happen in the fall, when flu season returns to the northern hemisphere. The fear is that A/H1N1 could return with a vengeance then. How long will phase 6 last? In other words, when will the pandemic be over?” Read More.

Alberta Tories take aim at Ottawa brethren

2009-06-09T12:34:00-06:00

Globe and Mail, June 9, 2009 - “The Harper Conservatives are being taken to task by their provincial Alberta cousins, who say Ottawa is failing to inform them of key government policies, treats the unemployed unfairly and falls short in boosting the oil sands.The concerns are expressed in a list of talking points prepared last month for Alberta MLAs to raise with their federal Tory brethren in their home ridings. At one point, the talking points give kudos to Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff for backing the oil sands in response to a recent article in Canadian Geographic magazine."Why is the federal Liberal Leader giving more ringing endorsements about the importance of the Alberta oil sands than our Prime Minister from Calgary,” asks the document, obtained by The Globe and Mail. It also says the federal government does not consult the province on environmental policy. Environment Minister Jim Prentice, who is from Calgary, said he saw the talking points two weeks ago but was not concerned. He said he met with Premier Ed Stelmach last Friday and the document had not affected relations between the two sides. “I would say it is inaccurate and it doesn’t affect our relationship at all.” He added that, as Environment Minister, he consults with provinces before conferences. “In terms of our working relationship, it’s great.” He also said he regularly meets with his counterpart, Alberta Environment Minister Rob Renner” Read More.

Hope and Worry on Immigration

2009-06-05T12:41:00-06:00

The New York Times, June 5, 2009 - “This week, in Washington and cities across the nation, immigrant advocates, clergy members and labor and business leaders have been meeting to press their case for comprehensive immigration reform. Hopes have been raised before and repeatedly dashed. But this year there is a chance — if the White House provides real leadership and Congressional leaders show the courage and sense they have previously lacked. President Obama has pledged his support for reform that includes a path to citizenship for the undocumented. At the same time, his administration has not done nearly enough to moderate enforcement policies that unfairly target citizens and legal residents — often because they are Hispanic — while feeding the fear and hopelessness of illegal immigrants as they await the opportunity to get right with the law. The Department of Homeland Security has been pressing ahead with the old Bush administration playbook of tightening the screws on the 12 million undocumented, particularly by lengthening the long arm of local law enforcement. Make no mistake: Stronger and more effective immigration enforcement should be a pillar of any reform plan. But stricter enforcement must be coupled with a path to legalization. And poorly designed enforcement without stringent checks on errors and abuse is a remedy worse than the disease.” Read More.

U.S., Canadian groups gear up to halt oil sands development

2009-06-05T12:36:01-06:00

The New York Times, June 5, 2009 - “The Sierra Club, Greenpeace and 28 other North American environmental groups are calling on the United States and Canada to boost investments in clean energy, halt industrial fishing in the Arctic and freeze expansion of the Alberta’s oil sands—a key source of U.S. petroleum imports and greenhouse gas emissions. The groups’ joint declaration, signed in Washington on Tuesday, comes as Democratic leaders in Congress attempt to pass legislation that would cap U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases at 83 percent below 2005 levels by 2050 while boosting renewable energy production. The eastern Canadian province of Ontario, meanwhile, is considering legislation that calls for 10,000 megawatts of new renewable energy and 6,000 MW of conservation by 2015, among other things. The environmental groups hope to use the North American action as a catalyst as U.N. countries broker a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. Canada and the United States will be among nations gathering in Copenhagen in December for the next round of U.N. climate negotiations.” Read More.