NAMI News
The latest trinational news.Tuesday, November 06, 2007
NY Times: The Future is Drying Up.
“Scientists sometimes refer to the effect a hotter world will have on this country’s fresh water as the other water problem, because global warming more commonly evokes the specter of rising oceans submerging our great coastal cities. By comparison, the steady decrease in mountain snowpack — the loss of the deep accumulation of high-altitude winter snow that melts each spring to provide the American West with most of its water — seems to be a more modest worry. But not all researchers agree with this ranking of dangers.” Read the entire article.
Monday, November 05, 2007
CSIS Report: The Age of Consequences
November 5, 2007 - The Age of Consequences: The Foreign Policy and National Security Implications of Global Climate Change. “In August 2007, a Russian adventurer descended 4,300 meters under the thinning ice of th North Pole to plant a titanium flag, claiming some 1.2 million square kilometers of the Arctic for mother Russia. Not to be outdone, the Prime Minister of Canada stated his intention to boost his nation’s military presence in the Arctic, with the stakes raised by the recent discovery that the icy Northwest Passage has become navigable for the first time in recorded history. Across the globe, the spreading desertification in the Darfur region has been compounding the tensions between nomadic herders and agrarian farmers, providing the environmental backdrop for genocide.” Download the PDF directly, here.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Upcoming Symposium: Climate Change and North America’s Water Security
Global climate change is already having an impact on North America. Prolonged droughts and major floods appear to be on the increase. Water—for residential, agricultural, and industrial use—is becoming a much more valuable commodity. Aquifers and freshwater lakes are seeing increased drawdowns without replenishment. Water is becoming a continent-wide problem. Should the North American countries of Canada, Mexico, and the United States develop their own national water policies, or is a common, tri-national, North American water policy a more sensible option? What would a tri-national water policy look like?
The North American Institute (NAMI) is organizing a symposium oriented towards producing a policy document that would help frame the discussion about a North American Water policy. The symposium will bring scientists and policy makers together in order to exchange information and to forge a preliminary statement on water policy in North America. The symposium will be held in Santa Fe over the course of two days (dates and exact venue to be determined), with the first day being devoted to presentations and discussion on global climate change and its impacts on water in North America. The second day would focus on policy responses—unilateral, bi-national, and tri-national—to the changing nature of water resources on the continent. Themes include:
• Global climate change and water: what are the expected impacts?
• Existing national policies, and bi-national agreements and treaties
• Water and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
• Case studies of particular regions (local and trans-border)
• Forging a continental response to climate change and water
Interested potential participants, partners, and sponsors should contact the North American Institute. Date and venue are yet to be determined. We expect that the symposium will be limited to no more than 20 participants.
The North American Institute (NAMI) is a tri-national, non-profit, post-partisan organization dedicated to fostering greater cooperation between Canada, Mexico, and the United States on issues of common concern. For details, please see our website at http://www.northamericaninstitute.org.
For more information please contact Sharon Kelley at 505-982-3657 or by email at
Thursday, September 27, 2007
NY Times Opinion piece, Our Moral Footprint
By Vaclav Havel. “We can’t endlessly fool ourselves that nothing is wrong and that we can go on cheerfully pursuing our wasteful lifestyles, ignoring the climate threats and postponing a solution. Maybe there will be no major catastrophe in the coming years or decades. [snip] But that doesn’t relieve us of responsibility toward future generations.” Read more here.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Op-Ed: The North American Summit: More or Less than It Seems?
Via Focal Point: “A thick layer of confusion surrounds the three leaders of North America – Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, U.S. President George W. Bush, and Mexican President Felipe Calderón – as they meet at Montebello, Quebec on August 20-21. The three countries are exceptionally important to each other, and the annual summit is a recognition of that fact. And yet, by their silence or defensiveness, they have allowed the relationship to be defined by an extremist fringe that fears any cooperative initiative is a slippery slope toward the dissolution of sovereignty.” Read more.
Border Issues Loom over North American Summit
Via Online Newshour: “Although economic cooperation and the war on terror topped the agenda of President Bush’s two-day summit with the leaders of Canada and Mexico, debate over the direction of the U.S. border security policy continues to play a large role in the discussions.” Read more.
Monday, August 06, 2007
An Interview with Bill Richardson on Energy and the Environment.
Grist, August 6, 2007 - “Bill Richardson likes to play up his image as a horse-ridin’, gun-totin’ man of the Wild West, but don’t be distracted by the cowboy swagger—the Democratic governor of New Mexico also has a serious policy wonk side. That was on full display in May when he unveiled a broad and ambitious climate and energy plan. [snip] I rang up the governor at his office in Santa Fe, N.M., to size up his energy and environmental vision.” Read more.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Groups back energy plan they say is cheaper, greener.
National Post, August 01, 2007 - “A coalition of Ontario environmental groups has unveiled its own plan for the province’s energy future, a 20-year proposal that would not only cut greenhouse gases in half but actually cost less to consumers. A study released yesterday in Toronto by the Pembina Institute, an Alberta-based think-tank for energy and environmental issues, and World Wildlife Fund Canada, lays out two alternatives to the preliminary plan introduced by the Ontario Power Authority. The groups say their plan would eliminate coal-fired power generators at least five years sooner and replace nuclear power with renewable sources of electricity such as wind and solar power.” Read more.
Monday, July 23, 2007
The Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the “Brazilian California”.
Americas Program, July 23, 2007 - “Brazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. [snip] Behind the “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies and promises lucrative business to investors.” Read more.
North American Energy Ministers Take Further Action on Energy Security and the Environment.
Natural Resources Canada, July 23, 2007 - “Energy ministers for Canada, Mexico and the United States took another step toward enhancing North American energy security and environmental protection, announcing concrete actions on energy science and technology, energy efficiency, deployment of clean energy technologies and other cooperative projects. The North American energy ministers met in Victoria, B.C., today where the Honourable Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources, hosted his counterparts Ms. Georgina Kessel, Secretary of Energy for Mexico, and U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman.” Read more.
Related Article: The Star, Canada Signs Energy Pact.
Nation’s Governors Pursue Clean Energy Future.
Environment News Service, July 23, 2007 - “Securing a Clean Energy Future will examine ways governors and states can increase production of cleaner domestic fuels, promote advanced electricity generation, improve energy efficiency and conservation, and accelerate research and development of clean energy technologies. In a panel on global climate change Sunday, Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr., of Utah, a Republican who chairs the NGA Natural Resources Committee said, ‘Global climate change is one of the most pressing issues our nation is currently facing.’” Read more.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Canadian water is on the table at trilateral talks
CanWest News Service, July 22, 2007 - Canadian water is on the table at trilateral talks between politicians, businessmen and academics from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. A series of closed-door conferences for the North American Future 2025 Project will include the discussion of “water transfers” and diversions, according to the outline for the project, a trilateral effort to draft a “blueprint” on economic integration for the governments of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.” Read more.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Videos from NAMI’s Conference, “Energy Independence for North America”, are available online now.
The North American Institute’s (NAMI) Spring 2007 conference on energy independence, held at the Bishop’s Lodge in Santa Fe, New Mexico, May 29 -30, presented many different perspectives on this subject. These ranged from alternative energy sources, such as wind, solar, hydrogen and conservation, to more aggressive exploitation of available coal, tar sands, oil and nuclear resources. In all of these, participants at the conference were informed of the urgency of the subject and the need for better tri-lateral cooperation, especially in common areas of systemic interaction: energy; climate; water; wildlife; first peoples; citizen participation; trade; migration.
Energy, in its various forms, does not exist in isolation but is enmeshed in the larger context of these systems that operate frequently independently of political relationships and boundaries among the North American nations. These subjects are not being given the needed attention by their respective governments. They call out for a new generation of leaders to look beyond politics and take responsibility for the future of our common continent.
Edited Highlights of the expert presentations at NAMI’s trilateral symposium on energy independence are now available on the Web to users of Windows Media™, Real Audio™, and Quicktime™ by hyperlinks as follows:
1. Welcome, Santa Fe Mayor David Coss. (6 minutes, 1 second)
Santa Fe is dedicated to becoming a leader in the field of alternative energy resources.
2. Welcome, Juan Manuel Solana, Consul General of Mexico. (5 minutes)
Discussing various alternative energy initiatives in Mexico and the importance of interaction with its trading partners in North America.
3. Welcome, Rick Stephenson, Consul of Canada (Tucson, Arizona). (10 minutes, 43 seconds)
North America is not presenting a unified face to the world, with Canada being the largest supplier of energy to the US.
4. Welcome, Hon. Tim Douglas, NAMI President and Mayor of Bellingham, WA. (12 minutes, 4 seconds)
How regional solutions are emerging rather than waiting for Federal agencies to act.
On the problem with today’s energy system and what a more favorable design would be; new technologies for commercialization from Sandia Labs.
6. Promising New Developments in Alternative Energy, Dr. Michal C. Moore, University of Calgary. (32 minutes)
How to make alternative energy make sense?
7. Promising New Developments in Alternative Energy, Dr. Delore Zimmerman, Praxis Strategy Group, Grand Forks, ND. (30 minutes)
Promising energy developments in the American heartland.
Environmental benefits for wind power.
9. Reflections on NAMI, Intro of Speaker by New Mexico State Representative Peter Wirth. (10 minutes)
10. Dinner Keynote, Dr. Lloyd Axworthy, President, University of Winnipeg (former Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs). (47 minutes)
A vision for the North American community and a call for a larger framework for cooperation: Minerva’s Owl or Radical Hope?
The Bush Administration’s current energy policy and initiatives.
BECC and its mission to promote environmental initiatives to be financed by the NADB to border communities.
Energy Efficiency – the 5th Fuel for North America.
13A. Energy Efficiency, Conservation and Climate Change, Q and A; Chair, Michael Pretes, NAMI. (18 minutes)
14. Producing, Selling, and Using Energy Tri-Nationally, Kevin Johnson, Partner, Holland and Hart, Denver, CO. (20 minutes)
The five elements of an energy framework: Feedstocks; manufacture; use; transport; by-products.
Creating a governance structure to deal with energy policy that meets objectives of climate change, economic impact, integration.
The effect that nuclear power has on other energy sources, e.g., building reactors in the oil sands area.
16A. Producing, Selling and Using Energy Tri-Nationally, Q and A; Chair, Michael Pretes, NAMI. (24 minutes)
17. Lunch Keynote, Paulina Fabara, CONAE National Council for Energy Savings, Mexico City. (26 minutes)
Energy efficiency and renewable energy programs in Mexico.
18. Trans-Border Energy Markets, Steven R. Rivkin, Chair, NAMI Board Member, Washington Attorney; Scott Storment, Senior Officer, Project Development-New Sectors, North American Development Bank, San Antonio, TX. (30 minutes)
NADB project financing success stories.
The role for Alberta oil sands in North American energy supplies.
Cross-border power and gas generation market transactions.
20A. Trans-Border Energy Markets, Q and A; Chair, Michael Pretes, NAMI. (8 minutes)
21. Resolving Energy Challenges Through Regional Leadership, Scott Fischler, President, Netozoic Inc., Santa Fe, NM. (18 minutes)
Hydrogen is the fuel of the future and always will be.
22. Resolving Energy Challenges Through Regional Leadership, Eugenio Cabrera Camargo, National Council on Science and Technology, CONACyT - Mexico City. (18 minutes)
The protection of living species protection is not related to economic value; they have an intrinsic right to survive.
Canada’s extraordinary energy reserves with the US as its main customer.
New Mexico alternative and renewable energy initiatives.
24A. Resolving Energy Challenges Through Regional Leadership, Q and A; Chair, Dr. Paul Maxwell, NAMI Board Member, and Director of the Bi-National Sustainability Laboratory. (8 minutes)
25. Closing Summation and Observations, Jerry Kurtyka, NAMI Board member. (22 minutes)
A systemic vision for North America includes common areas of interest on many dimensions, of which energy independence is only one.
Please visit our sister site The Trinational Information Repository (prepared for the State of New Mexico), for more Powerpoint presentations and other information about this Symposium.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Border Energy Forum, October 18-19, 2007.
Border Energy Forum XIV, sponsored the Texas General Land Office, is coming up on October 18 and 19, 2007, in San Diego California. You can find more information, including registration and agenda information, at this website.
US Thirsts for Canadian Water
The Canadian Encyclopedia, July 10, 2007 - “As the global population grows and developing economies expand, the demand for safe, secure water will accelerate just as it has in the fastest-growing pockets of the U.S. In response, much of the world is embracing the need for large-scale water trade and transport, just as Las Vegas has. [snip] Engineers agree that, if Nevada can pipe water 400 km south, eventually it could pipe it all the way from the Canadian border.” Read more.
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