Wildlife Promise » Peter LaFontaine

Infographic: Keystone XL – Big Oil’s Poison Pill

Peter LaFontaine — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:55:35 +0000

More than two full years into the fight against Keystone XL, the stakes are as high as ever. Big Oil’s friends in Congress have made construction of the pipeline their biggest energy priority, while conservationists, Native American tribes, landowners along the route, and concerned citizens everywhere have called on the White House to reject the project and pull the plug on the tar sands industry.

With a new permit application, Keystone remains very much a threat, and Congress is debating a measure that would force construction of the dangerous project. But you can help: Speak up now to protect people and wildlife at risk, and prove to Big Oil that their money can’t buy our votes.

Graphic: Peter LaFontaine/National Wildlife Federation

Speak up now to protect people and wildlife at risk from tar sands and the Keystone XL pipeline.

Sandhill Cranes: an Ancient Bird, a New Threat, and How You Can Help

Peter LaFontaine — Thu, 03 May 2012 18:18:45 +0000

If you’re looking for one of the most spectacular migrations in the world, the word “flyover state” takes on a much nicer meaning. Every March, a half million Sandhill cranes converge on the Platte River valley in central Nebraska, where they feast for weeks to build strength for the long migration north. In mid-April they rise in enormous flocks and leave for summer grounds in northern Canada and as far away as Siberia. The phenomenon been going on like clockwork for millennia, drawing bird watchers from around the world who want a glimpse of these and other animals like the critically-endangered Whooping crane.

Sandhill cranes near Kearney, Nebraska on the Platte River earlier this spring (photo: flickr/stpaulgirl)

There are actually six different subspecies of Grus canadensis, three of which are non-migratory and don’t make the journey. But the mass gathering along the Platte is so breathtaking that it gave the animal its common name, after the Sandhills region of Nebraska that the river passes through.

The Sandhills, in turn, are a unique landscape: 20,000 square miles, part desert, part grassland, with lakes and wetlands scattered throughout. Formed after the last Ice Age by winds that steadily built the dunes as high as 400 feet, the Sandhills are now stabilized by native grasses that allow farmers and ranchers to make a good living there. It is home not just to ranchers and cranes but also pronghorn antelope, porcupines, elk and bison, along with hundreds of other wildlife and plant species.

Making all this possible is a vast underground reservoir — the Ogallala aquifer — that sits beneath the Sandhills. It is our biggest water reserve, providing 30% of the groundwater used for irrigation in the entire US and drinking water for millions of Americans, and at some places the water table is so high that it’s actually at the surface, creating those lakes and wetlands. The Ogallala enabled the Great Plains to become “America’s bread basket,” but overuse threatens to suck this vital resource dry and now Big Oil (always eager to kick Mother Nature when she’s down) has raised the stakes for farmers and cranes alike.

Big Oil’s Dangerous Gamble

Tar sands pipelines spell big trouble for species like cranes (photo: Andrea Westmoreland)

Conservationists and the oil industry have battled for years over Keystone XL, a 2,000 mile pipeline that would send corrosive “tar sands” oil from Canada to the Texas Gulf coast, crossing the Ogallala aquifer and countless other water sources on its way south. Tar sands are a particularly toxic form of crude oil that poses serious risks to people and wildlife:

The Global Labor Institute at Cornell University has concluded that spills from pipelines of tar sands-derived oil are three times as likely to occur per mile as spills of crude oil. And when they do, the researchers say, the damage is greater, the public health risks larger, the clean-up harder, the costs higher.

A spill over the aquifer would be a disaster. After a local and national outrcry — including criticism from Nebraska’s Republican governor and senators from both parties — sent Keystone XL back to the drawing board, the company has recently proposed another route. But the revised project still crosses the Ogallala aquifer, and critics charge that the “official” border of the Sandhills is a pretty meaningless distinction, because the surrounding area is similar geologically. In other words: new route, same risks.

Double Trouble in the Boreal Forest

Sandhill cranes mate for life (photo: Matthew Paulson)

Sandhill cranes, like jet-setting tourists, wing their way from one remarkable landscape to another: the Canadian boreal forest, the biggest intact natural habitat left on earth and the breeding ground for BILLIONS of migratory birds.

Stretching across the northern reaches of our continent, this ecosystem is one of the most important you’ve (probably) never heard of, not just for its striking range of biodiversity but also for the crucial role it plays in regulating our climate: globally, boreal forests — almost a third of which are in Canada — store more carbon than any other biome.

Calling it simply a forest is a little misleading, though — the region also includes vast wetlands like the delta of the Peace and Athabasca rivers in northeastern Alberta, a favorite nesting area for sandhill cranes and hundreds of other species. But danger is on the horizon: just to the south of this vibrant delta, the oil industry is building the biggest industrial project in our planet’s history.

Big Oil’s wholesale demolition of the boreal forest is well-documented but mostly overlooked outside of Canada. (It’s worth checking out these photos to get a sense of the scale and what we’re fighting to protect.) Taken together, habitat loss, catastrophic spills, and climate change pose an enormous risk to sandhill cranes, caribou, wolves and other wildlife, and pipelines like Keystone XL are the key to the whole system. Thanks to a grassroots uprising we’ve halted this project so far, but we need your help to hold the line against tar sands.

Speak up now and tell your member of Congress to say NO to Keystone XL and other destructive projects. Our planet deserves better.

Speak Up Now! Help Stop Big Oil’s Tar Sands Agenda for New England

Peter LaFontaine — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 13:48:00 +0000

Tar sands—a dirty, sludgey oil being produced in Canada—may be oozing into the Northeast soon if Big Oil has its way. You might recognize this dirty product from the heated debate around the “Keystone XL” pipeline, which has received national focus in recent months. But if you thought tar sands were just a problem for the Midwest, think again.

Cleanup crews are still working to repair the damage caused by Enbridge's 2010 spill in Michigan (photo: Mic Stolz)

Currently snaking its way through the Canadian regulatory system is an almost certain attempt to ship tar sands from Alberta’s vast strip mines to the Maine coast. It’s a resurrection of a plan that stalled back in 2008—named “Trailbreaker” by the industry—to reverse the flow of two linked pipelines that currently carry “normal” oil west from ports in the east.

Enbridge Inc.—which is known for its terrible safety record and is responsible for a massive tar sands spill in the Kalamazoo River in 2010—has asked the National Energy Board in Canada to allow for a partial reversal of its pipeline between Ontario and Montreal to allow oil in that pipeline to flow east. If this reversal is approved, it is highly likely Big Oil will soon seek to move tar sands through a pipeline that now flows west from Portland, ME to Montreal by reversing the flow of that pipeline as well.

Such a reversal, if approved, would open the way for this dangerous fuel, which is much more corrosive, acidic, and harder to clean up in the event of spill than conventional oil, to flow through Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. The pipeline (called the “Portland to Montreal Pipeline” or PMPL) currently cuts through or borders some of New England’s most important waters, including Sebago Lake, the Connecticut River, and tributaries to Lake Champlain. While its safety record isn’t as abysmal as other companies’, the PMPL has suffered major spills, including one that fouled Lake Memphremagog, and is already much older than the projected lifespan of proposed new tar sands pipelines.

The Portland-Montreal Pipeline cuts through New England on its route to the coast.

New Englanders have a lot more than just spills to fear from the increased tar sands development that will come from such a reversal. Having just experienced a winter of strangely warm temperatures and little snow, we know that our climate is already spiraling toward unfamiliar and scary territory.

But even as we take strides toward reducing global warming pollution, climatologists warn that tar sands are a carbon bomb in the process of being ignited. Because it takes so much energy to produce and refine, fueling cars with tar sands gasoline has about 20 percent more carbon emissions than fueling cars with gasoline from conventional oil. This means the use of tar sands will undermine any efforts in the Northeast to reduce carbon emissions from our transportation sector. Climate change threatens to make Vermont maple syrup and Maine lobsters things of the past. We need to turn to carbon-free sources of fuel now, not move in the opposite direction.

Sebago Lake -- one of Maine's biggest sources of drinking water -- would be put at risk by a tar sands pipeline (photo: Peter Hopper)

New Englanders should say NO to tar sands. We can start by telling the Canadian National Energy Board to deny approval of Enbridge’s Trailbreaker plan. And we should continue to reduce our reliance on gasoline by increasing fuel standards, implementing a strong low carbon fuel standard, and by supporting public transportation options. We don’t need our treasured natural resources put at risk for dirty oil. The time to say no is now.

Tell Canada’s National Energy Board to stop the Trailbreaker pipeline proposal!

To hear NWF’s Jim Murphy talk about tar sands’ threat to Northeastern states, click here.

Read more about our work to fight back against Big Oil’s tar sands scheme at nwf.org/tarsands.

Wildlife in Peril: Nine Species in the Tar Sands War Zone

Peter LaFontaine — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 19:50:35 +0000

Up past our northern border is one of the most important wild ecosystems on earth: the Canadian boreal forest. This vast landscape stretches for thousands of square miles across the top of North America, providing habitat for countless animal species and the ancestral home for some of the original humans on this continent — known collectively as the First Nations.

Basically untouched until recent decades, the boreal forest’s great natural riches may also turn out to be its undoing: massive amounts of oil have been found in deposits known as “tar sands,” and the energy industry has kicked off a full-scale war on Mother Nature in their rush to boost their profits. Aided by a government that seems determined to wreck the country’s eco-friendly reputation, Big Oil is transforming huge parts of Alberta, Canada into something out of a nightmare, destroying vital wildlife habitat and putting whole populations at risk.

Read on to learn more about nine remarkable species that are directly threatened by tar sands development, then send a message to the President to help protect them.

Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou)

Woodland caribou are being pushed out by oil development in their habitat (photo: British Columbia Forest Service)

Alberta is one of the last homes of woodland caribou, which have adapted to live in wintry climes with snowshoe-like hooves and antlers that they use to shovel aside snow to reach the moss and lichen beneath. Despite the fact that even the smaller females can outweigh an NFL linebacker (and males can top 400 pounds), woodland caribou are a painfully shy species that avoids humans as much as possible. But booming tar sands development in the heart of their range, coupled with industrial logging and other activities, has destroyed a huge part of their habitat and driven several populations to the brink of extinction.

The Canadian federal and provincial governments seem happy to turn a blind eye to the problem, and a stakeholder group that should be leading the charge to protect this iconic species — the Endangered Species Conservation Committee — is stocked with representatives from the energy industry, agriculture and timber companies, who watered down the caribou recovery plan to a toothless piece of paper. And even then, Environment Minister Peter Kent ignored a court order and refused to issue emergency protections for at-risk herds. Scientists fear that industrial development could cause Canada’s woodland caribou to vanish by the end of the century.

Gray Wolf (Canis lupus)

Our understanding of gray wolves has come a long way since the days of Little Red Riding Hood. They are impressively smart, social animals that spend as much time playing as hunting, and live together in close-knit packs of 4 to 7 animals.

Gray wolves are a keystone species in the northern ecosystem (photo: flickr/YankeeNovember3)

Now prepare yourself for some shocking news: gray wolves eat caribou. They eat a lot of things, actually, everything from moose to mice, part of the reason wolves are considered a “keystone” of the food web, helping to balance populations and allowing ecosystems to thrive.

But in the eyes of the Canadian government this makes them a threat, and an easy scapegoat for the recent rapid declines of the caribou herds. So the government has embarked upon a plan to “cull” wolf populations using poison-laced bait and aerial hunts from helicopters. The poison, strychnine, is known for an excruciating death that progresses painfully from muscle spasms to convulsions to suffocation, over a period of hours. As if that weren’t awful enough, other animals like eagles and even domesticated dogs have been unintended casualties of the baiting campaign.

Black Bears (Ursus americanus)

Black bears like this cub like to eat the garbage from dumps around tar sands mines, much to their misfortune. (photo: Noah Katz)

It’s hard not to like black bears, with their curious natures and rotund bodies. Just like other wildlife, though, it is best not to mess with them — despite being small by bear standards, these guys can still tip the scales at half a ton, yet still sprint up to 30 mph. And while they usually eat things like berries, fish, and honey (yes, that rumor is true), black bears are notorious for getting into garbage cans and campers’ food coolers.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise by now that tar sands development has directly encroached on bear habitat, leading to more interactions between humans and this species. Unfortunately, the government’s approach has been similar to their wolf plan: shoot ‘em and keep digging for oil.

Alberta Sustainable Resource Development says 145 black bears were killed by Fish and Wildlife conservation officers last year after being habituated to garbage in the oilsands region. The number of bears shot in the Fort McMurray district was nearly three times the count the previous year and the highest in recent history, said spokesman Darcy Whiteside. Nearly half — 68 bears — were shot in oilsands camps and facilities after being attracted to the camp by food, garbage or other attractants, Whiteside said Tuesday.

Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis)

Canada Lynx near Whitehorse, Yukon (photo: Keith Williams)

In addition to having one of the coolest animal names on the planet, the Canada Lynx looks like something out of a superhero comic — long, black-tipped ears, a double pointed beard, huge paws and a beautiful silver-brown coat. They cover a lot of ground on their powerful legs and have been known to swim for miles across frigid rivers. The boreal forest is ideal habitat for these solitary hunters to track their favorite game, snowshoe hares.

Unlike bears, lynx shy away from contact with humans. Development in the eastern part of Canada has already forced out the big cats, and pressure from tar sands exploitation in Alberta is causing concerns there as well. And there’s a critical connection between gray wolves and lynx: wolves kill coyotes, which directly compete with lynx for snowshoe hare and other prey. So fewer wolves means more coyotes, which means fewer lynx. For a population that’s already threatened, that’s bad news. On the other hand, protecting wolves means lynx may rebound as well.

Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis)

Sandhill cranes face a double-whammy in Alberta and Nebraska (photo: flickr.com/nigel)

One of the oldest birds on planet earth (scientists think they evolved at least 2.5 million years ago), sandhill cranes are also some of the longest-lived, able to reach 21 years or more. Though hunted to dangerously low levels in the early part of the 20th century, the cranes have rebounded thanks to conservation efforts which have given them some breathing room in their unusually slow breeding cycle.

The big birds migrate thousands of miles each year from their breeding grounds in western Canada to as far south as Mexico, fattening up for a month in Nebraska’s Platte River valley. But this exposes them to a double-whammy from tar sands, with Alberta’s energy development destroying prime nesting habitat, and the danger of a spill in the Nebraska Sandhills region (from which they take their name) that could take away a crucial feeding ground. As it happens, their migratory pathway overlaps the route of the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline almost mile-for-mile, meaning that a spill at any point will put this iconic species in harm’s way.

Walleye (Sander vitreus)

An angler in Ontario holds her latest catch (photo: flickr.com/Rowdy Rider)

Walleye (named for their reflective eyes, which allow them to see in low-light conditions) are the “official fish” of Saskatchewan, Alberta’s provincial neighbor. A mature adult can be 20 pounds or more, making them a staple for northern fishermen.

But walleye and several other native species of fish might soon become a scarce commodity if Big Oil gets its way. Residents of Fort Chipeweyan, Alberta (most of whose residents are First Nations members) have reported a pretty scary development in the last few years: lots and lots of deformed fish downstream of the tar sands developments. In 2010, commercial fishing ground to a halt due to concerns about heavy metals like mercury and cadmium…as if anyone would want to eat a filet with a golf-ball sized tumor. The Canadian government, not surprisingly, contests these claims, but independent data shows that contamination has reached 30 times the federally-accepted levels.

In addition to all that, tar sands extraction requires a lot of water — up to three barrels of water for every barrel of oil — and this has disrupted the normal cycles of of the Athabasca river and surrounding watersheds.

Moose (Alces alces)

It's hard to play hide-and-seek when you weigh more than a ton (photo: flicker/Benjamin 1970)

Unlike most vegetarians, the Western Moose is a certifiable giant — it’s the largest species of deer on earth, standing seven feet tall at the shoulder and crowned with enormous antlers that span six feet across. They’re also (not to be rude, but it’s true) pretty funny looking. But don’t let the giant nose and skinny little legs fool you, because moose can be pretty ornerywhen the stakes are high enough.

This species has been a major part of native culture and their diet for millennia, but with numbers in the region declining 60% in recent years, First Nations elders now have to travel up to 200 kilometers to find moose during their traditional hunt. And near Fort McKay, Alberta, moose meat has tested high in arsenic and carcinogens created by tar sands mining, endangering the health of the region’s indigenous communities.

Like woodland caribou, moose are prey for gray wolves, and toxins in moose meat spells trouble for their predators.

Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)

Scaup, also known as "bluebills," call the Athabasca River delta home (photo: Carol Foil)

Canada’s Boreal forest is the springtime home of half of North America’s birds. In particular, the delta formed by the Athabasca and Peace rivers is key habitat for hundreds of species of migratory songbirds and waterfowl like the Lesser Scaup, a smallish duck with a dark purple head and brilliant yellow eyes. Scaup love the delta’s rich wetlands, where they can find their favorite foods — mollusks, weeds and insects — and nest.

Scaup (pronounced “skawp”) are a favorite of hunters but, like so many other creatures, tar sands operations are taking a toll. In addition to direct habitat loss, Big Oil has created a particularly gruesome way for these birds to die. One of the dirtiest parts of oil mining is so-called “tailings ponds,” gigantic open pits where the industry dumps its liquid waste. There are lots of these contaminated tailings ponds in the delta region, filled with toxic chemicals and oil, but which appear to flying birds like just another good spot to land. And when they do, it’s not hard to imagine what happens: slow, painful death. The industry’s solutions have ranged from the simple (and ineffective), like scarecrows, to the absurd — supersonic “cannons” that boom loud enough to disturb animals for miles around, and scare off any birds from landing in the sludge.

You and Me (Homo sapiens)

Climate change threatens our oceans, shorelines, and every other ecosystem on earth (photo: Barry Keleher)

Okay, technically we’re not wildlife, but tar sands mining has a huge impact on human health as well. High cancer rates in First Nations communities near the industrial zone may be linked to pollutants in the air and water. Declines in local fish, caribou, and moose populations means less of the healthy, traditional foods these communities rely on, not to mention representing a profound cultural loss. Water for drinking and irrigation is well-documented to be at risk from pipeline spills.

And perhaps the biggest threat of all is the danger posed by global warming, which has already reached a tipping point and could be pushed over the edge by burning Canada’s tar sands oil. Rising sea levels, extreme droughts, flooding — it might sound like the Apocalypse but in fact it’s already happening.

Speak up now! Tell President Obama to stand up for wildlife in the tar sands region, and stand strong against Big Oil’s plans to destroy the boreal forest.

National Wildlife Federation is helping to lead the charge against tar sands and Big Oil’s dirty projects like the Keystone XL pipeline, which would help trigger even more development in the boreal forest. We need your help to make sure that this pristine ecosystem and its magnificent animals don’t vanish forever.

To donate directly to our tar sands campaign, please go to NWF’s “Choose Your Cause” website, or visit NWF.org/tarsands to learn more and find out how you can make a difference.

Big Coal Launches Sneak Attack on Oregon – Speak Up NOW to Protect Wildlife

Peter LaFontaine — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 16:33:00 +0000

An unexpected move by Big Coal has shoved Oregon to the front lines of the battle against dirty energy, and puts wildlife and communities along the Columbia River in serious danger.

Is this scene missing a fleet of coal barges? Ambre Energy thinks so. (Photo: flickr.com/McD22)

*** Please add your voice to the thousands already standing up for wildlife in the Pacific Northwest, and urge Oregon to say “NO!” to Big Coal’s dangerous proposal.

Back room negotiations between Ambre Energy – one of the world’s largest coal companies – and officials at the Port of Morrow led to a surprise announcement that the port would host the first coal export facility on the west coast, capable of sending almost 9 million tons every year to China. Community groups have been closely tracking several proposals from Big Coal, but the Port of Morrow wasn’t high on the list of perceived threats until now.

In an effort to bypass a thorough review by government agencies, Ambre Energy is taking a roundabout route: they plan to move the coal by rail from Montana to the Port of Morrow (near Boardman, OR), dump the coal onto barges that will travel up the Columbia River, and then ship it overseas from the Port of St. Helens.

But the same problems that plague other proposals still await this one, including air and water pollution from coal dust and diesel, mile-long trains cutting through communities east of Boardman, and the re-casting of Oregon as a stooge for Big Coal’s dirty work.

If you needed more evidence that Big Coal doesn’t care about Oregon (outside of boosting their profits), just listen to Alan Fore, a spokesman for Ambre Energy:

What we’re proposing is not something we don’t already do. We’re not reinventing the wheel. It’s just a location.

Colstrip, MT: Another "Just a Location" brought to you by Big Coal (Photo: flickr.com/spotreporting)

How true. Ambre and its fellow mega-corporations won’t hesitate to destroy the Pacific Northwest, just like they have destroyed Appalachia, the Powder River Basin, and the Allegheney range. Sure, this destruction won’t take the form of open-pit mining or dynamited mountaintops, but when tanker traffic and rail traffic and poisonous runoff turn the Columbia River into one big industrial zone, it still counts. Well, hey, it’s just a location.

We need your help. The Oregon Department of State Lands can approve or deny a permit Ambre Energy needs to move forward, and they are holding a public comment period until the end of the month. Their decision on the Port of Morrow could set precedent for the bigger battle to come, and we can’t afford to lose this one.

Tell the Oregon Department of State Lands to deny the permit for Ambre Energy’s coal export scheme.

Obama Takes Dangerous Wrong Turn on “Keystone Lite” Pipeline

Peter LaFontaine — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 14:52:07 +0000

As President Obama works to end oil subsidies and promote renewable energy, he has taken a dangerous wrong turn by rushing to build the risky Keystone Lite pipeline, the southern leg of the controversial Keystone XL system that would carry toxic tar sands oil from Canada to Gulf coast refineries.

In light of his otherwise sensible policies to reduce our dependence on dirty energy, we are extremely disappointed in his decision to promote Keystone Lite. Several times the President has emphasized the need for a rigorous review of Keystone XL’s consequences for the environment, public health, and our economy: In January, after a failed attempt by Congress to expedite construction, he criticized Republicans for trying to prevent “a full assessment of the pipeline’s impact, especially the health and safety of the American people, as well as our environment.” He recognizes what’s at stake, having argued that “folks all across the country aren’t going to say to themselves, ‘We’re going to take a few thousand jobs if it means our kids are potentially drinking water that would damage their health.’”

Is President Obama's pipeline policy about to take a wrong turn? (photo: Flickr/voxeros)

But his appearance at a TransCanada facility in Cushing, Oklahoma—coupled with recent statements that the Administration will rush the permitting process for the project—raises questions about his commitment to a review process that is crucial to protect clean drinking water and the rights of families along the route.

Three unanswered questions loom large as the President steps to the podium:

Will president Obama protect drinking water from toxic tar sands spills?

Keystone Lite extends an existing pipeline network that is already capable of carrying abundant toxic tar sands oil to Cushing for transport to Gulf coast refineries that have been upgraded to handle the heavy, dirty crude.

Cleanup crews are still working to scoop tar sands sludge off the Kalamazoo riverbed (photo: Mic Stolz)

The last two years have proven that the oil industry is incapable of ensuring infrastructure safety without regulatory oversight that keeps pace with new threats such as ultra deepwater drilling and toxic tar sands. 2010’s million-gallon spill in Michigan’s Kalamazoo River proved that tar sands oil is a fundamentally different beast than conventional crude–for example, responders initially tried skimming the oil before realizing that the dense tar sands oil simply sinks to the riverbed. EPA cleanup crews are still on site and the ecosystem may never recover.

Like the Deepwater Horizon disaster preceding it, the Kalamazoo spill showed us what happens when regulators aren’t allowed or equipped to do their jobs, and the situation is largely unchanged since then. Tthe Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is working on an important study on tar sands pipelines; at the very least, President Obama should ensure that no tar sands flows through Keystone Lite until the study is complete and acted upon to ensure the safety of communities, farmland and water supplies.

Will President Obama stop the bullying of American landowners?

TransCanada has constantly used thuggish tactics to seize private land from American ranchers, farmers, and other landowners along the proposed pipeline route, including lawsuits and threatening letters. Eminent domain is intended for projects that serve the public interest, but Keystone XL and Keystone Lite would only enrich foreign corporations like TransCanada at the expense of US citizens. This pipeline extends to refineries owned by the Saudis and other foreign interests, and its oil will be shipped overseas to feed global demand. And while Big Oil complains about the “glut” of oil in Cushing, if Keystone Lite is built, the only effect would be to raise prices for Midwestern consumers.

Will a foreign oil company get better treatment than Tribes?

Tribal representatives at an anti-Keystone XL protest last fall (photo: Clayton Thomas-Muller)

So far the answer has been a resounding YES. Tribes, as sovereign nations, have treaty rights with the United States, meaning the federal government is required to consult with them regarding any project that impacts their cultural or environmental resources. During the permitting process for Keystone XL the Administration failed to meaningfully engage tribes along the pipeline route, and despite strenuous objections from tribes like the Oglala Sioux, TransCanada has turned a deaf ear and moved forward with its plans – they have even filed lawsuits in order to build Keystone Lite directly through land sacred to the Caddo Nation. Tribes must be a part of any process moving forward, so that TransCanada can’t steamroll Tribal objections like they have in the past.

Fast-tracking dangerous and dirty tar sands pipelines like Keystone Lite is the wrong thing to do. If President Obama is serious about protecting our natural resources and public health, he should renew his call for a thorough review that factors in the enormous harm these pipelines would do to American interests, as well as the Canadian boreal forest and our global climate.

We need your help to stop tar sands development and protect our wildlife, health, and the global climate! Visit NWF’s Choose Your Cause to learn more.

Big Oil Might Be Getting a Little Too Cocky

Peter LaFontaine — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 15:44:09 +0000

Yesterday was a good day for wildlife, thanks to the outcome of several major votes in the US Senate — but perhaps not so good for Big Oil. In a gaffe reminiscent of “Dewey Defeats Truman” the American Petroleum Institute (the industry’s all-powerful lobbying arm and professional mis-informers) issued a press release thanking Congress for doing API’s bidding once again. From POLITICO:

“API supports the Senate approval of Amendment 1537 to authorize the building of the Keystone XL pipeline,” said a press release that landed in reporters’ inboxes at 4:50 p.m., about 30 minutes after the vote.

The headline cheered: “Bipartisan Senate majority approves building Keystone XL pipeline.” Technically, that’s true: 56 senators, including 11 Democrats, voted to in favor of Sen. John Hoeven’s amendment to the highway bill.

But it needed 60 votes to pass.

Big Oil jumped the gun yesterday, declaring victory on Keystone XL before having to issue an embarrassing retraction

After a months-long campaign of fabrications, outright lies, massive donations to politicians, and behind-the-scenes arm-twisting, API and TransCanada were poised to ram their project through Congress despite its horrific consequences to theenvironment and public health.

But it ultimately failed due to heated opposition from landowners, tribes, conservationists, scientists, human rights activists and others.

National Wildlife Federation’s Jeremy Symons said in a statment:

The Keystone amendment was another political favor for Big Oil that would come at the expense of prudent safety considerations to protect communities, drinking water and wildlife. We are pleased the Senate stood up to oil giants and sided with the American public.

This isn’t the last we’ve heard of the pipeline — far from it — but it’s a victory you can feel good about, and know that your voice made a huge difference.

For more on Keystone XL and the threat of tar sands mining, visit nwf.org/tarsands.

NWF Members Say “More Orcas! No Coal!”

Peter LaFontaine — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 20:33:32 +0000

Cherry Point, Washington, site of a proposed coal export terminal (photo: Paul Anderson)

Recently we told you about the threat coal poses to endangered Orcas and other wildlife in the Pacific Northwest. More than 1,800 of you took it to heart and signed our petition to prevent construction of coal terminals along the Oregon and Washington coasts, and other groups in the “Power Past Coal” coalition added to our record haul of forty thousand signatures. The petition was delivered this week to the Commissioner of Public Lands for Washington state, Peter Goldmark, who is a key decision-maker on whether or not these dirty projects move forward.

Not a moment too soon. The coal industry has just officially applied to export coal from the mouth of the Columbia River–the terminal, at Longview, WA, would be the gateway for at least 44 million tons of coal each year, bound for India and China.

Considering that the entire United States currently exports only 74 million tons, the Longview project (if built) would be a major, major setback in the fight for clean air, clean water, and environmental protection. Other proposed terminals at Cherry Point, Grays Harbor, Port of St. Helens, Coos Bay, and the Port of Morrow could push coal exports to nearly 200 million tons annually.

Exports: Sacrificing American Landscapes for a Foreign Market

Coal mining in the Powder River Basin has destroyed vast stretches of habitat for animals like mule deer (photo: C.V. Vick)

Arch Coal, Peabody Energy, and the industry’s other mega-corporations may have targeted Asia as their latest battleground, but they have no problem wrecking American landscapes and American communities to get what they want. Already, huge areas of the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana have become industrial “sacrifice zones” to feed demand for cheap coal.

Export projects are a sign of how desperate the coal industry is to keep their fat profits rolling in. Coal usage in the US has declined in recent years as electric utilities transition to natural gas, wind, and other sources of energy — and thanks to a sustained effort by conservationists to limit the construction of new coal-fired power plants.

And economists agree that coal isn’t part of the equation:

“Coal is a dead man walkin’,” says Kevin Parker, global head of asset management and a member of the executive committee at Deutsche Bank. “Banks won’t finance them. Insurance companies won’t insure them. The EPA is coming after them. . . . And the economics to make it clean don’t work.”

Coal trains -- like this one near the North Antelope Rochelle Mine in Wyoming -- can be over a mile and a half long, belching diesel emissions and toxic coal dust as they rumble through wildlife habitat and human communities (photo: Kimon Berlin)

Quotes like that scare the pants off Big Coal, because taking on underdog environmental groups is a lot easier than arguing with the banks that lend them money.

Petitions are one thing; action is another. NWF and the rest of the Power Past Coal coalition are mobilizing citizens in the Pacific Northwest to take on this challenge head-on. The fight begins in earnest later this spring, so stay tuned for the latest news and ways to get involved.

To learn more about coal exports visit NWF.org

145 Black Bears Shot In Canada’s Tar Sands Region, More Deaths Likely

Peter LaFontaine — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 19:00:35 +0000

Environmental practices are so poor in Alberta, Canada, where the dirty fuel known as “tar sands” are being mined, that wildlife officials have been shooting bears that wander too close to the extraction area. Just recently, we reported to you that potentially thousands of wolves are destined for a similar fate in the region. NWF scientists say the wildlife killing is avoidable, but the Canadian oil industry and government are putting profits ahead of sound ecosystem management. From the Calgary Herald:

Alberta Sustainable Resource Development says 145 black bears were killed by Fish and Wildlife conservation officers last year after being habituated to garbage in the oilsands region. The number of bears shot in the Fort McMurray district was nearly three times the count the previous year and the highest in recent history, said spokesman Darcy Whiteside. Nearly half — 68 bears — were shot in oilsands camps and facilities after being attracted to the camp by food, garbage or other attractants, Whiteside said Tuesday.

Black Bear cub (photo: Noah Katz)

>> You can help protect black bears by telling Congress to stop the rush to Canadian tar sands. Take action now!

Fort McMurray, like other company towns that have sprung up over the last few decades, sits in the middle of Canada’s boreal forest, one of the last great intact ecosystems in the world. But unchecked industrial development is leaving scars upon the earth that are visible from space (seriously – take a look at satellite pictures on Google Maps and prepare to be blown away) and destroying habitat that supports caribou, millions of migratory birds, and other species like lynx, gray wolves and bears.

Is Wildlife an Afterthought?

According to NWF scientist Dr. Doug Inkley, the provincial government’s actions are deplorable:

Their approach seems to be, if it becomes a problem, kill it — rather than prevent the problem in the first place. Humans are destroying bear habitat and not disposing of garbage properly. So, we kill the bears.

Whiteside, the spokesman for Alberta Sustainable Resources Development, stressed that bears aren’t endangered and the shootings have had “no impact on the black bear population as a whole.” But Dr. Inkley sees it another way. “This is death by a thousand cuts,” he says, his voice edged with anger. “It may seem like there are plenty of black bears now, but look what’s happening: the tar sands area that could be developed is the size of Florida, and this is going to be repeated over and over and over if we keep encroaching on their habitat.”

Making the Right Choice for Bears

David Mizejewski, a naturalist with National Wildlife Federation, says it comes down to common sense.

We make the choice about whether these bears are a problem or not. We’ve chosen to destroy their habitat and turn it into a garbage dump. We can make smarter choices and avoid conflicts with bears.

It may sound simplistic, but that’s what has happened in Alberta. Black bears aren’t naturally inclined to linger in places where people are, but if they learn that food is accessible they lose their fear quickly. Without proper waste management, bears and other animals become urban scavengers, attracted to the easy pickings from uncovered dumpsters. NWF’s Mizejewski points out that solutions like bear-proof trash cans can help lessen the problem, but the only long-term answer is to put the lid on tar sands development and prevent outright destruction of their habitat.

These animals don’t have to die. They’re being slaughtered in part due to America’s addiction to dirty oil.

Black bears and other wildlife are becoming casualties of the oil industry's take-no-prisoners approach (Photo: Glenn Alexon)

And while it hurts to see a finger pointed at ourselves, our choices really do shape the fate of animals thousands of miles away. The U.S. Congress is trying to force construction of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, which would pump oil from Alberta to the Texas Gulf coast, despite objections from landowners, Tribes, national security experts, conservationists, and millions of Americans across the country. If this pipeline (or others) are built, it will lead to even more rapid development of the tar sands region, further endangering local wildlife species, our global climate, public health, and our chances to put this country on a path to clean energy independence. It’s an easy choice. We’ve got to kick our tar sands addiction before it’s too late.

We need your help to protect wildlife! Get involved and help us stop this from happening. Take action to protect black bears and other wildlife caught in the line of fire.

You can also help fight tar sands by making a donation. Visit NWF’s “Choose Your Cause” page to see how your support can safeguard black bears and other wildlife in jeopardy.

A Small Farmer Reminds Big Oil: Don’t Mess With Texas

Peter LaFontaine — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:37:40 +0000

Texans know a thing or two about oil, as anyone who’s driven through the state (or even watched Dallas) knows. Rigs dot the landscape from Midland to Houston, and refineries on the Gulf coast process millions of gallons of crude every day — more than anywhere else in the country. So when you hear that an oil project has Texans alarmed, it makes you sit up and take notice.

Oil pump in West Texas (photo: Monkeyjenn/flickr.com)

“This is not your mom’s everyday pipeline,” explains Julia Trigg Crawford, whose 600 acre farm sits smack in the middle of the proposed route for Keystone XL, the massive tar sands pipeline that has become front page news in recent months.

Ms. Crawford discusses her concerns about oil spills and groundwater contamination with the voice of someone who knows what she’s talking about, but as activists go, she is an unlikely prospect: a self-described political agnostic who, up until a few months ago, focused all her energy on managing the family business.

But when TransCanada — the foreign corporation behind KXL — managed to condemn her land so they could build on it, she got angry, and got involved in a fight that stretches far beyond her front door.

Over the last week the plot has thickened. Ms. Crawford had agreed to discuss the matter with TransCanada, but they refused to promise to hold off on construction in the meantime. Hearing that the company warned another local family ”we can begin construction now,” she was forced to go to court for a restraining order. TransCanada, incredibly, responded by filing a counter-suit to toss out the restraining order. Ms. Crawford will meet TransCanada’s lawyers in court on Friday, but the fact that she’s had to fight this hard is infuriating.

“We assumed that our legal system would be here to protect us,” she says, “but it hasn’t.”

Keep in mind that TransCanada doesn’t even have state or federal permission to build the pipeline — in fact, President Obama denied their permit last month. But they have reapplied and are being helped by members of Congress who are happy to do the bidding of Big Oil.

This isn’t the first time TransCanada has used underhanded tactics to bully landowners. In Nebraska, it took a determined effort from ranchers and farmers to prevent construction of Keystone XL through the fragile Sandhills ecosystem. And now in Texas, landowners like Ms. Crawford are sending a message to lawmakers that it’s not okay to trample on their rights. As she says, “I’m not trying to spin this politically. I’m just trying to protect my land.”

Crossing the Political Divide

It’s an issue Republicans and Democrats agree on: Property advocates like Debra Medina, who ran a strong campaign as the Tea Party candidate for Texas governor last election, have added to the drumbeat of opposition to the project. Lined up alongside scientists, environmentalists, Tribal leaders, and concerned citizens across the country, this formidable coalition has so far managed to keep Keystone XL at bay. But the fight isn’t over and every voice counts.

So if you happen to be in the vicinity of Paris, Texas this Friday, consider stopping by the Lamar County Courthouse. You’ll see a bunch of angry folks waving Lone Star flags in support of the Crawford family and others in the pipeline’s path, sticking up for our basic right as Americans to keep our land safe from foreign oil companies. Texas, it appears, is big enough for all sorts.

Tell Congress to stand strong against Keystone XL and dirty tar sands pipelines.