14 August 2011

That whole shale gas thing...

Things have been heating up recently in New Brunswick over shale gas exploration & extraction via the technique known as hydrofracking.

Here's a collection of headlines concerning this saga:

11-Mar-11: (cbc.ca/nb): No N.B. hydro-fracking moratorium: Northrup

21-Jun-11 (cbc.ca/nb): Maliseet chief calls for hydro-fracking ban

22-Jun-11 (cbc.ca/nb): Northrup refuses a hydro-fracking moratorium

23-Jun-11 (cbc.ca/nb): Northrup unveils new hydro-fracking rules

09-Aug-11 (cbc.ca/nb): Seismic testing trucks blocked by protesters

09-Aug-11 (canadaeast.com): Group fears hydro-fracking will be done in city

10-Aug-11 (cbc.ca/nb): Shale gas protesters to end blockade

10-Aug-11 (canadaeast.com): There will be no hydro-fracking in city - mayor

10-Aug-11 (canadaeast.com): Letter of the day: Lack of fracking court cases a misleading fact

11-Aug-11 (cbc.ca/nb): Shale gas protesters confront Northrup

11-Aug-11 (canadaeast.com): Demonstrators say fight will not end

12-Aug-11 (cbc.ca/nb): Alward unwavering in shale gas position

12-Aug-11 (canadaeast.com): NDP questions donations

12-Aug-11 (canadaeast.com): Shale gas exploration moving ahead: Northrup

12-Aug-11 (canadaeast.com): Gov't not backing away from shale gas exploration

12-Aug-11 (canadaeast.com): First Nation joins chorus protesting shale gas industry

More headlines will be posted in the near-future.

My thoughts:

  • the natural gas isn't going anywhere; why not wait until studies & impact assessments can be proven?
  • the natural gas isn't going anywhere; why not wait until the price of natural gas increases?
  • why was the Progressive Conservative party (the governing party) so adamantly opposed to uranium exploration (something far less risky) but is so supportive of this industry (something far more risky)?
  • why are our royalty rates for natural gas so low?
  • why do people believe there will be abundant jobs attached to this industry? Most specialists in seismic exploration, drilling and pipelines are coming (temporarily) from out of province.
  • why won't the government acknowledge the majority of New Brunswick residents DO NOT WANT THIS?
Anyway...just throwing this out there.

It should be an interesting fall in New Brunswick.

Sincerely,

Mat Trevors, B.Sc

1. Very serious (catch & release) angler
2. Conservationist
3. Geologist
4. Holder of a shitload of economics courses



2 comments:

Funcfish said...

My thoughts? Ask Texas how important water is right now...

Just because we have an ocean full of water doesn't mean we have an abundance of clean water to drink. I don't like to be a bleeding heart environmentalist but here in PA the natural gas industry is raping the land and the government is letting them do it in the name of non-existent jobs.

Course, I guess there will be tons of jobs once the northern part of the state becomes a Superfund site...

Anonymous said...

Nice post - I know why we need this, but we have to do it in a well managed way.

Worries here in Colorado, too. So many wild, native trout, and I'm concerned about river health.

Thanks for sharing buddy!

kp