Sierra Club

Thu, 2010-12-09 11:24Bill Hewitt
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The Paradox of Canada’s Tar Sands and America’s Drive to Substantially Decarbonize Energy

“America is addicted to oil,” said the arch-environmentalist and fervent renewable energy advocate George W. Bush in his State of the Union address in 2006.  Good thought.  His successor, Barack Obama, has actually acted on that perception, though, and worked to reduce America’s reliance on oil and other fossil fuels.  He and his administration have negotiated a long-term agreement to significantly increase gas mileage; issued a directive to radically improve the environmental performance of federal buildings and vehicles; and designated a large portion of the economic stimulus package for green initiatives.  Obama said in March that “…for the sake of our planet and our energy independence, we need to begin the transition to cleaner fuels now.”

Looming over the border in Canada, however, is the specter of the tar sands.  Production of crude oil from the tar sands is tracking at 1.5 million barrels a day for 2010.  Of this, over a million barrels is exported to the U.S.  The environmental and public health impacts of the extraction, processing and transportation of tar sands have been well documented and reported.  These are concerns that have been expressed by environmental groups in North America and Europe, but now the economic and security implications of increasing tar sands development are being addressed by key members of the U.S. Congress as well as analysts working on the critical interface between energy, environment and security.

Barring Tar Sands Oil 

Congressman Henry Waxman, the outgoing chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, was the driving force behind Section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 [PDF].  Section 526 prohibits federal agencies from procuring alternative fuel unless its life cycle GHG emissions are less than those for conventional petroleum sources.  This provision set off alarm bells in Canada.  The Ambassador to the U.S., Michael Wilson, wrote to Defense Secretary Robert Gates [PDF] within a couple of months of EISA becoming law to say that “Canada would not want to see an expansive interpretation of Section 526, which would then include commercially-available fuel made in part from oil derived from Canadian oil sands.” 

Read more: The Paradox of Canada’s Tar Sands and America’s Drive to Substantially Decarbonize Energy
Thu, 2010-11-18 12:02Emma Pullman
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Toxic Tar Sands Coming to a Community Near You: Profiles From The Front Lines

Many Americans who have never heard of the Alberta tar sands soon will. The tar sands is one of the largest, dirtiest, and most destructive projects on Earth, and is likely coming to a community near you.  The oil industry is expanding facilities to process toxic tar sands oil in the U.S. through a network of refineries and pipelines.  With plans to triple refining and transportation of tar sands by 2015, there is no question that air pollution and health problems in communities from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast will increase.

Public health in several U.S. states is already under threat from dramatic increases in refining pollution, and massive pipelines are planned to cross the United States' largest freshwater aquifer, which supplies one-third of U.S. agriculture.

Tar sands crude contains heavy metals, and refining tar sands releases polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons linked to pre-natal brain damage, and smog and ozone-depleting chemicals and compounds.  Exposure to these toxics is linked to asthma, emphysema and other lung diseases.  That says nothing of the devastating impacts on air, water, and soil.

With the environmental and health impacts of the tar sands well known, but no sign of an end to the environmental trauma, the Sierra Club's latest report shows the personal side of the impacts of dirty oil in North American communities. Americans and Canadians are worried about Alberta's tar sands expansion poisoning their water, destroying their farmland, and contaminating their air. 

Read more: Toxic Tar Sands Coming to a Community Near You: Profiles From The Front Lines
Thu, 2010-09-02 14:53Brendan DeMelle
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EPA Ignores Tennessee and Alabama Coal Ash Victims, Nearest Hearing Is 260 Miles From TVA Disaster Site

September is back to school month, but the next big test for the White House and EPA has already begun. How the Obama administration handles the proposed regulation of coal ash - the toxic waste left over from coal-burning power plants loaded with mercury, lead, and arsenic - will serve as a key indicator of the administration's sincerity in responding to one of the worst energy and environmental crises threatening the health and water supplies of millions of Americans.

Two key states, Tennessee and Alabama, have been shut out of the discussion on how best to regulate coal ash, thanks to EPA's bewildering decision not to hold public hearings in either state. Residents of Tennessee might have a few things to say about the impacts of coal ash, since the state suffered the worst coal ash disaster in U.S. history less than two years ago.

Read more: EPA Ignores Tennessee and Alabama Coal Ash Victims, Nearest Hearing Is 260 Miles From TVA Disaster Site
Fri, 2010-08-27 16:04Brendan DeMelle
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Toxic Coal Ash Threatens At Least 137 Sites In 34 States

A new study by three top environmental groups reveals another 39 coal ash threats in 21 states, bringing the total number of known coal ash threats to 137 in 34 states.  

The report by the Environmental Integrity Project, Earthjustice, and the Sierra Club details the newly identified slurry ponds and impoundments filled with toxic coal ash that threaten drinking water supplies and public health at sites around the country.  

Earlier this year the groups identified 31 coal ash disposal sites in 14 states, adding to the 67 sites already identified by the Environmental Protection Agency.  The latest report brings the total number to 137 sites where coal ash threatens public health and water supplies. 

The U.S. EPA is currently grappling with how to regulate the toxic coal ash threat, which is now checked only by individual state laws that have failed to adequately protect the public from this growing problem.

Read more: Toxic Coal Ash Threatens At Least 137 Sites In 34 States
Thu, 2009-09-03 16:31Mitchell Anderson
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Astroturf-Busting Hotline Launched

Groups Seek New Evidence in Bonner Scandal

A coalition of groups, including some that were impersonated by coal lobbyists fighting against U.S. climate change legislation, have banded together in search of further evidence of wrongdoing in the ballooning fraudulent letter scandal.

Five prominent non-profits have launched the “Polluter Fraud Hotline” (1-866-363-4648), inviting average citizens or industry insiders to blow the whistle on any deceptive or illegal tactics that big polluters and their lobbyists are using in opposition to clean energy legislation.

The American Association of University Women (AAUW), National Wildlife Federation, NAACP, and Center for American Progress Action Fund and Sierra Club are also calling for Congressional action to ensure that this type of orchestrated deception of elected lawmakers never happens again.

Read more: Astroturf-Busting Hotline Launched
Mon, 2008-10-20 20:59Kevin Grandia
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Coal is not the answer

Sierra Club has launched a great new site going after the "clean coal" marketing machine.

Good to see more organizations countering the $40 million "coal is clean" campaign launched by the coal industry late last year under the guise of third-party group calling itself the "American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity" (ACCCE).

Sierra Club even came up with a great video that puts to rest the ridiculous argument that somehow the dirtiest energy in the world is somehow clean...

Read more: Coal is not the answer
Wed, 2008-08-20 22:22Emily Murgatroyd
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Polluters Beware

I've often wondered if EPA actually stands for Environmental Pillaging Act, so contrary to environmental protection are the policies and recommendations that often come from this government organization.

However, in a victory for environmentalists, the US Appeals Court ruled against not allowing states to tighten up air quality standards.

Read more: Polluters Beware
Thu, 2006-12-07 16:00Richard Littlemore
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Sierra Club Drowns in Own Climate Catastrope

The Sierra Club of B.C. has committed the biggest climate change-related PR blunder of the year with a press release and (very cool) internet graphic showing Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia, drowning under sea-level rises of six to 25 metres.

The latest estimates of pending climate catastrophe suggest that a six-metre sea-level rise is possible by the time our grandchildren are facing down old age. But a 25-metre rise is likely hundreds of years away, even in a worst case scenario. Suggesting otherwise merely gives ammunition to the deniers who say (accurately in this case) that crazed environmentalists are stirring up public hysteria without any regard for scientific fact.

Follow-up:

There was a letter in the Victoria Times Colonist today from Dr. Andrew Weaver, Professor and Canada research chairman, climate modelling and analysis, University of Victoria.

The letter backs up most of what Richard writes in his post.

There were others as well, here and here.

Read more: Sierra Club Drowns in Own Climate Catastrope

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