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Environmental and indigenous groups are cheering after Kinder Morgan announced Sunday [April 8] it was halting most work on its controversial Trans Mountain expansion pipeline project, citing continuing opposition. Map of proposed route
"This is a sign that organizing works, and it could well be the beginning of the end for this dangerous pipeline", declared Clayton Thomas-Muller, a Stop-it-at-the-Source campaigner with 350.org.
"This is huge", added British Columbia-based advocacy group Dogwood.
In the company's statement announcing the move, chairman and CEO Steve Kean said Kinder Morgan was suspending "all non-essential activities and related spending" as a result of the "current environment" that puts shareholders at risk.
"A company cannot resolve differences between governments", he added, referencing resistance from B.C. lawmakers that is at odds with support for the project coming from Ottawa and neighboring Alberta. "While we have succeeded in all legal challenges to date, a company cannot litigate its way to an in-service pipeline amidst jurisdictional differences between governments", Kean said.
Unless legal agreements are reached by May 31, Kean said that "it is difficult to conceive of any scenario in which we would proceed with the project". (There are still 18 pending court cases that could thwart the project, the Wilderness Committee notes.)
B.C. Premier John Horgan, for his part, said in a statement Sunday, "The federal process failed to consider B.C.'s interests and the risk to our province. We joined the federal challenge, started by others, to make that point."
[...] Greenpeace Canada's climate and energy campaigner Mike Hudema, said:
Investors should note that the opposition to this project is strong, deep, and gets bigger by the day. This announcement shows that this widespread opposition has reached critical mass. British Columbians' desire to protect clean water, safeguard the environment, and stand behind Indigenous communities cannot be ignored or swept under the rug. We encourage Kinder Morgan to shelve this project before the litany of lawsuits, crumbling economics, and growing resistance against the pipeline does it for them.
While the company "looks ready to pack it in", said Wilderness Committee Climate Campaigner Peter McCartney, the opposition is "not going anywhere until this pipeline no longer poses a threat to the coast, the climate, and Indigenous communities along the route".
(Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Wednesday April 11 2018, @05:44PM (1 child)
I do not share that view. We're pretty close to the Year of the Electric Car. Possible that it never happens, and that there's a breakthrough with some engineered strain of bacteria that makes producing biofuel extremely economical, or some other advance gives a big, long term advantage to combustion, but I'm betting on electric. 30 minutes of recharging to go only 200km does not work for road trips, or sustained use such as a delivery vehicle, but it's close. If that range was increased to 1000km, or the recharge time was reduced to 10 minutes, and the batteries last at least 10 years, that would more than do it. Maybe 500km is enough range. Tesla getting their production problems sorted out might bring the electric car as soon as next year.
One of the most frustrating things is it's so easy to get another 10% or more just with better aerodynamics, stuff like adding skirts to the rear wheels and smoothing the underside of the car, but the auto manufacturers won't do it because the first is "ugly", and the second is very much out of mind because it's out of sight.
Anyway, I'm thinking we're going to see a mass movement from combustion engines to electric motors sometime in the 2020s. Transportation takes about 1/3 of the oil produced, and if that demand rapidly drops thanks to a shift to electric, the economic case for those oil sands may no longer exist.
In the meantime, like others in the oil business, pipeline operators have shown reckless disregard for safety. Though it hurts them more to lose 100,000 barrels in a leak than to maintain their pipelines, and I'm talking just the value of the oil that was spilled, never mind the costs of the cleanup and the lawsuits, they keep cutting corners and cheating on maintenance. Oil is such a rich source of energy, everyone can afford such waste, and people have been sloppy about it.
(Score: 2) by Snow on Wednesday April 11 2018, @06:54PM
I'm with ya man! Electric cars are the future.
It takes time for everyone to buy a shiny new electric car. It also takes time for the electrical grid to build up enough renewable energy to power them. Airplanes will need hydrocarbons for quite some time. Petrochemical usage is significant.
It's going to take time though.