Unpredictability of spills and how we are addressing them
This capacity will complement – but not replace – the capacity of government agencies and industry, and is intended to deliver expert technical support to First Nations and communities.
Approval of Trans Mountain expansion puts Fraser River salmon and Salish Sea estuaries at risk
The Fraser River in British Columbia remains one of the world’s most productive salmon rivers. Equally significant is the Fraser River’s estuary, which serves as vital habitat for fish, bird, and mammal species that are linked across thousands of kilometers of the Northeast Pacific Ocean. All Fraser River populations of salmon…
Canada should rethink unproven, dangerous chemical ‘cleanup’ of marine oil spills
As noted, Corexit can also be toxic to wildlife. For some species, such as herring embryos, toxicity occurs because Corexit does what it was designed to do: increase the concentration of petroleum hydrocarbons in the water column. However, there is also a growing body of research, much of it conducted in response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010…
Oil tankers: a killer for whales
The National Energy Board recommended approval of the Trans Mountain expansion knowing the Kinder Morgan project would jeopardize the survival of the Southern Residents…
BC’s marine mammals vulnerable to oil spills – especially killer whales
BC’s marine mammals are at high risk from oil spill impacts. Our understanding of this has been deepened by our newly published research paper that developed a framework to assess the impact of oil spills on marine mammals…
New Raincoast research paper examines the “what if” of oil spills
New research examines 21 marine mammal species present in BC waters and ranked them according to the potential for deleterious consequences in the event of an oil spill…
Vampire Blues: suckin’ blood from the earth
Canadian federal and provicial governments seem eager to turn BC’s coast into an energy corridor. Enbridge Inc. is pushing hard to construct a twinned pipeline from the tar sands of Alberta to the coast of BC, where Exxon Valdez-sized supertankers would ship oil to Asian and American markets.