Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Proposed rules would exempt some facilities

Mike De Souza, Canwest News ServicePublished: Saturday, January 26, 2008

OTTAWA -- The Harper government is proposing to exempt up to 10 million tonnes of greenhouse gas pollution from Canada's upstream oil and gas companies in its regulatory plan to fight global warming, Canwest News Service has learned.

Read more HERE

Kids sacrificed for work

Katherine Dedyna, Canwest News Service; Victoria Times-ColonistPublished: Saturday, January 26, 2008

As they struggle to balance stressful work and home lives, Canadian workers have used a drastic gameplan to keep things on an even keel: they're not having kids.

Get the full story HERE

Sunday, January 27, 2008

A warmer Arctic? Blame Mother Nature

For every article written about global warming there is an equal amount written against it. there is no doubt there is a human element to it, but at what level?

Lorne Gunter, National Post Published: Monday, January 07, 2008

Read that again and keep in mind the "the region" being referred to is the Arctic. The plain meaning is that the warming in the Arctic is not only -- or even mostly -- man-made. It is not the result of carbon emissions, no matter how often we have been warned that this past summer's melt was unprecedented and a foreboding harbinger of a coming global meltdown.

Click HERE to read more.

The short life of carbon taxes

Terence Corcoran, Financial Post Published: Tuesday, January 08, 2008

The Round Table, a federal outfit headed by former Winnipeg mayor Glen Murray and a collection of green appointees, wants a carbon tax -- or, sorry, a carbon "price" -- that would promote carbon emissions reductions of up to 70% by 2050. The preferred phrasing is that the government can only achieve these dramatic reductions "by putting a price on carbon emissions throughout the entire Canadian economy, beginning as soon as possible."

Full story can be found HERE

Gov't promises to take action on greenhouse gas

Angela Hall, The Leader-PostPublished: Thursday, January 17, 2008

Saskatchewan Party Environment Minister Nancy Heppner says the government is committed to "strenuous" greenhouse gas emission reduction targets introduced by the previous government.

Read More HERE

Civil servant says he was wrongly fired

Every time I read this article I always get that song in my head "Sign Sign Everywhere a Sign" then it gets to that part where it goes "Long Haired freaky People need not Apply," but I keep inserting "Socialist" for "long haired freaky People!" Just makes a person shake there head at the decisions made behind ones political agenda.



Murray Mandryk, Leader-Post Published: Saturday, January 26, 2008



"I know the premier is of the opinion that there needs to be assurance that a team is put in place that can proceed with renewal, that can proceed with restructuring," Krawetz said.
The deputy premier also said that some of the people that will replace those perceived New Democrats that have been dismissed may have affiliations with the Saskatchewan Party.
"I would suggest that there is a difference in philosophy between the people who would support the NDP and those that would support a party like ours, which is a cross-section of non-socialists," Krawetz said.



Read more HERE

Wall wants more gov't spending

Green technology:

James Wood, Canwest News ServicePublished: Saturday, January 26, 2008

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall said he will call for greater government investment in new technology to deal with greenhouse gas emissions as he meets with his counterparts in a meeting on climate change adaptation next week in Victoria.
That means money for areas such as "clean-coal" technology, carbon sequestration and nuclear energy, he said in an interview this week.

Read more HERE

Fix your finances in a day

Setting aside a vacation day to focus on personal money tasks could end your procrastination and save you -- or make you -- quite a bit of money.
By Liz Pulliam Weston

Find out more HERE

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Natural-gas fired power plant going in Kerrobert

TheStarPhoenix.com Published: Wednesday, January 23, 2008

SaskPower has picked Kerrobert, in the heart of western Saskatchewan's oil patch, as the site for a natural-gas fired power plant to bolster the provincial electrical grid.

Read more HERE

70 civil servants let go by the government

Murray Mandryk and James Wood, Saskatchewan News Service Published: Friday, January 25, 2008

"This is banana republic stuff," Rasmussen said. "Both parties do it and it should be unacceptable ...
"This has reverberations, too. People who might want to stick their neck out and take a leadership role in the public service will say: 'Nah, I don't think so'."


Find out more HERE

SFL to submit names for board membership

Enterprises Saskatchewan

Neil Scott, Leader-PostPublished: Friday, January 25, 2008

But Hubich said the SFL is sticking to its commitment, made on election night last year and repeated several times subsequently, to try to work with the new Saskatchewan Party government when possible, despite serious disagreements on many issues.

Read more about this important issue HERE

Sask. Party, NDP spar over federal funding

Although $30 to $100 - Million is great for Clean Coal. It is a far cry short of the $1 Billion commitment that would be required by the federal government to invest in the new technology proposed for Shand 2 (Oxy-Fuel.)

I suspect we are looking at retrofitting an existing unit with this type of commitment.

It is to bad that we don't have the political will to proceed with the Oxy-fuel project. I bet it would had been just as successful as Canada's CANDU project. Read Murray's article below.

Murray Mandryk, The Leader-Post Published: Thursday, January 24, 2008

Wall cited possible federal involvement in expensive "clean coal demonstration projects" that might very well come in "$30-, $40- or $100-million increments" as money that might be available to Saskatchewan people that is unavailable to other Canadians.

Read more HERE

Friday, January 25, 2008

Supercritical steam generators

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Supercritical steam generators (also known as Benson boilers) are frequently used for the production of electric power. They operate at "supercritical pressure". In contrast to a "subcritical boiler", a supercritical steam generator operates at such a high pressure (over 3200 PSI, 22 MPa, 220 bar) that actual boiling ceases to occur, and the boiler has no water - steam separation. There is no generation of steam bubbles within the water, because the pressure is above the "critical pressure" at which steam bubbles can form. It passes below the critical point as it does work in the high pressure turbine and enters the generator's condenser. This is more efficient, resulting in slightly less fuel use and therefore less greenhouse gas production. The term "boiler" should not be used for a supercritical pressure steam generator, as no "boiling" actually occurs in this device.

Read more HERE

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Dave and Bill O'Reilly

If we only New What we Know now...................


50 Years in Three Minutes

Created by Ye LI - We Didn't Start The Fire....... From Larry

Click here to view it. (It should open up in a separate page)

THE WORST LABOUR LEGISLATION IN THE COUNTRY

Commentary below is reproduced from the COPE 397 Website:
http://www.cope397.ca

These are Bill 5 which concerns itself with essential services, and Bill 6 which amends the Trade Union Act. Both have received first reading and will soon be law.

What does all this shit mean to you? Read HERE

Sask. Essential Services Legislation WORST in Canada

From SFL Blog

"Drive For Five Labour leaders express concern about proposed Essential Services Legislationby Stephen LaRoseWhen Saskatchewan Federation of Labour president Larry Hubich calls Bill 5, the Saskatchewan Party government’s new essential services legislation, the worst bill he’s ever seen, Saskatchewan’s mainstream media simply chalk it up to a union leader playing politics with a government that’s perceived to be anti-union, and leave it at that.It’s only when you actually talk to Hubich, and Saskatchewan Union of Nurses president Rosalee Longmoore, that you get an idea of what they mean." (read more....)

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Dion proposes $1B economic aid package

Plan rivals Harper's proposed earlier this month

James Cowan, National Post Published: Friday, January 18, 2008

"We should design the clean coal or carbon capture and storage technologies that offer hope to developing countries struggling to grow their technologies while keeping greenhouse gases under control," Mr. Dion said.

read More HERE

Anti-union intimidation is real

Sara Slinn, Financial Post Published: Friday, December 07, 2007




The strength of the card procedure is that, because it happens so quickly, it provides less opportunity for employer interference and coercion of employees than does the vote procedure. Votes provide a period of several days, between the cards being submitted and the election, for employers to try to discourage employees from voting for the union. This is a near-irresistible opportunity for employers, which invites interference.



Sara Slinn is assistant professor at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto.

Find out more HERE





Gov't asks for feedback

Angela Hall, The Leader-PostPublished: Thursday, January 10, 2008



The Saskatchewan Party government is inviting groups to provide feedback on proposed labour legislation in private meetings, but won't opt for public hearings through the legislature's committee system.



Read more HERE

Boyd, Domtar not seeing eye to eye

Cogeneration, Nuke and polygeneration - Not looking very good for Shand 2

Murray Lyons, Saskatchewan News NetworkPublished: Saturday, January 19, 2008

"We're talking about additional cogeneration capacity and partnering up with SaskPower," he said. "Saying that we will look at infrastructure needs and a possible cogeneration project is far different from taking an equity position."

Read More HERE

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Income splitting will help many

Kevin Johnston, Special to The Leader-PostPublished: Saturday, May 19, 2007

The 2007-08 federal budget provides the following tax-saving opportunities to you

Starting this year, you can split up to 50 per cent of your company's registered pension plan (RPP) benefits with your partner without any age restriction

Find out more; Click HERE

Trust fund may help pulp mill

James Wood, Saskatchewan News NetworkPublished: Friday, January 18, 2008

"We reached out to Domtar again this week. To the extent there is a solution in the near-term or medium-term, frankly, on the mill in Prince Albert there might be an application for these dollars from an infrastructure perspective, perhaps from a training perspective. It's another weapon in our arsenal to try to work hard to get that mill open," he said. (Brad Wall)

To read more click HERE

Friday, January 18, 2008

Question: How do I figure out my target heart rate? How long do I need to work out after reaching it?

Expert Answer: From Sparkpeople.com

There is a basic formula that applies to the average population (and is actually pretty accurate). Let's use a 20-year-old as an easy-to-calculate example:

The formula:
220-age= MAX heart rate (220-20=200 MHR)
60%-80% of this max:
200 x .6 = 120 beats per min, 200 x .8 = 160 beats per min.
Therefore the TARGET HEART RATE range for a 20-year old, working at 60-80% (up to 85% for very fit people) of his/her max heart rate is 120-160 beats/min.

To calculate your heart rate:
Find your pulse (on the neck or wrist) and count the number of beats for 6 seconds. Multiply that number by 10 and compare to your recommended range. Using this method will prevent you from stopping exercise for more than a few seconds. You can take your pulse after you've been exercising for at least 5 minutes.

For example, suppose you take your pulse and count 13 in 6 seconds. Multiply by 10 to get 130 beats per minute. Now you know you're in the right range. If you notice you are lower than the minimum, increase your speed/incline/intensity and try to count again. If you notice you are very high, decrease your intensity in some way.

* If you have high blood pressure, you should not be working out in this THR range.

As far as time goes, try to sustain this intensity (not including your 5 minute warm-up or cool down) for AT LEAST 20 minutes (minimum recommendations for health and weight loss), and up to 45 or even 60 minutes. Of course, you will not start an exercise program with that much endurance, but you'll slowly build up.

Aim for reaching this time/intensity 3-5 days a week, and you're all set!


Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Oxy-fuel combustion

The Science behind Shand II

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Oxy-fuel combustion' is the process of firing a fossil-fueled power plant with an oxygen-enriched gas mix instead of air. Almost all of the nitrogen is removed from input air, yielding a stream that is approximately 95% oxygen. Firing with pure oxygen would result in too high a flame temperature, so the mixture is diluted by mixing with recycled flue gas. The recycled flue gas can also be used to carry fuel into the boiler and ensure adequate convective heat transfer to all boiler areas. Oxy-fuel combustion produces approximately 75% less flue gas than air fueled combustion and produces exhaust consisting primarily of CO2 and H2O (see figure).

Diagram of Oxy-Fuel process and comparison of exhaust gas components.
The justification for using oxy-fuel is to produce a CO2 rich flue gas ready for sequestration. Oxy-fuel combustion has significant advantages over traditional air-fired plants. Among these are:
The mass and volume of the flue gas are reduced by approximately 75%.
Because the flue gas volume is reduced, less heat is lost in the flue gas.
The size of the flue gas treatment equipment can be reduced by 75%.
The flue gas is primarily CO2 suitable for sequestration.
The concentration of pollutants in the flue gas is higher making separation easier.
Most of the flue gases are condensable, making compression separation possible.
Heat of condensation can be captured and reused, rather than lost in the flue gas.
Because nitrogen from air is not allowed in nitrogen oxide production is greatly reduced.
However, because of the energy and economic costs of producing oxygen, an oxy-fuel power plant is less efficient than a traditional air-fired plant. In the absence of any need to reduce CO2 emissions, oxy-fuel is not competitive. However, oxy-fuel is a viable alternative to removing CO2 from the flue gas from a conventional air-fired fossil fuel plant.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxy-fuel_combustion"

Where Do We Work - SaskPower

SaskPower
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

SaskPower is the principal supplier of electricity in Saskatchewan, Canada.
A Crown corporation owned by the Government of Saskatchewan, SaskPower has the exclusive right and the exclusive obligation to supply electricity in the province, except in the cities of Swift Current and Saskatoon. Saskatoon Light & Power provides service in Saskatoon.

To read more click HERE

Tips for your RRSP

RRSPs still best retirement bet

By Gordon Powers
January 10, 2008

For more info on RRSP click HERE

Monday, January 14, 2008

Climate: sky is not falling

Leader-PostPublished: Friday, January 11, 2008

Re: Don Mitchell's Jan. 3 letter, entitled "Harper, Bush are to blame".
It sounds to me like the writer has totally bought into the "climate-change religion" and believes global warming is a result of man-made actions of the last few years -- and that the NDP now has the solution to affect "world wide weather". Really? Al Gore's supporters seem to have convinced a lot of people that this is true.
It is amazing the fervent dedication and zeal many show in defending this "the-sky-is-falling-and-we-need-to- prevent-doom-by-drastic-measures-right-now" philosophy.
Will our children and grandchildren ever forgive us for taking foolhardy action that would almost certainly bring our economy to a standstill, making things tough in their lives and jobs, etc.? One need only look back a bit in time to understand better the foolishness of the global debate.
In about 1975, there was similar talk: at that time, about the 30 years of global cooling and the possibility of an ice age.
Now 30 years of slight warming is unusual and alarming? And is it suddenly man-made? The fact is that world temperatures fluctuate. Look at a 120-year chart comparing solar activity and temperatures and you will see solar activity and temps perfectly correlated.
Solar activity up, temperatures up. Solar activity down, temperatures down.
A chart for the same 120-year period comparing CO2 release and temperatures shows no such correlation whatsoever, especially no unusual CO2 increase in the warming years to 1938 or no decrease in CO2 in the cooling years to 1975.
There has been a higher increase of CO2 in the last 40 years, but temperatures have not even gone up to the highs of 1938.
This pretty well tells the whole fairy-tale of man-made CO2 and the effects on global warming.
I think a lot of people agree we are lucky to have leaders like Stephen Harper and George Bush, who can slow down the insanity of foolish, drastic action until the real truth is understood by all.

Wally Schellenberg Regina

Cholesterol-cutting drugs best for diabetics, study asserts

Sharon Kirkey , Canwest News ServicePublished: Friday, January 11, 2008

Almost all of the more than two million Canadians with diabetes should be taking cholesterol-lowering drugs, according to a major new study.

To find out more click HERE

Scientists wary sprinkling iron into sea blunts carbon buildup

Margaret Munro , CanWest News Service
Published: Friday, January 11, 2008

Several commercial ventures are promoting ocean enrichment as a fix for global warming. One is Planktos Corp., backed by Skalbania, which bills itself as a "for-profit ecorestoration company based in San Francisco with offices in the European Union and British Columbia."

To find out more on this topic click HERE

Thursday, January 10, 2008

What's Happening in ALBERTA - Sask Power's other Option

Genesee Phase 3 (G3) sets new standards for Canadian power production. Built and operated by EPCOR, and owned jointly with TransAlta Corporation, the 495 megawatt unit is Canada's first generation facility to use super critical combustion technology for greater fuel efficiency and significantly lower emissions.

Keephills 3 is a net 450 megawatt (MW) coal-fired generating facility that will be built in partnership with TransAlta Corporation adjacent to the existing Keephills power plant, located about 70 kilometres west of Edmonton.

Cleaner power EPCOR is constantly seeking and developing the newest technologies that create greater fuel efficiency and lower emissions.

Genesee currently uses the best available technology economically achievable (BATEA) in the production of power.

Clean air technology Genessee 3's environmental performance is enhanced by the use of supercritical combustion and clean air technologies. In a supercritical boiler, higher temperatures and steam pressures, together with a high-efficiency steam turbine, create a more efficient process for converting thermal energy into electricity.

Reducing mercury emissions The Genesee Generating Station is poised to receive state-of-the-art emissions control technology designed to capture at least 70 per cent of mercury from coal. Emission reductions on this scale pose a considerable challenge since the mercury concentration in flue gas is extremely low—about one part per billion.

Group says 'no sale' to Wall's uranium carbon credit idea

James Wood, Saskatchewan News NetworkPublished: Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Premier Brad Wall is "dreaming in technicolour" if he thinks Saskatchewan and Canada will -- or should -- receive credit for greenhouse gas reductions because of the province's export of uranium, says a major Canadian environ- mental organization.

Click HERE to review this story.

No clean coal project for now

RON WALTER The Moose Jaw Times Herald

Writes

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Coal - Can it be clean?

This is a great read on different Clean Coal technologies that are on the drawing board around the world.

It basically discusses who's doing what where.

It is written by Daniel Mchardie of the NB Telegraph-Journal

Future Gen out of the States seems to be in the lead as of now, but lets hope OxyFuel gets in the mix of things sometime soon.

Have a LOOK and see.

Coal Comes Clean

Tom Adams from the National Post via energyprobe.org.

He discusses the situation in Ontario in regards to Ontario's Coal Fired power plants. The McGuinty government has moved away from upgrading it's fleet of coal fired plant's with new clean coal technology in favour of converting them to natural gas. I think Sask Power is favouring gas turbines for it's next generation.

Nanticoke Generating station produces 4000MW of Power. 8 average size 500MW power plants.

Hmmmm I'm thinking Enbrige stock is going to be in big demand. Oh and don't forget about those huge Gas Bills to heat your homes.......

Ex cert from the article reads: "Because of this drastic fuel price difference, the smart money is abandoning natural gas: Many natural gas stations in the U.S. are available for resale, sometimes from creditors, and often for pennies on the dollar. Invenergy, one of the companies building gas-fired generation in Ontario under contract to the provincial government, bought a mostly-built $300-million gas-fired generator in the U.S. earlier this year for $21-million. "

This is true in Alberta as well were EPCOR has recently abandoned it's 600MW Clover Bar generating Station in Edmonton in favour of higher efficiency type gas turbines and Super Critical Coal Fired plants. Cleaner Power

See more: energyprobe.org

SaskPower hopes to cap clean-coal costs

With decision day looming next month, SaskPower engineers are scrambling to rein in the rising cost of the corporation's proposed clean-coal project.
The project's manager says the clean-coal project -- which is already well over the projected cost of $1.5 billion -- is currently not cost-competitive with other power options, like conventional coal, hydro and natural gas-fired generation.
"From my perspective, I think we need to sharpen our pencils,'' said Max Ball, project manager of the clean-coal project. "It's my intuitive analysis that we're going to be facing pretty tough competition."
But Ball said the proposed 300-megawatt clean-coal plant -- the first commercial-scale, near-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions plant of its kind in the world -- could be ready for the next phase of SaskPower's expansion around 2015.
"If clean coal doesn't win the competition in July, that doesn't mean we're done,'' Ball said.
Next month, SaskPower's board of directors will look at all the options -- including clean coal -- and make a decision to build 300 megawatts of capacity to meet rising demand by 2011-12.
But SaskPower will need another 600 megawatts in the 2015-17 period, as the corporation takes older, less efficient, higher GHG-emitting units off line, including Units 1 through 4 at Estevan's Boundary Dam coal-fired generating station.
"Every two or three years, we are going to be wanting to tap the wheel,'' said Gary Wilkinson, vice-president of planning, environment and regulatory affairs for SaskPower.
"Not only because of load growth -- the economy of Saskatchewan is humming right now -- but also because we're taking pieces away from the existing fleet, some of which are high emitters,'' Wilkinson said.
In the meantime, Ball and his team are endeavouring to carve out as much cost as possible before the project goes before the board in July.
Wilkinson said all large-scale capital projects are facing cost pressures from the skilled labour shortage, rising steel and materials costs and high energy costs.
For example, the 450-megawatt Keephills 3 coal-fired power project in Alberta is proceeding, despite coming at $1.6 billion, more than twice the original estimate of $750 million in 2004.
But SaskPower's clean-coal project, which uses new technology to capture carbon dioxide emissions from the plant for storage or sale to third parties, faces even more challenges, Wilkinson said.
"It's the first of its kind... Anytime you do a first-of-a-kind project, you tend to get a safety (factor) build into the estimates,'' Wilkinson said.
"One of things we're asking (Ball) to do is how do we remove some of that (safety factor) from the estimates.''
That's why SaskPower is requiring its contractors to check and double-check the efficiency and efficacy of their components and processes.
For example, Ball said Babcock & Wilcox (the boiler contractor) will test the 'oxyfuel' process used to capture the CO2 from the emissions stream at its R&D facility in Ohio using 3,000 tonnes of lignite coal from the Shand area, where the plant is sited.
"They will be doing an oxyfuel test burn on our fuel in July and August. That's ... to ensure that we know how (the coal) going to behave in the furnace,'' Ball said.
"Those are the sorts of things that help us reduce the uncertainty and that helps to reduce the cost.''

The Leader-Post (Regina) Tue 12 Jun 2007 Page: D1 / FRONT Section: Business & Agriculture Byline: Bruce Johnstone Source: The Leader-Post
Posted: Jan/9/2008

No wind, little sun: so where's our energy?

The Leader-Post
Friday, January 04, 2008

Recently, I turned on my computer. The first thing I did was to check the Regina weather.
It was very cold: -26.6 C. The wind was a mere six kilometres per hour, though the sun was shining from a cloudless sky. The barometric pressure was quite high, hence the low wind.
I then went to the "Letters" section in the Leader-Post. In it was a letter entitled, "Not the time to build coal-fired power plants."
It was a rebuttal of John McClement's letter favouring coal plants as the best option to produce electricity.
The writer favoured windpower, solar and nuclear energy.
Well, on that morning the wind in Regina was just about nonexistent.
I checked other reporting points around the province; all had low, low wind speeds.
High barometric pressure usually means low winds. This means on that very cold morning we had no wind energy.
What about solar? After all, the sun was shining bright.
We were also very close to the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, when the northern hemisphere is tilted away from the sun; also we are at our farthest point from the sun.
Daylight on that day amounted to close to eight hours -- and there were 16 hours of darkness. What use solar?
The sun's energy is at its weakest and there is very little of it.
Solar electricity is a very expensive proposition. We would have to cover many square kilometres of good farmland with solar panels. (Where, then, would we sow the crops needed to make ethanol?).
Solar and wind energy are out.
Well, then, what about nuclear energy?
Problem is, as I have pointed out before, present-day nuclear reactors are far too big for Saskatchewan's needs. (There are reactors being developed that will suit us, but they are a while away from being proven.)
All these three options are just not good enough. If we are to avoid blackouts, then we must generate conventional power using coal.
If people worry about being able to sequester CO2, then build a plant that can have its exhaust modified to accomplish this at a later date. (Of course, the alternator had better be a third bigger as that much extra will be wasted on the sequestering process.)
SaskPower electricity is much more expensive than that produced in B.C. and Manitoba.
The idea of carbon credits is a complete scam. All the credits in the world will not reduce carbon one iota. It will line some pockets. Saskatchewan farmers are selling credits to an exchange in Chicago. If we believe in such things, then let's use the credits back home.
J.P. (Jim) Brennand
Regina

Not the time to build coal-fired power plants

Consider these two facts: First, Saskatchewan residents enjoy the lowest cost for utilities in Canada -- and likely one of the lowest rates in the entire world for similar services.
Second, with the exception of Alberta, Saskatchewan industries generate more greenhouse gases per-capita than any other province -- and likely more than most other places in the world.
Is it possible that these two observations are related to the fact that about one-half of our electricity is generated by burning inexpensive coal in plants without carbon dioxide (CO2) collection equipment? If so, then two questions come to mind:
First, considering that we share the atmosphere with all of the other people in the world, is it morally justifiable for us to contribute more than our fair share of atmospheric pollutants just so that we can have low utility rates?
Secondly, is the present system economically sustainable? The most recent report (released on Nov. 17) of the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) states that stabilizing CO2 concentrations at 550 ppm (a high, but acceptable, level) will likely require the imposition of a carbon tax in the near future.
Its modeling studies indicate that a carbon tax of $20 to $80 per equivalent tonne of CO2 will be required. Because the National Pollution Release Inventory indicates that Saskatchewan's electricity-generating stations are currently producing the equivalent of 14 million tonnes of CO2 per year, the imposition of such a carbon tax by the federal government could increase the cost of generating electricity in Saskatchewan by as much as $1.12 billion annually.
A decision on how the province should respond to this new information rests, of course, with the elected members of the Legislative Assembly. The IPCC, however, suggests several approaches, including the development of new technologies that could be used to generate electricity from coal with limited release of CO2 (often called clean-coal technology) and the implementation of known technologies for the generation of electricity using wind, solar and nuclear energy.
For the time being, then, it may be prudent to put a moratorium on the construction of additional CO2-producing power plants until the new information in the IPCC report has been analyzed with respect to its implications for Saskatchewan.
Not to do so could create a legacy for our descendants that is both morally indefensible and economically unaffordable.
Don Lee
Lee is an emeritus professor of chemistry at the University of Regina and a former chairperson of the Federal-Provincial Panel on Uranium Mining Developments in Northern Saskatchewan.
Regina
The Leader-Post (Regina) Sat 08 Dec 2007 Page: B7 Section: Letters Byline: Don Lee Source: The Leader-Post
Posted: Jan/9/2008

Government says no to carbon tax

The latest on Carbon Tax's click Here

Mike De Souza, CanWest News Service Published: Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Attention Shoppers: Don’t Shop at Sears Canada

Members of Vancouver, British Columbia, Local 213 are reminding Sears Canada that union-busting can be bad for business. Local 213 members and their families spent the holiday shopping season leafleting customers at Sears Canada department stores throughout the province to convince them to shop elsewhere until the company ends its lockout of more than 70 service technicians. Local 213 has represented the technicians— who repair Sears-bought appliances for customers in southern British Columbia— since 2001. During negotiations for their second contract last September, Sears Canada demanded substantial concessions, said Assistant Business Manager Rave Ghuman. The company’s takebacks included no guaranteed wage increase for four years, the right to impose split weekends—which means no consecutive days off—loss of Boxing Day as a paid holiday, and no overtime for the first half hour past quitting time. The local’s negotiating committee told the company its demands were unacceptable. On October 1, Local 213 members who showed up for work found a written notice from the company telling them they were locked out. Sears Canada offered to lift the lockout for any employee who was willing to work under its imposed contract and told them that they would not have to pay union dues. “This is clearly an attempt by the company to drive out the union,” said Local 213 Business Manager Rick Dowling. “If (Sears) succeeds in its agenda, it will be extremely difficult to organize other large companies who employ electrical service technicians throughout Canada.” According to provincial labour law, because the technicians work out of a central warehouse, Local 213 is not allowed to set up “locked out” pickets outside of department stores. But they can hold informational pickets. With the lockout falling during the busiest shopping season of the year, the local knew that a consumer boycott could be an effective tool to encourage the company to play fair. “If we can affect their sales volume now that the Christmas shopping season has started, we can hopefully bring them to their senses.” Dowling said. The boycott is growing into a nationwide movement. IBEW First District Vice President Phillip Flemming has encouraged all Canadian locals to support the boycott and in November, labour federations in both British Columbia and Alberta endorsed the campaign. IBEW leaders said they hope that the expansion of the boycott can put enough pressure on the retailer to return to the bargaining table. “When facing a giant corporation like Sears Canada, solidarity from the entire labour movement is key to victory,” said Flemming. z

Carbon capture and storage

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is an approach to mitigate global warming by capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from large point sources such as fossil fuel power plants and storing it instead of releasing it into the atmosphere

OUR OPTIONS

Canada's goals in Bali

John Baird, Minister of the Environment response to Canada's position at the Bali conference dated Dec 07, 2007

Click HERE from the National Post.

Environmental group sues government over Kyoto

CTV.ca News Staff

An environmental group has launched a new lawsuit against the federal government for failing to implement the Kyoto protocol, which could force a judicial review of Canada's commitment to the plan.

Click HERE for full details.

Always By Your Side




Did you know that we have our very own music video?

Brotherhood

President Edwin D. Hill discusses what it means to be a member of the Brotherhood

Pros and cons to be considered

Nuclear Power for Saskatchewan:

James Wood, Saskatchewan News Network; CanWest News ServicePublished: Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Click Here

Clean Coal Coalition prepared to apply pressure

"If nothing is happening, then we will have to go looking for someone who will push the agenda" Lynn Chipley Pro Clean Coal Coalition.

Click Here

Buisness and Labour Leaders Sign Memorandum

The Coalition comes together - Clean Coal Plant Necessary for Clear Future

The Future Begins Here

Federal Enviroment Minister Talks Clean Coal

Federal Environment Minister John Baird stops in Estevan to talk clean coal but stopped short of making a definite commitment in terms of the timing of some financial contributions.

Read more Here

Canada’s International Legal Obligations with regard to Climate Change

Want to know what Canada's legal obligations are now that Kyoto has been ratified click HERE

Mattoon, Ill., picked for FutureGen pollution-free coal plant

What could of been In Saskatchewan if only the Provincial Government and Federal Government could come up with a plan.

Find up what our friends in America are doing with coal HERE

IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The UNEP report on Climate Change Click HERE

Province invests $26M in project

Polygeneration Gets a Boost from the Goverment. What about Shand II?

Stefan Schussler, The Leader-PostPublished: Saturday, October 06, 2007

Click Here

TCPL linked to $3B plant

How Many IBEW Jobs will be Linked to this plant?

Joe Couture, Leader-PostPublished: Saturday, September 08, 2007

Click HERE

Wall's plans may include small nuclear reactors

James Wood, Saskatchewan News NetworkPublished: Monday, December 10, 2007

Click HERE

Coal power plant remains best option

A letter to the Editor: Regina Leader Post Wed Dec 05/07 by John R. McClement

Coal power plant remains best option

Re: the article, "Wall will look to cut costs", Leader-Post Nov 30".

At the top of his list should be a review of the NDP's generation expansion plans for SaskPower.
SaskPower isn't an engine of the economy; its role has been, and should be, to fuel the economy with reliable, competitively priced electrical energy.
The industrial and commercial sectors now account for about 70 per cent of the province's electrical energy consumption and, with recently announced expansion in mining, the oilpatch and manufacturing, demands on the system will continue to grow.
The NDP, before its dismissal, announced plans to add an additional 400MW of gas-fired generating capacity and 100MW of wind. The additional gas capacity would result in 34 per cent of the generating capacity available to SaskPower being dependent on the vagaries of gas pricing as well as adding additional greenhouse gas emissions.
The NDP's strategy of creating wind farms, adding more gas-fired capacity and buying power from the private sector has, and will continue to, drive up the cost of electricity. It's time to return the utility to its historical role: providing electricity at the lowest possible cost.
Clean-coal technology has not yet been technically demonstrated as a viable option.
Nuclear generation is a proven technology and meets the green criteria. However, the economic unit size isn't a good fit with SaskPower's current generation-capacity mix.
And with a pricetag in excess of $3 billion, it would place a significant financial burden on the province.
The lowest-cost alternative would be to add a conventional 450MW coal-fired unit at Shand, one equipped with the latest emission controls. This unit, combined with stronger ties with Manitoba Hydro, would make nuclear a viable option when the next base load unit is required.
With China and the United States having around 600,000 MW of coal-fired capacity and combined emission of 5.5 billion tons of CO2 annually, the emission from a 450MW unit would go totally unnoticed. Let's not forget that Saskatchewan consumers can take credit for their part in the expansion of coal-fired capacity in China and India.
The realty is that Saskatchewan isn't going to determine the world's, or its own, climatic future, so let's grow the economy as China is doing -- by using our vast coal reserves.
John R. McClement
Regina The Leader-Post (Regina) Wed 05 Dec 2007 Page: B9 Section: Letters Byline: John R. McClement Source: The Leader-Post

Power generation: how to finance it

A letter to the Editor: Regina Leader Post Wed July 18/07 by John R. McClement


Power generation: how to finance it

It has been reported that SaskPower's board will meet this summer to consider all options open to supply the rising demand for electrical power.
As important as that decision will be, the most important decision for Saskatchewan taxpayers will be how the government chooses to allow SaskPower to finance this multibillion-dollar capital investment.
Will the corporation be directed to return to the Crown utility model -- all debt -- or will it be allowed to continue partnering and using the business model of funding major capital investments: a debt/equity mix? In 1998, using the business model of financing, SaskPower chose to avoid the debt necessary to build new power plants and signed a deal to purchase the total electric output from 467MW of generating capacity being built in Saskatchewan by Alberta investor-owned utilities.
SaskPower's 2006 financial statements show that while the decision to purchase met the debt-ratio target, they as well show SaskPower is committed to pay $5.7 billion over the remaining 20 years of these 30-year power- purchase contracts -- a commitment $1.5 billion more than the corporation's total assets.
Moving to the business model of financing and partnering with the private sector has been a costly diversion for SaskPower. It has already increased the cost of power, which is reflected in the rates and the Crown has foregone the return on an investment of about $700 million. And over the term of the deal, it will likely cost Saskatchewan people in well in excess of $1 billion -- with no assets to show for it.
The shareholders of Alberta Utilities will be the big winners, a power sale with a guaranteed return for 30 years. Ironically, SaskPower doesn't have any customers under contract to purchase power for more than 10 years, if that long.
Simply put, the Crown corporation advantage is being able to totally fund its capital requirements through provincial borrowing. This gives SaskPower at least a four-per-cent advantage in the cost of financing capital investment over the debt/equity model.
SaskPower's priority, historically, has been to add new generation capacity as required and ensure the lowest cost of power. Up until 1998, SaskPower did provide power at competitive rates, developing the resources within the province to meet power demands within the province.
Most jurisdictions in Canada have found that debt-funded Crown utilities has been the way to ensure the lowest-cost electricity. Manitoba Hydro, with its cost of electricity about half that of Saskatchewan, has totally developed its hydro with debt financing.
Many billions of dollars of capital will be required to fund new power generation. And if power rates are to remain competitive with other jurisdictions, it is time the NDP directed SaskPower to return the Crown corporation debt-financing model. No more of this privatization by partnering with private sector companies.
And if the Chambers of Commerce are concerned about the cost of power for their membership, this is a change they should support.
The Leader-Post (Regina) Wed 18 Jul 2007 Page: B11 Section: Letters Byline: John R. McClement Source: The Leader-Post

Monday, January 7, 2008

What is Kyoto

This is a great read about the Kyoto Accord from Wikipedia. It's everything you need to know LOL. Click HERE

The Cost of Bill C-288 to Canadian Families and Business

This is a published report on Bill C-288 (Kyoto Accord) by enviroment Canada
Click HERE to review the report.

Kyoto Becomes Law

The Opposition parties pushed through legislation on Wednesday that requires the Conservative government to respect Canada's commitments under the Kyoto accord. To learn more click HERE

A Better Energy Plan

Clean Coal technology is Proven and Available. To find out more on this topic CLICK HERE