Oil Sands Question and Response (OSQAR) Blog

New campaign explained: why Pembina is speaking out

This week we asked Ed Whittingham, executive director of the Pembina Institute, to be our guest blogger, responding to questions we had about a new campaign promoted by Pembina and other Canadian environmental organizations.

Launched May 7, the Black Out Speak Out initiative is a response to proposed changes to Canada’s environmental laws. It invites supporters to darken their websites June 4 “in defence of nature and democracy.” 

We thank Ed for taking time to respond to our questions.        

 What are you hoping to achieve with this campaign?

Canadians deserve to have a mature and open conversation about our shared energy future. The thousands of Canadians and more than a hundred organizations participating in the Black Out Speak Out campaign know that going dark for a day may not stop the Harper government’s attacks on charities and environmental groups. But shutting down our websites illustrates what would be lost if our voices were shut out from the discussion over the future of our country.
 
OSQAR readers may think those participating in Black Out Speak Out are overreacting, but the extent of the changes to key environmental laws included in Bill C-38 is unprecedented and draconian. For example, through C-38 the Harper government will repeal the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, and replace it with a new law that allows cabinet to override the decisions of the supposedly arms-length National Energy Board. The bill also proposes to fast-track environmental reviews for infrastructure projects, dramatically narrow the definition of ‘environmental effects’ to be considered in environmental reviews, and significantly reduce protection of fish and the waters they live in.
 
The net result will be weaker standards for environmental review across the country, new limits on citizen participation in environmental reviews, and reliance on a patchwork of less comprehensive provincial assessment laws. In other words this is a huge setback for environmental protection.

How do you expect/hope the campaign will move us closer to resolving our shared energy challenges?

Grassroots campaigning is not something that comes naturally to us here at Pembina. We’re more known for our high-calibre policy research, our facts-based advocacy and our innovative consulting work, including for oil sands producers like Suncor. Our engineers, scientists and policy analysts are frankly more comfortable working behind the scenes.
 
But in order to get back to rational and mature progress on energy and environment challenges and away from the allegations, slander and hyperbole that’s defined the public discourse over energy issues of late, we first need greater public awareness of what Bill C-38 means to responsible development in this country.
 
Responsible development of the oil sands is achievable, but C-38 takes us in the opposite direction. So too does having federal cabinet ministers make unsubstantiated and criminal accusations against select environmental charities, then hiding from reporters when they ask for the proof, as environment minister Peter Kent did recently with his 'money laundering' charge. I think both acts are not in keeping with Canadian values, so we’re asking Canadians everywhere who are concerned about our natural environment and the state of our democracy to speak out on this one, to send a strong signal to our federal government that we need more productive conversations on energy challenges.

How many toil for you?

What’s that slurping noise? It could very well be our collective snouts feeding from the world energy trough.
 
There’s no denying it. We North Americans are energy hogs. Our energy-intensive Western consumer lifestyles demand that we be. Big house? Two or more cars? Central air and electronic devices, gadgets and appliances galore?  Welcome to hog heaven.  

Energy-intensive lifestyles have transformed North Americans into energy hogs. Photo Credit: iStockPhoto

Top energy consumers

According to calculations by Canadian geologist David Hughes using data provided in a U.S. Energy Information Administration 2009 report, North Americans have nearly four times the average global per capita energy consumption (PDF). In absolute numbers, North Americans consume one-quarter of the world’s primary energy production, even though we make up less than seven percent of the world’s population. As well, a new report from World Wildlife Canada places Canada and the United States among the top-10 countries with the biggest “ecological footprint” per person.
 
Historically underpinning our posh lifestyles is the availability of relatively cheap, abundant supply of energy, primarily derived from hydrocarbon sources. While there’s much debate over how much oil, coal and natural gas is actually left, there’s no disputing that this resource is a finite one.

Conservation is paramount

That’s why energy conservation should be a top priority for all, especially considering that energy demand is slated to rise, a prospect we explored in a previous OSQAR.
 
Wait a minute. Can a company like Suncor that generates most of its revenues from the sale of fossil fuels credibly call for society to use less energy? Yes we can, because like you, we want there to be energy left for future generations.
 
Getting folks to heed the energy conservation message is no easy task. Like smoking, eating or reality television, energy gluttony is a hard habit to curb. Sociologists know that people tend to be more committed to positive action on a day-to-day basis if the line of sight between behaviour and consequence is apparent. 

Energy slaves

Unfortunately when it comes to energy conservation, it’s not possible to see the earth’s hydrocarbon reserves dwindle every time we hammer our Hummer’s gas pedal. We can, though, turn to our vivid imaginations. Imagine if our energy consumption was expressed as a dedicated entourage of human energy slaves? The more energy we consume, the more souls we put into our exclusive bondage.
 
Author Samuel Alexander explores the energy slave concept in his paper Peak Oil, Energy Descent, and the Fate of Consumerism (PDF), using analysis from David Hughes correlating energy and human labour.
 
A healthy person peddling quickly on a bicycle can produce enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb. If this person works eight hours a day, five days a week, it would take about 8.6 years of human labour to produce the energy stored in one barrel of oil. (You would, by the way, owe the cyclist about $138,363 - based on minimum wage - for his toil.)  
 
How many of us would choose driving over walking for that two-block latte run if it meant forcing our fellow humans into hard physical labour just to get us there? What if you had to generate the energy yourself, before consuming the latte?

Keeping the water hot

Never one to leave things to the imagination, the BBC experimented with the energy-human labour connection. Check out this clip to see what keeping water hot for a regular shower means for a group of volunteer cyclist “slaves.” It took more than 70 bikers cycling at the top of their ability to make enough power to keep the hot water flowing for a mere two minutes.

So while human labour won’t trump our established energy sources any time soon, we energy hogs still may want to think twice before hitting that thermostat, power button, or ignition switch. Future generations are counting on it.

Energy dialogue needs more collaboration, less hot air

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In a world where global energy demand is expected to increase for several decades as Asian, Latin and African countries develop their economies, ensuring everyone has the energy needed now and in the future for secure, comfortable living is a huge societal challenge.

 

With the energy debate becoming more polarized, is the opportunity for positive collaboration off the table? Photo Credit: iStockPhoto.

 

As we’ve discussed in previous OSQARs, every form of energy presents some social, economic, technical or environmental challenge. As much as we’d all like to see it, there’s simply no such thing as an impact-free, guilt-free, universally-affordable energy source that meets all needs in all conditions for all time.
 
That’s why the energy conversation is critical; the decisions we make today will affect our quality of life for generations to come.

Debate polarized

Unfortunately, today’s North American energy debate seems to be getting more polarized by the minute and that’s really concerning. And putting the blame on any one faction isn’t solving things. 
 
Stripping the question down to a binary choice of guaranteed energy or protecting the environment is not helpful. In fact, it’s a throwback to the sort of argument last heard from industry in the 1970s when environmental groups tried to get polluting factories heavier regulated. Then as now, the trade unions sided with employers.

Creating a quality discussion

Given the rhetoric being thrown around, what chance is there for positive collaboration and seeking common ground?
 
We believe this conversation needs the constructive participation of all interested parties, whether it’s environmental non-government organizations (ENGO), industry, First Nations, special interest groups, governments, academics, educators or ordinary citizens. We all need to take accountability for creating a quality discussion. We’re all part of the problem and all part of the solution so if we work together there should be no blame involved.   

Results from collaboration

 
Look at the good things that can happen when stakeholders get on the same, solutions-oriented page:

• the Boreal Leadership Council which is focused on creating shared solutions to conserve Canada’s great boreal forest;
• the Clean Air Strategic Alliance which brings together representatives from government, First Nations, industry and environmental groups to improve air quality;
• the Clean Air Renewable Energy coalition where corporations and ENGOs are working together to grow Canada’s renewable energy industry, and secured a wind power production incentive from the federal government which has helped increase installed capacity from just 26 MW in 1998 to more than 5,400 MW today.

So let’s focus our energies on collaborating and getting results, rather than on posturing, grandstanding and name-calling. It’s all about taking a fresh perspective and creating our shared energy future together.
 

Have you met bitumen's step-sisters?

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Just about everyone knows bitumen from oil sands development is upgraded into synthetic crude oil, which is used for fuels, plastics and other products which make our modern lifestyles as comfortable as they are. 

Vancouver terminals export five million tonnes of sulphur annually. Photo credit: iStockPhoto

Much less well-known is that oil sands are also a vital source of important industrial feedstock, notably sulphur and petroleum coke.

Sulphur has many uses

Sulphur compounds give skunks, grapefruits and garlic cloves their unique scents. In the form of hydrogen sulfide, sulphur also contributes to the much-maligned human scent (think about it and giggle…..we did!) In fact, sulphur is essential to all life on earth. A 70-kilogram person reputedly contains about 140 grams of sulphur. As well, sulphur is found in many life-saving drugs such as penicillin and the sulfonamides.

Sulphur is primarily used in commercial fertilizers, as along with potassium and phosphorus, it’s one of six macro-nutrients which are essential elements for growing plants.

Transported by rail, ship

Sulphur produced at oil sands is initially in a liquid state and looks a lot like orange Jell-O. At about 200 C, though, this Jell-O would burn your mouth (and probably doesn’t taste very good either.) A large percentage of Suncor’s sulphur is transported in rail tank cars to Florida and North Carolina for fertilizer production.

Sulphur solidifies at 115 C, turning bright yellow. You may have seen it stored at various ports in North America – including two locations in the Port of Vancouver - en route to global markets.

Oil sands operators currently produce more than 1.5 million metric tonnes of sulphur every year, enough to fill over 600 Olympic-sized swimming pools. At its oil sands base plant alone, Suncor produces between 1,450 and 1,600 metric tonnes of sulphur per day.

Petroleum coke a low-cost fuel

Petroleum coke is another useful byproduct of oil sands upgrading. This is a carbon-based solid derived from the coker units that turn bitumen into high-value crude oil and diesel fuel. Fuel grade coke is a low-cost fuel widely used in power plants and in manufacturing cement. Other types of coke are turned into carbon electrodes used in steel, aluminum and titanium smelting plants. Suncor alone produces about 15,000 metric tonnes of fuel grade coke per day.

Selling the byproducts of oil sands production not only makes economic sense, it’s also sound environmental stewardship. That’s why producers including Suncor haul the byproducts to the Lynton rail yard, just south of Fort McMurray, where it connects with the North American rail network.

As with bitumen, the challenge for industry is to handle these lesser-known but valuable products in way that both preserves a healthy environment and contributes to Alberta’s and Canada’s economic prosperity.  

Energy development: jobs at the expense of a healthy environment?

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We citizens may sometimes be loath to admit it, but there’s no question governments have become more effective and efficient in delivering some key services in recent years.

Governments are working to make long lines and wait times a thing of the past. Photo credit: iStockphoto.

Remember when renewing your driver’s license or vehicle registration would consume half your day? Or the Soviet-style queues at your local passport office? Or the seemingly endless paper chase you endured to snag your student loan?

Services improved 

These ordeals, thankfully, are experiences of past. That’s because governments of all levels have taken a big leaf from the private sector book. Governments have harnessed technology, modern management systems, and top-notch expertise to provide effective service without compromising their mandate to uphold the public good.
 
Of course, huge challenges remain for the public sector, especially when it comes to the delivery of important and complex offerings, such as healthcare, tax collection and unemployment insurance.
 
Regulatory system overhaul

Recently, the Canadian government announced plans to dramatically streamline one of its most critical and multifarious services: the system it uses to provide environmental oversight of resource development projects.
 
The government said it made the move to help prevent long delays in reviewing projects that kill potential jobs and stall economic activity 
 
Not surprisingly the plan got two thumbs up from Canada’s energy developers. According to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), developers collectively invest over $50 billion each year and employ more than 500,000 Canadians.
 
CAPP pointed out that bottlenecks in the current regulatory system have often led to project delays or cancellations, reducing economic benefits from the industry’s sizeable investment.

A step in the right direction

Suncor is encouraged by the federal government’s move. We think it improves the regulatory process without compromising its effectiveness.
 
The changes should also help ensure that proposals to build critical infrastructure needed to address new and growing markets get considered in a timely way.  
 
Not everybody is happy with the government’s plan. Critics, including some in the environmental community, worry the government is preparing to abdicate its responsibility for environmental protection. They’re also concerned the scaled-down process will weaken the quality of environmental oversight.
 
Suncor remains committed to mitigating the impacts of oil sands development on the environment. As we have explored in a previous OSQAR, it’s clear industry has environmental impacts that must be considered and reduced as much as possible and rigorous regulatory scrutiny is vital when you think about what’s at stake.
 
And we commend the federal government for tackling the huge challenge of delivering its complex and critically important environmental oversight service more effectively and efficiently.