Fracking poses risks, environmentalists say

S.H.A.M.E. was part of this protest as well. Zak mentioned plans for fracking around Lambton county, and ongoing issues around Chemical Valley — including emerging concerns about a Wilms’ tumour cancer cluster in Michigan.

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Kyle Rea in Metro London

Environmental group Climate Justice London plans protest for London City Hall at 6 p.m. today

It’s a controversial natural gas extraction technique that environmentalists say threatens our ecosystem.

And while it hasn’t been used yet in Ontario, a group of concerned Londoners are worried hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, could soon be used in Chatham-Kent and Lambton counties.

Today, more than 40 people are expected to gather at London City Hall as part of a protest against fracking.

Saturday – Community Meeting regarding Imperial Oil

WHERE – Blackwater Coffee
WHEN – Saturday, May 28th, Noon

ESSO has had another significant release into our community. ESSO has failed to inform the community in a timely and truthful manner. We must take ESSO to task.

Join us to create a citizen’s statement against ESSO, and all other guilty parties who actively work to cover-up ESSO’s releases.

Enough is enough. Friday’s release affected Aamjiwnaang (again). If the wind was from the south, it would have been my family that was gassed by the ‘mystery odour’. (I’m guessing benzene).

Enough is Enough. Please join us.

Please invite and circulate this event.

[http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=188720704512833]

Imperial Oil failed again to alert the public

A letter in The Observer

Here we go again. Another unexpected environmental release from Imperial Oil with no timely notification to all the key stakeholders including community emergency contacts and of course, the public.

Do I have the right to know immediately that an unexpected mile-long blue-gray plume of higher than normal sulphur dioxide concentrations has been released from Imperial Oil? You’re damn right I do!

We all appreciate the fact that Imperial Oil is a good source of employment to many in this area but this does not give them the right to show such little respect for the needs of this community when it comes to environmental matters such as this latest release to the air we all breathe.

In my experience, this kind of conduct only happens if it is condoned at the top of an organization. It’s time Peter Vandenborne, refinery manager, made a public commitment to show more respect for this community by putting into place the procedures that ensure there is timely public notification of ALL such environmental incidents.

Robert Swift, Point Edward

Rallying against shale fracking around Ontario

Toban Black on The Media Co-op

Some of us have started to campaign against shale gas fracking around Ontario.

On May 19th, we had a rally outside of a North American shale gas conference at Holiday Inn Sarnia — which actually is located in Point Edward. At our protest, we focused on threats to water supplies from the toxic stew of fluids injected into fracking wells, as well as methane, radium, and other substances that can be let loose from around the shale rock that the gas is extracted from.

The shale gas conference was about profits that corporations could gain by securing U.S. gas exports for the petro-chemical industries in Sarnia-Lambton. On the Ontario side of the border, those arrangements basically would come down to keeping the Chemical Valley status quo going, with possible savings for the companies purchasing gas supplies from U.S. shale (at least until Ontario shale gas is made available).

Industry representatives travelled out to their closed-door conference from more than one province, and from multiple U.S. states. They came in to support and extend the hype about fracking ‘benefits without trade-offs.’ This spin was about imports from states around West Virginia, but the same points will be made about Ontario fracking, arranged by the same industry players, who will try to profit from shale gas here. Yet, fracking could be done in Ontario to export gas to the United States, or to the Alberta tar sands.

Videos from our rally are posted on Facebook — here and here.

Some more photos from our protest can be seen here, here, and here.

At Rainbow Park

Rainbow Park is immediately beside the ESSO facilities in Sarnia. These photos were taken there on Thursday, May 19th -

Shale gas conference protest photos from Toban

More photos from the May 19th Point Edward rally against fracking -

Shale gas conference protest photos from Mason

Mason took these photos at the rally outside the industry conference in Point Edward, on May 19th -

Shale gas conference protest photos from Annette

Some of Annette’s photos from the May 19th rally in Point Edward -

Responding to yet another major release from Imperial Oil

A mile-long vapour cloud was released from ESSO / Imperial Oil on Tuesday, May 17th.  No emergency siren was sounded after this blue-ish grey cloud drifted away from the plant.  At first, Imperial Oil did not publicly take responsibility for the release.  When the company did acknowledge that the cloud came from their facilities, they made excuses and said that cloud was made up of sulphur dioxide which was supposed to have been completely non-toxic.

The Observer reported that:

St. Clair Township Fire Chief Roy Dewhirst was one of those who witnessed the blue/gray plume as it wafted over Mooretown, which he described as a low-flying cloud carried on north winds. …

“It was fairly fast moving. It went on down south. It had kind of a crude-oily smell,” he said.

The plume was seen by people as far north as the Lambton Fire School, Lanxess and Provident Energy.

We responded to all of this a very small rally on a busier street corner.  Our smallest sign said “Demand more from City Hall”.

Industry abuzz over shale gas

But protesters alarmed by environmental cost

A video, an article, and a photo from Shawn Jeffords, in The Observer

To frack or not to frack? [...]

Depending on which side of Venetian Boulevard you stood, the answers vastly differed.

The Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership sponsored a Shale Gas Conference that brought together movers and shakers in the natural gas drilling industry. The goal was to showcase the Chemical Valley and help out of town executives network with local officials, said Economic Partnership general manager George Mallay.

“This is an excellent opportunity to bring all of these players to the community … to get a broad perspective of what Sarnia-Lambton is all about.”

A key issue at the day-long event at the Pt. Edward Holiday Inn is whether the local petrochemical industry can be revitalized by piping the shale gas to the Chemical Valley.