Commentary by Jim Emberger (Fredericton Gleaner, 7 February 2017)
Donald Trump’s resurrection of the Keystone pipeline has some pundits worried that Energy East may be cancelled. This in turn has some editorialists calling for a return to shale gas as New Brunswick’s saviour.
Apparently they have forgotten that five conditions must be met before the shale gas moratorium can be lifted. New studies furnish examples why those conditions are unlikely to be met.
On Friday, May 27, 2016, the Brian Gallant Liberal government announced that the moratorium on hydraulic fracturing would continue indefinitely. Below are links to NBASGA’s official Press Statement on the extended moratorium, and comments from spokesperson, Jim Emberger, as well as congratulatory notes from our supporters around the world.
This is a good day for the People, the Province, the Planet…and for our Democratic Process.
by Tom Richmond, Yorkshire Post, 27 May 2016
INTERNATIONAL support is growing for Ryedale’s anti-fracking movement as Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom claims that the extraction of shale gas in North Yorkshire is “an opportunity we can’t afford to miss” if UK energy supplies are to be secured. A week after more than 850 elected civic leaders from New York State urged North Yorkshire County Council to reject Third Energy’s application for a test site at Kirby Misperton – a plea that fell on deaf ears on Monday night – opponents in the Canadian province of New Brunswick are the latest to lend their support.
In encouraging local news, The Environmental Advisory Committee, established by the Provincial Government of PEI to create a new Water Act, has recommended banning fracking in PEI. This conforms to the trend of the last few years, as the case against shale gas and fracking grows with each new study, regardless of topic – water contamination, public health, earthquakes, climate change, etc.
Recently, news on fracking has taken a decided about-face from the many stories previously singing its praises. The truth is beginning to emerge.
Jim Emberger Commentary, Telegraph Journal, 27 March 2016
Krista Ross’ [Fredericton Chamber of Commerce] recent commentary (12 March 2016) suggested that New Brunswick’s citizens are too unsophisticated to understand the science behind the risks surrounding shale gas, making them easy targets for shale gas opponents to manipulate with fear.
These condescending assertions are, fortunately, easy to dismiss. Our Alliance continues to direct the public to the hundreds of independent scientific studies that are now collected into a Compendium available at: http://concernedhealthny.org/compendium/.
The New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance provides the following statement about the report issued last Friday by the New Brunswick Commission on Hydrofracturing.
The Commissioners recognized that the discussion about shale gas had to be looked at in the contexts of the immediate need to combat climate change, the lack of a coherent and forward-looking energy policy for the province, and the inadequacy of current institutions and procedures in New Brunswick to deal with either shale gas or with the new realities of a low-carbon world.
Liberal firing of Dr. Eilish Cleary a dark day in New Brunswick history
MONCTON, NB (Dec. 8, 2015) – Members of the New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance are shocked and dismayed at the unprecedented action taken against Dr. Eilish Cleary.
“This has effectively put a fatal bullet into any hopes that this government had of obtaining a social license for any endeavor that impacts the health of New Brunswickers,” says spokesman Jim Emberger. “Dr. Cleary was perhaps one of the few remaining voices in government with any credibility with the citizenry.”
OPEN LETTER TO GOVERNMENT OF NEW BRUNSWICK
from the New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance
Public Health needs autonomy and New Brunswicker’s need a voice they can trust
MONCTON, NB (3 December 2015) – The New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance is greatly disturbed with recent news reports speculating that Dr. Eilish Cleary’s leave of absence may be related to her work.
Yesterday, social media erupted with support and indignation when the story became public, and people immediately rushed to her defense, calling for her reinstatement.
Video of Dr. John Cherry’s ‘Shale Gas Experiment” presentation in Fredericton, November 17, 2015. See our previous post for details, written statements and press coverage of Dr. Cherry’s visit. Thanks to Rob Turgeon (Apple Hill Video), who enabled us to provide the full presentation online.
Commentary by Jim Emberger
Judging from editorial page content regarding the new EPA draft report on hydrofracturing, only a few writers have read beyond the single, misleading headline repeated in the media, which said that the EPA did not find“widespread or systemic impacts on drinking water.”
The report itself offers two equally plausible explanations for that finding. It said that maybe there really aren’t widespread impacts, but that it’s just as likely that the poor quality and limited quantity of data made it impossible to judge the size of impact. The following quotes from the report cite these shortcomings.