In Princeton, Petrobank Resources is back in town after a three year hiatus to drill second and third wells (the first was in 2005). This has caused a resurgence of opposition. And this time, opposition is coming from local First Nations and from more politicians than the first time around. We note that the local area director, Gerri Logan, who was perceived as a friend of coalbed methane a few years ago, has responded to the community opposition - and has generated the headline "Logan opposes drilling".
Smithers, BC- A Royal Dutch Shell representative currently on a trip to Canada is heading home to the Netherlands with some unlikely cargo: 1,730 letters from North Americans opposing Shell's coalbed methane project in BC's Sacred Headwaters.
PALMER Alaska -- Helen Riley uses the word exciting to describe Fowler Oil and Gas Corp. The company, led by Bob Fowler, started moving dirt June 1 to prepare for a coal bed methane well in a lush hayfield along Trunk Road.
Helen and Paul Riley, along with three other families, signed leases with Fowler Oil and Gas to allow drilling, in exchange for the possibility of earning at least $1,000 every year in royalties.
Water expert raises alarm about coal-bed mining in salmon rivers
Tuesday, 01 July 2008
Mark Hume, Globe and Mail
VANCOUVER -- When John Stockner talks about water, people listen. Dr. Stockner, now retired from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, is one of Canada's most eminent scientists in the field of limnology, the study of lakes and other fresh water.
NANAIMO -- The environmental risks associated with coalbed gas extraction on Vancouver Island are probably not as high as some opponents of the industry make them out to be, says the president of the Canadian Society for Unconventional Gas.
The provincial government's declaration that the Flathead Valley is off-limits for coalbed methane (CBM) extraction is a huge step in the right direction but there's still a long way to go.
