Tag: Other Org Action

A Preventable Health Crisis – the toll of uranium mining

Uranium, when disturbed, dissolves readily in water thus contaminating wells and aquifers. When ingested, uranium is chemically toxic, affecting the kidneys, bones and other organs.

Uranium mine wastes contain 85% of the ore’s radioactivity and continue to generate new radioactive byproducts for thousands of years.

Uranium mining is hidden away in marginalized or Indigenous areas. The health effects on affected citizens remain understudied and are best described by them. Read the full December bulletin from the SMRs Information Task Force, HERE.

Ralph Torrie’s renewable energy plan – video

Ralph Torrie presented his renewable energy plan for the Maritimes in Fredericton in late October. The NB Media Co-op published a video of his talk, HERE. His visit to New Brunswick was co-hosted by a coalition of groups, including CRED-NB.

Torrie’s work on energy in the Maritimes is part of a major Corporate Knights project, Climate Dollars, which shows that solving the climate emergency would cost less than perpetuating the polluting, 20th-century energy system we have today. The Climate Dollars project report is expected to be published soon.

Ontario’s pricey nuclear power should give pause to NB Power

The high cost of subsidizing Ontario’s nuclear power generation and the exorbitant cost of plans for new nuclear development are good reasons for NB Power to abandon plans for more nuclear development in New Brunswick.

Here are two recent articles in the NB Media Co-op with the Ontario story:

Ford’s nuclear push could backfire with higher bills, US gas reliance: report

Ontario electricity supply costs jump 29 per cent as nuclear spending rises

Support Lorneville’s fight against the proposed gas plant!

Yes, another U.S. gas plant is proposed for New Brunswick, in addition to the one in Tantramar.

CRED-NB supports Save Lorneville’s opposition to a data centre and 190-megawatt gas plant proposed for the Spruce Lake Industrial Park.

Join the Save Lorneville facebook page for news and actions, HERE.

There’s a lot more to this Lorneville story, and the info is starting to come out. Read: Green leader links Centre Village gas/diesel plant to Lorneville data centre, by Bruce Wark, HERE.

Canada wins ‘Fossil of the Day’ award at COP30

On November 18, Climate Action Network International awarded Canada the Fossil of the Day award at the COP30 gathering in Brazil.

“Canada receives the award because the new government of Prime Minister Mark Carney has flushed years of climate policies down the drain, and is completely ‘Missing In Action’ at a COP where multilateralism needs to be saved. In addition to the backsliding on policies tackling Canada’s climate-destroying pollution, his Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin has chosen inaction and silence where leadership was urgently needed.”

Read the full media release HERE.

CEDAR project: NB Power needs a complete overhaul

CRED-NB Champion, the CEDAR project at St. Thomas University, submitted its critique of NB Power to the NB Power Review team. CEDAR researchers believe NB Power needs a complete overhaul. Key messages:

  • The energy system – climate system connection is missing
  • There is a strong case against nuclear power as a climate-friendly supply option
  • Investing in new fossil fuel infrastructure is “moral and economic madness”
  • Global energy systems are transitioning to renewable energy, and NB Power needs to do the same
  • Renewable energy investments are already signalling the way forward in New Brunswick
  • Customers expect a public electrical utility they can trust; they are getting the opposite.
  • NB Power is frozen in the past. The utility needs a fundamental change of direction.

    Read the full submission HERE.

Latest batch of “nation-building” projects threatens climate and communities

Climate Action Network Canada issued a media release from COP30 negotiations in Belém, Brazil today.

“Canadian civil society is sounding the alarm about the latest batch of “nation building” projects. The major projects list includes the Ksi Lisims LNG terminal, which faces legal challenges from the Lax Kw’alaams Band and the Metlakatla First Nation. Ksi Lisims would be supplied by the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) pipeline, which also faces opposition from Indigenous land defenders.”

The new project list also includes the Sisson Mine project. The media release includes a quote from CRED-NB member NBASGA:

Jim Emberger, NB Anti-Shale Gas Alliance:
“Carney could have announced something transformational like the Confederation Bridge or the CN Rail that could have truly changed the lives of people in New Brunswick. People and politicians in New Brunswick and the Atlantic region have been calling for rapid investments in renewable energy, and the grid to support it. Instead, he resurrected a mine that’s been languishing without investment for 15 years, and only because the US Department of War has recently invested in it. So much for elbows up.”

CRED-NB is a member of Climate Action Network Canada. Read the full media release HERE.

A nuclear project with three strikes against it

Prime Minister Carney is giving two billion dollars of taxpayers’ money to a “nation-building” project that already has three strikes against it.

Touted as the western world’s first small modular nuclear reactor, to be built in Ontario, the BWRX is an American design, requiring enriched uranium fuel that must be purchased from a non-Canadian supplier, and is too expensive to be sold abroad. Three strikes.

CRED-NB is a member of the SMRs Information Task Force that publishes monthly bulletins sent to all MPs and MLAs in New Brunswick. Read the November bulletin, A costly way to depend on others, HERE.

Reaction to Budget 2025

After the release of the federal budget on Nov. 4, Climate Action Network Canada issued a statement outlining details of how the government’s new direction tackles the climate crisis. Summary: we are not impressed. The executive director of the national organization said: “We were looking for much-needed clarity on how Ottawa would diversify the economy away from volatile fossil fuels, meet our international climate obligations, and steer Canada towards a safer and more affordable clean energy future. We’re still waiting.“

The statement includes quotes from member climate groups across the country, including CRED-NB. Read the full statement HERE.

Alarm raised on Canada’s climate leadership going into COP30

The G7 Energy and Environment Ministerial concluded in Toronto with no clear progress on raising climate ambition ahead of COP30. Climate Action Network Canada calls this a wasted opportunity for leadership from Canada, and a failure of responsibility from the world’s wealthiest countries. Read the analysis HERE.

CRED-NB is a member of Climate Action Network Canada.