Environmental Awareness Week?

A lot of environmental news has come our way today, beginning with the publication of Fast Forward's annual winter guide, which looks at the impact of climate change on Alberta sport. As a follow-up to an earlier posting "Killing Us Softly", the Ontario government announced measures to label carcinogens on products, with an ultimate eye to having them all banned outright. Elsewhere, measures are being adopted to evaluate the level of pollution and environmental in Canada, which unfortunately reveal that water quality in Canada is on the decline. Similarly, a British group is offering businesses the opportunity to measure their "carbon footprint" in an effort to reduce emissions and usuage.

Most problematic however, were plans announced here in Alberta calling for the wide spread use of carbon dioxide storage. On one hand, this strategy of piping carbon dioxide emissions from their source of emissions to underground storage wells (from abandoned oil reservoirs) in the Edmonton area gains support from such stainch climate changers' as George Monbiot, it comes with several reservations. First is the perception that the carbon dioxide will somehow "leak out". Monbiot's research suggests that the gas can be safely kept underground for up to a thousand years - unless the surrounding rocks contain carbonate compounds (such as limestone) that can combine with carbon dioxide to form carbonic acid. While carbonic acid is naturally occuring, in the underground reservoir the fear is that the surrounding would dissolve under conversion to carbonic acid, allowing the acid to escape to the surface. Once above ground, the reduced pressure enables the carbonic acid to break down into water and carbon dioxide. In addition, the limestone has been destroyed and the stuctural integrity of the well compromised. Furthermore, carbon storage of this kind is often linked to enhanced oil recovery, promoting the consumption of more oil.