Pipeline protests have a long history in Canada

The aftershocks from Ottawa’s bombshell announcement that it was buying the Trans Mountain pipeline are spreading across the country. Today in The Conversation Canada, we’ve got two timely and insightful articles that look at the issue from different perspectives.

David Tindall of the University of British Columbia, writing about “environmental politics,” offers an analysis of the political consequences for the Trudeau government. He points out that, among other political risks, 18 Liberals MPs from British Columbia could face a tough time in next year’s elections.

Did you know that oil pipelines have existed in Canada since 1862? Sean Kheraj of York University gives us a brief history of pipelines in Canada and how the various protests around the projects have changed over the years from being very local to completely global.

Vijay Kolinjivadi of McGill University takes issue with some elements of popular science writer Steven Pinker’s new book Enlightenment Now, which claims that humankind is less violent now than ever before.

And finally… Eric Oliver of Dalhousie University has teamed up with four other researchers from around the world to do some important work on “marine heatwaves.” Changes in ocean temperatures are uneven and the number of marine heatwaves has spiked recently – a dangerous development for ocean ecosystems.

Regards,

Scott White

Editor

Today's Featured Articles

A protester holds a photo of an oil-soaked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a demonstration against the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion in Vancouver on May 29, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Justin Trudeau's risky gamble on the Trans Mountain pipeline

David Tindall, University of British Columbia

The Trudeau government's decision to buy the Trans Mountain pipeline from Kinder Morgan is incredibly risky. Here's why.

A aerial view of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain tank farm is pictured in Burnaby, B.C. The federal government is buying Trans Mountain and all of Kinder Morgan Canada’s core assets. Opposition to pipeline construction in Canada has transformed over the decades, shifting from being a local issue to one of global concerns. THE CANADIAN PRESS Jonathan Hayward

The complicated history of building pipelines in Canada

Sean Kheraj, York University, Canada

Canada has a long history of building energy pipelines against a backdrop of environmental uncertainty. Decades ago, the opposition came from local groups. Now it's a global issue.

In this file photo, cognitive scientist and psychologist Steven Pinker addresses the Origins Symposium at Arizona State University on April 6, 2009 in Tempe, AZ. Shutterstock

'Enlightenment Now' rationalizes the violence of empire

Vijay Kolinjivadi, McGill University

Steven Pinker's latest work disturbingly casts aside the violent exploits and mechanistic logic of Eurocentric "progress."

Marine heatwaves can kill off species and alter ecosystems. (Shutterstock)

Marine heatwaves are getting hotter, lasting longer and doing more damage

Eric Oliver, Dalhousie University; Alistair Hobday, CSIRO; Dan Smale, Marine Biological Association; Neil Holbrook, University of Tasmania; Thomas Wernberg, University of Western Australia

Marine heatwaves have had little attention until recently, but they're already having large effects.

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