Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
ramming of illegal ships. In 1979, the Sea Shepherd located and rammed
the pirate whaler Sierra at sea. This then led to the arrest of the crews of
two other pirate whalers in South Africa. The next year the Sea Shepherd
was involved in the sinking of two illegal Spanish whaling ships that had
flagrantly exceeded whale quotas. In 1986 the Sea Shepherd was impli-
cated in sinking two Icelandic whalers in the harbor at Reykjavik. Captain
Watson has been arrested on a number of occasions but never convicted
of a crime. The society works to defend fur seals in Canada, Norway, and
South Africa, turtles, sharks, and sea cucumbers in the Galápagos Islands,
and dolphins off Japan.
Industry has interests that often conflict with the environmental groups.
The Canadian Electricity Association, founded in 1891, represents the elec-
tric utilities, which burn a lot of coal. While pledging to pollute as little as
possible, the association urges efficiency, flexibility, and market-based solu-
tions. Coal Association members include producers, coal-using utilities,
railroads, and suppliers. The Mining Association covers minerals other
than coal for companies engaged in exploration, mining, smelting, and
refining. The association pledges to work with the government to develop
effective, efficient, and equitable measures to protect the environment
based on sound science. Moreover, it promises to reclaim mines accord-
ing to site-specific criteria in a planned and timely manner. The Forestry
Association mixes industry and a few members from the environmental
side. It advocates sustainable development and wise use. The Chemical
Producers Association represents more than 65 manufacturers across
the country, which collectively produce more than 90% of all chemicals.
It actively lobbies parliament.
Issues: In 1971 Robert Bourassa, the premier of Quebec, announced
the gigantic James Bay hydroelectric project at a provincial Liberal Party
conference. Its purpose was to develop the Quebec economy, which had
remained stagnant while Ontario and the West were prospering. Between
1944 and 1963 the provincial government had taken over private utilities
to form Hydro-Quebec, with the goal of spurring industrial development.
The project tied into the government's desire to strengthen the French
culture and language. Collectively, the changes in Quebec of modern-
ization and assertion had earned the sobriquet of the Quiet Revolution.
The negative features of the early 1960s were a series of kidnappings and
bombings by extreme Quebec nationalists.
The project involved damming eight rivers draining into James Bay,
at a cost of US $20 billion. It was to generate 16,000 megawatts, submerge
Search WWH ::




Custom Search