Friday, December 13, 2013

COUGAR IN MIRAMICHI - Real or Hoax

This photo showed up on Facebook today. Reportedly taken in Miramichi, the sighting has not been validated at yet. Indeed some folks have suggested that it is a stuffed cougar. What do you think?


Friday, July 12, 2013


POSTER: Drawings of Campobello Island – Harper’s Weekly late 1800s







Full-sized poster of fascinating drawings of Campobello Island showing Head Harbour, the huge fishing fleet, The Friar, A General view from Lubec and the fabulous East Quoddy Lighthouse. Artist Harry Fenn. Perfect for your den, office or cottage. Late 1800s

For pickup or shipping, packaging tube and handling extra @ $10.00.





Tuesday, June 4, 2013

NUCLEAR: Vermont Yankee – Another Day Another Court Hearing

English: The Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant.
English: The Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Conservation Law Foundation - Posted: 03 Jun 2013 08:43 AM PDT

On June 4, Judge Reiss of the Federal District Court in Burlington, Vermont will take up the latest lawsuit from Vermont Yankee's owners. Once again, Entergy, the owner and operator of Vermont's tired old nuclear plant, is asking a federal court to give it a free pass.
Entergy wants to stop Vermont regulators from having any say over its operations.
This latest skirmish involves the building of a back-up diesel generator. Entergy claims the Nuclear Regulatory Commission requires the generator and that Vermont is getting in its way. It needs the Federal Court to stop any Vermont review of the proposal.
Hold on. Vermont's regulators already issued a proposal that would approve the generator. The only deadline is one that is self-imposed by Entergy. The current schedule allows a final decision even before Entergy's self-proclaimed "deadline."
So what's this really about? Entergy's world view seems to suggest that the less oversight it has the better. But that's not good for Vermont. The federal court should see through Entergy's antics and allow the Vermont proceedings to continue.

You can read Entergy's Complaint here and the State's reply here.

LNG - NS Wants US Gas for LNG Export, Reversing M&NE Pipeline

English: Boston, Mass. (Sept. 8, 2006) - A Coa...
Boston, Mass. (Sept. 8, 2006) - A Coast Guard 25-foot response boat is flanked by two tugs as the Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) tanker Berge Boston is moored to the pier at an LNG facility in Boston. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Luke Pinneo (RELEASED) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Friday, May 31, 2013

LNG - St. Andrews-by-the-sea continues to oppose LNG development in Passamaquoddy Bay.

English: The Algonquin hotel, St. Andrews, New...
English: The Algonquin hotel, St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
May 15, 2013
Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary
Federal Regulatory Commission
888 First Street NE Room 1A
Washington, DC 20426

Dear Ms. Bose:
Re: Downcast LNG CP07-52-000. CP07-53-000. CP07-53-001

The Council of the Town of Saint Andrews, New Brunswick would like to submit this letter to reiterate our concerns and opposition to the establishment of a Liquefied Natural Gas plant as proposed by Down East LNG at Robbinston, Maine.

Figure 25 of the Marine Transit Route M50, international breech scenario, clearly
indicates that much of the Town of Saint Andrews would be affected, should a natural
gas spill or fire occur. None of our emergency planning has included such a scenario.
The medical, fire and policing services required to properly address the explosion risk is
beyond Town financial capacities.

Since our last submissions to your agency in 2009, significant financial resources have
been made to our tourism and infrastructure. To accommodate our developing cruise
ship initiatives, $900,000 (CAD) was invested in the Town Market Wharf. We had two
large cruise ships and several smaller ships use the wharf in 2012 and expect that this
initiative will be successful in the continuing years. The exclusion zones and transit
schedules proposed by the LNG traffic would affect our cruise ship plans. The Town
wharf also supports a multimillion dollar aquaculture industry. Again exclusion zones
and transit schedules would impact that industry. Our signature hotel, the Algonquin is
nearing a $30,000,000 renovation in a joint venture by Marriott Hotels, New Castle
Properties and the Province of New Brunswick. The hotel is the cornerstone of Saint
Andrews tourism and is establishing a worldwide marketing program through the
Marriott Hotel Autograph designation. The development of the Downcast LNG is seen
as a significant roadblock to the viability of the Algonquin Hotel initiative and the
negative economic impacts of the LNG terminal to the hotel is seen as dramatic.

It is impossible to market a vacation in an identified risk zone. The Huntsman Marine
Science Centre has just completed a $4,000,000 construction of a world class marine
aquarium. It sits exactly opposite the proposed site for the Downcast Project and in the
high risk international breach scenario. The iinpacts to its viability are as significant as
those of the Algonquin Hotel.

[With] all of the current usage of the bay, it is impossible to add the proposed tanker
traffic and carry on with the vital economic activity of this area. No scheduling can solve
this problem; many users have to use the waterway when the conditions are appropriate
for their needs.

The government of New Brunswick and the State of Maine have worked together on the
"Two Nation Vacation" marketing initiatives in the last several years. This collaboration
works to stimulate tourism on both sides of the border. The Downcast LNG facility is
seen as a threat to this tourism strategy.

We wish to bring these new investments to our tourism and infrastructure facilities to
your attention. The Council of the Town of Saint Andrews continues to strongly oppose
the development of an LNG terminal in Robbinston, Maine. The Downeast LNG project
would put the viability of our tourism and commercial economy at risk.

Stan Choptiany
Mayor, Town of Saint Andrews