 |
| Photo, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All Rights Reserved 2012 |
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Looking back along the Bow River - Season 2011
Friday, June 22, 2012
Today along the Bow River - June 2012
 |
| Mid-day launch from McKinnon Flats today. Photo, Copyright © Bow River Shuttles All Rights Reserved 2012 |
Friday June 22 2012 at 8:00 pm
The Bow River in Calgary has been steady over the past 72 hours.
A High Streamflow Advisory remains in effect for the Bow River upstream of and including the Town of Canmore
Bow River at Banff: 190 cms
Bow River at Calgary: 290 cms
Elbow River below Glenmore dam: 20 cms
Fish Creek: 3 cms
Highwood River near the mouth: 62 cms
Total Bow River flow below Highwood: 375 cms
Wet Weekend Weather
An upper level low off the west coast will pump relatively warm, but very moist air into Southern Alberta on the weekend. The heaviest rainfall will happen in the foothills and mountains of Alberta, and in BC. Calgary will be on the eastern edge of the rainfall, so we'll get less rain in the city, and it will be intermittent. Our best chances of showers are Friday night, early Saturday morning, Saturday evening, and Sunday afternoon. We could get relatively heavy rain Saturday night and early Sunday morning. Thunderstorms are possible Sunday afternoon.
After all that, it will be warmer and drier on Monday.
CTV Calgary Weather: David Spence - Updated: Fri Jun. 22 2012 18:27:07
The Greek Festival (Calgary) - June 22-24
The Greek Festival is an opportunity to share the Hellenic culture with all Calgarians, while enjoying music, dance wine and food.
It’s about coming together as friends, having a good time, and being a community.
And the Hellenic community wants to say thanks to Calgarians for their support; "Efharisto" (thank you).
TUC Fights for Fish Habitat
From TUC:
Trout Unlimited Canada works hard to protect fish habitat. We strongly believe that we should have the right to appear before administrative tribunals that deal with water or fish habitat and speak on behalf of our members.
When we have tried to do that in the past we have been denied what is legally called "standing" because we can't show the organization or its members are "directly affected" by what is being done. We believe that under Canadian law there should be something called "public interest standing" when a conservation group, with no self-interest, tries to speak up with only the goal of looking out for the resource.
Today, we have teamed up with the Alberta Wilderness Association and Water Matters and filed a court application to review a decision of the Alberta Environmental Appeals Board denying all three organizations standing to participate in a water license case in southern Alberta.
Please click here to view a link to a blog explaining some of the details of the case.
If anyone would like further information, please call Jeff Surtees at the Calgary TUC office. (1-800-909-6040) or via email me at jsurtees@tucanada.org
Calgary Women Fly Fishers - Windup BBQ
 |
| All photos, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All Rights Reserved 2012 |
There was a very good turn out for the BBQ last night. This event was part of the last club meeting before the summer break.
"Thank you" to everyone who had a hand in putting on this fun social event! It was good to meet the three brand new club members who sat at our table, and to visit with some of the longer term members.
Looking back along the Bow River - Season 2011
 |
| Photo, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All Rights Reserved 2012 |
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Today along the Bow River - June 2012
 |
| Mid-day on the Bow River today. Nice to see a few anglers out over the past few days. Photo, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All Rights Reserved 2012 |
Thursday June 21 2012 at 8:00 pm
The Bow River in Calgary has been steady over the past 48 hours.
A High Streamflow Advisory remains in effect for the Bow River upstream of and including the Town of Canmore
Bow River at Banff: 181 cms
Bow River at Calgary: 287 cms
Elbow River below Glenmore dam: 35 cms
Fish Creek: 3 cms
Highwood River near the mouth: 68 cms
Total Bow River flow below Highwood: 393 cms
Warm Friday, Wet Weekend
An upper level low in the Pacific is pumping warm air from the south into Alberta. Temperatures reached 22 degrees in Calgary on Thursday, and will likely do the same Friday. The low will help spread unsettled weather into southern Alberta from Saturday until Tuesday. Temperatures will continue to peak in the high teens and low 20s. However, it will be much cooler aloft, and that will generate the instability necessary for thundestorms. Those storms may pop Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.
CTV Calgary Weather: David Spence - Updated: Thu Jun. 21 2012 18:32:25
Rio +20: News
 |
A pig eats from a trash-ridden creek that runs towards the conference centre where the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, or Rio+20, takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 20. Photo, Victor R. Caivano/AP |
Rio de Janeiro: Pollution rife in city hosting UN sustainability conference
Juliana Barbassa
Associated Press
The Star
Wed Jun 20 2012
RIO DE JANEIRO—The throngs streaming into Rio for a sustainable development conference may be dreaming of white-sand beaches and clear, blue waters, but what they are first likely to notice as they leave the airport is not the salty tang of ocean in the breeze, but the stench of raw sewage.
That's because the airport sits by a bay that absorbs about 1.2 billion litres of raw waste water a day: 480 Olympic swimming pools worth of filth.
As they head into the city, they will note soda bottles bobbing on the water and the colourful detritus that wreathes the shore: discarded television sets, couches and broken toys snarled in plastic. They will likely get caught in a traffic jam, peering out at the acrid haze of diesel fumes and exhaust from the commercial port that lingers over the city.
The United Nations Environment Program warned this month that the planet's environmental systems “are being pushed towards their biophysical limits,” and for the 50,000 visitors from 190 countries streaming in for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, the welcome here is a rank reminder of just how hard it will be to balance economic growth and environmental protection elsewhere across the globe.
Rio+20 Declaration Is a Disaster for the Planet
Friends of the Earth International
EcoWatch
June 20 2012
The deal on the table at the Rio+20 Summit does nothing to address the environmental and social crises that the world is facing—it simply allows multinational corporations to continue exploiting people and the planet without restraint, according to Friends of the Earth International.
“Politicians are spinning this outrageous deal as a victory but in fact it is nothing less than a disaster for the planet. This is a hollow deal and a gift to corporate polluters that hold UN decision-making hostage to further their economic interests,” said Nnimmo Bassey, chair of Friends of the Earth International.
Multinational corporations made massive lobbying efforts in the past twenty years to ensure that the UN serves their own interests rather than promoting solutions that benefit the people, such as economic justice, climate justice and food sovereignty.
“The Rio+20 Summit obviously ignored the demands of the 50,000 people marching today from the alternative Peoples’ Summit in Rio. Corporate interests prevailed. The deal even allows countries to sell out nature to multinational corporations while it does not include any measures to hold corporations accountable for their negative impacts,” said Lucia Ortiz, economic justice international program coordinator for Friends of the Earth International.
Multinational Corporations Continue to Pull the Strings at Rio+20
By Andy Rowell
Oil Change International
EcoWatch
June 19 2012
If you open a copy of the Financial Times this morning, you will see a full page advert from the “Friends of Rio+20” with a message to the delegates at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development.
These “friends” say they are an assortment of big business, scientific and civil society leaders, but a quick glimpse down the list reveals more big business than anything else.
The list includes the likes of the Nestle, Coca-Cola, Anglo American and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).
To an unsuspecting public, it looks like big business cares about the planet and is demanding action. To many seasoned environmental campaigners, it looks like the latest in a long line of greenwashing exercises by multinationals to con the public into thinking they care.
It was twenty years ago, on the eve of the first Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, that Greenpeace published a ground-breaking report, entitled The Greenpeace book of Greenwash. It was written by Greenpeace campaigner Kenny Bruno.
It warned that in 1992, Greenwash was going “global through the participation of transnational companies (TNCs)” at the Earth Summit. It went on to warn that: “Despite their new rhetoric, TNCs are not saviours of the environment or the world’s poor, but remain the primary creators and peddlers of dirty, dangerous and unsustainable technologies.”
Rio +20: Based on the news coming out of Rio +20, it would appear that the optimistic objectives that were spelled out in this video might not be met. Interesting and unique video. Unfortunate outcome.
Third Alberta Oil Spill in One Month—Totaling 26,450 Barrels
 |
| Oil coats a fish killed by a recent pipeline rupture in northwest Alberta (photo: Mike Hudema) |
Third Alberta Oil Spill in One Month—Totaling 26,450 Barrels
EcoWatch
June 20 2012
To borrow a popular hockey term, Canada has scored a hat trick of the worst kind: Three major oil spills in just over one month.
The culprit this time around is Enbridge, the Calgary, Alberta-based operator of the world’s longest crude oil and liquids pipeline system, situated in Canada and the U.S. On June 19 the company confirmed that about 1,450 barrels (230,000 litres) of crude oil spilled from a pumping station onto farmland near Elk Point, Alberta, according to The Globe and Mail. Fortunately, this spill managed to occur in an area devoid of waterways.
Others haven’t been so lucky.
On June 7, Albertans living downstream from the Red Deer River suffered a scare when a pipeline owned by Plains Midstream Canada ruptured, spewing around 3,000 barrels of oil and posing a severe risk to the drinking water supply of 100,000 people, according to CBC News—Calgary. This spill began beneath Jackson Creek, a tributary of the Red Deer River, ending in Gleniffer Lake and reservoir where the majority of clean-up efforts and monitoring continue to take place.
According to Canada.com, the “province is still advising people not to draw water directly from the river or lake, and it’s telling people not to swim or fish in the lake, either.”
Topping them all is Pace Oil and Gas Ltd., which spilled an estimated 22,000 barrels of oil mixed with water near Rainbow Lake, in the northwestern corner of Alberta, according to Bloomberg.
Looking back along the Bow River - Season 2011
 |
| Photo, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All Rights Reserved 2012 |
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Today along the Bow River - June 2012
 |
| Ready... |
 |
| Set... |
 |
| Go!! |
Departing for what was probably a fairly fast float on the Bow River this afternoon.
Wednesday June 20 2012 at 8:00 pm
The Bow River in Calgary has been steady over the past 24 hours.
A High Streamflow Advisory remains in effect for the Bow River upstream of and including the Town of Canmore
The tributaries increased marginally.
Bow River at Banff: 181 cms
Bow River at Calgary: 286 cms
Elbow River below Glenmore dam: 30 cms
Fish Creek: 4 cms
Highwood River near the mouth: 72 cms
Total Bow River flow below Highwood: 392 cms
Summer begins, Sushine returns
A sunny, pleasant day is expected for Thursday, albeit with a brisk afternoon wind and a few afternoon clouds. Temperatures will climb into the low twenties on Thursday, but it won't last long. Wetter weather comes back with showers Friday afternoon, and rain on the weekend. There appears to be a good chance of thunderstorms Sunday.
CTV Calgary Weather: David Spence - Updated: Wed Jun. 20 2012 18:04:23
Rio +20 (United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development)
What kind of future do you want?
The Rio+20 sustainable development conference and hundreds of related events are now happening (June 20-22) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Rio+20 is an unprecedented opportunity to build the future we want.
"Rio+20 offers an opportunity for our mutually interdependent world to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable development. It will assess progress made and address implementation gaps and emerging challenges. It will do so in the context of two intertwined themes: "a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication" and "the institutional framework for sustainable development". The EU sees Rio+20 as the start of a global transition to a green economy as a path to realizing the goals of global food security and poverty eradication." - European Union @ United Nations
World Youth Fly Fishing Championship - France 2012 (July 8-14)
 |
| Click on poster for larger image |
The 2012 Canadian Youth Team roster has been announced for France.
Colin Huff (Captain), Quebec
Kyle Snarr, Calgary
Bradley Keenan, Quebec
Stephen Snyder, Quebec
Jason Gerlempe, British Colombia
Arthur Olesiak, British Colombia
These young men will be departing for Lezare, France at the beginning of July to compete on the International stage. Updates will be done frequently as we approach competition.
Follow the team via these links:
Enbridge Elk Point Spill Pumps About 230,000 Litres Of Heavy Crude In Alberta
 |
A child is pushed in a stroller past a mock oil spill outside the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline office in downtown Vancouver on Wednesday, June 13, 2012. Crews continue to mop up an oil spill in northern Alberta. Photograph by: Jonathan Hayward , Canadian Press |
Enbridge Elk Point Spill Pumps About 230,000 Litres Of Heavy Crude In Alberta
Huffington Post
By The Canadian Press
June 19 2012
ELK POINT, Alta. - There's been another oil spill in Alberta, this time northeast of Edmonton.
The Energy Resources Conservation Board says the leak of heavy crude oil happened Monday at a pumping station on Enbridge Inc.’s (TSX:ENB) Athabasca pipeline about 24 kilometres southeast of Elk Point.
Enbridge estimates about 230,000 litres has leaked, but the ERCB's Darin Barter said Tuesday that amount hasn't been confirmed.
"It's a significant size spill," said Barter. "Any amount of crude oil out of a pipeline is significant to us. Obviously we've had a number of pipeline incidents in the past short while and we're monitoring cleanup on them and we have a number of investigations underway."
Barter said the pumping station — a 12-year-old facility which is in the middle of a field — has been isolated. He also said the oil has not spilled into any waterways, nor were there any evacuations or injuries due to the leak.
"There's absolutely no waterways, there's no water, there's no standing water, it's on dry land," he said. "The company is actually on the scene and they're cleaning up the spill now. We''ll remain there for as long as we need to be until our comfort is achieved in cleanup operations."
Looking back along the Bow River - Season 2011
 |
| Photo, Copyright © Bow River Shuttles All Rights Reserved 2012 |
Can you name the Bow River boat launch that includes this parking lot? :)
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Today along the Bow River - June 2012
 |
| A pair of Mallard ducks keep a lookout over the continued high, fast and brown water of the Bow River. Photo, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All Rights Reserved 2012 |
Tuesday June 19 2012 at 8:00 pm
The Bow River in Calgary increased 30 cms over the past 24 hours.
A High Streamflow Advisory remains in effect for the Bow River upstream of and including the Town of Canmore
The tributaries increased marginally.
Bow River at Calgary: 282 cms
Elbow River below Glenmore dam: 41 cms
Fish Creek: 4 cms
Highwood River near the mouth: 74 cms
Total Bow River flow below Highwood: 401 cms
Gradual Warming. Becoming Sunnier. Sometime.
As the sky clears out Tuesday night, we can look forward to somewhat drier and sunnier conditions Wednesday. Nonetheless, there is still a good chance of showers in the afternoon for one more day. Thursday and Friday will be drier, and temperatures will rise to the 20s. If someone asked "How's the weekend looking?", I'd have to answer honestly - I don't know. Current forecast models are indicating rain or showers both Saturday and Sunday. However, if the upper ridge and omega block that lead to our sunshine Thursday and Friday remain strong, the warm sunny weather could very well continue into the weekend.
CTV Calgary Weather: David Spence - Updated: Tue Jun. 19 2012 18:51:41
Call Jeff Surtees CEO Trout Unlimited Canada
"I would like to hear from TUC members about how you are participating in the important debate about the importance of Canadian fisheries. Andrew Coyne says we shouldn't be cynical. Is he right? What more can we do? What are you doing? Call me and let me know."
Jeff Surtees - CEO
1-800-909-6040
 |
The Opposition pushback over Bill C-38 — driven in part by the Green Party caucus of one, Elizabeth May — is about far more than political partisanship. It's about whether Parliament can prevent being pushed into complete irrelevance by a government which abuses its power, writes Andrew Coyne. |
The C-38 debate is a last-ditch effort to save democracy's soul
By Andrew Coyne,
Postmedia News
June 13, 2012
The House of Commons was to begin voting Wednesday night on several hundred amendments to Bill C-38, the 425-page monster known as the omnibus budget implementation bill. The voting was expected to go on all night and all day Thursday.
Viewed one way, the whole thing is quite silly. Given the government's majority, none of the amendments is likely to pass, nor is the bill itself in any danger of defeat. Viewed another way, however, this is an important moment. For the first time since the last election, the opposition is putting up a serious fight against the abuses this government has visited upon Parliament: not only the omnibus bill — which repeals, amends or introduces more than 60 different pieces of legislation — but the repeated, almost routine curtailing of debate by means of "time allocation"; the failures of oversight, misstating of costs, and abdication of responsibility in the F-35 purchase; and the refusal to provide basic information on spending to Parliament or the Parliamentary Budget Officer — to say nothing of the stonewalling, prorogations and other indignities of the minority years.
Looking back along the Bow River - Season 2011
 |
| Photo, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All Rights Reserved 2012 |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)