A popular TV science personality put Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the spot today to explain Canada’s approval of the Kinder Morgan pipeline, which if built will increase the flow of oil from Alberta to the Pacific coast.

American scientist Bill Nye asked Trudeau to explain the Kinder Morgan decision in front of university students, saying later that he was surprised no one in the audience asked about pipelines.

Nye, best known as the host of the 1990s PBS show "Bill Nye the Science Guy," cited a study by a group called The Solutions Project that concluded Canada could live entirely without fossil fuels if it acted to fully embrace renewable energy sources.

Trudeau said he agrees there is tremendous potential in Canada to develop renewal power from wind, solar, geothermal and as-yet-unimagined sources.

But he added that, in the meantime, Canada still needs to get its fossil fuels to market in the safest way possible — and doing so requires that pipelines be built.

Nye said he was encouraged by respected environmental scientists to speak out against the Kinder Morgan pipeline while with Trudeau, which he didn't do on stage.

But the mechanical engineer later made clear to reporters he believes Alberta's oilsands are an inefficient source of energy.

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Surprisingly the PM is not wearing a lab coat or safety glasses, perhaps costumes are on hold after his Indian tour. Not that science plays much of a role in the Kinder Morgan issue at the federal level. It appears to be driven by politics which in turn is driven by the market, which in turn is driven by vested interests, but not necessarily the interests of those of which this pipeline will directly effect in the short term, but it promises to effect us all in the long term when his mandate has long since expired. Science simply does not support his position. I respectfully suggest that the PM replies to Dr Suzuki's emails, and engage in dialogue with the scientific community, but first he'll need to grow a pair in a petri dish.

So well said!!!

SCIENCE plays NO part in decisions made by this government, NRCAN, and the NEB. It's all politics, lining pockets (greed), under the guise of the "National Interest".

Too bad Nye wasn't direct enough asking the question on stage, with an audience. Somebody needs the cojones to call him on it. Next election maybe?

SCIENCE plays NO part in decisions made by this government, NRCAN, and the NEB. It's all politics, lining pockets (greed), under the guise of the "National Interest".

Too bad Nye wasn't direct enough asking the question on stage, with an audience. Somebody needs the cojones to call him on it. Next election maybe?

SCIENCE plays NO part in decisions made by this government, NRCAN, and the NEB. It's all politics, lining pockets (greed), under the guise of the "National Interest".

Too bad Nye wasn't direct enough asking the question on stage, with an audience. Somebody needs the cojones to call him on it. Next election maybe?

SCIENCE plays NO part in decisions made by this government, NRCAN, and the NEB. It's all politics, lining pockets (greed), under the guise of the "National Interest".

Too bad Nye wasn't direct enough asking the question on stage, with an audience. Somebody needs the cojones to call him on it. Next election maybe?

While it's nice to prod our PM on the issue of pipelines, the use of a cattle prod might have more effect. The PM refuses to listen to the science and is captive to the welfare oil mafia, as was the previous Harper gang. How on earth does he think building pipelines to the coast is going to help us reduce emissions and meet our climate change targets, agreed to in Paris, in 2015. The two are mutually incompatible. Add to that the unfunded liability of leaking tailings ponds and 155,000 orphan and abandoned oil wells, lying dormant and leaking in Alberta. How does one reconcile this environmental catastrophe with adding more pipelines? One can only wonder. The bill for cleanup of tailings ponds and the abandoned wells is close to $50 Billion and rising. There is only about $2.5 Billion in the Orphan Well fund...guess who gets to foot the rest of the bill?? Taxpayers. We've been conned long enough. The science proves this.

I heard reported by CBC that Bill Nye said he had to agree with Trudeau's rationale......???

Let us agree that Canada needs the revenue now from Alberta's tar sands to keep our economy going: think of Have and Have-Not provinces. There are many of the latter. If Alberta's tar sands were refined to the point where it resembles a traditional crude, I suspect BC and the other critics (of whom I am one) would be less frightened by the prospect of a spill, either on land or at sea in a tanker bound for China. Alberta has finally seen that as desirable, but it's too late. What needs to be understood, however, is that it makes no sense to start building a pipeline now for use thirty or forty years hence, by which tIme, the oil and gas, as well the coal must stay in the ground. Trudeau and Notley fail to accept this - but they must eventually!

THE GOOD NEWS…
Candidate Trudeau thought Trans Mountain Expansion(TMX)was an obvious choice… ….they have been in business for over 50 years .They’re planning to twin an existing pipeline….Why all the fuss ??
The 7 fold increase of tankers in our waters concerned him naught! He’d see that our waters were protected !!
That block of Liberal voters in the East must not be forgotten thus the ‘heaven sent’ Energy East was killed !…Equally shaky was his knee jerk decision to kill the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project…on the pretext of concern for the Great Bear Rain Forest, while at the same time showing no concern about southern BC threatened waters and marine life .
The PM’s team has jusrt put together a document that includes rules that would allow the ‘modernized NEB’ too scientifically assess the next scientifically supported international pipeline/tanker proposal (see Omnibus Bill C-69).
Recall that the PM offered to mediate this pipeline stalemate .With Bill C-69 in hand we could soon have more community permitted export plan.

Carl Shalansky, P. Eng. (Retired)
Blog: https://redfern3359.wordpress.com/
(604) 986-4657

Thirty oil Refinery's shut down in Canada in the last thirty years. ....?

Bill Nye A Talking head for.Oil Co,s Talking To a Dim Wit .Talking Head

You will have to excuse us Mr. Nye. Trudeau is our national liability, sort of like doggy dung on your favorite pair of shoes.