Latest news with #JoeVipond

Calgary Herald

Calgary climate protestors call carbon capture 'pipe dream'

For Dr. Joe Vipond, climate change isn't just an environmental concern; it's a health hazard. Article content He believes, as past president of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, those in medicine can help translate tangible impacts to Canadians. Article content Article content 'You can see right now in the parts of the country that are burning, how much wildfire smoke — or even the displacement of people from their homes, is a significant health issue, ' Vipond said. Article content Article content 'We have that ability as physicians in interpreting the climate issue in a way that Canadians can understand how it impacts them.' Article content Article content He said that tangible understanding was a great boon in the effort to phase out coal usage in Alberta. Now, he wants to instill a different tangible understanding into Canadians; tax dollar investments losing money. Article content Protestors gathered at the steps of the Harry Hays federal government building in downtown Calgary. They had begun setting up in the buildings entryway courtyard, before security from the building moved them down to the city-owned sidewalk. Article content Despite chants by the crowd of 'hey-ho, pipelines have got to go,' Vipond says that the they were not there to say they should not be built, only that 'there shouldn't be public money going into pipelines.' Article content Article content Article content Pipelines have been a hot-topic at both federal and provincial levels of government. Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre — recently restored to a seat in the house of commons — called for two pipelines to be under construction by the one-year anniversary of Prime Minister Mark Carney taking office. Article content The governments of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario recently announced a search looking for companies to conduct a feasibility study into a possible pipeline from Alberta to Ontario. Article content Vipond says he's worried that, if funded by tax dollars, a pipeline won't payback its initial investments. Article content 'China will never burn as much oil as it burned last year,' Vipond said. Article content 'At a time where building a pipeline is a a risky endeavor, that risk should be taken on by private capital,' Vipond said. Article content The International Energy Agency has previously confirmed a plateau in Chinese oil fuel demand. However, just last week the organization said that global oil demand will increase by about 700,000 barrels per day this year and in 2026.