Latest news with #Suncor
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Less signaling, more doing is needed on the environment in Denver
A pair of e-scooters sit on a street in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Denver in June 2025. (Quentin Young/Colorado Newsline) This year, Denver again earned the ignominious distinction as the sixth worst city in the country for certain air pollutants. Poor air quality is a public health threat, leading to respiratory symptoms and negative long-term health outcomes — coughing, asthma attacks, cardiovascular diseases, etc. As the Trump administration proudly rolls back federal regulations intended to protect people from air pollution and climate change, it's imperative that local governments pass policies to fill the void. However, thus far in 2025, Denver's City Council has done more to signal its disapproval of poor air quality than actually tackle it. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Denver's 13-member council made headlines at the start of May when it unanimously rejected a $25 million contract with Suncor Energy's Commerce City oil refinery to purchase asphalt. The council cited concerns of environmental justice and persistent regulatory violations committed by Suncor. While divestment from negligent or unethical businesses can be a powerful tool to drive change, the practice must be undertaken strategically. In this case, Denver is taking a stance against Suncor by paying an additional $300,000 to an oil refinery with a similarly long rap sheet of regulatory violations — including some that led to explosions and fires. Because Denver's asphalt will now come from Cenovus Energy in Wisconsin, it must be transported by rail to Colorado, which creates additional environmental risk. Twenty-five percent of the nation's hazardous material accidents are caused by railroad derailments. For example, in 2023, a train spilled 500,000 pounds of asphalt into the Yellowstone River damaging hundreds of miles of natural habitat. And finally, asphalt is a byproduct of the oil refining process, and will be produced regardless of whether or not the city buys it. The Denver council's symbolic support of environmental justice and clean air is well-intentioned, but not strategic. A more effective means of opposing Suncor would be to reduce demand for gasoline — perhaps by promoting public transit or other modes of transportation, which would have the added benefit of reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Just weeks after the Denver City Council's symbolic move against Suncor, the council passed an ordinance to crack down on micromobility. Since Denver signed an exclusive contract with Lime and Lyft in 2020, ridership of shared electric scooters and bikes has increased steadily. On average, Denverites take 11,100 micromobility rides every day, many of which replace car trips. Considering the emission reduction potential of micromobility, Denver's council should focus on increasing adoption while balancing the needs of pedestrians and other road users. Unfortunately, the new ordinance isn't balanced — it forces micromobility companies to mitigate 'sidewalk riding,' which is tantamount to making micromobility less safe and, therefore, less desirable. In 2024, 134 pedestrians and bicyclists were killed by cars in Denver — a 78% increase in fatalities since 2015. Although bike infrastructure is expanding, the city is still decades away from a truly connected, cycle-safe city. Going forward, Lime and Lyft must enforce Denver's law prohibiting sidewalk riding or face fines. A possible outcome is charging riders more if they ride on sidewalks. But in a city where sidewalk riding is sometimes the only safe option, that discourages safety. For many riders, this would create a lose-lose situation: Avoid the sidewalk even on busy, dangerous roads, or use sidewalks for safety and incur fines. Or, drive a car, instead. The new micromobility ordinance isn't all bad, though. It implements a much needed mechanism to reduce improperly parked scooters and bikes, which too often obstruct sidewalks for pedestrians and wheelchair users. The council should have stopped there — regulate parking, but don't dictate how riders should safely navigate our car-oriented landscape. The best way to encourage riders to avoid sidewalks is to build safe bike infrastructure. Contrary to its stated support of cleaner air, Denver's City Council has recently made moves to further entrench the city's car reliance by taking steps to widen Peña Boulevard. This Spring, in a 9-2 vote, the council approved a $15 million study to investigate widening Peña and assess other options to alleviate traffic congestion. One council member suggested that the study is a mere 'formality' unlikely to seriously consider alternatives to widening Peña. Transportation contributes significantly to the region's poor air quality and is the greatest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Colorado. Investing in road expansion would undermine the city's commitments to clean air, climate action, and a transit-oriented future. To retain a modicum of consistency, City Council should instead fund bus rapid transit, improvements to the Denver A-Line, greater security at Park-n-Rides along the A-line, or any number of options that would make public transit the most convenient method of traversing the city and getting to the airport. Considering Denver's record of poor air quality and the ongoing attacks on our nation's bedrock environmental protection laws, Denver's City Council should focus less on signaling support for clean air and environmental justice and more on substantive policies. Besides limiting the construction of new gas stations, the city has done nothing to improve Denver's air quality this year — the opposite, actually. Hopefully, the council reconsiders its priorities — before Peña is widened and micromobility ridership drops. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Smartest Commodity Stock to Buy With $1,400 Right Now
Written by Andrew Button at The Motley Fool Canada Are you looking for commodity stocks to invest a small sum – perhaps $1,400 – in? If so, the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) provides you with plenty of options to work with. Canada's economy is heavily resource based, having plenty of metals, oil, gas, and lumber companies. The biggest of them are usually publicly traded. The world consumes increasing amounts of resources with each passing year, and Canada has far more than it needs for its own purposes. So, TSX commodity stocks collectively have promise. In this article, I will explore one TSX commodity stock that is worth a buy today. Suncor Energy Inc (TSX:SU) is a Canadian energy company that is primarily involved in extracting, selling and refining crude oil. The diversified energy firm sells its own refined products at a network of gas stations called Petro-Canada. It is one of the biggest and most entrenched Canadian energy companies. When it comes to commodities, oil and gas are among the most reliable out there. With countless industry use cases (e.g., fuel, chemicals, asphalt etc.), oil has a steady source of demand outside of speculative activity. This makes it a generally more predictable market than that for other commodities whose speculative use cases make up a greater percentage of trading volume. There is some concern about oil someday becoming irrelevant and obsolete. These concerns are overblown for three reasons: The energy sources that will supposedly replace oil, such as nuclear and renewables, take a very long time to build out. This effectively removes such alternatives as a 'medium term' threat–though they'll likely negative impact demand over the very long term. Oil will probably always have some role as a backup fuel source (e.g., in generators) because renewables generally don't work unless the user has access to a working electric grid. Oil is the best known starting material for chemicals production and thus indispensable to industries like plastics and pharmaceuticals. While we will likely see some of oil's energy use replaced over the very long term, the commodity will probably always be used to some extent or another. This fact bodes well for Suncor's future prospects. In addition to selling a very valuable and indispensable commodity, Suncor operates other diversified business lines. These include refining, natural gas marketing, and gas stations. So, Suncor has some ability to remain profitable even in moderately weak oil markets. Suncor's profitability can be seen in its margins. In the trailing 12-month (TTM) period, it had a 59% gross margin, an 18% EBIT (operating income) margin, a 12% net margin, and a 16% free cash flow (FCF) margin. These are fairly high margins, suggesting that Suncor is a solidly profitable enterprise. Last but not least, Suncor Energy boasts a very cheap valuation. At today's prices, it trades at 9.4 times earnings, 1.3 times sales, and 1.4 times book. These multiples are low in the absolute sense, and also lower than those of the broader TSX. So, SU stock looks like a good value. The post The Smartest Commodity Stock to Buy With $1,400 Right Now appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada. Before you buy stock in Suncor Energy, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor Canada analyst team just identified what they believe are the Top Stocks for 2025 and Beyond for investors to buy now… and Suncor Energy wasn't one of them. The Top Stocks that made the cut could potentially produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider MercadoLibre, which we first recommended on January 8, 2014 ... if you invested $1,000 in the 'eBay of Latin America' at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $21,345.77!* Stock Advisor Canada provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month – one from Canada and one from the U.S. The Stock Advisor Canada service has outperformed the return of S&P/TSX Composite Index by 24 percentage points since 2013*. See the Top Stocks * Returns as of 4/21/25 More reading Made in Canada: 5 Homegrown Stocks Ready for the 'Buy Local' Revolution [PREMIUM PICKS] Market Volatility Toolkit Best Canadian Stocks to Buy in 2025 Beginner Investors: 4 Top Canadian Stocks to Buy for 2025 5 Years From Now, You'll Probably Wish You Grabbed These Stocks Subscribe to Motley Fool Canada on YouTube Fool contributor Andrew Button has positions in Suncor Energy. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 2025
National Observer
19-05-2025
- General
- National Observer
What a Zen master, a grieving elder, and a carbon bomb taught me about climate journalism
Have you ever stood on the edge of a tailings pond by an oil refinery? If you have, you've heard the boom of propane cannons as they explode to scare off wildlife. You've seen the more adventurous wildlife coated in toxins as they die. The first time I witnessed this was at something called "The Healing Walk," organized to bring people to the oil sands to experience them viscerally. This is when my consciousness about climate as a journalist truly awakened. I was trying to make sense of so many things at once. A white-haired Indigenous elder was breaking away from our group of 400, walking toward the edge of the tailings ponds. The scenery under a blue sky might have been beautiful – spacious, brushy pines, boreal forest cut to the ground. It's what Edward Burtynsky calls "A terrible beauty" – massive industrial complex rising out of glorious lands. The air smelled acrid. The back of my throat hurt. Between the cannon explosions, I heard a deep cry. I looked over and saw the elder raise her hands to the sky, sobbing. Her white hair caught the light as she wept. There was no comfort here. For me, something that had only been theoretical became visceral – her voice, the injured wildlife, the nearby Suncor plant belching fumes. I stood there stricken, listening and watching, and feeling my own heart break. Later at the Healing Walk, Bill McKibben told me as we stood by the Suncor Plant, "The oil sands are ground zero of climate change. A carbon bomb." I didn't quote Bill McKibben in my story. But that interview would become central to a powerful film I made with Bill Weaver for a crowdfunding campaign, "The Tar Sands Reporting Project," that raised $50,000 for us to do more reporting from Ft. McMurray. Myself, I had only just started thinking seriously about climate change. Bill's words have stayed with me through the years. That night, I wrote up the story in my hotel room and published it. My story never mentioned climate change. It showed the impacts of tar mining on people and animals. The story went viral. In a few weeks, I would drive to the Tsleil-Waututh lands in North Vancouver to speak with her — Amy George, the woman who had broken away from our group and wept at the edge of the tailings pond. We sat under the trees and talked for hours. She told me about her experience at residential school, the pain of that memory still raw beneath the surface of what we had witnessed together. She spoke about how learning about the Holocaust helped her begin to heal — how she saw parallels between her own suffering and what Jewish people had endured, and how that recognition gave her strength. It was a wonderful afternoon. I wrote a follow-up story about her life — her strength, her grief, her spiritual leadership as a residential school survivor, her pride as a mother, and grandmother. Two years later, I returned to Fort McMurray to cover Archbishop Desmond Tutu's visit to the region. I interviewed him as he stepped off a helicopter after doing a flyover of the oil sands hosted by Suncor. With the aerial perspective of the vast industrial landscape still fresh in his mind, Tutu declared with characteristic moral clarity, "The oil sands are emblematic of an era that must end." Yet even as he named them the product of "negligence and greed," he balanced his critique with compassion, emphasizing that "No one wants to see an end to industry. If you have industry that is responsible, they have to be commended and encouraged." This approach—holding both critique and invitation simultaneously—reflected the same complex conversations I'd heard about happening around family dinner tables across Canada. From Tutu, who passed away in 2021, I witnessed another powerful model of how to speak difficult truths while still creating space for dialogue. When I went home after these Fort McMurray trips, what stayed with me was the taste of chemicals, oil, and tar at the back of my throat. These visceral experiences taught me something profound about climate journalism – sometimes the most powerful stories don't need to say "climate" at all. Don't say "climate" Fast-forward to now when I have come to understand that my story's power without mentioning 'climate change' wasn't coincidental, but reflected a broader pattern in how people engage with this crisis. After witnessing how people responded to discussions about extreme weather, researchers working in Calgary told me very recently that they reached a striking conclusion: despite the fact that people they were interviewing had just suffered the impacts of extreme weather caused by global warming, victims shut down at the mention of climate. This reflects a growing trend. We've heard so many shocking things about climate change that the words "climate change" have become mundane and many people may want to shut them out. Not only many people. The U.S. government itself is leading in erasing all mention of "climate change" in official conversations. This has a chilling effect on the entire information system and will have many ripple effects. As I wrote in a recent note to readers, the U.S. government has been ordering agencies to completely erase all mention of the word "climate" from websites and communications and remove climate studies. But the climate story doesn't listen to political edicts. It continues to unfold, mercilessly, cruelly, in spite of politics. While political forces attempt to erase climate language from our discourse, the physical reality continues unabated, manifesting in increasingly devastating events. Just last week, Richard and Sue Nowell died tragically when wildfires tore through their home near Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba. The fire was described by police as having moved with "unprecedented speed" through the region. This news is wrenching, heartbreaking, but in an era where megafires devour thousands of acres, no longer shocking. And even though we now have a new group of climate deniers espousing that even the phrase "climate change" is "radical", weather doesn't care and will go on disrupting our lives until we get a handle on it. Call Me By My True Names This conflict — needing to communicate about a crisis while navigating resistance to its very name, needing to name something that powerful forces demand to remain unnamed — evokes a great deal of reflection in me. How do we navigate this in 2025? I'm reminded of Thich Nhat Hanh's insight into identity and naming in his poem Call Me By My True Names. In that powerful work, he offers a profound truth about interconnection: that we must recognize ourselves in all people and situations — even the uncomfortable ones. He was writing about his experiences during the Vietnam War, urging us to see that we are not separate from the suffering of others — even those we might view as adversaries. His words were born from a specific conflict, but in my opinion, they apply to all of them. That spirit — of seeing beyond sides, of listening deeply — stayed with me when I went to the oil sands region after the Healing Walk several more times to report on one of the most polarizing issues in Canada. As a journalist, I've always tried to understand as many perspectives as possible. I've made a practice of putting myself in other people's shoes. In the climate story, that's meant being just as interested in the perspective of an oil company executive as in that of an activist. Unfortunately, the oil executives have never been willing to speak with me. I still wish they would. When I was interviewing people in the oil sands region around 2013, many were eager to talk — and what they most often talked about was family. They told me about dinner tables where siblings faced each other across a divide — one working in the oil sands to support aging parents, the other an environmental activist fighting to stop fossil fuel expansion. And yet, the conversations didn't devolve into shouting or slogans. There was a deep recognition of each other's humanity, motivations, and the validity of their concerns. The oil worker understood the activist's fears for the future. The activist understood the worker's need for economic security. In some cases, they both wished the industry could rapidly shift to renewables — that clean energy like wind and sun could replace the paycheques that held families together. They faced each other across a divide — and then asked one another to pass the ketchup, laughed, and felt close again. I met a man who worked in the oil sands to make enough money to build his home in B.C. and fit it out with solar energy. His story embodied the very contradiction we face - using today's carbon economy to finance tomorrow's clean energy future. I was always moved by these stories of home - to me they told the story of Canada's challenge and its potential. I would have loved to have been at those tables myself and to have documented those conversations. As it was, I heard about them second-hand, but even then, I was struck by their warmth and depth and the sense of connection to people and place. These families were having the conversations our nation needed to have - holding space for complexity, for multiple truths, for the difficult tensions between present needs and future consequences. Let's return to where we began – that tailings pond in Fort McMurray. When I stood watching that elder weep, I didn't yet understand what would make my story resonate with hundreds of thousands of readers. I didn't understand how deep what I experienced that day would go, how it would become the catalytic story that led me to found CNO. Looking back, I can see all that. I also understand why it landed with so many people. It wasn't technical language about carbon emissions or climate models. It was the raw, human truth of what's happening to people on the ground – the sound of those cannons, the acrid smell that lingered in my throat for days afterward, the grief of that white-haired elder raising her hands to the sky. Dene Suline hereditary chief Francois Paulette captured this sentiment by saying at the Tutu conference, "The greatest sin that a man can do is to destroy Mother Earth." Perhaps our challenge is similar: to call this crisis by its true names – not just the scientific terminology, but the human experiences, the economic impacts, the community stories that make it real. The elder's tears, the taste of chemicals in my throat, the shattered roofs in Calgary – these too are the true names of climate change. Thich Nhat Hanh's advice to a journalist In my thirties, I lived in Paris and received an assignment from an American magazine to travel to Plum Village, the Zen retreat, to write a profile of Thich Nhat Hanh, the meditation centre's senior monk. I was privileged to spend two weeks at Plum Village and at the end to have tea with the Zen Buddhist teacher on the porch of his humble dwelling near Bordeaux. As he poured me tea, he spoke to me as a journalist about the power of stories. "Stories are like seeds," he said with his gentle smile. "When you tell a story, you plant a seed that can grow in another's heart. Plant a few good seeds." Though Thich Nhat Hanh passed away in 2022, his wisdom continues to guide my approach to storytelling. He understood that change doesn't happen all at once – it begins with a single story, a single seed, carefully tended. Perhaps that's our work today: planting seeds of understanding that can grow even in resistant soil. Finding stories and human experiences that can take root where abstract concepts cannot. By taking on the small task of planting a few good seeds, the larger task of solving massive global problems can be made manageable. Those seeds grow from experiences like that day at the tailings pond—visceral moments that connect us to the reality of our changing world into deeper reflections and concrete actions. The taste of chemicals in my throat from that day at the tailings pond has long since faded. But the lesson remains: Our most powerful stories aren't the ones that insist on their own importance, but those that allow others to truly see and feel our shared reality – stories that plant seeds that can grow into understanding. That's the work I'm committed to. Not because it is easy or because I've figured it all out, but because the people I've had the privilege to meet along the way in the years since I started my journey as a climate journalist and publisher have shown me it's possible. And in times like these, possibility is what we need to cultivate. That's going to mean planting a billion good seeds. That's going to mean saying "climate", even when the most powerful and scary forces in the world order us not to. That's going to mean remembering that the story we're working to tell is the story of ourselves, our home, our miraculous planet Earth. It's the story of our dangerous, remarkable species. Will we be dangerous or remarkable? How will our story end? It's always in the balance — we human beings, with our capacity for both brutality and brilliance, cowardice and courage. The story continues with each seed we choose to plant. We carry within us both destruction and possibility. The future depends on which we feed.
Calgary Herald
14-05-2025
- Business
- Calgary Herald
More than 1,000 people from across Canada gather to discuss Indigenous economic reconciliation
An equal partnership between industries and First Nations was the theme that emerged from an event hosting discussions on economic reconciliation for Indigenous people at the Grey Eagle Resort, which drew more than 1,000 people from across Canada. Article content Article content And the journey begins with promoting self-governance among Indigenous communities and educating Canadians about their history and how the legacy of colonization continues to impact them, said Rod Miller, CEO of Connect Partnerships, the event producer of Forward Summit West, the largest gathering in the country focused on economic reconciliation. Article content Article content Many companies and organizations, including Suncor and the City of Calgary, sent representatives to the event on Wednesday, which is now in its eighth year. Some set up stalls to help Indigenous people with networking. Article content Article content 'A variety of industries have come to participate here with one core belief, and that is we all play a role as Canadians in Indigenous economic prosperity and inclusion,' Miller said. Article content 'It's about fully engaging Indigenous people in the economics of their nation, and having them actively participate — not from the perspective of just signing an agreement and have an industry partner doing the work — but also from the perspective of governing those projects themselves as Indigenous people, from an Indigenous lens and through an Indigenous way.' Article content The event discussed several issues in industries, including agriculture, energy and artificial intelligence. Article content Article content Some bill such discussions as part of an important chapter in the relationship between Canada and Indigenous people, especially after having the latter exploited of its resources, stripped of its culture and excluded from decisions that have impacted their lives over the past century. Article content Turning a new page would require acknowledging these injustices and the resulting intergenerational trauma that keeps many trapped in poverty, said Adam North Peigan, president of the Legacy of Hope Foundation, a non-profit that specializes in educating the public about the residential school system. Article content 'We (haven't been) able to move the agenda forward to develop economic sustainability for our communities because of … the lateral violence, the homelessness and the addictions that exist in our communities,' said North Peigan.
CBS News
14-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Colorado Supreme Court rules Boulder can sue energy giants for climate disasters in state court
The Colorado Supreme Court has cleared the way for a high-profile lawsuit, years in the making, to move forward in state court. The suit, filed by the City of Boulder and Boulder County, goes after some of the biggest names in the energy sector: Exxon Mobil and Suncor. The suit claims those companies misled the public for decades about the impact of fossil fuels and should be held liable for damages associated with disasters like the Marshall Fire. "We feel it is very reasonable for them to then pay a share of the cost for selling these products they knew would cause the impacts that are now being caused," Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett said. "They profited from that for decades and continue to profit from that." While the State Supreme Court didn't weigh in on the merits of the case, it ruled 5-2 that the case deserves to be heard in Boulder District Court, finding the claims are not preempted by federal law. The Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center, home of the Colorado Supreme Court, is seen on Jan. 2, 2024 in Denver, Colorado. Chet Strange / Getty Images "The City of Boulder and Boulder County are experiencing the increased heat, increased drought, risk of wildfires, extreme rain events," Brockett said. "So, it makes absolute sense that this case would be heard in the district court of the area where the impacts are happening." Exxon Mobil and Suncor insist they haven't misled anyone. The causes of climate change, they say, are varied and have been widely understood for decades. They also claim climate change is a global phenomenon, and, as such, isn't subject to state law. Instead, they argue that regulation of interstate emissions, like interstate commerce, falls under federal jurisdiction. Justices Carlos Samour and Brian Boatwright agree. The Suncor refinery is seen in Commerce City, Colorado on March 30, 2023. RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post via Getty Images In his dissenting opinion, Samour said, in part, "permitting Boulder to proceed with its claims will interfere with both our federal government's regulation of interstate air pollution and our federal government's foreign policies regarding air pollution." Brocket insists they aren't trying to regulate the companies, but rather hold them accountable for their share of past and future damages. He says the court will decide the amount of those damages based on the companies' culpability. "We're really looking forward to moving to the next phase and discovery, and find out what they knew when they knew it," he said. "If we are successful in this effort, I think it's going to make a very strong statement to the country as a whole." Energy companies have managed to get many similar cases thrown out in other states, but Hawaii's Supreme Court allowed a similar lawsuit filed by the city of Honolulu to proceed in district court as well, and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review that decision in January. Exxon Mobil and Suncor have not said if they will appeal the Boulder case to the nation's highest court. The trial could start as early as next year and will almost certainly be litigated for several years.
