In response to the blog by Shauna Theel regarding nuclear energy, I agree with her assessment about nuclear energy and the environmental impacts created.  Contrary to popular opinion, nuclear energy is the most environmental source of energy production as far as carbon emissions, proving the energy source is sustainable.  Nuclear power has also been responsible for less deaths in the past then coal and fossil fuel related forms of energy.  Also contrary to popular opinion, nuclear power has not been expanded due to economic, not environmental reasons.  With natural gas being extremely affordable, nuclear development has stalled recently due to the high costs of construction.  However, I believe that nuclear power is the future of energy production.  For one, nuclear is more sustainable then all other forms of energy because of its low environmental impact, and reliability.  Unlike hydro, wind, and solar power, nuclear power is a base load power source.  Shauna Theel mentions in her blog post that Nuclear costs are rising while the cost of other energy sources such as Wind and solar are decreasing.  While this is true, I believe countries should invest in nuclear generated power for the reasons i listed above.  In order for a country to have a strong economy, they need to be energy efficient.  While nuclear power is expensive, their is no questioning the reliability of the energy created.  Critics will state the risk of a nuclear fallout outweighs the positive of nuclear energy, but yet nuclear energy has been responsible for the least amounts of deaths out of all base load power sources.

Graph showing the low environmental impact of nuclear power

Limerick nuclear power plant

Source: http://mediamatters.org/research/2013/11/07/myths-and-facts-about-nuclear-power/196793

Media Source: http://mediamatters.org/research/2013/11/07/myths-and-facts-about-nuclear-power/196793, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limerick_Generating_Station

Just 11 years after filing for bankruptcy Air Canada reported its most successful quarter in history.  In the past Air Canada has struggled with pension problems, poor service, and a bad business model.  After filing for bankruptcy 11 years ago however, things have changed.  In Austin Perry’s blog Indigo Lives, Austin mentions how a business’s must adapt to changing customer preferences to survive.  This statement cannot be more true as shown by Air Canada.  The aviation market has changed from business oriented, to progressively leisure oriented.  What Air Canada has done to counter this changing market is modernize their fleet to be as fuel efficient as possible, and increased the number of seats on their aircrafts.  This has allowed them to make routes that were unsuccessful, profitable.  Air Canada also started up a low cost leisure airline, with the name Air Canada rouge.  Air Canada has in the past attracted mostly business related passengers, however, rouge is part of Air Canada’s plan to attract more leisure travellers.  Air Canada has transferred many of its mainline routes to rouge, because of the lower operating costs associated with the subsidiary.  Both flight attendants and pilots make lower wages on rouge.  The cost per passenger is less on rouge aircraft because Air Canada crams more seats onto the aircrafts.  The average Air Canada 767 300ER aircraft seats 211 passengers, while the rouge version of the 767 carries 280 passengers.  The consumer benefits from these changes because the airline will now be able to offer service to markets that would be unattainable in the old cost structure.  Some airlines have failed to adapt and have been hit hard such as Qantas and Alitalia, who are both struggling in the modern consumer market.  With their new business structure, Air Canada has positioned themselves for success in the future, much like Indigo has done.

New Air Canada 777 300ER seat map with 36 executive class seats, 24 premium economy class seats, and 398 economy class seats, showing how Air Canada is densifying its aircrafts

Old Air Canada 777 300ER seat map with 42 business class seats and 307 economy class seats

Sources: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/air-canada-profit-rises-8-per-cent-on-higher-operating-margin/article21473705/, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/air-canada-to-charge-for-first-checked-bag-following-westjets-lead/article20653474/, http://www.cp24.com/news/air-canada-announces-plans-to-increase-international-capacity-1.2089796, http://aircanada.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=823, http://www.aircanada.com/en/about/fleet/b767-300rouge.html, http://www.aircanada.com/en/about/fleet/b767-300erxm.html

Media Sources: http://www.seatplans.com/airlines/air-canada/b777-300er-7, http://www.runwaygirlnetwork.com/2014/01/16/air-canada-sees-big-benefit-in-high-density-cabins/

Bike lanes are a sensitive subject in Vancouver.  As stated by Andrew Killas in the blog post Bike Lanes In The City, bike lanes have an overall negative effect on the community.  While bike lanes promote cycling, which is a green form of transportation, they also harm businesses and create traffic problems.  From a marketing perspective, the city of Vancouver is doing a great job of creating an environmental image, however the construction of numerous bike lines is one step to far.  In an article by the Vancouver Sun, merchants, whose storefront was to be blocked by a bike lane, stated their main fears regarding the bike lines as loss of storefront parking and no new prosperity.  The bike lanes were put up on many downtown streets such as Hornby street, in downtown Vancouver, to the dismay of storeowners.  In the winter time, the bike lanes largely go unused, and end up causing traffic jams, due to the fact that bike lanes take up a full traffic lane.  The mayor of Vancouver was quoted as saying, “The city is investing in cycling infrastructure, primarily in the core of cities where people have those short trips and it takes pressure off the road from cars and transit use” in anarticle by the Sun News.  This statement is false, as bike lanes just increase pressure on roads.  A good example is the Burrard street bridge, which cannot handle the capacity of cars due to subbing a bike lane for a traffic lane.  From the years 2006 to 2011, ridership to work rose from 1.7 percent to 1.8 percent in Vancouver according to the Sun Times.  This shows the expanding of bike lanes in Vancouver is very unnecessary, as the growth of bike commuters does not support the expansion of bike lanes.  The city should immediately stop the construction of bike lanes, before the impact harms anymore of Vancouver’s small businesses.

Sources: http://www.vancouversun.com/travel/Jury+still+impact+downtown+Vancouver+bike+lanes/10239796/story.html, http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/specialreports/archives/2014/02/20140220-220547.html, https://blogs.ubc.ca/AndrewKillas/

Media Source: http://politicalwhisperer.com/?p=53

Emirates Airlines, the worlds largest international airline, recently announced they will not be renewing their sponsorship with FIFA, the first major company to do so.  Emirates stated that FIFA’s sponsorship has not been up to “Emirates expectations”, following a series of corruption allegations regarding the 2018 and 2022 world cups.  What Emirates is doing is distancing themselves from an organization they feel will tarnish their own reputation, and thus hurt their own business.  The publicity Emirates received from sponsoring FIFA would have brought in large amounts of customers and revenues, so they obviously feel strongly about FIFA’s corruption allegations.  Emirates is the first major company to not renew their sponsorship, but many other companies such as Coke, Sony, and ADIDAS renewed their sponsorships and plan to continue partnering with FIFA in the future.  The benefit of partnering with FIFA is the broad customer base FIFA expands to.  In the end, a companies decision comes down to profits.  If a company believes severing ties with FIFA will be better for business, such as Emirates, they will remove endorsement.  If the company believes FIFA will help them grow their business, like Coke, the company will continue sponsoring.  For example the world cup generates “$5 billion dollars from television and marketing contracts” according to the national post.  Ethics also plays a part in this.  If FIFA is found to be corrupt, which many people believe, then the morally right decision is to pull all sponsorships and force FIFA to fix the way they operate.  FIFA influences millions of peoples lives, and any corruption and injustice must be dealt with. Emirates is taking the lead in voicing their displeasure with FIFA, and hopefully many others join with the goal of forcing FIFA to change its ways.

An Emirates a380, the airlines flagship aircraft

Source: http://sports.nationalpost.com/2014/11/04/emirates-drops-fifa-sponsorship-over-corruption-allegations/

Media Source: http://www.wcvb.com/money/emirates-airline-launches-nonstop-service-to-dubai/24886782

LNG Canada recently announced plans to build one of the worlds greenest facilities in Kitimat British Columbia.  The liquefied gas plant and marine terminal will be revolutionary in establishing the future norm for green facilities in the future.  This project will greatly benefit British Columbia, as 7500 jobs will be related to the construction of the plant as well as $94 million generated in municipal and regional taxes.  This number will drop to $15 million after the plant is completed.  While the short-term effects of this plant will be beneficial to northern communities, the long run will be even better.  LNG is proving to other energy companies that there are sustainable ways to construct and operate energy plants.  The plant LNG is planning to build will not have as large an impact on the environment as other plants.  This makes projects like this more appealing to a greater portion of the general public, who will now be able to enjoy the short run and long run benefits of resource development. The emphasis LNG place on sustainability shows they are caring about the community, who is a major stakeholder in these large energy projects.  With other companies wanting to pursue other resource related business activities in northern British Columbia, LNG is proving that with an emphasis on sustainability, people will be willing to listen and accept new ideas.  LNG is combining ethical and sustainable practices to better both the company and the community.

Source: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/natural-gas/Canada+boasts+green+characteristics+Kitimat+project/10350532/story.html

Media Source: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/natural-gas/Canada+boasts+green+characteristics+Kitimat+project/10350532/story.html

Ebola’s effect has spread across the whole of Africa, including to places where the disease does not exist.  In East Africa, specifically Tanzania and Kenya, resorts and game reserves have been struggling with cancellations.  The perception amongst tourists is that Ebola has spread across the whole of Africa, but this could not be further from the truth.  In fact, Tanzania and Kenya are both farther away from the heavily hit areas of west Africa than many parts of Europe.  According to the hotel association of Tanzania, bookings are down this year 30 to 40 percent.  There are few companies that can survive with nearly half of their business evaporating.  Kenya, who is already struggling with tourism due to recent terrorist attacks, has taken a hit from fear of Ebola.  Both of these cases show how delicate certain economies are.  With fewer visitors, there is a strong possibility many of these safari and resort operators will go out of business.  The effect continues to airlines and other tourist related businesses, which rely on tourists to fill their seats.  The main lesson companies can learn from Ebola is to diversify their business model.  The reason for this is, when events like Ebola occur, they will still be able to generate revenues through other ways, even after foreign tourist cancel.  Perhaps these companies can begin opening up to more local tourism.  For these Safari and resort operators, they can only hope the public discovers the truth of Ebola risk in Tanzania and Kenya.

Source: http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1414627096.html

Media Source: http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1414627096.html

Goldcorp, a major Canadian conglomerate, was ordered recently to shut down the companies mine in northern Chile.  The mine was met with opposition from local indigenous communities, who filed an appeal regarding the mine.  The supreme court recently upheld the appeal, forcing Goldcorp to redo the consultation process to gain the necessary environmental permits.  What this article proves is major companies now have to consult with indigenous communities, to receive approval on projects which take place within there territory.  The objective of a corporation is to generate profits, and the extra consultation process will cost the company both time and money.  It is vital for Goldcorp to meet with the Diaguita people, to build a good relationship and discuss economic and environmental issues.  Building good relationships with communities like the Diaguita, may be the only way companies like Goldcorp will be able to continue thriving in countries like Chile.  Consulting these communities will give mining companies a chance to prove they are in fact ethical, caring about all stakeholders views.  While mining proposals have been rejected more today then in the past, there is still vast opportunity in places like Chile, which currently has among the largest untapped gold reserves in the world.  No matter how environmentally conscious countries become, there will always be an industry for resource development.  With communities like the Diaguita having a greater influence on government grants for mining projects, it would be in the better interests of companies like Goldcorp, to start builiding good relationships with these people, in order to have a sustainable future.

e.

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-29531430

Source Media: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-29531430

Source: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/metro/Unilateral+park+declared+Tsilhqot+includes+Prosperity+mine/10192766/story.html

A recent ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada will have significant effects on economic development in the Interior of BC.  Companies now wanting to develop land for resource extraction in the Tsilhqot’in region of BC will need full approval of the First Nations group.  The Supreme Court of Canada made the decision in June, giving the Tsilhqot’in band 1,700 square kilometers of land.  This decision has already had an effect on certain projects such as the Taseko Mines Fish Lake project, which actually lies outside of the Tsilqot’in territory.  However the First Nation group plans to declare the area a tribal park, which could lead to some problems for Taseko mines in the future.  If the First Nations group were to dispute the mine, the project could take years to complete and the dispute could be taken to the courts, costing both sides millions of dollars.  This goes to show how the recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling will impact resource development in BC, especially if rulings like this one continue.  Businesses will now have to improve relations with First Nations groups in order to receive approval on projects. They will also have to give the First Nations added economic benefits, such as a greater sharing of profits.  Companies will now need First Nations approval on all projects inside of their borders, which will make decisions more lengthily and costly, as they will need to take into consideration additional environmental issues they may have been able to sidestep with only government approval.  Both of these factors will need to be taken into account by Taseko Mines, as damaging their relationship with the group regarding the disputed fish lake project, may effect their ability to negotiate with the group in the future.  Companies will need to adapt and learn to negotiate with the First Nations groups, more then they did in the past.

Source:

http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2014/07/26/Tsilhqotin-With-Gloves/

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/metro/Unilateral+park+declared+Tsilhqot+includes+Prosperity+mine/10192766/story.html

CP rail is considering running freight trains along the arbutus corridor again, after a decade of no activity.  This would affect citizens who enjoy walking and biking along the currently vacant tracks.  There are also hundreds of community gardens along the tracks stretching from false creek to the Fraser River, all of which would be bulldozed in order to make the tracks operational.  CP has been upset with the city of Vancouver, after talks to buy the land broke down.  Vancouver wants the land for the use of parks and other community initiatives.  In order to get talks going again, CP is using bully tactics by bulldozing current community gardens along the line, and threatening to use the tracks to store rail cars.  CP’s vice-president of corporate affairs, Mark Wallace, stated, “We’re actually going to sweat the asset and put it to use”.  CP wants to sell the land for 100 million, while the city feels like the land is worth less than that.  The tactics used by CP strike me as non-ethical as the company is using citizen’s anger to force the city of Vancouver to make a deal.  A company is ethical when they take into account the views of all stakeholders, and in this case CP is not.  The fact that CP really doesn’t need to use the track also shows the extent the company is going to for money.  They are willing to change people’s way of life, instead of just going to the bargaining table with the city.  Sometimes companies need to look at what impacts their decisions will have on the community, rather then their chequebook.

Source

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/cp-rail-suspends-clearing-of-vancouver-gardens-amid-land-deal-talks-with-city/article20221859/

On Thursday, September 18^th, Scotland voted no to independence, choosing to instead stay in the United Kingdom.  Over the last few days of the campaign, leaders from both sides were fighting to get the undecided to vote for them.  In the end, the no side won with a decisive 55% of the vote.  Many believe the reason why the no side won, was peoples fear of what would happen if Scotland declared independence.  Fears of Scottish banks and business moving to England, as well as Scotland being kicked out of the EU, changed many peoples vote to stay with the UK.  For example, an oil chairman from a Scottish based company said they would relocate to England if Scotland declared independence.  Days before the referendum, UK leaders made promises to the Scotland, saying they would give them more power over taxes and welfare.  This was seen as the biggest factor in the vote, and now Scottish independence leaders are wondering if this power will come to fruition. Recently Scotland had been growing at a slow rate leading up to the referendum, but firms are now set to invest again, given the stability of the Scottish and UK economies..  Scotland is now in a position to move forward, which will benefit everyone economically throughout the United Kingdom.

Sources ,

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/european-business/scotlands-no-vote-doesnt-guarantee-investment/article20714022/