Chapter 1 Flashcards
Conflict
a fight or struggle, especially a prolonged one; a dispute or disagreement or quarrel… a clashing of opposing principles
Bitumen
Heavy, thick form of crude oil (found in Alberta’s oil sands)
Name of biggest oil spill in U.S. history
Deepwater Horizon oil rig, Macondo well in the gulf of Mexico (2010)
Estimated total cost for Deepwater Horizon oil spill
40 bilion dollars
Northern Gateway project
A proposed 1,177 km oil pipeline from Alberta to Kitimat on the northwest coast of BC which was approved in June 2014.
Proponent motivations for the proposed Northern Gateway project
- growing demand for oil in China and other East Asian countries
- possible decrease of US demand for Alberta oil
- diversifying markets for the Alberta Sands bitumen
- “economic benefits for all Canadians”
In Late July 2012, the BC provincial government ____________ before it would support proposals for pipelines crossing BC
identified five requirements
Five Requirements by the British Columbia Government Regarding Heavy Oil Pipelines (ABRV)
- ENVIRONMENT
- MARINE
- PRACTICES
- ABORIGINAL
- FISCAL
BC Requirement 1 (ENVIRONMENT)
- An environmental review process must be successfully completed.
BC Requirement 2 (MARINE)
- World-leading marine oil spill response, prevention and recovery systems are required to manage and mitigate risks and costs of heavy oil pipelines.
BC Requirement 3 (PRACTICES)
- World-leading practices for land oil spill prevention, response and recovery systems are required to manage
and mitigate the risks and costs of heavy oil pipelines
BC Requirement 4 (ABORIGINAL)
- Legal requirements regarding aboriginal and treaty rights must be addressed and First Nations are to be
provided with the opportunities, information and resources necessary to participate in and benefit
from a heavy oil project
BC Requirement 5 (FISCAL)
- British Columbia needs to receive a fair share of the fiscal and economic benefits of a proposed heavy oil
project that reflects the level, degree and nature of the risk borne by the province, the environment and taxpayers.
Which of BC’s five requirements did Alberta reject?
5 - stating that such interprovincial trade has never involved the type of transfer payments sought by BC.
Harmonization
the selective standardization of laws, rules and norms across political jurisdictions
Subsidiarity
the delegation of decision making and policy implementation to the lowest appropriate scale
Four Types of Conflict
Cognitive
Value
Interest
Behavioural
COGNITIVE conflict
Results from different understanding of a situation.
Such differences may lead to different technical judgements
VALUE conflict
Arises from different judgments about the ends to be achieved, even if agreement exists regarding the consequences of alternative ends.
INTEREST conflict
Occurs as a result of disagreement about the distribution benefits and costs. In other words, who should the beneficiaries be and who should pay for the costs?
BEHAVIOURAL conflict
Emerges related to the personalities and circumstances of the interested parties. This reflects a history of previous and ongoing relationships among those involved in the conflict, which may colour their attitudes towards each other and towards possible solutions.
Uncertainty
Occurs when something is not known with certainty. Not known with certainty; not finally established; in doubt; dubious; likely to changes, not reliable; not constant, varying; not settled or fixed, indeterminate
Wynne’s four kinds of situations that occur
Risk
Uncertainty
Ignorance
Indeterminancy
We talk about RISK when…
the odds or probability are known.
The behaviour of a system is known and the probability of various outcomes can be defined and quantified
UNCERTAINTY occurs when
the odds or probability are unknown.
(The behaviour of a system is not known and therefore it is not possible to estimate the probability of a given outcome.)
IGNORANCE is when
We do not know what we should know. Do not even know what questions we should be asking.
(We are unaware of a possible problem, and therefore do not even consider it)
INDETERMINANCY arises when
Causal chains or networks are open. Understanding is not possible.
(there is a lack of understanding or cause and effect relationships. it may be unrealistic for humans to assume that we can understand all systems)
Canada is a ___ state
federal
Canada is a federal state, with power and authority shared between
the federal and provincial governments.
Municipal governments receive their power from ___
provincial legislatures.
3 Types of Civil Society Groups
- Promoters
- Conservationists and Environmentalists
- Technologists
PROMOTERS
[Civil Society Groups][
Advocate policies that support economic growth, streamline and reduce regulations, and encourage investment and private sector entrepreneurship.
CONSERVATIONISTS AND ENVIRONMENTALISTS
[Civil Society Groups][
Support initiatives to control or avoid wasteful exploitation of natural resources and the environment.
TECHNOLOGISTS
[Civil Society Groups][
Civil Society group whose main focus is on “good” management of natural resources and the environment.
Issue Attention Cycle (1972)
Downs describes a process called the “issue-attention cycle,” by which every issue has to struggle to remain on the radar screens of key policy and decision makers.
5 stages of the Issue Attention Cycle
- PRE-PROBLEM
- ALARMED DISCOVERY AND EUPHORIC ENTHUSIASM
- REALIZING THE COST OF SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS
- GRADUAL DECLINE OF PUBLIC INTEREST
- POST-PROBLEM STAGE
PRE-PROBLEM STAGE
[Issue Attention Cycle]
State where a general lack of awareness exists about a problem, except by a few experts.
ALARMED DISCOVERY AND EUPHORIC ENTHUSIASM
[Issue Attention Cycle]
Stage during which the public becomes aware of an issue and pressures decision-makers to take action.
REALIZING THE COST OF SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS
[Issue Attention Cycle]
Stage during which both decision-makers and the public become aware of the costs that could be involved.
GRADUAL DECLINE OF PUBLIC INTEREST
[Issue Attention Cycle]
State where, as a result of appreciation of the costs of action, and also the emergence of other issues, a gradual decline of public interest occurs.
POST-PROBLEM STAGE
[Issue Attention Cycle]
Stage during which the issue remains of interest to those with relevant expertise, and who strive to shift the issue back to stage 2.
The IA cycle reminds us that…
those concerned about each issues have to work hard to maintain its position on policy agendas.
those concerned about each issue have to work hard to maintain its position on policy agendas. Why?
- supporters of other issues are always striving to replace it
- rarely are sufficient funds/human resources available for all deserving issues
- thus, priorities must be established, trade-offs made, and choices taken.
- all of this occurs against a backdrop of much uncertainty
BEST PRACTICES are..
desirable attributes when a resource or environmental issue is being managed.
BEST PRACTICES (7)
VISION
LEGITIMACY
SYSTEMS PERSPECTIVE
ADAPTATION AND RESILIENCE
PARTNERSHIPS
IMPACT AND RISK ASSESSMENT
COMMUNICATION
Vision
A realistic, credible, and attractive future for a region, community, or group
Forecasting
Analysts seek to understand the characteristics about the present condition, make assumptions about the future, and then identify most likely conditions at some time in the future.
Backcasting
Identifying an ideal future condition then focusing on determining decisions that need to be made between now and then to ensure the desirable future is realized.
Considerations for “VISION
- differentiate from probably, most desirable and most feasible future conditions.
- Forecasting
- Backcasting
- Considering feasibility and practicality
- Creating a vision that will generally be supported
