It is disconcerting, to say the least, to see Alberta through the eyes of some of the "environmentally conscious" media residing south of the Canada/USA border.
The following article is contained in the Climate Control News Archive (http://www.climatecrisiscoalition.org/blog). The source is: " Alberta’s Tar Sands Operations Take the Unsustainability Prize", Duluth News Tribune, December 17, 2007.
“In the [Athabasca River, 650 miles north of the U.S.-Canada border in northern Alberta], fish are speckled with shiny, wart-like blisters. And in the tiny Indian village of Fort Chipewyan, people are coming down with leukemia, bile duct cancer and other diseases. Those who aren’t physically sick are worried sick. Much of their unease is directed upstream… [where] fleets of dinosaur-sized trucks and shovels larger than two-car garages are tearing apart a rich mosaic of woods and wetlands to extract some of the dirtiest fossil fuel on the planet — more than two-thirds of which is exported to the U.S… The stockpile of energy under Alberta’s swampy woodlands, an estimated 175 billion barrels of oil, is the largest reserve in the Western Hemisphere and the second largest on Earth, behind Saudi Arabia… On the ground, a sign at one of the oldest operations, Syncrude-Canada’s Mildred Lake mine north of Fort McMurray… [declares that] ‘since operations began in 1978, we’ve moved over 1.4 billion tons of overburden,’ referring to the rock and soil over bitumen deposits. ‘This is more dirt than was moved for the Great Wall of China, the Suez Canal, the Great Pyramid of Cheops and the 10 largest dams in the world, combined!’… ‘There is nothing on this planet that compares with the destruction going on there,’ said David Schindler [of] the University of Alberta, Edmonton. ‘If there were a global prize for unsustainable development, the oil sands would be the clear winner.’”
As Albertans know the Athabasca Tar Sands is one of the main engines of economic growth in the Province. It is well known there are both costs as well as benefits associated with the development of this resource. It is reasonable to assume the scale of the negative environmental effects will grow as the oil sands are exploited more extensively. This suggests there may be environmental limits to the rate of economic growth that can be sustained within the province.
The specific question Albertans and other Canadians need to answer is: Has the development of the tar sands really destroyed the fish in the Athabasca River, caused cancer and generally severely impacted the physical and mental health of the aboriginal population in Fort Chipewyan and resulted in a level of destruction unparalleled anywhere else on the planet?
I certainly can't answer that question definitively; however, I "believe" the answer is no.
If such charges were proven to be true it would amount to an environmental call to arms. All Albertans and the rest of Canada would have to take immediate steps to remedy such a situation.
Unfortunately, the average citizen has little access to valid third party information that could be trusted and used to form an informed opinion on the environmental impact of various aspects of the tar sands development. Parts of the green revolution currently sweeping the world are based on good science and sound methodology while other aspects are based on beliefs and conviction rather than facts.
Consequently,few Albertans believe such allegations printed in the Duluth paper are true. The population tends to divide itself into two groups. One believes such allegations are valid while the other, the majority of the population, simply shrugs their collective shoulders and goes about their business.
Albertans are no fools. The province is highly urbanized. The population is among the best educated and best paid in Canada.
In addition, the province has some of the leading University based research institutions in Canada. With a few notable exceptions the professorial staff of these Universities are not speaking out and painting a doomsday scenario regarding the environmental degradation resulting from development of the Tar Sands.
Despite all of the comforting thoughts that can be marshaled to support the "all-is-well" position I find myself wondering what the total environmental and economic impact of all the proposed oil sands development will be on our province as the presently proposed oil sands projects are brought to fruition over the course of the next ten years. The list of new projects that are slated to start is lengthy and there is no question the collective impact will be far greater than anything we have seen to this point in time.
How well are the public's environmental interests being protected by the Provincial government, the Federal Government,Industry, Environmental Groups. Who is monitoring the health of the aboriginal population in the area?
Lastly who, if anyone, is responsible for compiling a list of the environmental, economic and health related analyses and studies that have been carried-out or are being carried-out that are pertinent to the future development and sustainability of various tar sands developments within Alberta. Who has access to such studies?
Is there any one reliable source that a non-aligned, non-radicalized citizen of the Province could refer to in order to be updated on what the impact of the future oil sands development can reasonably be expected to be in the foreseeable future?
Like it or not Albertans are in the midst of one of the great environmental debates that is occurring in the first part of the 21st century.
I don't know about you; however, I think I am going to have to try to investigate matters and see what materials and studies are available that could be used to determine if matters are under control and sensible plans are being set out for monitoring, regulating and reporting on future tar sands developments.
If any of you have been down this route before me and have some observations and/or sources you would like to share I would appreciate hearing from you.
2008 has all the promise of being a very busy year.
Cheers,
Richard Plain
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
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