Media reports about the recent Ottawa visit by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congressman Ed Markey put the debate about energy development and the environment squarely in front of Canadians. The pair met with industry, government and environmental groups and the post-meeting perspectives of the various players were big news. See: vancouversun In [...]
OSQAR asks: In 2050, where will energy come from? Rick George speaks at WEC
Tuesday, September 14th, 2010Elevated levels of toxins found in Athabasca River
Monday, August 30th, 2010By: Josh Wingrove A study set to be published on Monday has found elevated levels of mercury, lead and eleven other toxic elements in the oil sands’ main fresh water source, the Athabasca River, refuting long-standing government and industry claims that water quality there hasn’t been affected by oil sands development. The author of the [...]
Calling all Albertans…we need to hear your views on the oilsands!
Friday, August 27th, 2010On August 26th, the Government of Alberta announced that it wants to know what Albertans think about how we should balance environmental protection and economic growth in the oilsands. Asking Albertans what they think—seems like a good idea—because if we don’t speak on our behalf, others will. Boycotts of oilsands fuel by major U.S. retailers [...]
Alberta looks to balance oilsands, environment
Friday, August 27th, 2010The Alberta government is looking for public input as it moves to come up with a land-use policy for the Lower Athabasca watershed that could see a fifth of the area set aside for conservation. Speaking at a news conference from Edmonton on Thursday, Sustainable Resource Minister Mel Knight said the province will solicit the [...]
Oil sands critics urge boycott of Alberta tourism
Thursday, July 15th, 2010By John Shmuel, Financial Post The environmental pressure appears to be back on the Alberta oil sands as two new attacks on the industry surfaced yesterday, including one international ad campaign advising travellers to avoid the province altogether. The oil sands had been granted a small reprieve as the BP PLC oil spill in the [...]
Study says smells sickening people come from oilpatch, but no source
Tuesday, July 6th, 2010by Bob Weber PEACE RIVER, Alta. – Richard Langer was working on his farm just outside Peace River, Alta., one morning last spring when he saw the gas cloud drift through. “It was sort of a blue-green cloud,” he recalls. The smell — a gassy, tarry reek like a hundred roofing crews working at once [...]
The quest for truth in the oil sands
Monday, July 5th, 2010by Todd Hirsch The history of human philosophy has been punctuated with the quest for truth. “What is truth?” asked Pilate in the Book of John. Plato, Descartes and Nietzsche chased that same slippery question. And despite their progress, Albertans in 2010 seem to be no further ahead when we consider our oil sands and [...]
Bath bombs hit oil sands
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010by Peter Foster Abath products company called Lush is today asking its North American retail staff to take to the sidewalks (at noon, local time) dressed only in barrels to protest the wickedness of the Alberta oilsands. That hardly places the company out on a limb when it comes to eco posturing. Still, Lush isn’t [...]
Canada's Oilsands: Light at the end of the pipeline
Thursday, February 18th, 2010by Donna Kennedy-Glans This industry is killing us; the tar is clogging up our systems and causing cancer. Greedy companies are deliberately understanding the negative impacts. They act like they care but they are just wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing. It’s a cash cow and nobody has the guts to shut it down! Lobbyists earn [...]