To an outsider, Albertans look like a monolithic mass of climate-change deniers. But the reality is that Albertans hold a diverse range of opinions. Yes, there are those who want to pursue oil development regardless of the environmental cost. But there are also cattle ranchers fighting water contamination, canola farmers angry because of increasingly bad drought brought on by global warming, and grandparents worried about the effects of pollution on their grandchildren.
To capture this hidden province, 20 young Canadians are cycling 1,300 kilometres across Alberta to collect stories and make a documentary film about the Athabasca Tar Sands development.
Follow the cyclists' progress by visiting www.tothetarsands.ca.
If you have a story to share about the tar-sands development, the group would love to hear from you!
- Posted on behalf of Elijah van der Giessen
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Victoria Clark
I have a story regarding the oil sands... not Athabasca directly but about the Alberta government and a company by the name of Osum. My husband took me to his family's cabin at Marie Lake for our wedding. Marie Lake was the first Albertan lake that I thought was the cleanest I had ever seen. Small, gorgeous, clean water. Full of fish and other aquatic life. Pristine. I was honoured to have been married there on the beach. Osum put in an application to do seismic surveying under our lake. Regardless of the effects that seismic testing will have on the plant life, fish and the lake as a whole, the Albertan government decided to give Osum a go-ahead with their project...despite opposition from all the locals who live around the lake and the out-of-towners who visit their little piece of God's earthly heaven. To me this is a prime example of our government and our oil industry big wigs looking at the possible income and not the cost on the environment.
Heal Our Waters
Good for the Canadians cyclists! It should be an interesting film.
Following the money doesn't have to mean environmental destruction.
Did you know that the cost of cleaning up the Great Lakes would actually SAVE billions of dollars in the long-term? Using economic studies, we can show politicians that it actually makes financial sense to take action!
Take a look at the site:
http://www.healthylakes.org/
Lora Bruncke
I think a lot of the general public is aware we need to preserve the environment, whatever our economic and/or religious values are. We just have to convince our leaders, many of whom, according to a reliable source, are God's warriors!
When I saw Newfoundland's premier happy because they are going to drill more oil to help their economy, I felt very sad. It seems to me that he has not learned much about science on his way to the top.
Thanks to all those Canadian visionaries, like Suzuki, Cockburn, and Young, who have been active over decades, for not giving up! Go!