Government fails to protect Athabasca River
Back in September 2006, we sounded alarm bells about the mismanagement of water withdrawals from the Athabasca River for oil sands development. Fast-forward three and a half years, countless committee meetings and a $4.6-million study and, sadly, little has changed.
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Jennifer Grant — Feb 05, 2010
Environment Minister Jim Prentice claims Canada is aspiring to be a clean energy superpower. It’s a strange claim to make given that not too long ago the Conservatives were trying to sell Canada simply as an “emerging energy superpower.” While adding the word “clean” has a nice ring to it, this rhetoric couldn’t be further from the truth.
The proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline would carry bitumen from Alberta's oil sands to the B.C. coast. Its construction would enable an expansion in oil sands production, which would result in significant new environmental impacts "upstream" from the pipeline.
We've recently heard from our colleagues in the environmental community that the province may be gearing up finally to release a wetland policy. The Alberta government had originally committed to put a new wetland policy in place by the summer of 2009, so it is long overdue.
Tailings wagging the dog?
In 2010, one of the issues on our radar here at Pembina is going to be whether oil sands companies are held accountable for cleaning up the tailings waste created by the oil sands extraction process.
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Oil sands take another hit in Copenhagen
The oil sands were the subject of a letter from members of the European Parliament to the business leaders of European companies operating in the Alberta oil sands. It asks them to cease those operations.
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After a year that has seen world markets shaken by scandals and dubious accounting practices, it is no surprise to learn that the investment community now wants to know more about the liabilities around oil sands investments.
I start my mornings with a cup of coffee and a quick scan of the headlines to see what's at play in the world of energy and the environment. Hey, it's my job. Like me, you probably saw the oil sands headlines again this week, spurred on by a quip from former American Vice President Al Gore. He said, "Gas from the tar sands gives a Prius the same carbon footprint as a Hummer."
Welcome to the Oil Sands Blog
Welcome to the Pembina Institute’s new blog about the environmental impacts of oil sands development.
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