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Essentia Blog

Guardian Environment Blog Cries Foul on Canadian Ethical Oil Campaign

by Angela July 29th, 2011 - 1 Comment »

When Ezra Levant left his Ethical Oil blog to go be a network TV star (snortle) on Sun TV, he handed over the reigns to a young man named Alykhan Velshi who has been instrumental in the communications of the Conservative Party. If you thought Ezra was the master of spin, his successor seems to be the master of outrageous spin. Thankfully there are those out there in the mainstream media who enjoy calling BS just as much as we do.

This entry in the Guardian Environment blog does a great job of picking apart the new Ethical Oil ad campaign that leaves most sane people asking the question “they don’t think we’re that stupid – do they?”. The striking ads now featured on the Ethical Oil site and as advertising for it come from the “if you tell a lie large enough, they’ll believe it” category similar to the tactics used in the movie “Wag The Dog”. My own personal favourite is the one featuring a smiling worker with the loud proclamation that aboriginals are employed. They may be employed, but we’re polluting the watersheds of their reservations with the same oil that is employing them. As with everything else to do with the tar sands, a thousand evils can be excused if they are making us money.

The frustrating part is that the technology exists to make oilsands development more environmentally friendly, but the only places it seems to be employed are in commercials that spin the tar sands as environmentally friendly. Here’s hoping that international pressure will ensure that this technology is employed, even if it means a bite into bottom-line profits. While it is true that we can’t put a stop to oilsands production due to the economics of the situation, it isn’t true that we must continue developing them at any cost to the environment.

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Environment Canada Monitoring Athabasca River – Just Not for Oilsands Chemicals

by Angela December 8th, 2010 - No Comments »

In a scathing report by Environment Commissioner Robert Vaughn, it has been revealed that the Environment Canada monitoring station that is supposed to be monitoring the Athabasca River for oilsands pollutants is not doing so.

When it was originally set up, the monitoring station in question, 150 kilometres downriver from the oilsands operations, was set up to monitor the potentially harmful effects of the pulp and paper industry in the area. As such, it has only been monitoring for those specific pollutants, despite being positioned perfectly to also monitor for any pollutants from the oilsands.

In 2009, Environment Canada conducted a study that concluded that the station should begin monitoring for oilsands pollutants, but nothing was done about it. This year, University of Calgary and other researchers concluded that the oilsands were, indeed, polluting the Athabasca and its surrounding ecosystem with mercury, arsenic, lead, and ten other toxins.

So what can we do? At this point, the only thing to do is wait for another election. It is clear that the party in power is using its position to safeguard oilsands polluters and actively prevent anything that may require them to spend money on environmental measures that are any larger than planting a few trees for a photo-op. The oil companies, being corporations, will not voluntarily put in expensive measures that will reduce the “dirtiness” of their oil unless regulation dictates that they have to, and even then they will fight it by any means necessary.

You can choose to get involved with organizations like Greenpeace, Sierra Club Canada, and others you may be able to help them in campaigns to sway any future governments. But in my opinion, talking to the current one is like shouting at a brick wall where the oilsands are concerned. These organizations are focusing on campaigns to get governments to say no to Canada’s dirty oil, not out of malice, but because efforts to open a productive dialogue with the current government on the issue have been rebuffed continuously.

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Government Defends Bad Practices in CBC-Investigated Tailings Pond

by Angela November 16th, 2010 - No Comments »

CBC recently released findings of its own journalistic investigation into a tailings pond operated north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, from which animals may drink from an unbermed area of the pond. Aboriginal people who live off the land in the area are understandably concerned that the toxins contained in the pond will enter their food chain.

Canadian Natural Resources, Ltd. appears to be doing everything they can to explain the current conditions at the tailings pond away rather than addressing the issues methodically. The investigation, for example, has proven that beavers have gotten into a section of the tailings pond, and here is their spin on the situation:

“”Yes we are aware that there are beavers, but not in the pond … There is some surface water to the west of the tailings pond which is fresh water and not affected by the process water,” said Calvin Duane, manager of environment for CNRL. Read the rest of the article at CBC.ca for multiple instances of CNRL spin.

Who is CNRL? At first blush, the name feels like a valid government body. However, the “Ltd.” gives it away. They are one of the largest oil and gas producers in the world, according to their “About” page. They have about as much to do with the environment as Bill Gates has to do with flipping burgers. Technically, should they even be allowed to have such a confusing name? No doubt under the current government they are.

Questions in both the Alberta and Federal legislatures yesterday were met with continued spin on the issue from the politicians that oilsands companies have in their pockets. Environment Canada is no longer a protector of the Environment, as its name would suggest, but a rubber-stamping body wielded by politicians to give their friends a free pass to pollute and destroy the environment. It’s time to get a little mad, Canada.

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Bird Eggs Show 50 Percent More Mercury Since Oilsands Began

by Angela October 1st, 2010 - No Comments »

A study by Environment Canada compared the levels of mercury in bird eggs collected downstream in the Athabasca River watershed between samples collected in 1977 and samples collected in 2009. The 2009 samples had 50% more mercury present than the 1977 samples. This is one of a very few studies that scientifically compare and contrast pollution levels before and after the oilsands boom.

In the wake of an independent study which proved that pollution in the Athabasca River was indeed originating from the oil sands, both a provincial and a federal panel are being formed to oversee what is being done about the p0llution. Rob Renner, the Alberta environment minister, was caught off guard by the federal government’s announcement that they would be forming their own panel since he had announced such a panel a few days prior. We’ll keep an eye on the situation and let you know what is going on with the disparate panels when things settle out next week.

At the moment, the provincial panel seems to have more credibility since it features scientists selected by David Schindler, an outspoken oilsands critic and one of the key authors of the independent study that started the ball rolling in the first place.

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Harper Gives His Oil Industry Backers Carte Blanche

by Angela March 14th, 2010 - 2 Comments »

In the speech from the throne this past week, Stephen Harper announced his intention to remove oversight of environmental assessment from the Ministry of the Environment and give it to the National Energy Board. Wolves looking after the henhouse, indeed. Now, instead of waiting for environmental assessments to go through, companies like Suncor can happily chant “Drill Baby Drill” while watching their profit margins rise.

There were also no environmental initiatives announced to make up for this rather obvious shift in power from one agency to another. Federal Environment Minister, Jim Prentice, stated that the move was designed to “support sustainable development and environmental practices.” While nobody in their right mind would deny a company the right to avoid unnecessary red tape in order to turn a profit, they certainly wouldn’t give them a carte blanche to actively develop areas that may be part of valuable watersheds for cities, key habitats for wildlife, or other environmentally sensitive areas.

All of this at a time when it has been reported that pollution from Alberta’s oilsands exceed estimates. One can argue that the populace of Canada, traditionally very environmentally-minded, won’t welcome a free pass being handed to an industry that is already polluting at unacceptably high levels.

Luckily, the speech from the throne was merely an announcement of the intention to hand over the reigns to the NEB. You can still stop this by writing to your MP or calling their offices to announce your displeasure with this proposed shift in responsibility, if you share the view that industry should have a free pass to capitalize on profits, but not to pollute.

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16 Greenpeace Activists Arrested in Oilsands Protest

by Angela October 4th, 2009 - No Comments »

Greenpeace activists locked themselves onto a crane and smokestacks while unfurling banners decrying Canada’s oilsands as a major cause of climate change early this morning. Police arrested 16 of the protesters and Shell Canada has vowed to beef up security at its various locations after the incident. The action took place at Fort Saskatchewan, northeast of Edmonton in the Alberta tar sands. More on the oilsands arrests at the National Post.

Greenpeace has been cranking up its protests of the Alberta oilsands over the past year, with similar actions taking place all over the tar sands. The tar sands not only act as one of the largest carbon producers in the world, thus contributing heavily to climate change, but have a negative impact on surrounding wildlife and the local environment. More on the Greenpeace message on their site.

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Acid Rain From Alberta Oilsands Hurting Northern Saskatchewan Forests

by Angela August 11th, 2009 - No Comments »

A study undertaken by Saskatchewan’s environment ministry recently revealed that PH levels in rain falling in the La Loche area, located in the North of Saskatchewan, qualify as acid rain.

The Saskatchewan Environmental Society argues that “We have now a combination of that region being the most sensitive forest soil in Canada, most sensitive to damage by acid precipitation and an increase in the acidity of the precipitation”.

Ann Coxworth, a spokeswoman for the society, went on to say that government should impose limits on the amount of sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide that companies in the oilsands can release into the atmosphere. More at CBC News.

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