Tar Sands Terror

Alberta's tar sands are a global embarrassment, the biggest environmental catastrophe in human history - and things have only begun to ramp up. There are hundreds of reasons not to exploit the Boreal forests and vast wetlands of northern Canada - the tailing ponds are vast dams of toxic sludge which are constantly leeching into Alberta's rivers (which eventually flow into America, the Arctic, and the Pacific). These "ponds" have and will kill birds who come into contact with them - often causing them to drown! They are also suspected of causing mutations and deformities in fish, in areas relied upon by Natives for food (although this is debatable). New regulations regarding tailings ponds (requiring faster 'cleanup' and increased regulation) have been slammed by industry as too difficult, and by environmental groups as insufficient.

Native communities downstream from Fort McMurry and other hotbeds of the tar boom are experiencing elevated rates of rare cancers, miscarriages (up to 1/3 of pregnancies), and the feminization of children (fewer and fewer males are born). There is evidence that the doctor who first sounded the alarm about these health effects is being silenced by Health Canada - for raising "undue alarm". [continued after the jump]

The boom towns themselves are suffering - from a lack of infrastructure, doctors, and planning. Residents there (who often consider themselves 'just visiting', or commute from as far away as the maritimes for a month or season of work) experience high rates of depression, suicide, spousal abuse and drug and alcohol abuse. While these problems are found across Northern Canada, hitting Native communities especially hard, there is no doubt that the boom effect (which drives up the cost of living, increases disparities between the poor and the wealthy, and catapults low-wage workers into $100,000 a year low-skill jobs) increases the severity of drug abuse and other social problems. Despite the widespread use of drugs, tar sands companies have resisted implimenting drug tests for workers, out of a fear they will have none left once drug users are weeded out (although an Alberta court recently ruled in favour of one company which refused to hire someone who tested positive for marijuana). The government has not provided sufficient funding for mental health and addictions services.

In addition, the extraction and refining process of tar is a dirty process. It is extremely water intensive (which poses serious consequences for the dry prairies and local Natives), energy intensive (certain industry insiders have proposed building several nearby nuclear plants - which themselves require lots of water), and releases more carbon dioxide than other forms of energy/oil production. Regulation of water use and pollution, in particular, has been handed off by government agencies to industry self-regulation.

Perhaps the worst part of this equation is that this rape and pillage, via the world's largest industrial project, is happening without benefit to Canadians (including those Natives whose UN-back land claims are being ignored). The Alberta Petrostate charges a pittance in royalties, less than almost any other region on earth, and has routinely caved in to threats from industry (and workers) to pull out if more sane royalty rates were established (as if these energy conglomerates could relocate - where else is there to go?). Crazily, these puny royalties don't even come into effect until the full cost of the initial project (often hundreds of millions of dollars) has been recouped, and even then the province has failed to collect on over $1 billion it was entitled to.

Now, Enbridge wants to build even more pipelines to deliver this wretched resource (almost solely responsible for Canada's recent last-place ranking among G8 and BRIC countries for pollution). Enbridge has a history of feeding the US's gluttonous addiction to oil, and a reputation for being "aggressive and arrogant" (which has led to a slew of pipeline bombs in neighbouring BC). Enbridge also has a history of spills and cleanup mismanagement, and wants to lift the moratorium on oil tankers in sensitive BC coastal waters. Is this environmental stewardship? Does this really make economic sense? Whose interests is this serving?

[Tar Sands Images]

[updated July 11/09]

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