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]
