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Couldn't agree more. It is so depressing seeing our rudderless ship of a province move forward with no real plan. To think, we have the prosperity (and the know-how) to be world leaders in environmentally-sustainable resource extraction, but instead, we are content to push all the problems into the future (and presumably let our children or grandchildren deal with it).

The main problem, I think, is that it is "out of sight, out of mind" for the majority of Albertans. If you had some of those huge oil sands tailing ponds next to highway 1 towards Banff, people would probably think twice about all this "progress".

My views of oil companies keep changing for the bad.  I work for one and we just had our 3rd round of job cuts today...This is right after we announced a massive first quarter profit.

The oilsands is a major environmental disaster.  As much as the big oil companies want to lie to us, or as much as our provincial government tries to shelter us from the details of the developments, people will soon find out what is indeed happening in our backyard.  There is too much to talk about on this issue and if one wants to find out about the oilsands there are a number of very good publications available at your local bookstore.  The secret is coming out and the world is watching.

Will our government try to diversify the Alberta economy?  We are a one-trick pony (mostly oil and gas).  Why can't we try to be at the forefront of cleaner energy development and/or production?  Even land-banking groups like Walton International are not buying anymore land in Alberta.  They, as well as other land firms, are MOVING OUT of the Alberta market.  They know what is coming if energy prices drop.

Wow, great topic Bob.  As a member of the WWF Living Planet Circle and a Gold Sponsor of Ducks Unlimited, this news honestly sickens me.  I take pride in the fact that I'm one of the people contributing heavily to the "Green lobby" that Ed Stelmach is so afraid of.

To say that the tar sands are an environmental disaster is an understatement.  It's 1,000 Exxon Valdez's happening slowly with companies "attempting" to control it.  The tailing ponds are possibly one of the scariest things we have ever created as a society, and the situation is getting exponentially worse.

The Syncrude tailings pond is the largest "dam" in the world.  It was originally constructed back in the 70's as a "temporary" fix for the issue of the tailings from the tar sands operations, until the companies could figure out what to do with them.  They still don't know.  In the meantime, this one "dam" alone has grown to almost 300 feet tall.

We now have ponds of toxic waste that can be seen from space.  These pools of toxic sludge are seeping into the groundwater and the Athabasca River, and slowly killing everything (man and animal) around it.  And there is no plan of what to do with it.  Honestly, the oil companies themselves will tell you that the plan is to leave them settle (which could take hundreds of years) and then figure it out.

And people from this province can't understand why the rest of Canada (and the world) is getting outraged at Alberta.  It's not only that most of the province's citizens are completely ignorant to what's going on (I'm 100% with dvrvd that if this activity was in people's backyards, nobody would allow it).  It's that our idiotic government constantly re-affirms that it "won't touch the brakes", and takes on a "us vs them" attitude.  I do blame the companies but in the end the vast majority of the blame falls on our inept government and ourselves.  Not only are they not forcing these companies to clean up their act, but they aren't even stopping new projects from going forwards while an honest environmental assessment is done.  We have elected an absolutely ignorant moron who is simplifying our economy as opposed to diversifying it.  And he is simplifying it into something that is quickly garnering the wrath of the entire civilized world.

Sorry for the long post, but as I said - this is something that sickens and angers me.  It's a fairly long read, but this is one of the best articles on the tar sands I've ever read.  Please take the time to learn more about the destruction of this province and its inhabitants:

http://www.onearth.org/article/canadas-highway-to-hell?page=1

Warren;  After years of working on environmental issues myself, I am reluctant to believe that anything significant will be done to improve the situation. The old saying is true that we "get the government we deserve." Humans are crisis oriented. We don't act until we have a crisis, usually in the pocketbook. That will happen when we can no longer sell our oil. Did you see the news tonight? Alberta has been portrayed very negatively around the world. -Bob

I missed the news last night.  What was said about Alberta in a brief summary?

Vinny; Front page of the Herald today: Birds' deaths draw global spotlight

On the TV news last night, the reporter commented that media around the world were doing stories on the situation. -Bob 

I totally agree with this post, I am also a big supporter of WWF and I couldn't agree more that this is a sad reality and my heart just breaks when you hear the damage that these oil companies are doing to our environment and wildlife. The same thing is happening up in the arctic with the polar bears as well. The US government cannot make up their bloody minds and put these precious animals on the endangered list...I guess oil is just to important and who cares about anything else....SAD!!