Forests and Biodiversity

And God gazed upon the vastness of the Canadian oil sands and pronounced them to be a curse.

Correction: an incipient curse—one that would materialize unless Alberta orders an immediate halt to development and cleans up its environmental act.

And no, it really wasn’t the Supreme Being in that helicopter over the blighted landscape near Fort McMurray. It was famed movie director James Cameron, the genius behind Titanic and Avatar. It was just the Canadian media that gave the impression that God had come down for a visit, dogging every step of his three-day tour and parsing every word he uttered. The media seemed to be looking to somehow paint Alberta’s oil sands development as a threat to its native peoples in the same way big business was hell bent on ruining the lives of the peaceful blue people of Pandora in he movie Avatar.... Read more »

Turns out the oilsands was not ready for its closeup.

But it might be -- in about five years, if it loses the unsightly open pit mines and ditches the toxic tailings ponds. And stops emitting so much greenhouse gas.

Hollywood movie director James Cameron passed judgment on the oilsands on Wednesday in a verdict that was remarkably measured and reasonable and didn't once repeat his notorious reference to the world's largest energy production project as a "black eye".

Neither did he call it a "curse" as did aboriginal leaders while co-hosting a news conference with Cameron.... Read more »

Federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice has announced the appointment of a six-person advisory panel to look into the water-testing regime in the Athabasca River around Alberta's oilsands.

The group will advise Prentice on the current state of research and will recommend a new system, if necessary, the minister said Thursday in Ottawa. The panel has 60 days to make its recommendations.

"The purpose of the inquiry and the work of these scientist is to tell us what a state-of-the-art, world-class monitoring system should look like. To get the best scientific advice on that," Prentice said.

The announcement comes in response to criticism about water monitoring in the Athabasca watershed in northern Alberta. In particular, a peer-reviewed study published by University of Alberta water scientist David Schindler found elevated levels of cadmium, mercury, lead and other toxic elements in the Athabasca River.... Read more »

OTTAWA — A panel of scientific experts will have 60 days to investigate new research suggesting that oilsands operations are contaminating the Athabasca River and endangering human health, Environment Minister Jim Prentice said Thursday.

“We are determined to develop Canada’s oilsands in a manner that it sustainable and environmentally sensitive,” said Mr. Prentice in a statement. “This independent review by some of Canada’s most respected scientists is a critical step in ensuring that environmental issues are balanced with economic considerations.”

Industry representatives have suggested pollution in the river is coming from natural deposits, but several prominent scientists, including David Schindler from the University of Alberta, have concluded the evidence overwhelmingly suggests the industrial activity is to blame.... Read more »