CTV on Greenpeace Mock Tar Sands Travel Site

http://watch.ctv.ca/news/latest/greenpeace-targets-alberta/#clip63311

Greenpeace’s Hidden Agenda – They want to save the environment

Fri, June 27, 2008 Stelmach complains of environmentalist ‘hidden agenda’
Says some are targeting the provincial economy
By JEREMY LOOME, LEGISLATURE BUREAU

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Premier Ed Stelmach launched into a scathing attack against Alberta’s environmental critics today, saying some may have ulterior motives to attack the provincial economy.

His opponents on the issue immediately responded that Stelmach was fear mongering.

The suggestion came at a news conference to kick off Stelmach’s trip to the Western Governors’ Association annual meeting in Jackson Wyoming this Sunday, at which he’ll pitch Alberta’s environmental plan.

Asked for his view of Federal Liberal Leader Stephane Dion’s “green shift” carbon tax, Stelmach said Dion’s notion that Alberta and Saskatchewan contribute 40% of Canada’s greenhouse gases and should pay more are ridiculous and based on outlandish statistics.

He also lashed out at a Greenpeace spoof of the Travel Alberta website, called Travellingalberta.com, which uses images of environmental degradation by industry to criticize his government’s direction, calling it disgusting.

Greenpeace mocks province on travel website

By MICHELLE THOMPSON, Sun Media

Greenpeace has launched a scathing travel website vilifying the province for new “tourist attractions” created by tarsands.

Toxic lakes, cleared forests and black sand beaches are among the sites visitors can expect to find in Wild Rose Country, charges TravellingAlberta.com, which went live today.

The site – which includes facetious weather info and vacation ideas – was meant as a light-hearted attempt at publicizing environmental damage caused by industry, said a Greenpeace leader.

“It’s sort of a tongue-and-cheek way of getting the information out there,” said Mike Hudema, a tarsands campaigner.

But the reality of the issue is no joke, he said, citing streams and forests destructed by Alberta’s oilsands.

Greenpeace Hits Back

Greenpeace ‘travel ads’ mock Alberta oilsands

Robert Remington

Canwest News Service

Thursday, June 26, 2008

CALGARY – Looking for a different getaway spot this weekend? Greenpeace suggests an oilsands vacation to northern Alberta’s “open-pit paradise.”

In the latest salvo over Alberta’s “dirty oil,” the environmental organization launched a mock Travel Alberta website Thursday at http://www.travellingalberta.com.

The site shows children with black goo on their faces playing on “beautiful black-sand beaches that stretch for miles” and mom getting a tar sand facial at a spa.

Tar Sands Vacation

Oil sands: Canada’s next vacation wonderland?

Thu Jun 26, 2008 5:37pm EDT

By Jeffrey Jones

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) – If it’s sand you crave on your vacation, then Greenpeace might have just the travel idea for you.

But you could have some hefty cleaning bills by the time you get home.

In an increasingly heated debate over the ecological impact of Canadian oil sands production, the environmental group has launched a tongue-in-cheek website promoting the huge northern Alberta energy projects as vacation destinations.

Using Alberta’s logo, the site, www.travellingalberta.com, invites tourists to laze on black-sand beaches surrounding tailings ponds, hang-glide on “the unique coal bed methane and sour gas updrafts,” then ride on one of the gargantuan dump trucks that trundle around the oil sands mines.