US Groups warn of tar sands expansion

Greens warn U.S. in battle against Cdn. oilsands

Mike De Souza and David Akin

Canwest News Service

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

CREDIT: Tim Fraser/Calgary Herald Alberta’s greenhouse gas emissions are expected to rise by one-third within 10 years in the wake of oilsands expansion.

OTTAWA – Environmental activists are warning U.S. lawmakers and consumers that the Canadian oilsands sector is an environmental disaster that is poisoning U.S refineries.

“The environmental costs of tarsand development are staggering,” says a report released Wednesday by the Environmental Integrity Project, a Washington-based group, in the latest salvo in a pitched public relations battle over Western Canada’s resource riches.

The report, Tar Sands: Feeding U.S. Refinery Expansions with Dirty Fuel, warned that much of the oil being processed in the United States would soon get dirtier since most refineries were being expanded to handle oil from Western Canada and meet Americans’ growing appetite for fossil fuels.

“As the rising price of oil has made extraction from Canadian tarsands profitable, U.S. oil refinery expansions to process the extra heavy sour crude from tarsands have come to dominate the refinery landscape,” says the analysis.

Chipewyan Prairie Dene First Nation: First Nation Files Lawsuit Challenging Oilsands Tenure and Regulatory Approval System

Chipewyan Prairie Dene First Nation

Jun 04, 2008 12:00 ET

Chipewyan Prairie Dene First Nation: First Nation Files Lawsuit Challenging Oilsands Tenure and Regulatory Approval System

EDMONTON, ALBERTA–(Marketwire – June 4, 2008) – Today the Chipewyan Prairie Dene First Nation (“CPDFN”) filed legal action in the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench against the Alberta Government alleging a breach of Alberta’s constitutional duty to consult with the First Nation on MEG Energy Corp.’s Christina Lake Regional Project, Phase 3. This Project is planned to be located in the heart of CPDFN’s Traditional Territory, between Christina Lake and Winifred Lake, the breadbasket of the First Nation.

“Our lakes, our land and the animals and fish we have relied on for thousands of years to support our way of life and cultural values are being destroyed by out-of-control oilsands developments,” said Chief Vern Janvier of CPDFN. “Because our constitutionally-protected rights are at risk in one of the few remaining places in our Traditional Territory where we can exercise them, we’ve asked the Courts to step in before it’s too late.”

Remember the ducks

A grassroots group of individuals staged a protest at the Legislature on June 3, 2008, to protest the oil companies and their disregard for the environment. The group unleashed hundreds of rubber ducks into the wading pond, sang, and addressed the media.

Pics (11 images):
(Andrew F. took most of these photos):
RaiseMyVoice.com:
http://www.raisemyvoice.com/tailings/tailings.html
Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/raisemyvoice/sets/72157605416270356/

Video: (4:10)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoefUboVhbg

And check out page B2 of today’s Journal — there is a picture of someone who may look familiar . . . .