Environment

Dear members and supporters of the Public Interest Alberta's Environment Task Force, we invite you to read these recent articles of interest and participate in these upcoming events.

"More than 20 environmental and landowner groups are demanding a public inquiry into underground steam injection for bitumen extraction, five days after Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. apologized for a months-long oil spill in the Cold Lake area."

Letter to Alberta Energy Regulator, Aug. 13, 2013: "The undersigned organizations request that the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) conduct a public inquiry pursuant to section 17 of the Responsible Energy Development Act RSA 2000, c R-17.3 into the safe and environmentally responsible operation of steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) and cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) operations in Alberta."

"The province recently held consultations about Alberta’s water allocation system but it seems most Albertans didn’t know it. 'Eighty per cent of Albertans were completely unaware that the consultations even took place,' said Bill Moore-Kilgannon, executive director of Public Interest Alberta, a member of the Our Water is Not for Sale group."

"A new poll suggest most Albertans want the province to protect the health of rivers and ensure water is used for people before industry. The survey, released Thursday by a coalition of groups concerned about water in the province, was conducted between June 14 and June 20 to determine the level of support for Alberta’s water talks held earlier this spring. 'Albertans would rather have a system based on a public interests approach that prioritizes certain uses and makes sure that ecosystem health is a priority, that human needs are given priority,' said Bill Moore-Kilgannon, executive director of Public Interest Alberta."

EDMONTON—The Our Water is Not for Sale network of organizations released a poll today that shows the vast majority of Albertans are opposed to a number of key policy directions that the Alberta government is considering, now that they have concluded their 'water conversations.' "While the government spent a million dollars to go to over 20 cities and towns and talked with only 1000 people, our poll shows that 80% of Albertans were not aware that the consultations even took place," says Marle Roberts, President of CUPE Alberta.

"A few weeks ago there was the Apache spill near Zama city and the Dene Tha’ First Nation in northeastern Alberta. We still don’t know exactly when that spill occurred, let alone the content of the spill or its impacts on the environment. The government of Alberta has been silent on all of these fronts."

Video by Operation Maple - Water, Water Not for Sale - featuring Bill Moore-Kilgannon with Public Interest Alberta and Eriel Deranger with Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN).

"Alberta’s reputation is on the line. With government and industry touting the benefits of trans-boundary pipelines, multinational environmental groups counter that weak environmental standards and dirty oilsands are a major culprit in climate change. Flying under the radar amid this highly publicized debate is that 64 per cent of Alberta’s electricity supply comes from coal."