Time Immortal

Count Roland writes in with some follow-up thoughts on this article.

I agree with you and Premier Stelmach.

However, A similar incident is reported to have happened at a Conoco-Phillips site elsewhere in the oilsands.

If that is the case, then perhaps the government should not only investigate both companies but also reflect on its own regulations and staffing levels (tough to keep adequate in today’s economy) to ensure that it can inspect in a timely manner to ensure compliance with the pertinent regulations, regulations which should be more environmentally conscious. Also, a program that penalizes companies for non-compliance, as well as for being below average in environmental stewardship and stockpiiles some money and gives extra money to sites above average in quality would also tend to improve environmental standards through voluntary means (if the carrot and stick are big enough…)

Pace to most environmentalists, but simple government fiats towards higher standards without incentives ensure, at best, minimal compliance. The people, the environment and the governmant are better served by using market measures to drive policy as opposed to laws which may be difficult to enforce. Positive and negative reinforcement work better than empty praise and punishment.

I can’t really disagree with that, O Reader. I applauded Ed Stelmach’s conviction that the Syncrude incident with the ducks would be investigated further, and I certainly think that there are probably more than a few different examples one could find in Fort McMurray of companies who flout various environmental regulations. Certainly, that is the impression I get from speaking to a sister of mine who works, currently, with a consultancy group that periodically does environmental evaluations in the region of that city.

And perhaps that will be an outcome of these investigations.

The problem, as I see it, will not be getting someone to agree to use “the stick” so much as it will be getting that someone to use “the stick” fairly. It’s ludicrously easy to point to the oil companies and cry out over the environmental havoc they may be wreaking. It’s substantially more difficult, because the issue is more politicized, to do the same about supposedly “green” operations, like wind farms or hydro dams — even when wind farms are far more devastating to avian populations than even ten Syncrude tailings ponds would be, and even when hydro dams destroy (through flooding) vast tracts of land that even Syncrude’s draglines would be hard-pressed to cultivate.

Still, overall, Stelmach has been good at keeping his promises, and there is a distinct hope that something will come of this investigation.

Good for Ed Stelmach — he’s exactly right.

Premier Ed Stelmach says Syncrude isn’t off the hook despite the fact the oilsands company placed full-page ads in major newspapers to apologize for an incident where about 500 ducks died in a toxic tailings pond.

“People may go through a stop sign and hurt someone, and they apologize, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t the full investigation,” Stelmach told reporters at a charity walk in Calgary on Sunday.

“You can apologize for the event, but we will continue to investigate the incident and make sure . . . to attach the responsibility for obviously a break-down somewhere.”

Hundreds of ducks died a week ago today after they landed on a tailings pond at Syncrude Canada’s Aurora mine north of Fort McMurray. The pond contains a toxic mix of byproducts left over after oil is washed out of the sand. Most of the ducks sank under the weight of the residue.

I’m not usually a fan of government intervention, but I will say that I am glad the the Alberta govermnent will be investigating whether there was any negligence on the part of Syncrude in regard to the issue of these ducks. It would be nice if the government also took a look at how many thousands of avians get killed every year as a result of wind turbines in the southern parts of the province, of course…every travesty such as this merits investigation.

It’s tragic that hundreds of ducks have been killed because of improper measures taken by Syncrude to implement measures to prevent the avians from landing in a tailings pond near Fort McMurray, Alberta.

At the same time, Kate raises a valid point:

Got to hand it to those environmentalists - they have the media well trained. A few hundred ducks expire in a Syncrude tailings pond and it’s international news. The tens of thousands sliced and diced each year (in the US alone) by wind generators? Not so much.

It’s sad how so much of almost everything these days is not driven by any kind of objectivity, but by narrative alone. And don’t get me wrong, narrative is all well and good…if one is writing fiction. When one is attempting to convey the news or discuss real-world issues, though? Not so much.