The ponds are used by oil sands mining companies to store water used in the upgrading process. Particles of heavy bitumen, sand and clay settle out in the ponds so the water can be reused. They are a necessary and environmentally friendly part of the extraction process.
We all want to protect the environment. It belongs to our common future. Nevertheless, it is important to put incidents like this into a perspective. The 500 ducks are next to nothing in comparison to the millions of birds and animals killed every year in North America and elsewhere by vehicles, windmills, buildings, airplanes, and – I’m sorry to say – hunters. I certainly agree with Deborah Yedlin in Calgary Herald who says that “the bird ecosystem is challenged or threatened by every aspect of human life on a daily basis around the world, not just the tailings ponds associated with the oilsands in northern Alberta.”
The vendetta against the oilsands operations put forward by so-called environmentalists is not doing the environment a favour. The problem is that they are focusing on small problems that can easily be resolved without devastating conflicts. In this way they stay away from really big problems (and the big kills).
We all know that the oilsands operations are causing big headlines, and the oil companies are an easy target as their ability to stand up against unfair critique has not been very impressive. We should all hope they could improve their skills in this respect.
