To read an article entitled, "Oilsands may threaten whooping cranes' survival" which is at the Canadian Broadcast Corporation News website please click on the following link:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/07/15/whooping-cranes-oilsands-report.html
From this article:
"In a report published online this week, Global Forest Watch Canada mapped the historical flight paths and landing points of whooping cranes in Alberta, particularly in the oilsands area."
The following statements are from the Press release issued by "Global Forest Watch Canada" at its website:
http://www.globalforestwatch.ca/ entitled, "World’s last wild migrating whooping cranes threatened by Alberta’s oil sands developments "
The world’s last wild migrating endangered whooping cranes – 270 birds – are threatened by oil sands developments in northern Alberta, according to a recent report by Global Forest Watch Canada (GFWC), “Migration of whooping cranes (Grus americana) through Alberta’s bitumen sands region.”
The not-for-profit research organization says that whooping cranes have regularly flown over and landed within Alberta’s oil sands region. This migration includes areas leased to and developed by oil sands companies, and includes the surface mineable area containing facilities, mine pits and more than 170 km2 of toxic tailings ponds. Annual overall bird mortality at these toxic tailings ponds in northeastern Alberta has been recently scientifically estimated at a minimum of 458 to 5,029 birds.
Why won't the Premier of this province believe this estimate? In denying this estimate Premier Stelmach is trying to avoid a confrontation with the Oil Industry of this Province relating to this industry's behavior in causing the mortality of these endangered animals! How many times has he avoided such a confrontation and why is he so unconcerned about the health of a species of life in this province, especially one so endangered? How many times has Premier Stelmach and past leaders of this province (Klein,Getty and Loughheed) not acted to force the Oil Industry of this province to change its ways to prevent the death and injury of life in this Province (including the death and injury of humans!)?
As stated in the Press release issued by "Global Forest Watch",
"The threat to the survival and recovery of the Canadian wild whooping crane population results from several factors present in the oil sands region. Exposure to tailings ponds represents a risk of oiling and ingestion of toxins. This exposure may result in direct mortality or reduced fitness for birds that continue migration. Exposure to air emissions, food web contaminants, and declining water quality as well as exposure to the expanding power line infrastructure also represent risks."
The premier of this Province, the Minister of Sustainable Resource Development in this province, Mel Knight, and the Minister of Environment, Rob Reiner, all know that tailing ponds are causing the Wildlife in this province, undue mortality and injury yet they refuse to do anything about this situation?
The people of this province want to know why!
To download a Global ForestWatch.ca report about the negative impact the Oilsands is having on the Whooping Crane population of this province (In PDF format). please click on the following link:
What do the people of other provinces of Canada think about the Behavior of the Premier of this province and his Cabinet in regard to the Whooping Cranes of this Province?
In the article, written by Randy Boswell entitled, "Endangered bird faces continent-wide threats:Whooping crane at risk around Alberta oilsands and at southern end of migration route in Texas," published in the Vancouver Sun Newspaper
(link to article:http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Endangered+bird+faces+continent+wide+threats/5087831/story.html#ixzz1SLstTz7o ) it is stated:
"Wildlife advocates on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border are raising concerns about the future prospects of the whooping crane -the continent's most iconic endangered species." The author of this article, Randy Boswell quotes the Global Forest Watch report as follows:
"Still, there is little evidence that the governments of Alberta and Canada have adequately considered whooping cranes in the approval of industrial developments in Alberta's oilsands region."
I contend that the Governments of Alberta and Canada have not adequately considered many other life forms in the approval of industrial developments in Alberta's oilsands region. For example the grizzly bear species, and the caribou species as well as species of birds (ducks) which have been found dead in tailings ponds owned and operated by Oil Sands developers in this Province all are life forms which have been negatively impacted by the Province of Alberta's lack of consideration of them!
I contend that the Governments of Alberta and Canada have not adequately considered many other life forms in the approval of industrial developments in Alberta's oilsands region. For example the grizzly bear species, and the caribou species as well as species of birds (ducks) which have been found dead in tailings ponds owned and operated by Oil Sands developers in this Province all are life forms which have been negatively impacted by the Province of Alberta's lack of consideration of them!
Premier Stelmach, Minister Rob Reiner and Minister Mel Knight, once again it seems your lack of concern in regards to a species of life in this Province has caused people in another area of Canada to shame the people of this Province and its Government! Why are you causing people elsewhere to develop such a negative view of our Province through your inaction towards these species of life? And why do you constantly seem to be unwilling to accept the research of experts regarding endangered species of life in our Province?
Source of image:http://www.birdsasart.com/rootjpegs/Neiger-CC-Whooping-Crane.jpg
To see a recent television Interview Peter Lee recently gave to the media regarding the threat the oil sands poses to Whooping Cranes please click on the following link:
http://albertaprimetime.com/Stories.aspx?pd=2568
To see a recent television Interview Peter Lee recently gave to the media regarding the threat the oil sands poses to Whooping Cranes please click on the following link:
http://albertaprimetime.com/Stories.aspx?pd=2568
