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Dead ducks a boon for oil-sands opponents

UNNATI GANDHI

From Saturday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 1:24 AM EDT 03/05/08

Images of mallards smothered in oil made news around the world ...Read the full article

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  1. Ben SGT/USMC from United States writes:

    No ducks for oil.
  2. gordon scott from lotus land, Canada writes: Of course Harper feels that this is 'a horrible tragedy' for all of the tar sand companies that he so much admires.
  3. diane marie from calgary, Canada writes: Here is a link to today's Calgary Herald editorial about this matter: http://tinyurl.com/4gx96d
  4. James Young from Brantford, Canada writes: The Indians near the tar sands have been complaining of insidious diseases for ages, and it hardlly makes the news. It takes a few ducks to draw attention to this Canadian disaster. The tar sand projects are a major disaster in every sense of the word. But it is the economic engine driving Canada, so I guess all is acceptable in love and war.

    Wake-up people and demand change before the landscape is similiar to disasters in industrialized Russia, which are well known, but most people don't give it a second thought.

    The attitude is if you don't personally see the mess, it doesn't affect you. But this is no longer the case in a shrinking world.

    Durgan.
  5. Daniel Cunningham from Victoria, writes: I love it - 500 ducks blows a $25 million dollar ad campaign. How stupid can the Albertan government be-apparently very expensively.
  6. Katherine R from Canada writes: Yuck - ducks are pretty hardy little creatures so that place must be absolutely toxic.

    I support a carbon tax - people need incentive to minimize their use of oil products. Most won't do it voluntarily.
  7. Edgar Allen Poe from Not Toronto thank God!, Canada writes: 'The death of 500 ducks is a tragedy, the death of 50 million a statistic.' It has also been a boon for the G&M which indeed has an agenda to make AB look bad. There's no mention of the birds killed every year by Toronto high rises, nor discussion about the ducks killed in NA every year from hunting. One study estimates that each year 57 million birds are killed by cars and 97.5 million by collisions with plate glass http://www.life.ca/nl/116/asknlwind.html It is mostly other Canadians who are benefitting from the oilsands. The CERI study estimated the impacts of $100-billion invested in oil-sands development over a 20-year period through to 2020. Even if oil prices were to level off at half their current level, this investment will lead to: 6.6-million person years of employment, 44% of it outside of Alberta. Of the 1.7-million person years of employment generated in Canada outside of AB, 1 million would be in ON alone. Again, why should ON benefit from our redneck windfall? He hate me. Federal government tax revenues of $51-billion, making Ottawa (not Alberta) the largest recipient of government revenues generated by oil-sands development. Money that will be used to provide 7$/day daycare to Quebecers. Again, he hate me. So I ask my fellow Albertans, let's give Canadians exactly what they want. Even though ON is becoming a have not province like Quebec, NL will bail them out, Danny Williams said he will look after the poor welfare sisters of Canada like ON and QUE. Leave the oil in the ground for our future generations and until a time comes to better extract it and refine it in a more enviromentally friendly manner as the technology becomes available. Than the environmentalist can focus on shutting down the Nanticoke coal generator, the INCO tailings pond, nuclear waste from the ON reactors and the GTA urban sprawl which is consuming 1000's of acres of prime farmland which would be better suited to feeding the world's upcoming food shortage.
  8. L Harder from Canada writes: Don't know why it would take this incident to illustrate the folly of this technology. Plain to see the tailing ponds are a disaster in the making. I have seen no plans on rehabbing them or how long they would remain toxic.
  9. diane marie from calgary, Canada writes: Edgar Allen Poe:-- Why don't you read the Calgary Herald editorial. You know - Calgary - head office of the oil industry - in Alberta (location of the oil sands).
  10. Ben SGT/USMC from United States writes:

    No ducks for oil!

    Please raise my taxes NOW!!!!
  11. Edgar Allen Poe from Not Toronto thank God!, Canada writes: I did Diane. Next you will be calling the Herald a bastion of right-wing conservatism.
  12. Ben SGT/USMC from United States writes:

    Ever see a fuzzy white seal being slaughtered on the ice?

    Ever seen a bug smashed against the windshield of a Prius?

    Know what the sole of a shoe on a human does to an ant's head?

    Ever shot and cleaned/gutted a duck with a shotgun?

    Ever eat a hamburger?

    Ever Eaten a fish?

    Ever driven a car or a bus and gone to to work?
  13. Antonio San from Canada writes: 1.2 million ducks killed through hunting... only the media make it an event for 500.
  14. Duncan Munro from Canada writes:
    Of course these toxic seas also pollute the ground water, and the fact that Alberta is running out of water, doesn't seem to bother any of these nut cases supporting the transformation of Northern Alberta into a toxic waste land.

    Shut the tar sands down, and sell the natural gas that is currently used to toxify Alberta, to pay for the clean-up costs and provide revenue to Albertans to make up for the loss of the tar sands. Albertans would probably end up with more money in their pockets and an infinitely cleaner province.
  15. Ben SGT/USMC from United States writes:
    Antonio San from Canada writes:

    ' 1.2 million ducks killed through hunting... only the media make it an event for 500.'

    You miss the point dude.

    Ladybugs with their brains liquefied in their deaths caused by the windshield of a Prius are way , WAY different.
  16. Joe Gopher from Canada writes: How many ducks do the bird choppers, otherwise known as windmills, kill?
  17. kevin joncas from Canada writes: We need the revenue from the oil sands.How else is this country going to make up for the multi millions of dollars eastern canada sends out of the country to the oil cartels,and then claim how 'pure' they are,because the mess created by the oil they use is in another country. Eastern whining is really hard on the gag reflex.
  18. Michael Sharp from Victoria, Canada writes:

    Stupid ducks.

    Over time, evolution will stop ducks from going into nasty ponds.

    You believe in evolution, don't you?

    Well, that's how this works.
    Stupid ducks fly into toxic ponds.
    Stupid ducks don't have babies.

    Smart ducks land in real ponds.
    Smart ducks have babies.

    Over time, NO ducks will land in toxic ponds.

    Science, boys and girls.

    It's always right.
  19. Matt Gillies from Calgary, Canada writes: Ducks aside the extraction of this resource takes a toll - it can be managed. Don't try and stop it.
  20. Jim Shepherd from Lima, Peru writes: Dead ducks?

    Does this have something to do with the rapidly diminishing middle class that are still stupid enough to pay taxes?

    Note to self: Please have the cook prepare Duck Flambee for dinner tomorrow night.

    The damn ducks make a lot of noise on their migratory routes through Lima, making it nearly impossible to sleep until noon, when the garbage trucks and lawn mowers take over.

    Ducks to Canada are what sewer rats are to Toronto, or seals to Newfoundland.

    Should I ever pass by the sewers of Toronto with a flamethrower crew, savagely killng several million rats, it is unlikely that anyone would complain. Best Regards.
  21. Alistair McLaughlin from Canada writes: The problem with ducks dying in the tailing ponds is that you can't eat them afterward. That's the real tragedy.
  22. Jim Shepherd from Lima, Peru writes: Alistair: Oil has no effect on edibility, but you have to be careful when searing them after plucking the feathers. Best Regards.
  23. the vegan ninja from Canada writes: I think every duck in the world could die in these ponds and they would never curtail oil production. Our planet is dying. Goodbye world.
  24. Jim Shepherd from Lima, Peru writes: Vegan: You might be dying. Have you ever considered a change of diet? Best Regards.
  25. Theo Lichacz from Kawartha, Canada writes: They're Bloody ducks. those who would place the wellfare of a handful of dumb ducks over the liveihood and wellbeing of human society should voluntarily cut themselves of from all the benefits that our energy intensive society provides. No more electricity, transportation, manufactured housing, manufactured clothing, no medicines(you can suck on some weeds when you feel bad), all enviromentals reduced to a life expectancy of 30. Yeah,that is the kind of society 'we all' embrace.
    Its Just a bunch of Bloody Ducks!
  26. William J Gillies from Canada writes: Edgar Allen Poe from Not Toronto thank God!, Canada writes: 'There's no mention of the birds killed every year by Toronto high rises'

    Perhaps that's because there's never been one flock of 500 to do so.
  27. Jim Shepherd from Lima, Peru writes: I have never seen a single dead bird in Commerce Court or on Bay Street.

    Birds do not fly at night into lighted office towers.

    Perhaps bats fly at night, but do not crash into office towers either.

    Where do these clowns get their weird theories? Best Regards.
  28. Gerry Pankhurst from westport ontario, Canada writes: If people are so concerned about 500 out many millions of ducks suffering a slow death in a toxic pond, why not simply open the duck hunting season in the area? That will thin out the population by way of a much more humane means and, at the same time, provide a food source. The media could then move on to following and reporting more meaningful news, except for the bleeding hearts who are against sports hunting under any cicumstances. Let them eat cake.
  29. Roop Misir from Toronto, Canada writes:
    Aside from the 'few' ducks, is there a connection between extraction activity and the 'unusual' weather (recent massive snow fall) in the McMurray-Edmonton area?
  30. Eugene Cholod from Grand Bend, Canada writes: Syncrude along with Environment Canada are investigating the situation.If blame is found, those involved should be 'tarred and feathered'
  31. the vegan ninja from Canada writes: It is the accumulative effect - 500 here, 500 there. More people,more industrialization, less natural world. We are roaring full speed through the greatest time of species extincton since the dinosaurs, least we forget. And Jim, eat your veggies, have a toke and try not to be so anti-duck.
  32. Two Creeks from Wheatley, Ontario, Canada writes: I have read the Calgary Herald editorial, Anne Marie. It calls for the use of more effective noise makers to scare off the ducks during inclement weather. The existence of the toxic tailing ponds themselves is not challenged at all. Are the tailings ponds to be there for ever, just getting larger, with noise makers that will be expected to work effectively forever, when the oil is all gone and Fort McMurray just another former resource extraction town?
  33. Derek Lambert from Edmonton, Canada writes: What really took me aback about this story was Stelmach's comments about how many birds die in wind turbines. I found that comparison somewhat disturbing.Turbines kill the birds pretty much instantly (as do sports hunters - which I have no problem with). The oil ssoaked birds suffer. I'm wondering how many other birds/insects/animals have just dipped into the ponds, survived but have contaminated a food chain.

    The other thing I found disturbing was the comapny's failure to report. I'm would have thought that with the world watching them as close as it is, they'd be crossing all the t's and dotting the i's. Definitely hurts their credibility.
  34. Don Adams, The Conservative Centrist :-) from Canada writes: the vegan ninja. You have a brown line across your eyes, you're down a quart. Better head out to the Bull barn to tank up :-) 500 ducks out of the millions which migrate. Just not a big deal, except to bunny huggers and Disney appologists. (oh, and vegans ) :-). However, what IS a big deal to me is the toxic waste in the tailings ponds. Why isn't this stuff cleaned prior to being dumped in the ponds? Please don't tell me we don't have the technology! I don't have a problem with extracting the oil...our society needs it. But if the effluent coming from the extraction process hasn't been thouroughly cleaned, and only pure water being expelled, that says to me we don't have sufficient Laws in place. Yep, could be expensive.... probably is. But enough profits, and tax $$, are being made from the oil, that a bunch of money should be diverted to ensure proper clean up. It's the Albetra Gov't AND the Fed Gov't we have to hold accountable for not forcing the Companies to install proper cleaning mechanisms. As far as ducks and geese are concerned, we probably need a cull.... the migratory Bird Act has worked too well.... I was reading where snow geese have become so populous, they're eating themselves out of house and home in the artic. Canard a l'orange anyone? :-)
  35. Woody Forrest from Out in the Sticks, Canada writes: People, the ducks became coated in oil, which causes the duck's feathers to lose their insulation value. Besides the immediate affects of ingesting the oil, ducks can die from hypothermia. Lots of talk so far about how 'toxic' the tailings water is and how it contaminates the area around the ponds. Well, please keep in mind that the tailings are mostly sand that has been taken out of the mine and stripped of most of the oil that was in it. In other words, the tailings were taken from point A to point B, maybe one or two kilometers apart. Anything you want to say about the ponds, you can say about the oilsands deposits that cover most of the area, including places where rivers naturally cut through them. Oil is less dense than water and floats. Oil not captured in the extraction plant finds it way onto the tailings pond, where it floats on the surface. This is apparently what did in the birds. Wait for toxicology reports before going on about how they were poisoned. It's sad for the birds, but this is a good opportunity to see what's floating on those ponds. The final report from the Alberta environment ministry should be interesting. Syncrude has a few options for dealing with the tailings pond oil. Leave it in place (maybe periodically recovering it), or putting in a facility to capture the oil and recycle it. It's cheaper to install the natural gas sound cannons to scare birds away, so that's what they do. They were slow to turn on the cannons this year so they wound up with this fiasco. The cannons should be turned back on by now, so the immediate problem should be solved. If this issue bothers you, look for detailed information on what killed the birds. If it was oil floating on the top of the water, then there are fixes for that and Syncrude may be steered towards implementing them. Losing the ducks is not a valid reason for shutting down the plants.
  36. Mitch M from near Water Valley, Alberta, Canada writes: Diane Marie,

    Thanks for the link to the Herald, I hadn't got to that yet.

    (I typically read you as just another liberal poster with the blinders always on.)

    Wildlife does not have political affiliations, so we all must look out for them. I'm usually a conservative voter, but I have voted Liberal in the past.

    I really hope that this issue does not fade away. I am very proud of our province but it has a long way to go to being respectable in regards to the environment.

    Gas prices can keep going up, as far as I'm concerned. That should straighten things out - and I live more than 100km from my business.

    Trying to 'build green' in rural Alberta has been an exercise in frustration, as I have been told to just hook up to the main supply lines - it's cheaper and less hassle.

    Wrong attitude. Wrong priorities.

    Too much profit in the wrong areas.

    Our environmental priorities need to be higher on the list.

    Syncrude has no excuse for this, and just a million dollar fine - maybe - that's nothing to them.
  37. David M from Calgary, Canada writes: Power generation windmills kill many many birds every year perhaps we should just ban them. One study indicates in north america about 2 birds die every minute in power generation windmills. So that is apporximately 1 million birds/year.

    Everyone give your head a shake. This story is way overblown.
  38. M.O SAB from Toronto, Canada writes: A tragedy that 500 ducks died??? ?MILLIONS women/children died in Africa from malaria.. but couldn't use DDT which was/is safe. but in Canada, some are in hysteria over DUCKS....... all hail the Suzukis, And Carsons!!!
  39. Don Adams, The Conservative Centrist :-) from Canada writes: Anybody care to venture a guess as to how many birds are killed by cats in Canada every year? Yep, even little Fluffy nails some when she's let loose. :-)

    But, we don't see hundreds all in one spot, so there's no big headline to be made by some dingbat reporter who's just collecting #'s of bylines he/she has had published. :-)
  40. Mitch M from near Water Valley, Alberta, Canada writes: Windmills kill a lot of bats, too.

    They shouldn't be banned, just studied and re-engineered to prevent wildlife deaths.
    Maybe put a vehicle deer whistle on the end of each fan blade (joking)

    Last I heard, photovoltaics don't kill a lot of animals.
  41. Gerry Pankhurst from westport ontario, Canada writes: It is still early spring and there have already been four birds (that I know of) that have hit my front windows. Two died before I even got to them. I put one out of its misery and one staggered around for a few minutes, much to the fascination of my dog, and eventually flew away.
  42. Gerry Pankhurst from westport ontario, Canada writes: Don Adams: Thanks for the laugh. A good choice of words.
  43. Agent Smith from Canada writes: Here's a new slogan for the tar sands: Straight from the tail ponds to breast milk or a prostate near you.
  44. Gnarly Kanuck from Canada writes: And how many people have died in the Gulf War's so that America can have 'cheap' oil?

    There is a cost to industrial activity... If you don't like it... unplug your computer and move to a sod hut.Better yet remove yourself from the equation ...permanently...because it is not going to change.
  45. Richard Hawk from Canada writes: Oh please. this whole paper and alot of posters are constantly trying to make Ontario look bad. Well guess what - no one is perfect, not even Alberta. But it would be nice if just once, ONCE, conservatives could just admit, 'ok we made a mistake here, sorry, we'll try to do better next time'. You'd win so many more votes with that approach then the constant deflect and deny strategies.
  46. Randy D from Canada writes: The hypocrisy and deceit of the left continues. Why don't all you hypocrites denounce your cars
  47. David M from Calgary, Canada writes: Mitch M - I guess you did not get my sarcasm.

    I will say again to many of the posts on here: 'Give your head a shake' there are more important items in the world to worry about. Get your priorities straight.
  48. Gerry Pankhurst from westport ontario, Canada writes: Richard Hawk: They're doing just fine. Still in charge and will be for a long time with increased strength after the October 2009 election. Get used to it.
  49. Geoffrey May from Canada writes: In the related piece, Harpers concern is clearly for the tragic image,not the reality of the toxic tailings ponds .I wish the companies involved and the government of Alberta would respond as honestly as the neo-con posters , ' who cares about damn ducks, when there's money at stake!' .
  50. Don Adams, The Conservative Centrist :-) from Canada writes: Thanks for the kind words Gerry. I try :-)

    And, I'm very trying, to all lefties :-)
  51. CD W from Canada writes: Yes, I am about to eat a dog in the phillipines or north korea, I dont care about ducks, unless they are going into my pot.
  52. Earl Anthony from Sudbury, Canada writes: It is a shame about the ducks though. They say that 50,000 to 70,000 birds are killed by wind mills in the US alone.

    How about chastizing OPEC instead for curtailing oil production which drives up fuel prices which drives up food prices and in turn starves the World's poor.

    Or environmentalists who block the building of refineries which create bottlenecks in oil production thus driving up the price leading to third world hunger.
  53. Addie Bundren from Marriotte Hotels, Canada writes: From reading stories on this subject in other media, Syncrude's not returning the Globe's call seems more a failure (unadmitted) of the reporter's lack of resourcefulness (bias?) than the company's openness. Everyone else seems to be getting quotes and even tours.
  54. looking on from Canada writes: Dead ducks float--where are the 500 dead ducks? Where did the 500 come from?
  55. BiB AmomA from Canada writes: ../

    Funny... I don't like eating duck... I always found the meat a little oily..

    Quack Quack.... Oil is at 120 a barrel and rising.... Oil wins ,ducks lose.
  56. spicydoc--That'll do, spicydoc, that'll do... from Canada writes:

    The left would love to have an NEP2, but don't dare be so brazen.

    So how does Ontario/LPC people get Alberta to suffer to Ontario's advantage? Simple.

    Force the tarsands to shut down. Huh??

    Tarsands shut down, Canadian dollar crashes, Ontario manufacturing gets a boost because of the 'favorable' dollar, Ontario becomes the 'economic engine' again.

    Easy peasy.

    Don't think this is true?? Listen to Dalton. Ontario Chamber of Commerce meeting yesterday. All of Ontario's woe's can be pinned on the price of oil and the effect on the Canadian dollar, according to Dalton.

    Buh bye Tarsands....it's over.

    The 'poor ducks' thing is just a warm-up.
  57. On the Banks of the Grand from Canada writes: according to a report (http://jscms.jrn.columbia.edu/cns/2005-04-19/zabjek-birdstrikes/) 100 million birds die in collisions with buildings each year. This is terrible and people are trying to find a solution to it.

    What happened in Alberta is terrible too and people are trying to find a solution to it. This incident brings to the attention of many what a few knew all along. Maybe the solution will be found sooner now.
  58. MJ M from Fort McMurray, Canada writes: First it is an embarrasment that Syncrude wasn't diligent in getting the boomers up and running before the birds started flying, these things really work. I have driven by that tailings pond dozens of times, taken a whole bunch of people out to see the mine sites and in every case people asked about the boomers. At no time have I ever seen a bird near one of those ponds. The main pond is about 1/2 a km from a beautiful lake that Syncrude and Suncor in a parnership with Ducks unlimited restored as a breeding ground. This lake is full of ducks and geese etc. On April 24th we got a flash freeze and it snowed for 4 straight days dumping almost 4 feet of snow. Driving back form edmonton I saw ducks and geese in the weirdest places because all the open water was frozen over and they were confused.
    Tailing ponds are a fact of life in all mining operations period. The ones at the oilsand mines are in fact less toxic than most because there are fewer truly toxic chemicals used in the upgrading process. The ponds are mostly sand, water and residual oil, unlike a gold or nickel mine where there are large amounts of arsenic.
    Syncrude screwed up here and will pay, but this is the most overblown story of the year.
  59. Luke R from Toronto, Canada writes: Wow. These Albertans sure get touchy when confronted with the truth. Wind turbines aren't bad for the environment like the tar tailing ponds are so people don't focus on them. Sky scrapers kills some birds but Calgary has office towers too. People aren't focusing on just the ducks. They are focusing the non-stop cumulative effect of this dirty industry. First increased cancer rates in people living around them, then the ducks, then what?
  60. Liberals Face Criminal Charges from Canada writes: STOP WIND GENERATORS.
    We need to shut down wind generators as they kill thousands of birds each year all over the world.
  61. looking on from Canada writes: M J M -yes this story is overblown . But what can one expect from the Globe and Mail!
  62. anonymous contributor from Canada writes: what in hell have wind turbines got to do with lakes full of sludge? some half-wit is babbling on how he took a bunch of drop-jaws to look at the wonderful things the 'ahl' comp'nies are doin'. gollyee.
    you have to accept responsibility and get this crud cleaned up. never mind other stories to get the drooling classes minds off it, get it fixed!
  63. Highball Harry from Canada writes: Typical MSM. Pages of ink on 500 ducks, very little on released murderer who goes on to kill again.

    'Calgary's latest murder victim was laid to rest in Saskatoon Thursday morning.

    Darcy Rae Elder was killed last week in her Bridlewood home. A memorial service is scheduled in Calgary on Monday.

    Elder was strangled and her estranged husband, Rick Anguish, was the only suspect in her murder.

    Anguish was killed in an apparent murder-suicide shortly after the killing when he was involved in a head-on collision on a highway near Strathmore.

    Last week, CTV first reported about Anguish's criminal past, including a conviction for manslaughter for the killing of a 69-year-old farmer in Ontario.

    Anguish shot him in the back of the head with a sawed-off shotgun.'

    Strange priorities, I must say.
  64. Alberta Dennis Notso,redneck from Canada writes: Ever since the Syncrude owners replaced the senior managers with contract managers from Exxon/Mobile the place has been going downhill. This is just another example of incompetence due to massive reorganization without looking at the risks and a management group that think they have all the answers. There is no excuse for lousy management.
  65. Joe Calgarian from Canada writes: I read somewhere that an estimated TRILLION animals die in North America every year due to a combination of hunting, deaths from running into skyrises, windmills, hit by cars etc. So 500 while tragic is a drop in the bucket. I wonder what the intelligentsia from the GTA propose they pump into their vehicles instead?
  66. spicydoc--That'll do, spicydoc, that'll do... from Canada writes:

    Joe Calgary--

    GTA lib-lovers will happily pay more for gas as long as the Canadian dollar drops below 80 cents again.

    Save manufacturing industry in Ontario. How?? Kill the dollar. Kill Alberta's oil projects.

    Isn't this 'big picture' obvious??
  67. Uncle Fester from The Old Rome, Ont., Canada writes: This is a sad story, however it won't provide a strong enough cross for the soft GTA left to nail itself to. If they really cared about birds they would be blockading chicken and turkey slaughterhouses and boycotting chicken mcnuggets.
  68. Alberta Dennis Notso,redneck from Canada writes: To all you folks that are complaining about the Alberta Oil sands projects, I suggest you examine every industrial development on a world scale and you will find that every single one has a negative effect on the environment and I include the massive growth of cities all over the world. Anyone in their right mind should know that population explosion is the culpert. Wasting your time talking about the oil sands is an indication of a weak and uninformed mind. Deal with the real issues for once. The dead duck issue is the result of lousy management and that can be corrected. A minor detail.
  69. Linda Dial from Calgary, Canada writes: Nice that we can talk about the ducks. Just as long as we don't talk about the cross-border trafficking of Canadian girls and women to Texas.
  70. i. ignatius from Mount Pleasant, Canada writes: 'If... she... weighs... the same as a duck,... she's made of wood ... and therefore ... a witch!'

    perhaps it was really 500 witches that died in the tailing ponds ...
  71. Liberals Face Criminal Charges from Canada writes: Stop the nuclear waste produced in Ontario and shut down the Ontario mining industry's tailings ponds.
  72. Fred Heff from cowtownCalgary, Canada writes: Cant we grind them up and use it as a bio-fuel.
  73. Zando Lee from Vancouver, Canada writes: ...oh, but just wait, this is just the beginning, based on projections by those who know these things, Alberta will have to surrender a pristine environment the size of Vancouver Island by the time all the oil is squeezed out of the Sands....
  74. Commander Adama from caprica, Canada writes: 500 ducks? big deal, one time (when my uncle was an avid hunter in Northern Sask), he came home with 47 ducks in the back of his car.

    He sold them to one of the local chinese establishments.
  75. bruce riley from spruce grove, Canada writes: Ontario you have some splaining to do also

    In December 2005, the Ontario Auditor General identified, out of 5400 abandoned mine sites in Ontario, at least 250 are 'toxic waste dumps, leaching acidic, metals contaminated drainage into water-courses and aquifers', and the AG strongly criticized the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines over their failure to protect the environment and Ontario taxpayers from the long-term impacts of mining.

    in the words of anonymous contributor from Canada

    gollyee.
    you have to accept responsibility and get this crud cleaned up. never mind other stories to get the drooling classes minds off it, get it fixed!

    how forgetful you are.....

    this is a global problem and a community problem..... get off your high horse and become part of the solution.
  76. Free Spirit from Canada writes: 'The primary method used to process oil sands yields an oily wastewater. For each barrel of oil recovered, 2.5 barrels of liquid waste are pumped into huge ponds. In the Syncrude pond, 14 miles in circumference, 20 feet of murky water floats on a 130-foot-thick slurry of sand, silt, clay, and unrecovered oil.'

    'It takes the equivalent of two out of every three barrels of oil recovered to pay for all the energy and other costs involved in getting the oil from the oil sands.'

    'Replacing conventional crude with oil sands to meet world demand would require about 700 additional plants the size of the existing Syncrude plant. Together, they would generate a waste tailings pond the size of Lake Ontario.'

    http://tinyurl.com/z9zon

    We are completely addicted to oil. Our advanced industrial civilization would collapse without oil. Like junkies we will do anything to get our oil fix. Destroy the environment, melt the ice caps, anything...

    ===
  77. Yvonne Wackernagel from Woodville, Canada writes: Somebody miscalculated and this tradegy occurred. Well, now, at least more care will be taken to avoid any other such disaster.
  78. L.B. MURRAY from Canada L.B. MURRAY from Canada from Canada writes: diane marie, thanks for the link to the Calgary Herald.

    ''After all, if it's warm enough for the birds to be migrating, it seems reasonable to expect it should be warm enough to operate sound-making devices.

    This is not just a tragedy for those birds but for the industry as a whole. How it's handled now can at least prevent similar events in the future and mitigate the the negative publicity as the Tory government takes its public relations pitch to the world stage.''

    ...There is no doubt in my mind that the Tory government will find PR people to ''pitch'' and ''spin''... best place to look would be those Globe and Mail conversations where we are subjected to meisterspinners 24-7, using different ''monikers''...

    -
  79. bruce riley from spruce grove, Canada writes: What has been the mortality of water fowl at Quirke tailings, Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada?

    Forgot that too.....
  80. Derek Lambert from Edmonton, Canada writes: Let's brush this over and pretend it didn't happen. Obviously Syncrude and the tarsands should be exempt from criticism as they are driving the Alberta economy. They follow the rules 99.99% of the time cut em some slack. We can't lose focus on making the justice system based on retribution as it is the only way to reduce crime. As well we can't let off the suburbanization of our cities. If we do, lazy, non 'hard working families' would be able to live in the same neighborhood as my cildren.
  81. Reg Anderson from Canada writes: 'Dead ducks a boon for oil-sands opponents'

    Oh yeah! A complete and total windfall.
  82. Antonio San from Canada writes: 'Our meal began with a choice of red or white floc, the Gascon aperitif, which prepared us for a salade Gasconne—a large plate with scant lettuce but duck seven ways: heart stuffed with foie gras, breast stuffed with foie gras, neck stuffed with leg meat and foie gras, smoked breast, gésiers (giblets), skin, and duck sausage. Then, along came toast spread with foie gras, but by this point I, too, was stuffed.' ' Brumont—fiery, passionate—is the leading producer of Madiran at his winery south of the Gesta farm. He breaks all the rules, but only in order to express the terroir, the Gascon hills that inspire him. His grape is Tannat: red, tough, and tannic, astringently aggressive. Before him, Madiran was just about undrinkable—as tannic as stewed tea when young, and as withered as a dried-out raisin when old. But over the last 25 years, Brumont has bent it to his will; he now makes at least five different Madirans, matching grape to terroir and technique. Blending it with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, he gives us Torus, a new-generation Madiran, which is supple, sensuous, and ready to drink. His Château Montus Cuvée Prestige is all Tannat—meaty, earthy, stony, and good for years. Despite the duck diet, Gascons are reportedly the healthiest people in France. Some say it’s the hard agricultural work; others, the daily dose of cabbage soup. But I’d like to think (and the science magazine Nature backs me up) that it’s the Tannat grape fighting off all that duck fat—the miracle cure of Madiran.' Van Mag.
  83. J C from Calgary, Canada writes: the vegan ninja from Canada writes: It is the accumulative effect - 500 here, 500 there. More people,more industrialization, less natural world. We are roaring full speed through the greatest time of species extincton since the dinosaurs, least we forget. And Jim, eat your veggies, have a toke and try not to be so anti-duck.
    __________________________________
    Actually, the largest extinction event was at the end of the Permian, not the end of the Cretaceous as you suggest. If you're going to try to provoke fear into people, at least have the decency to get your facts straight.

    And Luke R from Toronto, Albertans don't get touchy when confronted with the 'truth', they get touchy when when uneducated blokes such as yourself make comments about things you are probably unqualified to talk about. There are a lot of Albertans that work in the oil industry (myself included), and when people come out of their way to bash us and the oil industry, of course we'll defend it. We actually have the brains to understand what is going on. I'll completely agree that the oil sands are bad for the environment, I don't think that anyone is saying otherwise. BUT, people like you need to realize that in order for society to live the way it does, these oil sands projects are necessary...unless of course, you have a viable alternative for oil. People focus on gas at the main use of oil, when in fact, petroleum products are used in a lot of other industries. But hey, if bashing oil companies on an internet comment board makes you feel like you've made a difference in the world, so be it.
  84. Cognitively Cogitative from The Far, Far East, Canada writes: As if oil sands opponents wanted to see 500 ducks dead. Or is that just how the G&M wants to paint oil sands opponents.
    There is never a good reason to see 500 ducks dead. Even if it does add weight to our argument.
  85. otto von abbatoir from Los Angeles, United States writes: C'mon Canada! Where's that Candu spirit? Let's think outside the hockey box. Seal clubbers need jobs. Syncrude needs to keep dumb animals away from its tailing ponds. Simple solution: seal clubbers line borders of tailing ponds waving clubs to keep dumb animals from going in. We call 'em scarecrows down here. More than anything, this sounds like inept Syncrude management enabled by inept Canadian government employment policies which make acquiring scarecrows difficult. In America, you can go down to any Home Despot every morning and hire as many scarecrows as you need. They're sold under the brand name 'Mexicans'. I guarantee they will work under the most miserable conditions for them loftie loonie bucks.
  86. scott thomas from Canada writes: I would have thought that the extremely high native Cancer rate, and the firing of the local medical officer of health for raising this issue and pointing to the carcinogens that are dumped into the water supply, would have been of more concern than a few oily ducks.
  87. Fran Irwin from Medicine Hat, Canada writes: Alberta's 'Environment' Minister, Rob Renner (and my own MLA) was quoted yesterday as saying that 'whomever reported this incident is irrelevant.' Yep - the FACT that it was NOT Syncrude (despite their claim to the contrary) - but instead an anonymous tipster who alerted the government seems to be 'irrelevant' to this Environment Minister. So the $1 Million fine for such an unreported incident (all rules surrounding this are self-regulated and up to the tar sands companies) will likely never happen. How Robbie can say who reported this is 'irrelevant' is the height of hypocrisy - he can't tout 'self-regulation' as a viable environmental policy and then NOT fine violators wehn they don't rat on themselves.. Environmental 'controls' in the tar sands have been compared to a driver exceeding the speed limit on an Alberta highway by 50 kms and then pulling off into a rest stop to call the RCMP and report their own speeding - it will never happen. This Conservative government are so far up-the-a*s of the Tar Sands investors, they will spend their energy and Albertan's taxpayer dollars to cover-up the nasty truth. The turnout in Rob Renner's consistency of Medicine Hat on March 3rd) saw only 32% of registered voters turn-out - Robbie got just over 50% of that number - so just under 1 in 6 voted for this ineffectual Environment Minister (a florist by trade) - hardly a resounding endorsement! His best quote in the weeks prior to the election 'As Environment Minister my primary role is NOT protecting the environment, but ensuring economic sustain ability.' Kind of sums it up!
  88. Antonio San from Canada writes: Ladies , Gentlemen, relax, Have a DUCK... oooops Bill C-10
  89. james cyr from Balmertown Ontario, Canada writes: This is indeed an unfortunate incident, and steps could have been taken to prevent this type of thing from happening. Screening the tailings pond would have been one option; using sound to frighten away the ducks would have been another. In other words, use any method to make the pond as unfriendly-looking as possible to wayward ducks. It is up to the provincial government (and ultimately the Federal government) to make sure that all is being done to discourage ducks from landing on toxic ponds. If company bigwigs had any brains, they would have foreseen such an incident, and the unfavorable public reaction that it would invoke. They would have then taken all steps to prevent such an incident from happening. It is not like they do not have the money to do this. And of course environmentalists will try and make as much of this as possible, however, as long as the oil sands are profitable, there is no way that they will be shut down.
  90. Gail C from Canada writes: Yes, the mallard is abundant, but so was the passenger pigeon, and we all know what happened to it.

    This is an ecological tragedy, and the agony and suffering of the birds must have been terrible. But I agree with Scott Thomas's observation above. 'I would have thought that the extremely high native cancer rate, and the firing of the local medical officer of health for raising this issue and pointing to the carcinogens that are dumped into the water supply would have been of more concern...'

    And who has shown concern about the deaths of the ducks? The Indigenous people dying from the same pollution. It seems our own greed-ridden society has lost its moral compass.
  91. Nassar Ben Houdja from Canada writes: Ducks and seals get better press than pidgeons and rats, talk about animal profiling. Where's an indignant doo gooder to defend these marginalized creatures? It's ok to spread toxins around the city to kill some animals, but a shortsighted duck that can't tell an oil slick from swamp water is a maryter?
  92. George Stone from Canada writes: I live in Alberta, but sometimes the stupidity of Conservative posters on this thread amazes me. The comments that this is a nonstory, the shots at Toronto, the shots at wind turbines, what is the matter with them? This is their province that is being destroyed and all they can think of is money. The health of our native population has been threatened and all they think of is money. A fine doctor tried to help his northern patients and he was finally driven away by lack of support by our wonderful Conservative government. The really odd thing is that, in reality, only a small percentage of Albertans are getting the money that they seem so interested in. Most goes out of the province and country. This is a terrible story and one at whic all people, especially Albertans should be appalled.
  93. Gerry Pankhurst from westport ontario, Canada writes: Don't cry Georgie boy. There are better days ahead,
  94. Vern McPherson from writes:
    Those ducks nees another COns tax break ................ that will fix everything ..........
  95. Liberals Belong In the Trash Bin of Society from Canada writes:
    Must of been liberal ducks. Liberals jump into toxic pools everyday. Thats why they smell.How stupid can you be to fly into a cesspool.Liberal stupid thats how stupid. Read their stupid posts.
  96. Gerry Pankhurst from westport ontario, Canada writes: Gail C: Did the passing of the passenger pigeon leave an irreparable hole in your life?
  97. Vern McPherson from writes:

    Alberta is full of ingrates. While their province spends 25 million on a phoney green PR camaign - all a bunch of lies - we have these stories of rape of the environment.

    And they sit there like arrogant clams and smile about the prosperity................. and low taxes ........... fo
  98. G len from Halifax, Canada writes: Most of our development and inventions have been based on needs. I have supported the oil industry, as it is our own greed for oil/plastics/rubber etc that has provided the companies the income to refine the resource we so greatly need. Those who detest the oil industry and sit at their computers, containing many oil by-products inside them, plugged into outlets powered by oil fired generating stations, before jumping into their polluting (or electric powered car, from the same source of electricity) and driving somewhere to protest those that feed their lives. (Similar to the protester holding a wooden sign with a cardboard placard protesting the forestry industry). All that being said, industry often needs a swift kick in the rear end to advance their industry. Hopefully this kick will advance their activities to prevent this from happening again. so even tho they have had noise makers there already, they need to develop it some more.
  99. George Stone from Canada writes: Gerry, you are exactly that mindless kind of Conservative. I suppose that you go down to the spring there in Westport and whine at the tourists about those Liberals. Or do you have a cave up on the mountain where you live.
  100. R. M. from Regina, Canada writes: So many people are in a flap over this story. I think Chicken Little must have taken over as the Editor of the G&M.
  101. Bob Beal from Edmonton, Canada writes: J C from Calgary: I agree with you that there has to be a balance. I don't like the knee-jerk reactions any more than you do.

    I don't work in the oil industry, so there are quite a number of things about it that you will know better than I do. However, I do have many friends who work in the field, and I have been an Albertan for most of