Pembina Institute

AEN members weighed in on Friday's guilty verdict in the Syncrude ducks case. Both Sierra Club Canada and Ecojustice applauded the verdict, suggesting that the verdict further confirms the need to eliminate the toxic tailings ponds. The Pembina Institute's Simon Dyer, while calling the verdict "significant" and "positive", raises questions about the deterrent value and impact of the verdict in the broader context of the oil sands tailings ponds:

Since the incident, the amount of tailings (the toxic liquid waste produced by the oil sands extraction process) has steadily increased in volume by 200 million litres, or 80 Olympic-sized swimming pools, every day to now cover an area of 170 km². It raises the question: Did the ducks die in vain?

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As part of their 25^th Anniversary celebration, the Pembina Institue has been posting interviews with prominent Albertans and Canadians. In their latest video, University of Calgary environmental scientsit Dr. David Keith speaks on climate change & climate solutions.

…we need to convince our fellow citizens that it is morally & physically unacceptable to use atmosphere as free waste dump for carbon. And at this point, the politics really aren't the issue, and the politicians aren't the fault.

The Alberta Environment Network consists of a wide variety of environmental non-governmental organizations — from large national organizations to small grassroots groups. AEN members employ a variety of tactics to achieve their environmental goals. Amongst the most controversial, are the direct action and civil disobedience tactics employed by Greenpeace in their oil sands campaign.

David Berry's piece in Alberta Views — The Disobedient Albertans — examines Greenpeace's tactics in Alberta, including the perspectives of a couple other AEN member groups. Read More