It used to be OK to kill ducks to get oil. Syncrude was accused of acting negligently in not taking appropriate measures to protect wildlife at their oil sands operations in Northern Alberta. As a result of their lack of due diligence Syncrude has killed thousands of birds in the last 2 year and rightfully so has been found guilty and is being held accountable.
In our society this means money. To bring a company to justice we have decided that we need to make them pay as punishment. This as well seems reasonable to me as I expect creative sentencing will direct the Syncrude fine money to preserving and restoring natural habitats in Canada.
The real issue I have with these kind of stories is that the point is completely lost in the dollar value of the fine or the number of birds killed. The average Canadian (that's me and you) doesn't seem to be able to make the connection between what a company like Syncrude is doing in the oil sands and their cost of living.
We are NOT willing to pay the true cost of things.
What is the actual cost of gasoline, both in terms of dollar value and environmental impact. Not until the average, too busy to really think about it, Canadian realizes that idling their monster truck for 10 min every morning kills ducks is there going to be any real change and North Americans will continue exploiting to maintain our lifestyle.
The spill in the gulf is another perfect example. Until we all take responsibility for the oil lapping up on the shore nothing will change. It is easy to point the finger at BP, it takes much more honesty to ask how we all may have contributed. Do we not see that the standards around BP's drilling operations is a reflection of our expectations and a result of our demand for inexpensive fuel.
If you are still not able to make the connection between environmental impact and our expectations as a society the National Energy Board of Canada has made a direct connection for you.
We are about to start offshore drilling in one of the most fragile ecosystems in the world, the Canadian Arctic and our government is asking for our direct input on the requirements to be placed on drilling operations. Basically do we want to decrease the "attractiveness" of our oil and make it mandatory for companies drilling in the Canadian Arctic to have adequate preventative measures in place before they start drilling or not. These regulations will cost the drilling companies money and as they will not be able to pass these extra costs onto us as consumers(due to the fact that we don't know or care where our oil comes from) the regulation make Canadian oil more expensive to mine. The question really is are we willing to pay the true cost of the oil and provide protection to our environment or do we want to continue pretending that the way we all live if reasonable, sustainable, moral.
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