Pollution is one thing, spin another.
The oilsands debate has long contained two different argument streams: whether government and industry are taking substantial actions to protect the environment as development proceeds; and whether messaging on the oilsands is good enough to counter claims by environmentalists and other critics.
During a week when University of Alberta ecologist David Schindler released a peer-reviewed report showing that oilsands boosts the concentration of dangerous metals in the Athabasca watershed, I can’t help but notice a difference in what has been said over time.
Check out the following older statements from government officials:
"Alberta has monitored and tested Athabasca watercourses for decades; all of our data indicates no evidence of contamination from the oil sands projects."
-Government media website, For the Record, posted January 2009
"There is no evidence of any seepage — and I must say that water has been monitored in the Athabasca River since 1971."
-Premier Ed Stelmach, question period, Alberta legislature, April 14, 2010
And now, once the Schindler report s released:
"I think we can say that we are aware there are industrial sources of contaminants to the river and this work is an attempt to quantify those sources and that’s a contribution to the knowledge base and it’s definitely welcome."
-Senior Alberta Environment surface-water-policy specialist Kim Westcott, August 30th, 2010
"We’ve always acknowledged that there is naturally occurring and industrial-sourced contaminants. It’s just a matter of determining the proportion of each."
-Alberta Environment spokeswoman Jessica Potter, August 31, 2010
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