Any source of energy is to be stopped. These Greens really do want to shut down civilization.
An environmental quagmire
Claudia Cattaneo, Calgary Bureau Chief, Financial Post Published: Saturday, May 17, 2008
With the oilsands now symbolizing deforestation, climate change and corporate greed, the Alberta energy industry is up against a growing network of green activists
In 1949, when the Athabasca oilsands were still a two-bit experiment, J. Howard Pew, chairman of Philadelphia-based Sun Oil Co., summoned to his office the new head of his Alberta operation. He picked up a thick file labelled Athabasca Tar Sands and showed it to George Dunlap.
"I believe the tar sands will, some day, be of great significance to the needs for petroleum in North America," the patriarch said, according to reports at the time relayed by historian Earle Gray in his book, The Great Canadian Oil Patch. "I want you to be sure that Sun Oil always has a significant position in the Athabasca tar sands area," Mr. Pew said.
Eventually, the company did, and Mr. Pew left two huge oilsands legacies.
One is Calgary-based Suncor Energy Inc., the successor of Sun Oil in Canada and the oilsands' top single producer.
The other is the Philadelphia-based Pew Charitable Trusts, one of the oilsands' fiercest critics.
The tale is indicative of a new chapter for Canada's vast unconventional oil deposits, one in which the rules are increasingly set by the global environmental movement, whose ambiguous loyalties, anti-development motivations and provocative tactics make it tough to please--or even figure out.
In the past year, a network of nongovernment organizations, on the ground and afar, has taken up the antioilsands cause, aiming at least to slow down development, at most to shut down altogether what has become the backbone of Canada's economy.
Many rely on funding from such well-heeled U. S. foundations as Pew, one of the top charities in the United States with nearly US$6-billion in assets, or the Menlo-Park, Calif.-based William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, a legacy of the co-founder of computer giant Hewlett Packard with assets of more than US$7-billion.
Greenpeace, Ecojustice, Water Matters and the Sierra Club are among those that have opened or increased operations in the province or will do so shortly. Pew, the Natural Resources Defence Council and Earth Justice are among those bolstering the campaign from abroad.
The impact has already been material: Imperial Oil Ltd. is facing a major delay in its $8-billion Kearl oilsands project after losing the latest round of a legal battle this week with a coalition of green groups. The U. S. government has passed a law that could ban use of crude from the oilsands in the federal fleet. California has introduced new low-carbon fuel standards. Ethical investors are putting pressure on companies to exit the business. Meanwhile, the oilsands' image has taken a beating.
Emboldened by the successes, the groups are warning even more efforts are in the offing, including stepping up legal challenges.
Meanwhile, with the oilsands having become emblematic around the world of everything that is bad about oil, climate change, corporate greed, deforestation, some of those in Alberta, and not just those in the line of fire, are expressing concern that groups representing outside interests are gaining a disproportionate share of voice in a Canadian issue.
"Where our governments are going to have to play an important role is: are they going to let other countries' special interest groups set the public policy agenda for our country, both at the federal and provincial level?" Tim Hearn, former CEO of Imperial Oil Ltd., asked in his last interview before retiring in March.
Water expert Kim Sturgess, chief executive of Alberta WaterSMART, a non-profit group in Calgary working with upstream petroleum companies to reduce their use of water, said the industry needs to find sustainable solutions, not more critics.
"My concern is that we have groups come in that don't share our vision for our province," she said.
Allen Wright, Calgary-based executive director of the Coal Association of Canada, said the groups are not promoting debate, but shutting it down.
"Things have become religion," he said, marvelling at the financial backing of some. "I would kill for a budget like that."
Seattle-based Steve Kallick, manager of the Boreal conservation pro-gram of the Pew Environment Group, said when he travels to Alberta he is quickly reminded about Mr. Pew's role in starting the oilsands industry and asked to justify his group's antioilsands stance.
His response is that no one, not even Mr. Pew, could have imagined the level of activity under way in Alberta
and its impact on the Canadian Boreal Forest, whose conservation is one of the top causes embraced by his charity.
"The tar sands pioneers, including the members of the Pew family who were part of Sunoco or Suncor companies, were trying to figure out to extract oil from the tar sands economically," he said.
"Now that we are talking about expansion over a gigantic area of Alberta, the size of Florida ? all of a sudden these environmental issues that have never been addressed are becoming a real significant problem."
With a lot of the financing for expansions coming from United States, and the market for the oil largely in the United States, he said Americans need have a say.
"In a sense, Americans are partners in this endeavour, so we bear responsibility as well to make sure that the environmental issues are addressed," he said.
Mr. Kallick said the charity, set up by the sons and daughters of Mr. Pew, was first invited to become involved in the oilsands by Canadian environmental groups and First Nations including the Deh Cho in the Central Mackenzie Valley who felt they were out of their league challenging major international players.
"Most of them said: 'This is a global problem and we need global players. Some of the world's largest and more powerful companies are involved, and we can't manage this entire issue ourselves. So they have been very encouraging to the other groups to come in and get involved."
The goal of the Boreal conservation program is to halt oilsands expansions, he said.
One of its tactics is to encourage international journalists to visit the oilsands area to witness the "devastation," as a recent story in the Financial Times of London called it.
Greenpeace, the world's largest environmental advocacy group, jumped into the fray last year by opening a three-staff office in Edmonton led by Mike Hudema, a 31-year old native of Medicine Hat with degrees in education and law from the University of Alberta.
Mr. Hudema has gained international notoriety with his dramatic stunts, including disrupting a fund-raising dinner hosted by Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach, when his group managed to unwrap a large banner that read: "$telmach: the best Premier oil money can buy."
Mr. Hudema said he joined the group, funded by its members and individual donations, because he wants to contribute to an alternative energy vision for the province that doesn't involve the oilsands.
"We are definitely seeing more and more groups and individuals become concerned," Mr. Hudema said.
Simon Dyer, director of the oilsands program at the Pembina Institute, which has a 20-year history in Alberta and for a long time was the main NGO voice on oilsands issues, said the growth of the movement has brought the sector the atten tion it deserves.
The institute's oilsands program is funded in large part by the Hewlett Foundation. Pembina also receives some funding from consulting to oilsands companies such as Suncor and Royal Dutch Shell PLC, governments and First Nations.
Pembina's goal is to ensure oilsands development is done properly, but in the context of a transition to a more sustainable energy future, he said.
"Pembina focuses on solutions," said the wildlife biologist. "We want to ensure the environment is protected in Alberta. The impacts that are associated with oilsands are such that we want to fix these problems."
Recognition of the movement's growing impact has prompted unprecedented response from industry and government. The province has launched a $25-million campaign to counter the "misrepresentations" of the environmental movement, as Deputy Alberta Premier Ron Stevens put it recently.
Kevin Meyers, president of the huge Canadian unit of Houstonbased ConocoPhillips, which this week launched in Grande Prairie, Alta., a "Conversation on Energy" program, said environmental organizations have successfully raised awareness about oil industry shortcomings, while industry itself failed to listen to those affected and to talk about its plans.
"We want to do our part to step up that dialogue, to have them understand the challenges that our activities put upon the local community and what we can do to try and minimize that," he said.
ConocoPhillips' program, launched in Canada "because of the recognition by CPC the industry's reputation has been challenged," involves meetings and public discussions across the country in the next two years between company executives and the community.
The program has just started, but Mr. Meyer is pleased with the response from the Grande Prairie session. "Generally, they feel we are a pretty good neighbour," he said. "I don't think I hear anyone saying, 'Don't develop'."
ccattaneo@nationalpost.com
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GREEN INVASION
Some of the green groups targeting the oilsands:
Ecojustice Canada Society Offices: Vancouver, Toronto; opening office in Alberta in next few months. Revenue: $4.05 million (Oct. 31, 2007)
The Pembina Institute Offices: Calgary, Drayton Valley, Alta., Edmonton, Gatineau, Que., Toronto, Vancouver. Revenue: $4.2-million (2006)
Sierra Club of Canada Head office: Ottawa Revenue: $3.5-million (2006)
World Wildlife Fund Head office: Washington, D. C. Revenue: US$160.8-million (2007)
Polaris Institute Head office: Ottawa Revenue: n/a
Parkland Institute Head office: Edmonton Revenue: n/a
Greenpeace International Head office: Amsterdam Revenue: 171.4-million euros
Natural Resources Defense Council Head office: New York, N. Y. Operating income: US$75.1-million (2007)
Pew Charitable Trusts Head office: Washington, D. C. Revenue: US$304.1-million (June 2007)
David Suzuki Foundation Head office: Vancouver Revenue: $6-million (2006)
Water Matters Head office: Canmore, Alta. Revenue: n/a
Toxics Watch Society Head office: Edmonton Revenue: n/a
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