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Alberta Fights 'Dirty Oil' Stigma
Related to country: Canada

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With $100 billion worth of bitumen projects on tap, the province is ready to battle environmental groups trying to turn public opinion against what they call 'dirty oil'

Renata D'Aliesio and Jason Fekete, Calgary Herald
Published: Saturday, April 26, 2008

Alberta's $100-billion bonanza to develop the Athabasca oilsands has fractured into a tale of two solitudes.

In the eyes of the provincial government, the massive projects will unlock a secure and environmentally sustainable source of energy for Canada and the world.

In the words of environmental activists, they are among the most destructive developments on the planet.

These two divergent views are increasingly clashing at home and abroad. What began as a minor annoyance to the Stelmach government has evolved into a full-blown battle over Alberta's oilsands image.

The latest salvo came Thursday as Premier Ed Stelmach addressed more than 1,000 party faithful at an annual fundraising dinner in Edmonton.

Amid the premier's boasts about a "New West" and Alberta's oilsands bounty, an unfurled Greenpeace banner read: "$telmach: the best Premier oil money can buy."

Today the battle shifts to Washington, D.C., where deputy premier Ron Stevens begins a five-day mission to bolster the oilsands brand.

Protesters in polar bear suits are gearing up, just as they did for the premier's visit to U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney in January.

"It's pretty much the dirtiest form of oil and the wrong answer to our energy addiction," says Steve Kretzmann of Washington-based Oil Change International.

"Given the way things are going (with climate change), we don't see that level of concern ebbing anytime soon."

The Alberta government is ramping up its effort, too. This week it was revealed the province will spend $25 million over three years on an advertising and marketing campaign to boost the Alberta "brand."

Stelmach vowed he won't let environmentalists hijack public perception of the province's oil.

The stakes for the province are high: $100 billion in national and international investment is flooding into the region, making it a strategic source of new global oil supply and a boon to the entire Canadian economy.

"That's why in the speech I talked about taking the message to other jurisdictions around the world, getting the message out," Stelmach said Thursday.

"I'm not going to leave it up to Greenpeace, Sierra Club or any of these other groups."

Stelmach even referenced the contentious East Coast seal hunt.

Despite federal and provincial government efforts to characterize the seal hunt as responsible and humane, images of clubbed and skinned seals have struck a chord around the world. Animal rights activists now have the ear of the European Union, which is contemplating a crippling ban on Canadian seal products.

A similar threat may loom for Alberta's oilsands as climate change concerns mount. For many environmentalists, the development's carbon footprint is too heavy, producing three times more greenhouse gases than a conventional barrel of oil.

"The tar sands are one of the world's largest environmental disasters and they are occurring right on this government's watch," Greenpeace's Mike Hudema yelled as two security guards escorted him out of the premier's dinner Thursday.

This sort of talk -- and the potential risk it carries -- has captured the attention of Canada's powerful oil lobby.

Brian Maynard, a vice-president with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, says the oilpatch is increasingly fielding concerns from the public about the oilsands' impact on the environment.

"Industry is taking this very seriously," Maynard says, "which is why we are trying to do a much better job of listening and responding to people's concerns because, yes, this does have the potential to significantly impact our business."

American policy experts agree

Alberta can't afford to ignore the anti-oilsands campaign.

They say there's a growing danger Alberta and its oilsands will be tarnished in the United States, and this could impact its energy exports.

Chris Sands, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Hudson Institute who specializes in Canada-U.S. relations, contends Alberta has both "the blessing and the curse" of being on everyone's mind right now.

"The issue for Canada is that Alberta's oilsands may well be stigmatized as dirty oil of the sort we shouldn't want to purchase in the United States," Sands says.

"That has a huge impact on the saleability and the value even of the resource, particularly in the near term before it's established its place in the market."

But David Biette, director of the Canada Institute at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, believes Alberta has time to polish its image. He believes most Americans aren't that familiar with Alberta or its energy resources.

Alberta may be painted as the environmental bogeyman in Canada, but it doesn't share that "status" in the United States, he contends.

"It's not like dirty oil trips off the tongue of most people," Biette says.

Which is why the Alberta government is launching its public relations offensive.

Stevens, who is the province's International and Intergovernmental Relations Minister, says his job is to combat what he calls misconceptions about the province's oil.

Stevens says the government must ensure the media, regulators and politicians in the United States are educated about Alberta's energy supply and understand there are strict environmental regulations in place.

He concedes the "dirty oil" campaign is grabbing attention.

"It's very clear that it's receiving media coverage," he recently told the Herald editorial board. "Because it's receiving media coverage, it's necessary for us to ensure the true story with respect to oilsands is told."

Stevens acknowledges the aftermath of the looming U.S. presidential election -- where all three contenders are likely to take a tougher stance on the environment -- could raise further questions about the oilsands.

That makes it all the more important that the provincial government get ahead of the issue, he says.

"We have to tell our story. We have to be vigilant," he said.

Opponents are remaining vigilant, too.

North American environmental group ForestEthics, known for waging high-profile battles against the logging industry, has turned its focus on northern Alberta.

"We've taken on the tar sands because we think it's one of the most important issues facing Canada these days, and North America," says Tzeporah Berman, who works for ForestEthics in Vancouver.

"We are well aware that the Alberta government is coming to D.C., this week," she adds, declining to disclose details of planned protests.

"Keep your eye on the Washington press."

rdaliesio@theherald.canwest.com

jfekete@theherald.canwest.com


© The Calgary Herald 2008

April 30, 2008 | 7:15 AM Comments  0 comments

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