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Toxics Watch Society Presentation to the Oil Sands Multi-Stakeholder Committee On September 26, 2006

Submitted by conrad on Wed, 2006-09-27 18:35.
  • Introduction

    • Conrad Nobert, President, TWS
    • TWS
    • since 1986
    • Among our accomplishments, we started the first Toxics Round-up in Western Canada, and advocated for the founding of the eco-stations in the city of Edmonton
    • Since 1995, as a member of the Oil Sands Environmental Coalition, Toxics Watch has participated in the regulatory approvals process for oil sands projects, and in the efforts towards
      regional environmental management under the Cumulative Environmental Management Association.
    • Also relating to oil sands development, Toxics Watch works on provincial air quality issues through Clean Air Strategic Alliance
  • Vision - 1 (General)
    The net environmental impacts of oil sands development will not exceed the environmental carrying capacity the region.

    • Water use will not be in excess of what is required
      by healthy ecosystems.
    • Land disturbance will not be in excess of what is required by healthy wildlife populations.
    • For every hectare of land dedicated to new oil sands development, another should be protected from all development elsewhere in the province
    • Levels of air, soil, and water contaminants will not exceed appropriate environmental quality guidelines.
    • There should be absolute limits developed and enforced.
  • Vision –2
    Oil sands development will occur at a rate which benefits the people of Alberta.
    There are social and economic costs to an overheated economy. There needs to be a plan in place to determine and regulate how much development at one time is “enough”.
  • Our vision of oil sands development includes a royalty regime that is responsive and reflects the new era of petroleum scarcity and high energy revenues.
  • Oil sands development will enable the transition step to a
    sustainable energy economy
    Profits from dirty energy now would fund the transformation to a green economy. The more oil sands profits, the more money would be invested in energy efficiency and renewable energy. Oil sands profits would fund:

    • Incentives for citizens and organizations to install
      photovoltaic panels on their roofs
    • Incentives for capital investment in energy efficiency projects for municipalities, institutions, residential buildings and commercial buildings
    • Wind energy and low-impact hydropower electricity generation projects in the province
    • The efforts of cities to take on a sustainable urban form that would encourage walking, biking, and transit over automobile dependence.
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