Suncor Energy is about to reclaim Tailings Pond #1 at the end of September 2010. There has been a lot of work done and even more to go but this video is the kind of information Albertans as owners of the oil sands need to see to appreciate and understand what is involved, what is being done and how reclamation works.
This is an actual reclamation of a tailings pond and I think the first in the history of the oil sands...but I could be wrong. I will find out and let you know later. Recent Cambridge Strategies research on the values of Albertans on what should guide and drive the development of the oil sands noted reclamation type, habitat and ecological monitoring were the top choices for about 60% of us. This video addresses all but the ecological monitoring but I am sure that is not being ignored in the reclamation efforts.
In the meantime as we start to consider the reclamation and habitat protection and replacement around oil sands more seriously, give this video by Suncor on their initial efforts a view.
Full disclosure I am a Suncor shareholder and have done work for them in the past but not presently.
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Good video, however the time laps photo into 2025 did not show what the surrounding landscape was going to look like during this period. Of course you reclaim one pond but destroy something else to take it's place. The big picture is more important to me in this case. One thing we have to be careful about is that when you cut down a native forest and plant trees, you don't get the forest back, you get the trees as the forest takes much longer to develop.
ReplyDeleteYou either buy oil from Canada or you buy bloody oil from Saudi Arabia or Iran or Venezuela. the worst human rights countries in the world. Take your pick. Can YOU do without fossil fuels? If you cant then dont be a hypocrit. Reclamation is not restoration in its pristine sense. Get real. No mine in the world can do that. Go look at Thetford Asbestos. It kills people overseas.
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