Oil Industry, Feds and Alberta Launching Oil Sands Monitor

Who better to keep an eye on the environmental impact of the oil sands than the oil industry and its political apologists?

Environment Minister Peter Kent announced that the federal and Albertan goverments are setting up a system to monitor the environmental impact of the Athabasca oilsands. Kent says the review system will track the effects of oil extraction on air, water, and wildlife in the region, and that the results should bolster government and industry claims that the oilsands are relatively clean and safe. In addition, the cost of the monitoring system will be footed by oil companies in the region, which leads us to suggest oilsands watchers take a very critical eye when looking at any data that comes out of this new mechanism.