#athabascariver — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #athabascariver, aggregated by home.social.
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For #Indigenous communities in ‘#Alberta,’ the #OilIndustry has left an ugly stain
Facing #OilSpills, evacuations and #illness — nations downstream of the #OilSands grieve their way of life, as the #corporations polluting their water get richer
By Brandi Morin, December 7, 2023
Excerpt: "The rush of the wind and sprays of water add to the thrill as Jason Castor guides his riverboat through a stretch of #LakeAthabasca near #FortChipewyan, in #Treaty8 territories. If he slows down, his boat could get stuck in the mud or even flip over because the water levels in this spot are remarkably low. He steers around buoys, dodges logs and other debris while accelerating to the mouth of the channel, which he knows should be deep enough to navigate at an average speed.
"While trawling his boat further down the river, Castor points to odd-looking clusters resembling dirty foam floating by.
" 'There’s just a slurry of a foam that looks like #oil or some kind of #chemical in there,' says Castor, a 42-year-old father, construction business owner and member of the #AthabascaChipewyan #FirstNation (#ACFN).
"He’s been a traditional hunter, trapper and fisherman for nearly 20 years and has documented strange changes in the water, the land and animals.
"Something’s going on in the river, he says.
" 'They say that it’s natural, well, I know that that’s not natural because I’ve been on the river my whole life,' he explains as he points to brown and #WhiteFoam, #OilSheens and other discoloured formations floating on the river.
"Nowadays, it’s risky to navigate these waterways because of industrial intakes like the #WACBennettDam to the west in B.C.; the #AlbertaOilSands just up the river and impacts from #ClimateChange.
"The #PeaceAthabascaDelta is the second-largest #freshwater delta in the world.
"The #AthabascaRiver, and the larger delta, also sit atop the world’s largest known reservoir of #CrudeBitumen.
"The industry that has sprung up around it drives Alberta’s and Canada’s economy, employing about 138,000 people. In 2021, crude bitumen production totaled approximately 3.3 million barrels per day. The oil sands energy sector including oil sands, conventional #OilAndGas, mining and quarrying is valued at about $18 billion.
"But while Canada prospers off the oil sands industry, #Indigenous communities downstream are dealing with its #toxic impacts.
"Not only are the water levels fluctuating, but the health of the water flowing through the Athabasca River is jeopardized."
#CanPol #CanadaPol #Alberta #TarSands #BigOilAndGas #OilSands #WaterIsLife #Pollution #Environment #Oiligarchy
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'Irritated' N.W.T. minister learned of Suncor spill into Athabasca River when media called | CBC News https://bit.ly/3V9YBIn #NWT #OilSpill #ShaneThompson #AthabascaRiver #abpoli #Suncor #ntpoli #cdnpoli @cdnpoli
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YORK FACTORY EXPRESS JOURNAL, 1827:
"At breakfast time two of our canoes required gumming. We afterwards ascended a chain of rapids to the head of Rapids des Mors where, as our canoes require gumming again, we encamped at 5 pm. At 8 of these rapids, which are very strong, three of the canoes were handed up -- only one has been able to ascend under the poles which is owing to the dexterity of the Boute. Lafrance and Jollibois are on the recovery.
#CanadaHistory #ABHistory #Aberta #AthabascaRiver -
The Columbia Icefield drains to the Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. Meltwater flows 2,500 miles via the Athabasca River and Mackenzie River into the Arctic Ocean, via the Saskatchewan River 1,600 miles to Hudson Bay and the Atlantic, and 1,240 miles via the Fraser and Columbia rivers to the Pacific Ocean.
#ColumbiaIcefield #BritishColumbia #Alberta #ColumbiaRiver #AthabascaRiver #SaskatchewanRiver #PNW #Glacier #ContinentalDivide
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The Columbia Icefield drains to the Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. Meltwater flows 2,500 miles via the Athabasca River and Mackenzie River into the Arctic Ocean, via the Saskatchewan River 1,600 miles to Hudson Bay and the Atlantic, and 1,240 miles via the Fraser and Columbia rivers to the Pacific Ocean.
#ColumbiaIcefield #BritishColumbia #Alberta #ColumbiaRiver #AthabascaRiver #SaskatchewanRiver #PNW #Glacier #ContinentalDivide