Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Funding cuts spell end of oilsands peatlands research

EDMONTON - The study of how oilsands pollution is affecting the massive peatlands in the northeast will come to an abrupt halt this spring as two scientists found out last week their funding has been cut.

In an unexpected move, the new federal-provincial Joint Oilsands Monitoring (JOSM) agency did not include wetlands (peatlands, bogs and muskeg) or groundwater in its monitoring plans — even though peatlands cover 40 per cent of the landscape in the northeast oilsands area.

Melanie Vile and Kelman Wieder, biology professors at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, have been working in the Fort McMurray area for years. Wieder said they were surprised and disappointed that peatlands are not included in JOSM’s monitoring plans — especially given the importance of peatlands as an early indicator of pollution impacts.

“It does seem a little strange,” said Wieder, who was expecting a renewal of their grant to follow up on their four-year study.

In the last four years, the scientists found evidence that the higher levels of nitrogen in the air from the oilsands plants and big trucks is having a negative impact on the bogs that will likely lead to more shrub growth and change the function of bogs, he said.

The peatlands’ capacity to act as a carbon sink and absorb greenhouse gases is also being hampered by the pollution, he added.

Alberta Environment spokesperson Jason Maloney confirmed that JOSM’s monitoring plan does not include wetlands, peatlands or groundwater.

But the provincial government will consider taking on those areas when it resumes sole responsibility for oilsands pollution monitoring after JOSM expires, said Maloney.

For the past four years, the Villanova team of scientists, one technician and ten students was funded by a grant from the Wood Buffalo Environment Association (WBEA), a Fort McMurray-based agency that since 1997 has monitored air pollution from oilsands plants and its impact on the landscape. Until this year, it was funded by oilsands companies that sit on its board.

The WBEA, previously run by stakeholders from the region, no longer has final say on its work plans or its how it spends its budget — that authority now lies with JOSM, executive director Kevin Percy confirmed in an interview this week.

Still, Percy was adamant that no final decision has been made on the peatland monitoring specifically.

“It’s my understanding final decisions have not been made,” Percy told the Journal.

Percy also said he’s optimistic JOSM will consider adding wetlands in the future to it monitoring plans.

“Bogs are a pretty good early warning system for change; that’s one reason WBEA started its work (with the Villanova team) in 2009,” said Percy.

Wieder said WBEA’s support was critical. “We’ve got a good system that works for monitoring, but not if nobody funds it,” he added.

The team studied 20 bogs over a 500-kilometre area centred in the open pit mines to measure the impact of increased nitrogen and sulphur in the air near the mines.

“Our prediction is there will be greater shrub growth that will shade out the moss (which turns into peat) and there will be less abundance of berries” eaten by wildlife and people in the area.

“Full development of the oilsands will decrease the natural peatland sink by 12.5 per cent,” said Weider.

Former Alberta deputy minister Brad Pickering was appointed earlier this month as CEO of the new Alberta Envrionmental Monitoring, Evaluating and Reporting Agency that will take over for JOSM in the next two years.

JOSM has a budget of $50 million.

A second regional environment agency — the Cumulative Effects Management Assocation (CEMA) — that does scientific policy work, is also awaiting word on whether it will be funded.

Original Article
Source: edmontonjournal.com/
Author:  SHEILA PRATT

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