Stumbling through the Media Spin
AO’s contributing author calls out for the development of a truly mainstream professional class of “environmentalists”
If we are left to decide what and whom to believe based on what we read, see, and hear in the media, do we then accept them as the guardians of our interests, giving us the real bill of goods? We already have an environmental watchdog working to represent the public interest in environmental protection: the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, arm in arm with Alberta Environment, supported by Community Development, Sustainable Resource Development and others, is tasked with protecting our interests.
Why are they not the source for media stories? Process and hearings are commonplace, but does the provincial government really have the will and the resources to implement what its laws and regulations require? Nikiforuk and Haavardsrud would have us believe that the will only extends as far as the next potential investment. Does regulatory authority and capability extend to all of the support ministries? In Alberta, it’s not politically correct to talk of upgrading the civil service, but as an example, the last time I looked in the Ministry of Sustainable Resource Development, only one person was charged with all ecological reviews of the mountains of assessment and monitoring papers related to oil sands and heavy oil projects.
If, as Nikiforuk and Haavardsrud proclaim, we are indeed sacrificing our natural capital for serious dollars, let our representatives either demonstrate that this is not the case, or admit that, on behalf of the public, it is a price they are willing to pay for development. However, to admit to this would seem to be political suicide; therefore, the former is the only realistic option. At stake is the means of credible reporting and communication; openness of files and industrial activities; development of a truly mainstream professional class of “environmentalists”—on a par with medical doctors—whose function is not teaching, but assessment, measurement, enforcement, and reporting on environmental effects. As long as this is done by media spin, doubts will remain. The time for spin is gone: we need meat.
Nick Roe is a registered professional biologist in Alberta and BC, and a principal of IRIS Environmental Systems Inc.
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