These are a sample of technical innovations in advancing researching and implementation stages. While the industry is highly competitive and producers keep technologies under wraps as trade secrets, collectively they are racing to make oil sands development more sound environmentally and more respected globally. Whether the commitment comes from the heart or the pocketbook, the change is clearly taking shape and CAPP will spread the word about on it.

At in situ projects, which are expected to grow in importance because only 20 per cent of oil sands deposits are shallow enough for mining, operators have cut the freshwater consumed for steam injection processes and doubled the use of saltwater. Still, says Collyer, the industry needs to exceed current performance. Now, 80 per cent of water used in oil sands mining, and 90 per cent of in situ operations is recycled.

University scientists and other researchers are out to change the face of oil sands extraction. At the University of Alberta, for example, engineering professor Selma Guigard is testing a virtually waterless technology that would make tailings ponds obsolete. A passion for the environment motivates engineer Howard Keele to develop an oil sands mining technology that cleans quicker and cheaper, uses less water and promises reclamation within 10 years.

The industry is also adapting to the Internet age. CAPP runs a virtual public forum where citizens can air concerns, post questions and expect reasoned responses at www.canadasoilsands.ca/en/forum. There’s also an industry-sponsored website that carries a wealth of information at www.centreforenergy.com/AboutEnergy.

On the publicity front, Collyer and CAPP respond with facts to image destruction exercises like National Geographic’s dramatic photography and a blast by The Economist against greenhouse gas emissions. The antidote to one-sided presentations is often to put the oil sands into a fair perspective. The critical publications, for instance, fail to mention two billion tonnes of GHGs emitted annually by U.S. coal-fired power plants, an output 61 times that of the 33 million tonnes from the oil sands.

This spring Collyer told the Calgary Chamber of Commerce that the oil sands have become “the whipping boy for the off-oil movement and greenhouse gas concerns.” He decries lies, innuendoes and half-truths masquerading as fact. “We have a regulatory obligation to reclaim the tailings ponds and that is tightly monitored by the province,” he adds.

Producers are working to ensure that none of the tailings water is released into the Athabasca River, which has naturally occurring bits of bitumen from the oil sands tucked into the riverbanks.

He insists that when producers ramp up operations, the Athabasca will still be one of the least-used river basins in Alberta. Oil sands operators use about one per cent of the river’s annual average flow.

Collyer and Huffaker stress their personal commitment to sustainability, which represents a national attitude. “The environment is extremely important and the Canadian public has high expectations,” says Huffaker: “We embrace that. Canadians are devoted to the outdoors, to nature and wildlife. Industry gets it. We care about the future of our country. Energy, the economy and the environment all matter and must advance together.”

CAPP’s message is moving forward fast. There is more to it than Internet debates and speeches. There is support for organizations like the SEEDS Foundation, which provides balanced educational materials about energy and the environment to 14,000 schools across Canada, and reaches millions of teachers, students and their families.

“We’re excited by the future plans at CAPP,” says Margo Helper, SEEDS national executive director. “The time is ripe for a new approach.” Collyer agrees: “We have a hill to climb and we’re up to it.”

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