Cheap Oil Has a High Price for Birds
Saturday December 6, 2008
Prices at the pump may be lower than they have been for months, but devastating petroleum development techniques that help lower energy prices can cost millions of migratory birds their lives. A recent report issued on the tar sands development in northeastern Alberta, Canada indicates that strip mining and other tar sands development techniques in boreal forests and wetlands could impact bird populations by the millions.The boreal forests in Alberta are critical nesting grounds for many varieties of songbirds, and further migrating birds could be injured or killed by contaminated water and other habitat destruction. While we all might appreciate cheaper gas prices and lower energy costs, the loss of so many birds and their delicate habitat is just too high.
For more details and what you can do to help, visit the Boreal Songbird Initiative.
Suncor Mine, Alberta, Canada
Photo © David Dodge, Pembina Institute
Comments
Love birds and feed them year round, but can’t ride a bird to work.
This is important information. We can’t give up oil completely, but we are reminded to ask ourselves as we jump into the car or buy something that’s production used oil, “What is the cost to the planet and is it worth it?”