Travel Alberta To See These Unique Attractions!

TravellingAlberta.com offers one-of-a-kind oil sands vacation packages

Edmonton, Canada — As the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) embarks on a synchronized propaganda campaign aligned with the Province's "rebranding" of the tar sands, Greenpeace has launched its own website to counter the greenwashing.

TravellingAlberta.com is a tongue-in-cheek travel site that uses humour to communicate a very serious issue to Canadian and international audiences about the destructive nature of the world's largest industrial development. The website showcases showcases some of the unique attractions that await travelers to Alberta: Black sand beaches, toxic lakes and clearcut forests. Until now, this kind of vacation destination was merely the stuff of science fiction; but now, it can be experienced first-hand.

"We thought we'd help the province and CAPP with their "rebranding" campaign by bringing Alberta's newest tourist attractions to the world's doorstep. Any visitor to the Alberta tar sands can see the pollution, smell the sulfur, taste the toxins and hear the air cannons — we're saving them the trip," says Mike Hudema, a tar sands campaigner with Greenpeace.

"Premier Ed Stelmach and CAPP can spend 25 million dollars of tax payers' money trying to cleanup the image of the tar sands, but this development is still dirty, ugly and foul. That money would be much better spent cleaning up the tar sands themselves, rather than just the global image."

But while a real cleanup of the area is still a way off, the current state of northern Alberta offers a rare treat for the seasoned globetrotter who's craving something new. A seemingly endless expanse of bitumen-laden sands — coupled with the powerful scent of oil from refineries wafting through the hazy air — makes Northern Alberta a truly one-of-a-kind destination. As the long weekend approaches and families make their summer vacation plans, TravellingAlberta.com offers these adventure tips:

* Diversion surfing: Catch a wave, Alberta-style, and join Big Oil in taking advantage of the nearly 92 billion gallons of water diverted from provincial rivers each year!
* Animal sightings: Moose playing in tailings ponds, loons drenched in tar and ducks sinking in oil: it's not everywhere that you can see some of Canada's most prized wildlife in these unique settings. Hurry though! They're going fast!
* Tailings sailing: Come enjoy the vast lakes of toxic water, so big they're visible to the naked eye from space! Chase that horizon, but be careful not to capsize!
* Fun in the sun: Forget Cancun, Alberta is sizzling! Boasting more greenhouse gas emissions than Canada's three other most populous provinces combined, it's really heating up out here!

Greenpeace will promote the website internationally, calling on visitors to share the site with friends and to write Premier Ed Stelmach, Travel Minister Cindy Ady and Prime Minister Stephen Harper to demand they put the brakes on tar sand development.
TravellingAlberta.com

A Father Goose Tale

We live on a very rural, gravel road with dips and rises, a road cut through a forest and bisecting a stream that leads to one of the two lakes that can be seen from the roadside. The two lowest-lying areas are wet and marshy on either side of the road and have proven to be handy portages for Canada geese families traveling by foot from one lake to another. Why drag the goslings through the woods and underbrush when there is a clear path most of the way?

Yesterday I saw two pair of Canada geese, one pair at each portage site, both pair in the vegetation alongside the road. Well, today on my way to an appointment in town I encountered one pair of geese shepherding eight little goslings down the road. How sweet!


(Click images to enlarge)

When Father Goose began to feel threatened by my car he slowed down while Mother Goose continued walking with the babies, moving them toward the opposite side of the road, the side they would eventually exit on. I crept along, not wishing to alarm the geese yet needing to get into town. Father Goose slowed down even more and spread his beautiful tail feathers as a warning to me.



When I persisted in following him he stopped and bent his neck at me menacingly. His message was clear: Back off! His threat display was a treat to witness, and his valor in protecting his family was heartwarming. I know how aggressive Canada geese are when they have little ones so I kept a healthy distance away when I stepped out of the car for a couple of photos, didn't tarry long outside the car and even rolled my car windows up enough to prevent an attack from that angle.



We made a humorous procession, I'm sure--Mother Goose with six goslings by her side, Father Goose walking much more slowly several yards behind his family and stopping every few seconds to "gooseneck" and make threatening displays, and me in my car, creeping along slower than Father Goose, waiting for the family to reach their destination and get off the road.



Time passed. I needed to get going. What to do? I honked, hoping to speed up the geese a bit. Mother Goose nervously moved their brood to the side of the road, the goslings looked confused and Father Goose grew even more angry and menacing at the intruder on HIS road.



After the mother and babies left the road Father Goose refused to budge from his position in front of my car. For another quarter of a mile he walked ahead of me, crossing back and forth in front of my car, goose-stepping and making menacing displays while I trailed behind him, slightly embarrassed to be caught in such a position yet thrilled to witness, and be part of, this fierce display of bravado. It would have been so easy to have run over the valiant guy; another person may have done so, but not I. No, I let him lead me far away from his family, let him bully me into driving extremely s-l-o-w-l-y, let him fulfill his role of protector and maintain his dignity at the expense of my own.



When we reached the beginning of the downhill slope past our neighbors' driveway, the point at which the field of dreams comes into view, Father Goose finally decided to take wing. Off he flew, circling back to rejoin his family.





Coming home after an afternoon of errands I had forgotten about my encounter with Father Goose, but was quickly reminded when I came upon TWO pair of geese accompanied by their young: six with one set of parents and three with the other.



Once again a Father Goose slowed to force me to slow down and allow all the others to proceed safely. I was in no hurry and didn't mind creeping along at a goose's pace, but was amused at his goose-stepping and occasional goosenecking displays of protectiveness. Long after the other geese left the road at the entrance to the lake he continued to lead me up the road for at least an eighth of a mile before taking wing and allowing me to pass.

Goosenecking


Goose-stepping



Sights and encounters like this remind me of how wonderful it is to live where wildlife still make their home and raise their families. These geese, the mother fox with her three or four kits that we see occasionally near the entrance to their den in the field of dreams, the sandhill cranes that we look so forward to seeing each year in the field of dreams and in other fields as we drive along the back roads, the silly little partridges we see alongside the road, the woodcocks with their funny walk, the deer we see in the fields...all these and more (including the one black bear and two moose I've seen in our area) bring the my husband and I an enormous amount of joy.

No more deaths, please

Protect Seals

Top-grade seal pelts are fetching only $33 now. Hardly worth the risk to human life and limb, is it? Hopefully the price per pelt will continue to decline and the cruel, unnecessary seal hunts will finally come to an end.

No more deaths, sealers or seals, from seal hunts!

Ode to a Clean Refrigerator (or Look Who's Crying Over Spilled Milk)

Spring Cleaning forced itself upon me yesterday when the top shelf of our refrigerator dropped on one side, upsetting the pitcher containing the recently opened 1.33 litre bag of milk (oh how I miss screw-capped milk jugs!). Milk quickly drenched the second and third shelf items, seeped into the crisper drawer and puddled on the floor of the fridge. To make matters worse, the dangling shelf upset a can of black beans that my beloved had opened less than an hour before while making me a tasty mid-morning wrap, spilling black bean juice that flowed along the second shelf and ran down to the third shelf. The bottoms of many bottles, cans and other containers of food were engulfed by either milk, black bean juice, or both. Ugh!

On the bright side, the refrigerator was long overdue to be cleared of the detritus that settles upon all but the obsessive-compulsive clean freaks, so the end results of the clean up, which entailed removing everything from the shelves and crisper drawers, was gratifying. The down side was that with my blood pressure looming so high of late this was chore that was risky as well as gross. The experience inspired me to write this poem today:

Ode to a Clean Refrigerator

Legumes languishing fuzzily in opaque cottage cheese
Containers so carefully washed for reuse join the
Dried husks of once-broccoli and the slimy remains of
Lettuce putrefying beneath a bag of carrots in the dreaded
Crisper drawer, decaying remnants of forgotten meals,
Exiled to the compost heap of life.
Worm food.

Gleaming chrome, sparkling glass shelves, and brilliantly white molded
Surfaces bask in the glory of redemption from
Sticky residues of opened jars carelessly set and
Spatters of unknown origin defiling the Clean, embedded with
Particles drawn in on currents filled with motes and fur,
Wiped away by my unwilling hand.
House work.
-----

From now on our milk will be transferred to a screw-capped jug--no more plastic bags with the tips cut off, waiting to topple and drench the contents of the refrigerator. (A quick Google search let me know that I'm not the only one annoyed by Canadian milk bags). Also, my beloved has promised to refrain from setting opened cans of beans or other foods in the fridge--he will cooperate in storing the food in sealed plastic containers, preferably clear ones to enable us to view their contents. Hopefully there will be no more crying over spilled milk...or other liquids...in the refrigerator!

For an interesting article about milk, including history, production, varieties, distribution (including packaging!), and culture aspects, take a look at this Wikipedia offering.

And for a fairly brief yet comprehensive history of the refrigerator see The History of the Refrigerator: The Cold Truth and Hard Facts, by Marjorie Dorfman at House Not So Beautiful "where dirt and chaos reign supreme". Sounds like home, except, for the moment, my clean refrigerator.

So it goes.

O Canada

It's been quite a while since I posted anything about the seal hunts in Canada, primarily due to frustration with the Canadian government's unwavering stance on the issue. My misanthropy is exacerbated by the callousness and barbaric maliciousness of people in general when it comes to the empathetic and ethical treatment of animals, including other humans. To be, and acutely feel, powerless to stop the cruelty causes me so much anxiety and depression that I can barely function. Combined with the seriousness of my husband's health problems for the past year and a half, and the uncertainty of how and where we will live from now on, my stress and distress levels have been excruciatingly high for some time now.

I do what I can to cope, and on occasion take the opportunity to sign a petition or send a letter pleading with officials to stop cruel acts over which they have jurisdiction or influence--not only for the beleaguered seals in Canada, but for wild and captive animals everywhere. It sucks that I can't do more than be an armchair activist. Life sucks much of the time. However, once in a while the stars are aligned such that a bit of enlightenment comes my way at a time when I feel up to writing a post that has at least some substance to it.

I am sick of excuses and rationalizations for animal cruelty. I don't understand the mentality of those who perpetrate and support the barbarism. I wish that I could stop them.

Must Canadians Hate America?

Yesterday I read with great interest the editorial by CBC Radio Ideas producer Richard Handler, titled Must we hate America?. I feel so strongly about this issue that yesterday evening I composed the following response, which I submitted today via the feedback link at the end of the article.

I appreciate the acknowledgment that many Canadians greatly enjoy putting down America and Americans--almost as much as they enjoy hearing the putdowns. The frequency with which the barbs are made, the air of superiority and snideness with which they are delivered, and the grins and laughter with which they are received are both hurtful and galling to Americans in your midst, myself included. When I married my Canadian husband and immigrated to Ontario in 2005 I was totally unprepared for the anti-American sentiment expressed so readily and so often. Had I not been head-over-heels in love I would have returned to my home in the USA after my first few weeks here. My warm feelings and admiration for Canada were squelched by the attitudes and vitriol I heard with respect to America (make that "disrespect to America"), and continue to hear, all around me--on television, on the CBC Radio One, and in comments from Canadians who don't realize that I am an American (until they hear my "accent"). Enough already! I know that America is a big target due to its leadership role in the world and to the miserable consequences of the horrors and injustices wrought by the Bush administration. I can appreciate that it must not be easy to live so near and be so dependent on the USA economically and militarily. And I appreciate the analogy made by Pierre Trudeau that living next to the USA "is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant". What I don't appreciate are all the snide comments and the holier-than-thou attitude that I hear. I have lived in Canada for two-and-a-half years now and have yet to hear any praise for America...for anything! I feel like an unwanted stepchild forced to hear derisive comments about my mother at my stepmother's family reunion.

Is it because Canadians have such a huge inferiority complex that they have adopted such a chip on their shoulders with regard to America? Or is it because, in the words of singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson, "everybody's gotta have somebody to look down on", and Canadians have chosen to look down on America because it is politically correct here to do so? Do Canadians attempt to deflect attention from Canadian-caused troubles and foibles by pointing fingers south of the border? That's what it looks, and feels, like to me. After hearing so much anti-American sentiment, including self-righteous condemnation of Southern slavery and Japanese internment camps and the way American Indians were treated and how environmentally irresponsible, fat, racist and poorly educated we Americans are, I was shocked to learn about Canada's own history with regard to slavery, internment camps, aboriginal peoples, and xenophobia. I was shocked to learn of how environmentally irresponsible Canada is--sure, recycling is a bigger deal here but just look at the pollution generated by the oil fields and witness the raping of the forests and the huge number of gas-guzzling vehicles on the roads. I was amazed to see so many fat people in Canada. I was shocked by the poor spelling and grammar I encountered when reading Canadian blog posts, by the blank looks when I mention Indiana (my home state), and by the poor mathematical skills I witnessed when trying to get correct change at the grocery when the electronic cash register failed. After hearing so many derogatory remarks about the lack of a national healthcare plan south of the border (where Canada's "free" healthcare is envied) I was dismayed to learn that in Canada there are severe shortages of primary care physicians and hospital beds, no dental, vision or prescription coverage (except for senior citizen prescriptions), and that many Canadians must pay for additional health coverage to cover these deficits and that many even go abroad for treatment. After hearing ad nauseum about America's indebtedness to other countries, especially China, I was shocked to hear that Canada is divesting itself of so many of its assets, allowing other countries to own its resources and industries and outsourcing textile and apparel manufacturing jobs (sadly, even Hudson Bay clothing is now made abroad), relegating Canadians to remain the proverbial "hewers of wood,drawers of water". After hearing how deplorable the distribution of wealth is in the USA I was surprised to see the same unequal distribution here, with taxpayers paying through the nose for everything (especially hydro and gasoline) while CEOs and politicians "earn" exorbitant salaries, bonuses and severance packages. The disdain expressed by Canadians for the American propensity for patronizing big box stores and owning guns didn't prepare me for the mobs of shoppers I saw flocking to my local Canadian Wal-Mart or for the number of guns, including handguns, owned by Canadians and the animosity toward the gun registry. The Canadian contempt for the minutely scrutinized American government certainly didn't prepare me for the scandals and deplorable lack of transparency I note in the Canadian government.

From the way Americans had been put down I had expected to find myself living in a country of well-educated, morally and physically superior beings. Not so at all! When the realization of all this hit me I was initially both relieved--Canadians are no better than Americans!--and infuriated--how dare Canadians be so blatantly hypocritical! Over time some of my anger at the hypocrisy has diminished, enough so that I can continue to live in Canada, but it's a sore point for me, and I suspect for other Americans here as well. So in answer to your title question, Must We Hate Americans?: apparently you must. It's easier and more satisfying to whine and sneer at America's faults than to correct those of Canada. From what I have seen so far, Canada is about twenty to thirty years behind America; what happens south of the border eventually happens in Canada. So don't be too smug. Just wait.

While searching for an image to include with this blog post I found this article by J.J. McCullough, a bright young Canadian cartoonist in British Columbia, corroborating my views. His attitude toward Canadian-American relations is refreshing to read:

People often praise me for not being anti-American, because that seems to be an all-too-common characteristic among Canadians satirists. I honestly believe that institutionalized Canadian anti-Americanism is the root cause of most problems with this country.

The image I found came from here, a thoughtful post made in 2006 by United Kingdom blogger Clive Davis.

Joni Mitchell in Canada 1965

Do Canadians really want that pompous ass Loyola Hearn representing their views on the seal hunt?

Loyola Hearn has a lot of nerve threatening to take on the Belgians for banning seal products. What a pompous ass he is! He thinks being called or thought of as a "wuss" is an insult, but there is a huge difference between being a wuss who doesn't stand up to unwarranted bullying and being a wuss who gets his jollies by tormenting and slaughtering young seals unable to defend themselves. Loyola Hearn is this second type of wuss, who, now that his inhumanity is revealed, has decided to go on the offensive, with his right-wing government backing him. I am ashamed of Canada for supporting the hunts and I am ashamed of Canadians who do not support the seal hunts but still allow the likes of Loyola Hearn to represent his views as their views to the rest of the world.

I wonder, does Loyola "Wuss" Hearn take pride in the disgust ethical people worldwide feel when they consider the barbarism he defends so vigorously? I fear for the reputation of Canada when our country is labeled "inhumane" for the way we treat our wildlife and "wuss" for not standing up to the seal hunters and their unethical champion, Loyola Hearn.

1759: From the Warpath to the Plains of Abraham

clipped from 1759.ccbn-nbc.gc.ca

From the teaching guide: "The National Battlefields Commission, in collaboration with the Virtual Museum of Canada, is presenting 1759: From the Warpath to the Plains of Abraham, a new recreational/instructional virtual reality challenge. This exciting interactive adventure sends out net surfers to the year 1759 to let them relive, alongside the French, British, Canadians and Amerindians, the ups and downs of a fight to the finish for the conquest of America, an outstanding episode of the country’s military history. "

This is a remarkable and fun way to learn some very important history pertaining to Canada, France, England, and the Amerindians, during a time when the French and British battled for control of America. Explore the site in either English or French!

My Canadian Home

Click here to download a slideshow featuring the natural beauty of Canada, my home. I received this in an email from a friend a few weeks ago and regret not being able to credit the creator of the slideshow.