Syncrude Guilty in Duck Deaths

onJun 25, 2010 @ 14:51 PDT

Syncrude was convicted today of provincial and federal charges for the deaths of 1,600 ducks that got sucked into the slime in the company’s tar sands tailing pond in April 2008.

The company is now liable to fines of up to $800,000 and company officers face jail time, but a date for sentencing has yet to be set and no one believes that either level of government will throw the book at Canadian oil executives.

Syncrude had argued that it was operating its toxic waste dump with provincial and federal permits and that any conviction would render a continuation of the tar sands industry impossible. The judge wasn’t buying. He noted that Syncrude has crews dedicated to deterring birds from landing in its oily sludge, but observed that the crews only work Monday to Thursday. Apparently, the judge took as unreasonable Syncrude’s apparent optimism that migratory birds would take the weekend off.

By Richard Littlemore

Amsterdam Defies Last-Minute Lobbying to Become First Capital City to Ban Fossil Fuel Ads

ByEllen Ormesher

onJan 23, 2026 @ 09:43 PST

The world’s largest outdoor advertising company warned city councillors of “far-reaching consequences” hours before the landmark vote.

After Decades of Deflection, ExxonMobil Moves to Reshape Global Climate Accounting

BySharon Kelly

onJan 23, 2026 @ 09:12 PST

For decades, ExxonMobil argued consumers, not oil giants, should take responsibility for fossil fuel pollution. It’s now backing Carbon Measures’ accounting scheme, which moves pollution “liabilities” to buyers’ books.