Transcripts for Closed Captioning
TIPPING POINT
The End of Oil
Time code 10:01:00;10
(Sigourney Weaver)
For Chief Alan Adam
and generations of his people,
the land is life.
Then one day,
the land changed.
The world’s largest corporations
came looking for oil.
This Canadian wilderness
sits atop what many think
is the biggest deposit
of oil on the planet.
A sea of sand
soaked with bitumen.
The tar sands.
For decades,
mining the sands
was an unprofitable experiment.
Now, in a world running out
of conventional oil,
this is what’s left,
and there’s a fortune to be made.
Time code 10:02:25;22
(Sigourney Weaver continues)
The tar sands now supply more
oil to the United States than
any other foreign source.
A century of secure energy.
Time code 10:02:49;24
When I entered into politics,
I thought we were going to cash in on
the economic development
in the region and be part
of the whole atmosphere
and work on it from there.
But then as we got into it,
seven, eight, nine people
were diagnosed with cancer
in the last two years
that have passed on.
And that's an alarming number
that we have to deal with.
We live by the lake shore
of Lake Athabasca.
The river flows down from the
Athabasca river.
You can put 2 and 2 together.
It's our turn now
to say "enough is enough!"
Time code 10:03:45;24
(Sigourney Weaver)
The Alberta oil sands
lie under boreal forests
drained by the Athabasca River
as it flows northward.
Where the river empties into the lake,
it forms one of the world’s
great freshwater delta ecosystems.
On the shores of Lake Athabasca
sits tiny Fort Chipewyan.
Population: 1,027
As the river feeds the lake,
it brings the riches of the land.
But 120 kilometers upstream,
the river also feeds the tar sands
and carries away a toxic burden.
Time code 10:04:35;26
There's my Uncle Raymond.
He had died with a brain tumor.
And my Granny, she died of cancer.
And my Auntie Alvina Du Quion,
her too with cancer.
And my Uncle Naton this side up here,
he too died with a brain tumor.
So it's brain tumors and cancer
that they mostly died of.
I moved down here nine years ago
from Edmonton, and Lac La Biche,
to come raise my kids down here
because I grew up here.
This community is supposed
to be a good community to raise your family.
Both my sisters have got cancer,
and I'm just worried my kids
will end up getting it, or I'll end up getting it...
my parents.
We all cope.
Everybody grieves.
Time code 10:05:29;20
Arsenic is a very clear-cut carcinogen.
It's a cancer maker, and it is associated
with bitumen production.
The more you process those deposits,
the more your going to bring arsenic and lead
and other heavy metals to the surface.
And if you're not careful, over time you will see
larger and larger pulses of arsenic and other
cancer-makers enter waterways.
Time code 10:06:00;17
When my grandpa came out here
to this part of the country,
he fell in love with the delta
because everything was so plentiful-
birds, muskrat, you name it.
He was 86 years old when
he quit trapping, the old guy.
I don’t know if I’ll ever reach that.
You know, there's quite
a few people that have had cancer,
I'll always believe it's something
to do with the water,
and plus the fish that we eat from
Lake Athabasca.
There's supposed to be
two or three different types of cancer.
Young people died from it.
Time code 10:06:55;29
The community relies heavily
on traditional foods here.
If the water's effected,
then the animals are drawn
to the water to survive,
and it could be within
the traditional foods itself.
Time code 10:07:09;00
Well I don't think anybody
eats fish any more.
We don't, anyway.
They're deformed or bend over,
some of them have humped
backs or are crooked.
Some of them, their cheeks
are just eaten right off, like acid ate them.
Time code 10:07:27;15
I began to notice patients
had lupus, rheumatoid arthritis
and bile duct cancers.
Statistically, I'm not supposed
to see more than 1 in a 100,000.
It is certainly one that
can be can be connected
directly with toxins
in the environment.
I felt a base line health study
should be undertaken.
And that didn’t happen.
The very first visit by the group
of physicians from Health Canada,
this physician went into the kitchen
grabbed a mug, filled it
with water from the sink (tap),
took a swig, put it down
and basically turned and said
"There's nothing wrong with
the water here in Fort Chipewyan."
I thought that was a real shocker,
and the community reacted
predictably to that.
They were very angry
that this had happened
and it was kind of a kick
in the face, I guess.
Time code 10:08:16;12
It hurts big time.
No increase in dose or anything?
Some increase in morphine,
30 pills a day I think.
Two or three at 2:00 pm
and again at 4:00pm
and at night time-
Time code 10:08:30;08
(Sigourney Weaver)
But instead of a cancer study,
Dr. O'Connor found himself
the target of an investigation.
The list of accusations against
the doctor was long.
He was charged with “raising undue alarm”
in Fort Chipewyan.
His reputation under fire,
O'Connor had no choice
but to leave his practice.
Time code 10:08:56;04
They caused undue alarm
to us by doing what they did to our doctor,
that the whole community respected.
It wasn't right what they did.
They never consulted with us at all,
so they were in the wrong.
The governments were in the wrong.
Time code 10:09:13;08
Wherever the leadership
of the Health Board is,
they're the ones causing
all this chaos over here,
not telling us the truth.
There's got to be something wrong
to cause that much pain
on our end over here, you know?
Hi!
See, this is the fish I’m talking about.
Oh my god!
Time code 10:09:47;15
We've been catching quite a few of these fish,
but the fishermen got frustrated
and they just keep on throwing them overboard.
We’ve been finding these
fish for a number of years now.
Deformities on the Northern Pike too.
If they’re exposed to these chemicals,
the studies that have been done
indicate that 80% to 90% of them die
before they even hatch.
But the ones that do (live)
probably end up like that.
It’s very scary.
In time I think this lake
will be totally destroyed,
if we don't try to do
something about it, you know?
Time code 10:10:30;22
I've been a commercial fisherman for 53 years.
In the whole of Lake Athabasca,
I never, ever saw deformed
fish in my younger days.
And I have lost at least
eight members of my family to cancer.
Sometimes when I think about it
I get pretty upset with what
they have done to our lake and our waters
and whatever we have over there to survive on.
It's sad to say this, but it's true.
We need help.
Time code 10:11:11;00
(Sigourney Weaver)
In the 1970’s, David Schindler’s research
led to banning harmful
phosphates in detergent.
He was pivotal in
the global fight to curb acid rain.
Now he's turning his
attention to the tar sands.
Over the years,
Schindler has watched governments
turn water monitoring
in the Athabasca River over
to industry-funded consultants.
The Alberta Government claims
the tar sands leave
the Athabasca River unpolluted,
but Schindler is not convinced.
Time code 10:11:47;06
These pollutants are emerging pollutants.
The first time it was really shown that at
low concentrations they could have
long term impacts was at the Exxon Valdez.
Sea otters and some of the water fowl
are still being effected 18 years after the spill.
A lot of these same compounds
are in high concentrations in the tar sands.
They're toxic at parts per trillion.
(David Schindler continues)
We hired Erin Kelly to do this.
Her specialty is in mercury.
And Jeff Short, who worked around the Exxon Valdez for 20 years and had developed
some really state of the art techniques for monitoring polycyclic aromatics.
Time code 10:12:39;17
We're sampling for metals and pH,
and we're looking at different media
including fish, water and vegetation.
In the winter time we did snow sampling.
Is that a pike?
Yeah, it's a nice pike.
I became a part of this project
because of the controversy
surrounding it and because
I think that this river
and the people that live on it
deserve some good science
to answer some questions
that a lot of people are asking.
Time code 10:12:39;17
(Sigourney Weaver)
Knowing their findings
could be controversial,
Schindler’s researchers
are extremely careful in their methods.
Time code 10:13:14;14
We spent months
inter-calibrating our measurements
with those by the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Association.
Our other analyses were all
done by certified laboratories
because they're the only kind
of evidence that will stand up in court.
We've covered our bases
in a lot of ways that most
University research wouldn't.
Time code 10:13:43;17
(speaking in Dene)
Nice to see you.
Time code 10:13:48;10
How high did the water
used to come here?
Oh, high!
Yeah?
Up to here.
See the shoreline here?
Uh huh.
Water's gone down quite a bit.
That's for sure.
Time code 10:14:01;20
Though we're over 100 miles
from Fort McMurray, we are effected.
Definitely effected.
This river here, as we know it,
it's not the same anymore.
Not the same.
When I travel on the river,
I've got to bring fresh drinking water.
You just about nearly
have to have a UN envoy,
someone from the UN
monitoring what's happening,
like they're monitoring Afghanistan.
Who is monitoring the river here?
It's our survival.
It's the survival of our people.
If you kill the river,
then where are we going to turn to?
Time code 10:14:01;20
(Sigourney Weaver)
In 1899, Francois Paulette’s grandfather signed
a treaty with the British Crown.
As a 22-year old Chief in the 1970s,
Paulette went to the Supreme Court
to argue Canada had let down
its side of the bargain.
He won the case.
His victory changed Canadian law,
and launched the era of Native land claims.
Francois brings Chief Alan Adam
to a meeting of the Dene Nation,
whose chiefs come from settlements
stretching to the Arctic Ocean.
Like Fort Chipewyan,
they’re all downstream of the tar sands.
Time code 10:15:18;26
A lot of Chiefs have differences when it comes to issues relating to the community.
The only one common goal that they could relate to is land and water.
The land that ties the people together
and the water that makes you
survive off the land.
For 40 years, development
has been going on in the region
and we're feeling the impacts of it here today.
Another 40 years of development
in the region and you're going
to feel the impact of it tomorrow.
So you have to start intervening.
Start raising your voices.
But if I am left to fight this battle alone,
without the support of others,
it’s sad to say that I have no other
option but to make an agreement
with industry and government.
Time code 10:16:52;20
(Sigourney Weaver)
Once upon a time,
nobody noticed the tar sands.
But this is now the biggest
construction project in the world.
It’s hard to miss.
An article in National Geographic describes tar sands refineries as “dark satanic mills”.
Canadian politicians strike back.
Time code 10:17:13;15
Carbon emissions from coal fired
electricity in the United States
are forty times the emissions of the oil sands.
Time code 10:17:19;03
Am I proud of this industry?
You bet. It's a world leader.
We just need to make it better.
But I don't take lessons
from the National Geographic.
Time code 10:17:31;05
(Sigourney Weaver)
In 2008, thousands of migrating ducks
land on a lake of toxic waste.
The disaster makes headlines around the world.
As the label “dirty oil” begins to stick,
the industry shoots back with a reminder –
the world needs energy,
and Canada needs the tar sands.
Time code 10:18: 05;14
Even in the heart of the recession,
<
for the death of a race of people.
Genocide.
I foresee the apology for the death of the community of Fort Chipewyan.
Time code 11:24:21;00
Canada has long enjoyed a reputation of being a peaceful, constructive nation which has played an active role in global treaty making and creating a community of nations.
But there’s a huge gulf between that national image and what actually goes on the country.
It strikes me that Canada
is suffering from the oil curse.
And the oil curse is what happens
when a nation comes to rely
to a large extent on an important
primary resource which can
be monopolized by few people.
That’s what happens with oil everywhere.
And politically the nation becomes
brutalized by that resource and
by the politics that surround it.
Time code 11:25:06;24
(protestors chanting)
Get off our street!
Get off our street!
Get off our street!
Get off our street!
Get off our street!
Fuck you!
bang
Holy shit!
(riot police)
Move!
Grounds for arrest exist and
we are enforcing it for your safety.
You are asked to leave this area.
bang, bang, bang,
Fuck!
(cameraman)
I am peaceful!
I am peaceful!
Where do I go?
(policeman)
Get back!
(cameraman)
Where?
(policeman)
Get back!
(cameraman)
Where?
Where?
Where?
I’m surrounded!
Where can we go?
Hey!
Time code 11:26:07;03
You should be ashamed of yourselves!
(protestor chanting)
Shame!
Shame!
Shame!
Time code 11:26:21;08
(policeman)
Get back!
Yes sir!
(protestor chanting)
Shame!
Shame!
Shame!
Shame!
You should have taken this somewhere else,
Not in our neighborhood!
How would you like it if your kids
were to wake up and come out to see this?!
Time code 11:26:28;10
(Sigourney Weaver)
It’s a world of peak oil.
Every year, demand grows by 2%.
Global oil reserves are shrinking
by 7% ever year.
We just can’t find enough
to replace what we burn.
Time code 11:26:58;27
We're either going to be dependent
on dirty oil from the Gulf,
or dependent on dirty oil from Canada.
Of course the U.S. is equally
complicit in the whole thing.
We're the junkie that's buying
the drugs that Canada's pedaling.
Time code 11:26:28;10
(Sigourney Weaver)
The oil sands are impossible to ignore.
Pressure is mounting to build a huge new pipeline from Alberta to refineries in Texas.
It will cement the hold of Canada’s dirty oil
on the US market for a generation.
Time code 11:27:57;05
Ever since we got hooked on oil,
we became committed to this idea
of exponential growth
because oil permitted it.
Oil allowed us to globalize,
allowed us to change agriculture.
Massive population growth,
massive concentration of people in cities.
That's all been a function of oil.
Time code 11:28:34;29
It is making us dependent
on short term thinking, short term gains,
and ignoring the long term downside.
We are beggaring the future.
Not only destroying other cultures,
and other species but we are beggaring
our own descendents by indulging in this
oil fuel binge and just burning up
the planets deposit of liquid hydrocarbon
in a matter of a hundred years or so.
Time code 11:29:11;06
If the development of the tars sands
has one good thing about it,
it might be that it wakes us up.
Business as usual is over.
We've run out of time.
It is the tipping point.
It's telling us that everything about
fossil fuel economies have changed
in terms of cost, in terms of scale,
in terms of environmental footprint.
Everything has changed.
Now if as a society,
we can respond to that and say
"You know what, we need to get
off this within 30 years",
then that would be great.
If we don't respond to it,
then as a society, we will likely collapse
because you cannot sustain a civilization
on a resource as dirty as bitumen.
Time code 11:30:07;25
There's been this prophecy
where vehicles, brand new vehicles,
are just abandoned on the highway.
On the roads everywhere.
They're all over the place, just left.
People just walking away from them.
There are many a prophecies
that tell of this era that
man has made is going to come to a close.
In this area where
the tar sands are operating,
this is an area where
the indigenous people
were never farmers.
It's not really suitable
for farming up there.
They were hunter-gatherers,
and hunter-gatherers have
a very intimate relationship
with natural systems and effectively,
they have to trim their sails,
or adjust their load on nature
to whatever nature can provide.
And so, a hunter-gatherer society
is really always planning for eternity.