Top ten newsmakers of 2006

Top ten newsmakers of 2006, Calgary Herald, December 31, 2006. A tidal wave of political change swept across the Alberta landscape in 2006, bringing forward a number of dynamic public figures among the Herald’s top 10 newsmakers. … Rural landowners were also looking for truth and transparency in 2006 when concerns of rapid coal bed methane development were raised in Alberta’s countryside. Jessica Ernst, an environmental consultant living just outside the hamlet of Rosebud, became a symbol of those concerns after demonstrating how her well water had deteriorated to the point she could set it aflame. Tests showed high concentrations of methane in her water and, with several CBM wells in the area, Ernst raised the spectre they had something to do with her troubles. Earlier this year, hundreds of anxious residents packed town halls to try to understand what CBM development will mean for them. Many worry about the impact the industry may have on Alberta’s landscape, both above ground and in the water beneath the soil. “Am I a landowner or am I a guinea pig?” Ernst told a meeting of landowners in March. The government argues there is no evidence that CBM activity has caused Ernst’s water woes, or any others. For their part, the industry and the province assure Albertans the resource is being developed properly and safely.

This entry was posted in Case News, Global Frac News. Bookmark the permalink.