Whose Job Is it Anyways?
This is how Cenovus Energy, an oil company operating in Alberta wants consumers to see the oil sands:
The Greener Side of The Oil Sands
And this is apparently how singer Neil Young sees them:
Nevada Nuclear Test Site. – This is what a real ‘wasteland’ looks like.
Young recently said that “Fort McMurray looks like Hiroshima. Fort McMurray is a wasteland”.*
Statements like these are exactly the kind of publicity Cenovus does not want. With the green movement moving us towards sustainable living and cleaner, more efficient technologies, the reputation of the Alberta tar sands is being heavily soiled. As an Albertan, I support the oil sands industry. I see its positive impact on our economy. I also truly believe that “Big Oil” is trying to clean up its act, if only for the sake of good press.
But is it even their job to do so?
We all reap the rewards of these operations, citizens and government alike. So why is it not the government’s responsibility to ensure revitalization? Friedman stated that corporations cannot have “social responsibilities” because the executive is accountable to only his employers and employees. The government is supposed to protect and represent the will of the people. Though it is the ethical thing to do, in my opinion, it really isn’t the company’s job to clean up after themselves. But it is beneficial to everyone that they do.
*”Neil Young Calls Fort McMurray Oilsands ‘a Wasteland'” CBC.ca. CBC News, 10 Sept. 2013. Web. 11 Sept. 2013.
Other Sources:
“The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Profits”. Milton Friedman
Top image from Cenovus Energy, Bottom image is of the Sedan Crater