Even as I write that title, I cringe. To call the destruction of a once lush wilderness “beautiful” is to walk the line between neutrality and complicity. And to be clear, I am neither.
The Tar Sands project in Alberta has claimed 141,000 square kilometers of Alberta, Canada, and turned forest into a toxic landscape of oily ponds and scarred earth that stretches to the horizon.
Climate change photographer Ashley Cooper documented the Tar Sands project in a recently-published collection of images that have put an ugly face to the household name. Check out the gallery above for Cooper’s candid look at the Tar Sands.
Do we dare call Cooper’s work beautiful? Decades ago director Godfrey Reggio shot a film called “Koyaanisqatsi” [Hopi for “Life out of Balance”], which depicted a man-made world gone mad with development and expansion at the expense of the Earth. It was as beautiful as it was cautionary and terrifying, and it compelled critics to describe it as “breathtaking” and “music for the eyes.”
In this instance, we can probably assume that outrage and impetus are the principle reactions desired by photographer.
Whatever Cooper’s intentions, he certainly left little mystery as to the real goings-on up there in Alberta.
Destructive beauty which looks the part.
I would love to see more of these powerful images Chase. You may lose some of your more reactionary supporters, but, in my opinion, the earth and its inhabitants of all species are far too important to worry about that.
Thank you for introducing me to the work of Ashley Cooper.
I love all the apologists here, even “avid outdoorsmen” who will stomach any amount of environmental destruction so that they can keep driving their SUVs. Yes, there is lots more to Alberta, and there will continue to be until we strip-mine the last square inch of it. So what? Is that an excuse for all this destruction? No. They are strip-mining the landscape, and the destruction will be there for hundreds of years.
If there were ever any real restoration, then I might have more sympathy. But all over the US and Canada, mining companies essentially never restore anything. Look in the heart of Ontario, for example (London-Waterloo-Toronto). It is *filled* with mining pits that have never been restored. (Look on a satellite view in Google maps, there are scars everywhere.) Companies destroy everything and then either just walk away or shift their assets away and declare bankruptcy. Nobody cleans anything up. And what is happening in Alberta is vastly worse.
Well said John, Thank You. Love the photos!!!
Where do you want your oil from? Destroyed earth from the middle east or destroyed earth from Canada with at least a few companies trying to restore the forest as well? Or should we just all buy a Prius and do far worse things by mining nickel then charge our car with electricity and pump more coal fumes into the atmosphere? I guess having the sun burn the forest would be better.
Everything you want or use comes from some sort of destruction. Showing one side of it that is complete destruction and neglecting what restoration work they are doing is not right either. You can’t argue that “any real restoration” is happening where there people commenting on the restoration they have seen companies doing. To say “nobody cleans up anything” and using the general word “companies” is just the start to a terrible argument because it is completely untrue.
John,
I am curious, do you drive a car or rely on fossil fuels in any way? Of course you do! I gather that you cannot understand the point of most of the “apologists” here, I don’t want to see our landscape stripped and scarred. Please stop being hypocritical, using the resources and damning the means. By the way, this “apologist” traded in his gas guzzler years ago for a way more efficient vehicle , and no, not just to save money.
Like ))
Staying on topic, great photos. Reminds me of some kind of toxic alien planet.
I definitely agree with S Ritchie, Kenton, and Jay. Time to let the “environmentalists” find a way to power our homes, feed our kids and progress into the future. It is utter idiocy to frown upon and chastise an industry which you heavily rely upon without even thinking about it. I am an avid outdoors man and am very much supporting of good stewardship of our planet, it just seems like too many liberals out there have time to criticize an industry that keeps them warm, fuels their cars, and provides them with the goods that they use to convey that same criticism. Stop biting the hand that feeds you, your iStuff is helping pollute nature than the oil sands ever will..