Life as a swan in the Canadian Tar Sands isn’t just about swanning around on the local lakes and chilling out with all the other swan maidens.
In fact things have been getting pretty tough lately, what with BP Rothbart making the decision to invest heavily in the desecration of the region for oil.
We’re sure this is a bad thing – particularly as Odette herself gets tangled up in Rothbart’s oily plot. Luckily a prince is on hand to apply a bit of public pressure and help Odette’s amazing recovery. It’s a happy ending… this time, at least…
THE CHARACTERS
Rothbart, villain. A murky and sinister figure (the murky and sinister side of one of our favourite corporations?)
Odette, swan queen. An oily Albertan swan – or duck, or bear, or patch of swamp. Or local inhabitant, small land owner – perhaps even general global citizen. We’re not fussy.
Finally, Siegfried, the prince: an initially confused, increasingly concerned, but happily eventually clued-up observer! He could be anyone… maybe you?
BP and Tar Sands
In recent years, BP’s been working hard to rebrand itself as a fuel company going ‘Beyond Petroleum’. But following the catastrophic Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the only thing left that’s green about this huge corporation is its famous logo.
BP’s developing engagement with the Canadian tar sands stands to be its most destructive and irresponsible project yet. In 2007 the company announced its ‘Sunrise Project’, an extraction project in partnership with Canadian company Husky Energy that could produce 200,000 barrels per day.
Sunrise will use so-called SAG-D (Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage), where water is superheated into steam with vast amounts of natural gas, then injected deep into the earth to “melt” the oil from the sand and clay.
When the financial crisis hit in 2008, leading to a crash in oil prices, BP put the project on hold. In December 2010 however, BP formalised its intention to go ahead with the project, investing £1.6 billion in the ‘development phase’. But it will be another four years before the oil flows – so there’s still some time to stop it.
bpwhiteswan.org/
Produced by You and I Films
youandifilms.com
