Title | Sand and soil: Ecological management and the framing of Mildred Lake |
Publication Type | Thesis |
Year of Publication | 2010 |
Authors | Ritts, M. J. |
Pagination | 136 pages |
Publisher | University of Toronto Department of Geography |
Place Published | Toronto, Ontario. |
Publication Language | eng |
Keywords | planning, social issues, Syncrude |
Abstract | This paper explores representations of nature that emerge through the ecological management of Mildred Lake, Syncrude’s Alberta-based oil sands extraction facility. Examining the ways Mildred Lake’s ecology has been re-presented by site eco-management teams, I argue that technologically produced visions help reproduce the regime of power infusing a state-sanctioned scientific practice of eco- management. ‘Using governmentality theory, Chapter 1 contextualizes activities at Mildred Lake: I show how the Alberta government, tethering the growth of the oil sands to technological innovation, submits eco-management questions to a capital-driven state-developmental framework. Chapter 2 examines how state-sanctioned science is discursively performed through eco-management acts. Chapter 3 uses a case study approach to consider three Mildred Lake eco-management projects: Beaver Creek, the Tailings Pond, and reclamation. While Mildred Lake’s eco-management practices cannot withstand critical scrutiny, they reveal the culturally and ecologically significant transformations of nature required to sustain authority amid the destructive effects of bitumen extraction. |
URL | https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/32911/7/Ritts_Max_J_201006_MA_Thesis.pdf |
Locational Keywords | Mildred Lake, Alberta |
Active Link | |
Group | OSEMB |
Citation Key | 53607 |