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TitleSand and soil: Ecological management and the framing of Mildred Lake
Publication TypeThesis
Year of Publication2010
AuthorsRitts, M. J.
Pagination136 pages
PublisherUniversity of Toronto Department of Geography
Place PublishedToronto, Ontario.
Publication Languageeng
Keywordsplanning, 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.

URLhttps://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/32911/7/Ritts_Max_J_201006_MA_Thesis.pdf
Locational Keywords

Mildred Lake, Alberta

Active Link

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/809728689

Group

OSEMB

Citation Key53607

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