Oil Sands and the Earth - Framing the Environmental Message in the Print News Media (Paperback)

The Alberta Government posted record budget surpluses in 2005 and 2006. Revenues were attained primarily through record non-renewable resource revenues. Oil sands development as the major economic driver of Alberta's economy and accounts for 62 per cent of major projects. The processes used to develop and extract energy from the oil sands, mining and in-situ recovery, are also known to be the most harmful to the environment with damage ranging from habitat destruction, depletion of freshwater reserves and the production of large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. Despite the known negative impact on the environment, record numbers of megaprojects and new lease agreements are being processed. Critical praxis theory and critical discourse analysis methods are utilized to examine how stakeholders frame issues in the news media to create and shape public perception of the environmental impact of energy development in Alberta, Canada. This book aims to contribute to the field of discourse analysis by gaining a deeper understanding of how discourse is used to argue and support an argument in the print news media.