‘You’re In Oil Country’: Moral Tales of Citizen Action against Petroleum Development in Alberta, Canada

Abstract

The Canadian province of Alberta has experienced phenomenal growth in its oil and gas industry. As the petroleum–industrial complex expands it has sparked a number of community-based conflicts over noxious facilities that are seen by some to be the cause of a number of health problems. The research reported here used two case studies to examine siting conflicts involving natural gas extraction facilities in rural Alberta. We found that the stories shared by citizens involved in these conflicts functioned as ‘moral tales’. These moral tales were political in the way they challenged implicit and institutionalized rationales for redistributing benefits and burdens of oil and gas development. They also created a space for collective action by articulating spatial transgressions and by constructing a type of moral citizenship.

Acknowledgement

This research was conducted through the Community, Health & Environment Research Centre at the University of Alberta. Financial support provided from SSHRC (SRG #410-2000-0893).

Notes

Notes

1 ‘Unrestricted country developments’ are a collection of permanent dwellings outside of an urban center that number more than eight per square section (AEUB, 2003). These are sometimes referred to as ‘acreage communities’.

2 Pseudonyms have been used throughout to protect participants’ identities.

3 Weibo Ludwig, a farmer living in Hythe, Alberta, was convicted of a series of oil field bombings that occurred in the late 1990s. The bombings followed a long, acrimonious battle with a local oil and gas company over sour gas wells on his property.