Hundreds of Ducks Die at Canadian Oil Sands Mine

Hundreds of ducks made a fatal landing recently in a tailings pond filled with a witch's brew of oil and toxic sludge at a northern Alberta tar sands mine. Regulators are investigating why Syncrude Canada -- the country's largest tar sands producer -- failed to deploy a system designed to scare off waterfowl. Alberta's tar sands development has been heavily criticized for huge carbon dioxide emissions, destruction of the boreal forest, and the potential for tailing ponds to contaminate local rivers and waterways.