Albertans react to Desmond Tutu's visit to oilsands
Anglican archbishop Desmond Tutu sparked controversy across the province during his visit to Fort McMurray.
Tutu, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the fight against apartheid in South Africa, has taken strong stands on climate change and against projects such as the Keystone XL pipeline.
"The fact that this filth is being created now, when the link between carbon emissions and global warming is so obvious, reflects negligence and greed," Tutu told more than 200 people at a conference in Fort McMurray Saturday.
His comments have prompted many Albertans to voice their own opinion on the matter.
Randy Lorganger said Tutu's comments are relevant as long as he is not a hypocrite.
"The first thing that comes to my mind is 'how did he get there?'" Lorganger said. "If he came in a rowboat, I guess he has a position, he can talk about oil, but if he flew here then I'd be a little concerned."
However some argue that what Tutu says does matter.
"Many people look to these people for leadership," said Rose Loranger.
Alyssa Janmohamed, meanwhile, said there are other ways to approach the subject that would have a greater impact on climate change.
"It's pretty much what fuels Alberta," she said of the oilsands. "The resources are available, and they might be able to do it in a more environmentally friendly way, but the technology is not there yet.
"Instead of running your mouth saying it's a bad thing, you should invest money into making it more environmentally friendly. That could be a solution, rather than just pointing fingers."
Here are more people talking on Twitter about Tutu's visit.
