A group of activists are getting ready to cycle 1,000 kilometres from the Fort McMurray area in northern Alberta to Calgary to draw attention to their environmental concerns about the province's oilsands.  The trek, which begins later this week, is organized by the Sierra Youth Coalition and is the second in what the group hopes will be an annual event.  Last year, cyclists travelled from southern Alberta to the oilsands area.

EDMONTON - Dr. John O'Connor will be returning to Fort Chipewyan to a hero's welcome Friday to deliver the keynote speech at a "Water is Boss" conference.O'Connor, the doctor who drew attention to health problems in the community downstream from the oilsands, is held in high esteem, said Athabasca Chipewyan Chief Allan Adam."He is perceived as a good man," Adam said Tuesday on the eve of the five-day conference that kicks off with an elders and youth gathering. "His name will be legend."

Over 11 sweltering August days, Marya Folinsbee and six other environmental activists will challenge the biggest energy names in Alberta—think Syncrude, Suncor and Stelmach—with nothing more than their bicycles.Folinsbee is the trip coordinator for “Return to the Tar Sands,” a Sierra Youth Coalition (SYC) project now in its second year that might be described as halfway between a Tour de l’Alberta and a regular, boring old protest rally.