In its latest assault on Alberta's fragile Castle Wilderness, Shell Canada has proposed a six-year plan to drill up to six new "sour gas" wells in the region's Carbondale foothills. Sour gas wells contain large amounts of hydrogen sulfide, a poisonous gas that can leak into the environment and cause serious harm to humans and wildlife, even in small doses. In the Castle, emergency-planning zones for accidental leaks would reach for six kilometers around each new well.

While Shell claims to practice sustainable energy development, the energy giant has continued to expand its activities into critical wildlife areas. The Carbondale foothills, which produce nourishing foliage earlier in the spring than the Castle's higher alpine ridges, are key habitat for elk and grizzlies. With license applications on the table for the first two sour gas wells, Shell Canada hopes to start construction of access roads and wells this summer.

Tell Shell Canada to shelve its plans for new sour gas wells in the Castle:

http://www.savebiogems.org/castle/takeaction.asp