“…..The tar sands oil project is the worst environment destroying project in north America. …..”.Not even close to the worst environment destroying project. I’m presently golfing in Phoenix and driving around in a big black Cadillac crossover, leaving a significant carbon footprint, so I don’t have my research, which is at home. But as I recall, the U.S. derives half its electricity from burning coal, which contributes 70 times more pollutants to the environment that does mining the oil sands. Perhaps the environmentalists should go after the real polluters..Think also that the oil sands in northern Alberta, is one massive oil spill perpetrated by nature and seriously polluting the landscape. Vegetation is stunted, streams are polluted, many forms of wildlife cannot survive, hot summer days you can barely breathe, vehicles driving the area have wheels and undercarriages clogged with tar-like material. The natural state is an environmental mess. But in a few hundred years once the oil companies have “cleaned up the spill” and restoring the ecosystem, the environment will be a better place. .So is mining the oil sands positive or negative to the environment? I don’t know, but it doesn’t really matter. When world economies are driven and fed by petroleum and petroleum products, the second largest petroleum reserve on the planet is going to be developed and used. The challenge is to develop this huge resource responsibly and with minimal damage to the environment. .As a polluter, the oil sands are something like less than 1%. It is time for responsible people to get their heads screwed on right. If America doesn’t take the oil via the Keystone, the Chinese will via the Northern Gateway. And to paraphrase a one-time bumper sticker – the Americans can freeze in the dark.
“…..The tar sands oil project is the worst environment destroying project in north America. …..”.Not even close to the worst environment destroying project. I’m presently golfing in Phoenix and driving around in a big black Cadillac crossover, leaving a significant carbon footprint, so I don’t have my research, which is at home. But as I recall, the U.S. derives half its electricity from burning coal, which contributes 70 times more pollutants to the environment that does mining the oil sands. Perhaps the environmentalists should go after the real polluters..Think also that the oil sands in northern Alberta, is one massive oil spill perpetrated by nature and seriously polluting the landscape. Vegetation is stunted, streams are polluted, many forms of wildlife cannot survive, hot summer days you can barely breathe, vehicles driving the area have wheels and undercarriages clogged with tar-like material. The natural state is an environmental mess. But in a few hundred years once the oil companies have “cleaned up the spill” and restoring the ecosystem, the environment will be a better place. .So is mining the oil sands positive or negative to the environment? I don’t know, but it doesn’t really matter. When world economies are driven and fed by petroleum and petroleum products, the second largest petroleum reserve on the planet is going to be developed and used. The challenge is to develop this huge resource responsibly and with minimal damage to the environment. .As a polluter, the oil sands are something like less than 1%. It is time for responsible people to get their heads screwed on right. If America doesn’t take the oil via the Keystone, the Chinese will via the Northern Gateway. And to paraphrase a one-time bumper sticker – the Americans can freeze in the dark.