So anyway we Canadians are in the middle of an election campaign . There are some similarities to the American campaign though. Our Prime Minister is also a frothing at the mouth Neocon who will promise anything to get elected but his base are the rich and powerful and the Religious Right . His attitude is similar to Bush or McCain in that any criticisms of the government or the Canadian military etc. in this time of WAR can easily be characterized as being unpatriotic.
Stephen Harper's government is unconcerned over Environmental Impacts Destroying Canada's Environment is the price we have to pay to gain profit and provide the United States with oil. Most of the Canadian goes to the US and very little is kept in Canada. Meanwhile as Canada supplies the US with oil most of Canada still depends upon oil from the Middle-East.
There is a cozy relationship between the oil companies and the Albertan government. And the Canadian government under Stephen Harper has shown its disdain & dismissive attitude towards anyone who tries to inject concerns about the environment into the national debate on public policies. Though at times these ultra-pro-business pro-Bush conservatives will sometimes act as if they care and will try to use the right buzz-words to appear concerned over the environment especially during an election campaign. But once re-elected they will start saying it will take time , it can't be done overnight & more expensive studies need to be done since the science so far can't be trusted. Of course the science can't be accepted if it goes against Stephen Harper's stated policies to develop the Tar Sands or other big projects which may have a disastrous effect on our environment. Harper and other ultra-Conservatives believe that some how or other nature will take care of itself and adapt or God will ensure that humanity survives or not as He wills it.
But like the people of Appalachia & the people of Iraq we are of no real consequence to the ruling class in America. But then again if Americans can get cheaper gas at the pumps then that's also more important than Canada's environment or even an increase in Global Warming " What matters to Americans is not the Canadian People but getting at our oil at bargain basement prices to fuel their dirty economy to keep rich Americans rich . And Prime Minister Stephen Harper is on the side of Big Oil and President Bush & co. When he finishes screwing our country Stephen Harper will probably get a plum jog as a CEO or as a consultant to the oil industry. And isn't Stephen Harper's future wealth more important than Canada's environment.
Making profits is now more important than concerns over Global Warming. . The view of most Canadians appears to be that jobs & profits trump dirty air and befouled water . Alberta can be turned into a moonscape to compete with the similar scenery in West Virgina or what Sarah Palin intends to do to Alaska.
In the clip below Even CBC finds it interesting but doesn't really care about the environment and the interviewer is rather dismissive of the environmentalist being interviewed. Note below this video is a CBC documentary that actually takes these environmental concerns seriously.Of course few Canadians would watch such a documentary they like Americans like their news 3 or 4 snippets as if every issue can be reduced to a few talking points.
So anyway Stephen Harper says we must produce more Gas & Oil for the benefit of Big oil and for America. So what if our forests, our land , our waterways are destroyed along with our physical health. No price is to high to remain close friends with the White House.
Stephen Harper introduces the tar sands issue article by Stephen Harper presented by The Dominion - http://www.dominionpaper.ca
We are currently the fifth largest energy producer in the world. We rank 3rd and 7th in global gas and oil production respectively. We generate more hydro-electric power than any other country on earth. And we are the world’s largest supplier of uranium. But that’s just the beginning.
Our government is making new investments in renewable energy sources such as biofuels. And an ocean of oil-soaked sand lies under the muskeg of northern Alberta–my home province. The oil sands are the second largest oil deposit in the world, bigger than Iraq, Iran or Russia; exceeded only by Saudi Arabia.
Digging the bitumen out of the ground, squeezing out the oil and converting it in into synthetic crude is a monumental challenge. It requires vast amounts of capital, Brobdingnagian technology, and an army of skilled workers. In short, it is an enterprise of epic proportions, akin to the building of the pyramids or China’s Great Wall. Only bigger.
By 2015, Canadian oil production is forecast to reach almost 4 million barrels a day. Two thirds of it will come from the oil sands. Even now, Canada is the only non-OPEC country with growing oil deliverability. And let’s be clear.
We are a stable, reliable producer in a volatile, unpredictable world. We believe in the free exchange of energy products based on competitive market principles, not self-serving monopolistic political strategies. That’s why policymakers in Washington–not to mention investors in Houston and New York–now talk about Canada and continental energy security in the same breath.
That’s why Canada surpassed the Saudis four years ago as the largest supplier of petroleum products to the United States. And that’s why industry analysts are recommending Canada as “possessing the most attractive combination of circumstances for energy investment of any place in the world.”
—Prime Minister Stephen Harper,
addressing the Canada-UK Chamber of Commerce
July 14, 2006
If Harper is right about our ability to produce oil and gas then why is it that we are so dependent on oil from the middle East. Secondly given these facts why are average Canadians paying such high prices for Gas & Oil. Surely more Canadians should be reaping the benefits of such projects. Well the Rich and Powerful and the oil companies are making a killing along with their shareholders and that's all that matters. So what if a few thousand aboriginal Canadians die from various forms of cancer or whatever they are the people in Appalachia in the US merely disposable in the pursuit of wealth & profit.
On the other hand the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) Jack Layton has a more cautious approach to developing the Oil-Sands . You see when Jack Layton or any sensible person sees what damage the oil sands projects are doing to the land he is astonished & concerned. Stephen Harper though see a ruined environment & then concentrates on the profits and his friendly relationships with the Big Oil Companies and especially the American oil companies and the US government & his friends the Neocons & the religious Right who control the White House & who may continue to control the White House after the election. But conservatives will argue about jobs and profits in the short term while ignoring what damage these projects are doing now to the environment or to the health of many Canadians. These factors are not part of their Cost Benefit Analysis. The human factor is of no concern unless it affected one of the members of their family. But of course they always have prayer & God on their side which they believe trumps modern science. Modern science is not part of the Bible so why should they pay attention to it.
NDP leader calls for oilsands halt until environment concerns met cbc sept. 8, 2008, CBC
NDP Leader Jack Layton says he wants to stop any further expansion of oilsands development in Alberta, at least until a plan is in place for oil companies to restore the surrounding land and water.
Layton made his announcement Monday morning in Fort Smith, N.W.T., on the banks of the Slave River, after flying over the oilsands upstream in northern Alberta.
Speaking to about 100 people standing in the rain, Layton accused the oil companies of polluting waterways and putting human health at risk — and said Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives let the oil companies do it.
"The federal government has responsibilities that it is refusing to follow through. We've got fisheries, we've got transboundary air issues, we've got aboriginal health issues. The list is quite long of federal responsibilities, and Mr. Harper's walking away from it," Layton said.
"We understand that he doesn't believe in government being involved — just let the big companies do whatever they like and somehow everything will work out fine," he added.
"But I think most Canadians know that the big oil and gas companies can't be trusted."
Layton's remarks were received enthusiastically by some residents in Fort Smith, a town of 2,400 on the Alberta-N.W.T. border.
Many in the community say they wonder whether their water is safe to drink, given the petroleum development happening upstream.
and :
Layton singled out Imperial Oil's $8-billion Kearl oilsands proposal, which he said received "fast-tracked" approval from the federal government earlier in 2008.
Imperial Oil has since decided to delay the project near Fort McMurray, Alta., citing design revisions and a successful challenge by environmentalists. It is now aiming to decide by the first quarter of 2009 on whether to go ahead with the project.
On the way to the Northwest Territories, the NDP campaign plane swooped low over the tarsands for a bird's-eye view of the approximately 47,832 hectares of land stripped by development.
Layton said further projects should be suspended until carbon emissions are capped and there are significant plans to deal with the environmental and health impacts of the strip-mining.
Oil Sands Canada CBC Haper Fast Tracking
Destruction of Boreal forests and wild life and rivers streams & lakes
Toxic sludge - Tailings holding ponds aka Giant Dead Lakes
Our future : dead lakes, dead rivers, dead streams a moon-like landscape where there was the Boreal forests - silence where once birds sang -
Oil Sands CBC Crude Awakening part 1 of 3
Tar sands a health risk to Albertans - rare forms of cancer etc.
Department of Environment merely a propaganda Ministry for BIG OIL
CBC Crude Awakening part 2
Part 3
The oil Sands are not a safe eco-friendly way to extract oil but politicians in bed with Big Oil don't care they can make a fortune for themselves and their friends through development of the Tar Sands. And the rest of Canadians are supposed to keep quiet so we don't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs i.e. The Tar Sands and Big Oil.
ALBERTA TAR SANDS: DEADLY TAR SANDS! - ecoSanity.org
From: seeactinspire
Added: September 26, 2007
The tar sands are located under untouched boreal forest that covers nearly 1/4 of Alberta. Trees are cut down, the surface is strip-mined and the underlying mixture is heated with steam to make it flow.
Oil from the tar sands produces 5 x more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional oil and is the fastest growing greenhouse gas emitter in Canada (Alberta emits 40% of our nation's total, but with only 10% of our population)
Huge amounts of water and dirty energy are required to create the steam needed to extract the oil
The surrounding air and water is polluted with a variety of toxic chemicals
70% of the crude oil is exported to the U.S.
and so it goes,
GORD.
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