1.18.2007

Catastrophe times Five

The U.S. Department of Energy wants Canadian companies to increase production in Alberta's Oil Sands at five times its current rate.

In his State of the Union Address, George Bush said he wanted to reduce America's dependence on oil from the Middle East. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean reducing America's oil consumption, it means that Canada pays for America's oil addiction with our environment and our sovereignty. Currently the Oil Sands produce a million barrels of oil a day, and a barrel of oil produces about 80 kg of Greenhouse gases. The Oil Sands also razed the Northern Alberta where this page grew up into a barren, toxic sewer, and the volume of water required to extract the bitumen (four barrels of water for a barrel of oil) creates ongoing shortages for Alberta farms, families, and communities. Imagine what those shortages will be like for Albertans if the Oil Sands demands 20 million barrels of water a day.

If the Harper government abandons its recently discovered environmental foothold (out of political convenience) to cater to the whims of Big Oil (and its Conservative puppet regime in Alberta), 400,000 metric tonnes of Greenhouse gases a day will make it too late for any Tory Greenwashing, or for that matter, anything else. Remember the Conservatives' campaign slogan from a year ago "Stand up for Canada"? Either they do it on this one, or there may not be a Canada left to stand up for.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Well I sure in hell hope this does not go through.

I hope oil either crashes or goes to 150 a barrel so people won't buy it as much.

I think it is high time too to ban gas guzzlers and vehicles like SUV's, Hummers and any vehicle that does not get 40 mpg.

So much has already been destroyed by the tar sands. The Athabasca is ruined, polluted and the fish are inedible, which is causing undue hardship for the first nations.

Oil companies have no respect for the environment and regulations are rarely enforced. I know that from living in Fort St. John for so many years and saw first hand what those "oil terrorists" do.

I also know more than one land owner that had property wrecked because of them. Land owners have no rights to keep them off their property either. You have no choice but to take the "lease deal" they offer you and they can put wells, dug outs, roads where they feel like it on your property.

They really are the scum of the earth. But there won't be much of the earth left if they continue the way they do.

Were only still using dirty oil because the government will not give the same money to people trying to find better alternatives as they do with the tax breaks these "oil terrorists" get.

I predict Japan is where the alternative to dirty fossil fuels will come from as it sure in hell will not come out of North America where the politicians are bankrolled and in the service of the "big oil monsters".