Earth Equity News

Canada's Pristine Reputation - and Identity - Upended by Rush to Dirty Oil. By John Vidal, Guardian (UK), July 12, 2008. "This month the province of Alberta and the federal Canadian government came under pressure to clean up the environmental mess already made [by oil sands extraction]... [Jason Grumet, Obama's energy advisor,] said [Obama wants]... to break America's addiction to 'dirty, dwindling, and dangerously expensive' oil... His statement followed a direct attack on the oil sands by more than 1,000 mayors of large U.S. cities who voted last month to boycott energy with a large carbon footprint. In addition, California's governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, last month signed agreements which will cut the use of high-carbon petroleum sources from Alberta and elsewhere. Ontario and British Columbia must now meet California's low-carbon fuel standard and other provinces and U.S. states are expected to join the standard, shrinking the market for oil sands. In late June, the Canadian federal and Alberta provincial governments joined the Canadian oil industry to play down the impact of the sands on the environment... The speed and scale of the growth of oil sands mining have shocked Canadians who regard themselves as living in one of the most environmentally responsible countries in the world. But record oil prices are posing a serious dilemma... 'Sure, I am worried about the Alberta environment. We all are. Canada's image is all tied up with wilderness and clean living. Now we have to accept we depend on dirty industry. The oil sands are making us rethink who we are. But it's like no one can say no to oil,' says John Davidson, a graduate mechanical engineer who moved to Fort McMurray to help build a new plant. 'But if you can pay your mortgage off in five years, then I have to say I can't resist either.'"