Boom Times Back at Alberta's Oil Sands. By Sandro Contenta, GlobalPost, September 17, 2010. "The boom times are back at Alberta's oil sands. What environmentalists describe as one of the worst emitters of greenhouses gases on earth has shaken off the recession. Its massive oil extraction projects now employ 27,700 workers - 3% more than the previous peak in 2008. It's a sign that the United States' gluttonous appetite for the tar-like mix of bitumen and sand isn't expected to subside any time soon. America, after all, is pretty much the only client for what President Barack Obama's advisers once derided as Alberta's 'dirty' oil…
"It's no surprise, therefore, that when Nancy Pelosi visited Canada last week, lobbyists on both sides of the oil sands debate requested face time with the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Pelosi obliged. Accompanying her was Congressman Edward Markey, the Democratic chair of the House energy and environment subcommittee. The backdrop to their meetings at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa is a growing battle on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border. It pits those who see oil sands development as the biggest single source of new greenhouse gases against those who see it as a secure source of oil and high-paying jobs."
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