Why are environmentalists asleep at the tar sands wheel?
Dru Oja Jay Stéphane Dion told The New York Times in 2005 that, “There is no environmental minister on Earth who can stop the oil from coming out of the sand, because the money is too big.” The NDP has proposed a moratorium on new development, while the Sierra Club is urging policy-makers and industry to establish enforceable environmental standards. If there was more time, these policies would theoretically lay the groundwork for a transition to a sustainable economy in Alberta. To date, however, these measures have had no discernible effect on the pace of growth. They are unlikely to have such an effect. Even if it is achieved, a moratorium would allow the currently approved projects to continue for years. The tar sands of northern Alberta and Saskatchewan contain upward to 300 billion barrels of recoverable oil. Trouble is, that oil is actually tar, stored in tar sand‚ a substance slightly more brittle than asphalt. To get the tar out of the sand to produce oil requires massive amou
