Re: ‘B.C. a playground for eco-stunts’. We need more articles, like this one written by Tom Fletcher, to balance the one-sided reporting we get from most mainstream media regarding environmental issues and the hot topic of Alberta tar sands.
In the news are two major announcements relating to this issue. Syncrude will get a $1.46-billion infusion of money into its production facility, and the French oil giant, Joslyn, after six years of environmental studies and red tape, has received approval for its $9-billion project. If any of your readers are fretting over this news, which is fantastic for the Canadian economy, perhaps a fresh perspective on oil sands is in order.
As one approaches Fort McMurray, en route from Edmonton, a quick stop on the shoulder of the road in places, will reveal the black ooze seeping from the soil, into the ditches.
Imagine for a moment that this was caused by a tanker truck having veered off the road and flipped over, spilling its contents into the ditch. There would be no cost prohibition as clean-up crews would swarm the area and do their cleansing exercises in order to restore the environment back to its original state.
If we see the Athabasca oil sands as a massive oil spill perpetrated by Mother Nature, we can suddenly understand the value in a massive clean-up operation.
The oil (bitumen) is removed and what is left is clean sand, the difference being that this kind of clean-up is lucrative as opposed to other clean-ups which are a burden on the government coffers (your and my tax dollars).
Let us celebrate and be thankful for this amazing resource that Canada has been given.
T. Friesen