It’s ironic too because the so called “tar sands” mining operations are very similar in nature to cleanup operations performed at the site of old gas stations where oil has seeped out of the tanks and into the ground. The difference of course is that oil has been naturually formed and is essentially poisoning the land. After an oil sands mining operation is complete the soil that used to be toxic is rendered non-toxic and trees are planted. The net effect is a positive one which is why one of the founders of greenpeace is a supporter of oil sands development.

Don’t be fooled the opposition to the Keystone and the Northern Gateway is a combination of lobying by competing oil producers AND environmentalists who oppose all fosil fuels. The reality of course is that fossil fuels are not going away anytime soon and it makes far more sense to buy it from responsible nations who take environmental protection seriously such as Canada instead of rogue nations like Iran and Venuzuala.