Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Northern Gateway: A Pipeline To Nowhere

ForestEthics tells you why here and, at greater length, here.

Its worth noting that oil company apologists have long seen Northern Gateway as a means of thwarting attempts to "green" the tar sands. If it makes accessible Asian markets where concerns over "dirty oil" are less of a factor, the reasoning goes, then the Americans will be afraid to demand a clean up, lest "their" supply of Canadian oil be sold overseas.

Good reason that the thing should never be built, IMHO.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

There is also a report on Greenpeace Ca website detailing the First Nations resolution demanding that the Feds not proceed with the pipeline without their approval, as well as the B.C. municipalities vote to oppose the pipeline.

This looks like a fight against dirty oil that might just be won!

Gerrard787 said...

ForestEthics is opposed? Who wudda thought?

How about Greenpeace? LMAO.

The tarsands have alrady been "cleaned up", and will continue to be cleaned up further. Let's see Ontario "clean up" their nuclear waste as fast as tailing ponds and land will be reclaimed in N. Alberta.

Canadian tarsands are among the most ethical sources (I hate getting that word from Ezra's article, but ethical the tarsands are) of oil in the world and represent a national treasure to this county.

The Obama administration, also know how valuable Alberta's tarsands oil are to the functioning of their economy and wellbeing of their people.

And while the NG Pipeline is not likely to be built, there are, and will be, no shortage of customers for tarsands oil.

Tof KW said...

"...there are, and will be, no shortage of customers for tarsands oil."

Granted there is currently no shortage of customers. But I wouldn't put too much faith in the future unless a much more substantial 'greening' of the process is developed.

Meanwhile they are working on genetic engineered algae that can fix 1,000,000 years of carbon in a matter of months, making anyone with a greenhouse a potential oil-exporting nation. Futuristic? Give them 20 years, maybe less.

Gerrard787 said...

For tarsands oil production, Canada's tarsands are definitely the greenest in the world T of KW.

Environmental standards for this type of oil production have all been pioneered in Canada and Alberta with much of that expertise being exported around the world.

If you ever get a chance to get up to Fort McMurray, give it a go. Approach it with an open mind and see what you think.

Some parts (the city basically :)) are incredibly ugly but you might be surprised at some of the advanced environmental procedures they already have in place.

And rest assured, neither Canada nor the United States is willing to increase their dependency on Middle East oil.

Mind you, we could always start drilling for oil off the British Columbia coast if enviros want their oil a little bit cleaner.

And then we could build the Northern Gateway pipeline to ship oil from offshore BC oil to refineries in Alberta.

Certainly the enviros couldn't be against that. ;)

bigcitylib said...

Paul S.,

But if the U.S. is the primary customer than we got Alta by the balls. All this talk of separating if someone proposes a carbon tax because Albertans can sell their oil to the ChiComms gets pitched out the window.

Being against NG is being pro-Canada, IMHO.

Gerrard787 said...

Alberta by the balls? (Loud hoots of laughter) Alberta is certainly worried.

The current Democratic administration has no intention of introducing a carbon tax.

Democrats recognize the critical strategic importance of the tarsands and are not going to implement anything hasty or punitive.

And if you oppose tarsands oil BCL, would you support offshore oil production off the British Columbia coast?

Anonymous said...

Paul S, in the coming decades the debate is not going to be about whether or not oil extracted from the Tar Sands is more environmentally friendly than oil extracted by offshore drilling. We will be debating how to survive climate changes that are now on our doorstep. We are about to get hit with water shortages and extreme weather that will make the burning of fossil fuels, however they are extracted, a crime against humanity to say nothing of the environment.

Holly Stick said...

There's no such thing as ethical oil. What's really ethical is to waste less energy and to use more renewable energy.

Gerrard787 said...

We are about to get hit with water shortages and extreme weather that will make the burning of fossil fuels, however they are extracted, a crime against humanity to say nothing of the environment. -Ima1

The world stared down the radical environmentalists last year at Copenhagen and needless to say, the radical enviros blinked.

Try a new approach Ima1 if you want the general public to pay any attention.

The "crime against humanity" schtick is getting old.

There's no such thing as ethical oil -Holly Stick

Of course there is Holly. You've been greenwashed, that's all. Take the blue pill and you will be much better by morning.

Unknown said...

"Ethical oil" exists in the same alternate universe where we find clean coal, negative growth, and gentle rape.

Gene Rayburn said...

"Canadian tarsands are among the most ethical sources (I hate getting that word from Ezra's article, but ethical the tarsands are) of oil in the world"

Holy fuck is that funny! Got any proof PaulS or are you just spreading horseshit with a fan?