I was reading an article the other day, Globe and Mail I think it was, that said that our oil fields are now the largest contributor of pollution in Canada.
But I have come to learn that a majority of people don't care. As long as they have their Timmies in the morning and they have all the other toys in life, what is happening around them is really of no major concern, especially what is happening hundreds of miles away in some other Province. Out of sight, out of mind.
Humans are basically greedy, probably the greediest species on the planet, greedy towards other species and greedy even towards our own.
Money is everything to most people and we admire and want to emulate those who are the major successes in money, but often we don't ask ourselves "how did they get that money"? When we live in a society where 1% have a majority of the wealth and many more people either try to exist or starve, there is something very wrong there.
I know people will laugh at me, feel free to, but I have a concept most notably found in Star Trek.......there is no money. Quote..... "The economics of the future is somewhat different. You see, money doesn't exist in the 24th century. The acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force in our lives. We work to better ourselves and the rest of humanity." How does that work? Well everyone has a job, everyone has a purpose and in exchange everyone gets what they want. There are no people with so much wealth they run the world and there are no people starving and hungry. Governments work at making the world better, which brings me back to oil and resources. Instead of oil and gas companies in control of lives and futures and the environment, governments have scientists who along with workers they work at creating better fuel sources for everyone. Gas and oil will be a thing of the past and the world will be cleaner and safer. Instead of humans being as George Carlin once said ..........just another infestation that one day the world will shake off like a bad case of fleas.........we will be instead a species that creates and develops things that are unimaginable to us at the moment and it will be done without greed.
I sometimes wonder if what we really need is a major disaster for us to sit up and take notice? Maybe it will take that, but how many will have to suffer for the greed and complacency of others at that moment? I wish I lived in a country where our government would say they wanted to work seriously on alternative clean fuel sources for vehicles and solar power for every home in Canada and made us the leading nation on the planet that not only thinks about the future here, but for the whole world and in the process create countless jobs in an increasingly safe land. But instead and I don't mean to get political here but it's the reality, we have a leader who has an umbilical cord attached to oil wells and filthy rich corporations that have one goal and one goal only, to make more money for the owners and their gambling investors. Greed.
"we would be economically better off without the tar sands"
???
The "tar sands" are there. They are not going anywhere. We could all wish they were located elsewhere - Africa, Asia, whatever - but the reality is simple: they are in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
The question is more: what to do with them? Develop them and get oil and byproducts (plastic etc) from them - creating jobs for a lot of Canadians - or leave the bitumen in the ground?
Hundreds of billions of dollars have been invested by Canadians and Canadian investment and pension funds in the development of the "tar sands". Should we just write it all off and expect no negative effect on the value of our investments and pensions?
If Canadians do not get oil from the "oil sands", they will need to import it from the Middle East or Venezuela or the North Sea or wherever oil deposits exist. Why give our money to foreign interests to purchase oil we have in our ground? Where will that money come from? How badly would our standards of living be affected by cutting exports and increasing imports?
Will Canadians really consume less energy if we do not develop the "tar sands'? Let's think that one through.
We read a lot of negative stuff about Canada's oil sands (called "tar sands" by some).
From time to time, it is not a bad idea to read the other side of the coin: what do the oil sand producers have to say about their operations?
http://www.oilsandstoday.ca/Pages/default.aspx
Disclosure - like most Canadians, I have financial interests in Canada's oil sands either directly or indirectly (CPP for example).
Alberta Canada 1 of 3 - Toxic - VICE .....Youtube, 3 parts. Take the time. Watch it.
"the entire country, including the oil industry itself, would benefit if the tar sands were managed more sustainably."
???
Sustainability has always been the key factor in building such enterprise. Currently, based on maximum production capacity, Syncrude (the largest oil sands operator) estimates reserves to last more than ninety years. Anyway you look at it: that is sustainability.
And, based on history of the last twenty years, new discoveries and better technology keep adding to those reserves. Our children and grandchildren will not see the end of the oil sands! Sustainability has never been and is not the problem.
From Syncrude website:
Environment, Health and Safety
Our Safety, Health and Environment Policy sets a clear vision for responsible development of the oil sands resource.
Syncrude's Safety, Health and Environment Policy
At Syncrude we are committed to protecting and promoting the safety and well-being of our employees, our contractors, our communities and our environment.
We believe excellence and continuous improvement in environment, health and safety performance are in the best interest of all of our stakeholders. Our Corporate success depends upon it.
Our desired outcomes are a workplace where everyone upholds Syncrude’s Vision, Values and Guiding Principles, a workplace that fosters the emotional and physical well-being of employees, a workplace where incidents that could harm people or the environment do not occur, and a workplace where all employees and contractors demonstrate personal commitment to operational excellence.
Toward this:
- we aim for a safe and reliable operation where all risks that could compromise the health and safety of workers, or the environment, are identified, understood and managed.
- we meet all regulated standards for safety, health and environmental performance as the minimum expectation.
- we learn from best practices applied elsewhere and endeavour to incorporate such lessons into our practices and procedures.
- we integrate safety, health and environment considerations, along with economic factors, into all business decisions.
- Syncrude management takes a leadership role in advocating workplace health and safety, and environmental sustainability, in appropriate regional, provincial and national forums.
Through the efforts and collective experience of our employees and contractors, Syncrude will be an acknowledged leader in safety, health and environmental performance. We will continue to improve by working together and sharing responsibility for a healthy environment, as well as the safety and well-being of our co-workers, our families, our communities and ourselves.
The way I see it, the problem is not what Syncrude does or plans to do. It is a matter of credibility, or lack thereof. Many folks (like you and millions of others) do not believe what they read.
I am not suggesting the system is perfect. Far from it. However, my original objection - as stated earlier - is the thinking that we could close the oil sands with little repercussion for Canadians. That, quite frankly, is grossly underestimating the financial impact oil sands and the Canadian oil industry in general have in our lives.
What next? Close the nickel mines because they use an awful lot of energy to extract nickel from 2000 feet underground? Copper? Lead? Zinc? Should we also close the smelters? Refining operations?
Also from Syncrude website:
Aboriginal Relations
We are proud to be one of the largest employers of Aboriginal people in Canada.
- Through our Aboriginal Relations program, we focus on the following six key commitment areas: corporate leadership, employment, business development, education and training, community development and the environment.
- Syncrude is one of 13 companies in Canada, and the only oil sands operator, to be accredited at the Gold Level in the Progressive Aboriginal Relations (PAR) Program of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) . PAR measures corporate performance in Aboriginal employment, business development, capacity development and community relations.
- We directly employ around 500 Aboriginal people who represent over 8% of our total employee population. Many more are employed by our contractors.
- Since 1992, we have conducted over $1.7 billion in total business volume with Aboriginal companies. Syncrude provides significant opportunity to Aboriginal-owned businesses in the Wood Buffalo region. In fact, if all other factors in a contract proposal are equal, preference is given to local Aboriginal businesses. We also encourage contractors to employ Aboriginal people and subcontract work to Aboriginal businesses.
- Syncrude regularly conducts tours of reclamation areas for representatives from local Aboriginal communities. As well, we are working closely with Elders to ensure the re-establishment of native tree species of interest to Aboriginal stakeholders. Species now successfully being re-introduced include low-bush cranberry, blueberry and buffalo berry.
- Each year, Syncrude produces Pathways – a magazine which highlights successes and achievements of local, regional and national Aboriginal people, as well as our performance related to the six key commitment areas. This publication, also called the Aboriginal Review, can downloaded from the selections on the left.
- We support a variety of organizations and intiatives focused on the advancement of Aboriginal people. In addition to the CCAB mentioned above, we also support the Aboriginal Human Resource Council, Indspire, Northeastern Alberta Aboriginal Business Association and the annual Esquao Awards.
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