An article that a friend posted:
http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-destructive-canada-oil-sands-2012-10?op=1
A shocking and profoundly sad collection of images. I had no idea that the area was so large. It’s hard to fathom even with the pictures to prove it, and the size of the trucks shown in relation to their surroundings.
After reading this article and a couple others on the subject, I ended up chatting with a someone who is working in the industry. An insider’s opinion was interesting to hear, and the explanation of how everything works, and just how much money is involved is astounding.
I suppose it is always a battle of economics vs environment, but it always leads me back to thinking about the Cree saying that is popular on posters, and is floating around the internet right now. Upon searching it I came up with this article, which is an interesting background to the saying that often comes to mind these days:
http://moniyawlinguist.wordpress.com/2010/12/08/a-note-on-the-nebulous-cree-saying/
I don’t think it’s even a question of economics vs environment. As someone in food and resource economics, when the inputs are so much greater than the output, especially when negative externalities are taken into account, we’ve got one hell of a loss happening and a remarkably inefficient energy source. The environment, as a system which needs to be healthy for us to survive, is something which any real system of economics takes into account. Even the aesthetic or spiritual aspects are not beyond the pail, as they factor back into how we value it. The battle isn’t between the environment and economics, but with a worldview which takes financial profits as the sole basis for its economics and how it seeks to govern societies and the nation as a whole.