I can add to this discussion based upon my unique position of observation which is unavailable to those who do not fly airplanes .... I've spent many thousands of hours earning a living by flying in the skies of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and eastern Alberta.
These are, by British comparison, such large land masses as to be inconceivable. Further, the population density is low .... Manitoba for example contains approximately 1.2 million people. Except for small pockets of persons in the northern communities, virtually all of them live within 150 miles of the US border, in the south of the province.
The impact of the oil sands development, from the position of an observer restricted to the ground, presents a sprawling project extending further than the eye can see, and appears to be so large, the brain of a mere mortal cannot comprehend its scope.
After a cursory visitor's tour, it is no wonder the Oil Sands Project has become fodder for environmentalists seeking a place to stage a "decisive battle" in their guerrilla warfare fight for hearts and minds in their campaign to put forth their agenda. .... not to mention control of billions of tax and donation dollars.
From my perspective as an Airline Transport Licenced Pilot who has looked down at that exact landscape for decades, it is but a pin-prick in the total area of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta boreal forests.
That pin-prick in the skin of the earth provides tens of thousands of jobs, wealth for individuals to prosper, and innumerable conveniences of life for all Canadians and ... dare I say it ... Americans too. The latter is sufficient for a small but highly vocal segment of my fellow mis-guided Canadians to find the project abhorrent, and call for its immediate shutdown using any tactic possible to make it so.
As the expression goes, "You've got to break an egg to make an omelet." In this case, the hen-house remains full to overflowing with eggs.....enough to make omelets for us all for many decades. The Alberta Oil Sands is said to rival the oil fields of Saudi Arabia, and can contribute to North American energy self sufficiency, or at least massively decrease our dependence on potentially unstable source oil from foreign countries with questionable governments.
Oh, but what about impact on the environment?
It is exceptionally unlikely you will ever witness the effects of even a moderate forest fire .... a smoke plume 5 miles in diameter with tons and tons of ejecta rising to altitudes exceeding 5 miles, capping out ... and looking for all the world like an atomic bomb had been dropped.
Some of these fires burn for weeks in areas where they are not fought due to lack of population. One of these fires likely equals the output of solids from the Oil Sands.....and there are over 500 fires in an average year in one Province alone.
We never hear any mention of the effect of forest fires do we?
Despite being able to stand at a podium, and project the appearance of an altruistic messenger out to save mankind from making itself extinct, Al Gore is little more than a flim-flam artist, the likes of which can only be equaled in Hollywood productions like The Music Man, Elmer Gantry, or The Rainmaker.
After a lifetime in politics, he does have a well-honed ability to put on a highly animated performance of what appears to be genuine shock and dismay should a reporter ever manage to penetrate the protective cordon of fanatical believers, and ask a question regarding his various financial holdings, or ... heaven forbid, challenge the veracity of the information he is presenting.
Yes, I am a "denier" in the concept of man-made Global Warming..... and I fail to be affected by the histrionics of extremists who attempt scare tactics with phrases of "We have only 2 weeks to save the earth" and similar over-reactionary drivel that has become a new religion.
Dash8- Reprinted with the kind permission of Mr. Lee Smith.
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