Green groups begin campaign to tell Obama about Alberta's 'dirtiest oil'

[CanadianLove]

I am not going to go onr side or the other here but I will inject a little information I gathered from my nose.

In the past I have worked as a tankerman on petroleum tankers and have had the opportunity to smell the various crude oils from around the Contentent (like fine wine I can tell you where they are from by the smell.) I have not smelt the tar sands though but can give you a pretty good guess as to what it is like.

Crude from the West (Alberta, BC, Alaska) smells like a book of matchs due to high sulfur content. Refineries which refine this product must change all the pipework in the refinery on a schedule of approximately 2 years due to the corrosive nature of it. As it is speculation I can only say that the tar sand oil is worse at the point of extraction, but after preliminary refinement it may be slightly better.

Newfoundland crude is the best. I smelt it for the first time and could not believe the smell of it. It smells very close to refined oil. Next time you add oil to the car, smell the oil and it is not far off.

Gulf crude it about half way between the two.

Hope this enlightens someone, somehow.

 

[CanadianLove]

Why are the Natives getting involved with this. They and an eviormental group ran the add in the USA Today today. Somedays I do hope the rednecks get up here and take over. The Natives will be back on the reserves with their mouths shut in no time. They pi$$ me off some days.

Alberta First Nations place anti-oilsands ad in major U.S. paper

 

[Tonington]

Why are the Natives getting involved with this.http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2009/02/17/edm-advertisement.html

Because they live down stream from that toxic mess. Because that area of Canada has significantly higher rates of very rare forms of cancer. Because somebody needs to be a good steward up there.

 

[CanadianLove]

Is the ground going to stop producing oil if the machiery is pulled out. Not likely. it will still sleech out of the ground as it has from day one.

 

[Tonington]

Is the ground going to stop producing oil if the machiery is pulled out. Not likely. it will still sleech out of the ground as it has from day one.

Bitumen has to be heated before it will flow. The movement of the cracked and hydrolized compounds leftover from separation through soil strata is in relative terms like comparing the doubling time of an elephant population to that of rabbits. The volatile organic compounds are freed from their matrix, and one barrel of synthetic crude produces 2000 litres of tailings.

Comparing natural bitumen seepage to tailings ponds seepage is on all accounts, apples and oranges with regard to the damage it causes, and the pace of spread.

 

[taxslave]

Green groups are loud... they pound drums... but have very little power.

I don't think any of them have real jobs either. Seems like no matter what you try to do to create economic activity and employment some group, often based nowhere near the activity protests. Also none of them use paper products, plastic, fuel,or food. Either that or they are all hypocrites.

 

[EagleSmack]

I don't think any of them have real jobs either. Seems like no matter what you try to do to create economic activity and employment some group, often based nowhere near the activity protests. Also none of them use paper products, plastic, fuel,or food. Either that or they are all hypocrites.

They are hypocrites. They use all those things and more.

A good example of the Green Liberal hypocrisy is happening right here in Massachusetts. There is a project called Cape Wind that will, if it is built, power Cape Cod by wind. A windmill farm will be built off Hyannis (Cape Cod). The Kennedy's... always at the forefront of solar and wind power and alternative energy are opposing it.

Why?

Because it will effect their Summer boating activities as well as the rest of the wealthy who sail off Cape Cod. Now they say it will be harmful to birds and Marine life but all the studies have shown it will not. No matter... they still don't want it in their view... two miles off shore. Ted Kennedy and the rest of the Kennedy Clan, Champions of Wind Power are fighting this tooth and nail because it will effect their yachting and sailing. It is an eye sore to them... alternative energy and clean power be damned.

Alternative energy is GREAT providing it isn't in their backyard.

 

[Zzarchov]

hole...:-?

Nobody said a few months... but he did run on the platform that he could fix the mess we are in. I just don't see how 850 BILLION in pork is going to stimulate the economy.

Basic economics. Pork isn't money sitting in a bank account, its money being spent, meaning its money flowing directly into the economy.

Depending on the strength of the economy, that money will cycle through the economy a certain number of times. What the money is spent on is in some ways less important than the money recycling rate of the group that gets it.

Then we get into investment.

You also can't make money without spending money. Things like infrastructure are a no-brainer to generate money. No infrastructure to support wealth generation (like bridges, roads, fibre optics, water pipes) and you turn into a third world cesspool.


People say "Pork and Tax Cuts" like it matters in this context. You can get into debates about centralization of investment versus individualization (which is what this is, is it more cost effective to pool money for building a bridge "pork", or to give tax cuts and give everyone $200 and have them all pay tolls to get the bridge built).

Its about putting money into peoples hands, that is used for something productive (investment), Ie actually building things.

 

[Tyr]

I don't think any of them have real jobs either. Seems like no matter what you try to do to create economic activity and employment some group, often based nowhere near the activity protests. Also none of them use paper products, plastic, fuel,or food. Either that or they are all hypocrites.

They've also been known to take a dim view of nuclear waste storage facilities leaking.

Oh... That's probably a good thing

 

[JLM]

I don't think any of them have real jobs either. Seems like no matter what you try to do to create economic activity and employment some group, often based nowhere near the activity protests. Also none of them use paper products, plastic, fuel,or food. Either that or they are all hypocrites.

You have all that right taxslave and then a week later you'll find half of the same bunch protesting something else that's in exact opposition to what they were protesting the first time. You ever notice about the only part of a protestor that moves is his/her mouth?

 

[Ron in Regina]

Someone is listening to these folks...

Taking a look at CNN this morning, the very short story on Obama
coming to Canada has one picture attached to the story. The choice
of that picture is very interesting. It's trucks up at Fort Mac....8O

Source: Afghanistan, trade on table as Obama visits Canada - CNN.com