To those who would 'boycott' the Tar Sands

[Tonington]

For anyone who cares, they can actually read the paper themselves here:
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2010/08/24/1008754107.full.pdf

 

[captain morgan]

What natural mechanism can put heavy metals in snow?

volcanic eruptions

 

[ironsides]

:canada:Check this out: Pretty good thinking methinks. And it's in a sort of Con newspaper also, so it's ok to read it.

Oilsands boycott by U.S. giants deserves similar response from Canadians
By EZRA LEVANT, QMI Agency
Last Updated: August 31, 2010 2:00am

Walgreens is the largest pharmacy chain in the U.S.
It's also corrupt.
For years, they secretly altered their customers' prescriptions, without their doctor's knowledge, in a giant insurance scam across 42 states. They targeted Medicaid, the program for low-income Americans. So they were stealing from taxpayers and the poor at the same time. That kind of big thinking is why Walgreens is number one.
Walgreens replaced inexpensive drugs with drugs that were up to four times more costly. Only when an honest pharmacist finally blew the whistle on them were they stopped -- and fined a whopping $35 million.
Are you ready to take moral lessons from Walgreens? Because they've just announced that they're switching their trucks to fuel that doesn't come from Canada's oilsands -- as an ethical statement.
Taking ethical guidance from Walgreens is sort of like taking abstinence lessons from Hugh Hefner.
I'd call for a boycott of Walgreens, but they don't have any stores in Canada (and, despite their name, they are no relation to Walmart).
But Walgreens isn't the only moral hypocrite to come out against Canada. So did The Gap, which also owns Banana Republic and Old Navy.
Do yourself a favour: Don't buy their clothes.
This applies especially to Albertans, whose jobs depend on the oilsands. There are 26 Gaps, Old Navys and Banana Republics in Alberta. Boycott them.
But it goes for Ontarians, too, where more people work for the oilsands now than work for the Big Three automakers combined.
And it goes for anyone with a pension -- odds are some of your savings are invested in the oilsands. The Gap could hurt your retirement. So hurt them back.
Not just because they are boycotting Canadian oil. But because they've had their own ethical failings, too.
In 2008, a shocking TV report out of India showed children as young as 10 working in sweatshops sewing clothes for The Gap. One child had been sold to the factory as a slave, and had not been paid in four months.
Sorta gives "Baby Gap" a new meaning, doesn't it? Banana Republic isn't just a brand name, it's the location of their factories.
The Gap claims they were shocked to learn about this. Just like they were shocked a few years earlier to learn their factory in Saipan kept indentured workers in with barbed wire, and bullied pregnant workers into having abortions, so as not to lose time off work.
They're shocked a lot over at The Gap.
And now they say they're shocked by Canada's oil.
But Canada's oil isn't produced by 10-year-old kids or abused Chinese women.
Yet we're supposed to take moral lessons from the likes of them.
There is a question the fools at Walgreens and The Gap haven't answered: Where are they going to buy their gas from, if not Canada?
Saudi Arabia? Could there be a more unethical barrel of oil than one from that racist, misogynistic, terror-sponsoring dictatorship? Venezuela, to enrich strongman Hugo Chavez? Iran, with its nuclear plans?
We should boycott The Gap because they're thumbing their nose at us. And because they have used what looks an awful lot like slave labour.
But we should also boycott them because they're making an unethical fuel decision: Swapping Canadian oil for Saudi or Venezuelan oil.
How could you in good conscience give money to someone like that?




OK< we're so 'debate conscious' these days, round here. Whadya think??


:3some:

Somebody had the same story going around about CVS pharmacy. Who do we believe? Would be a shame to boycott the wrong one.

 

[JLM]

What natural mechanism can put heavy metals in snow?

I'm not sure there are "natural mechanisms". Mechanisms are generally man made. I suppose there are processes that would put heavy metals in snow. Maybe osmosis is one, but don't bet the farm on it. :lol:

 

[Tonington]

Osmosis is the movement of water from areas of high concentration to low concentration. The mechanism involved with non-water molecules and ions is called diffusion.

And this is all occurring downwind from the oil sands, not upwind, even though there is oil sand on the windward side of the mining operations.

Anyways, they sampled at various locations to test where the source is...it's coming from the fallout of emissions from the upgraders.

 

[CDNBear]

Osmosis is the movement of water from areas of high concentration to low concentration. The mechanism involved with non-water molecules and ions is called diffusion.

And this is all occurring downwind from the oil sands, not upwind, even though there is oil sand on the windward side of the mining operations.

Anyways, they sampled at various locations to test where the source is...it's coming from the fallout of emissions from the upgraders.

Then the Gov"t should force the installation of scrubbers.

 

[Tonington]

volcanic eruptions

And there's none of those nearby, and if it were from volcanic eruptions, there would be a large swath of area with elevated heavy metals, not conspicuously located around heavy industrialized areas...

 

[TenPenny]

I was going to post a comment, but unfortunately, I've read the paper, so I am no longer qualified to post. Since pretty much all of the comments are from people who haven't read the paper, and don't seem to know anything about industrial pollution mechanisms, or industry in general.