Gulf doesn't green the tar sands

Today Jeff Rubin, former chief economist for CIBC World Markets, criticized tar sands promoters for surfing the disaster unfolding in the Gulf to green the image of the tar sands.

We absolutely must avoid the risk of an offshore oil spill in Canada. But, we can't trade one type of risk for another. As Rubin points out, there's nothing clean about producing tar sands oil. It pollutes the water and air, drives up Canada's global warming pollution and threatens the health of people living downstream.

The toxic 'tailings ponds' are leaking over 11 million litres a day, enough to fill the Toronto Skydome two and a half times each year. And by 2012, the planned expansion of the tar sands will mean 25 billion litres of toxic tailings will leak into surrounding waterways each year, enough to fill the Skydome 16 times.

Canada already has its own toxic oil spill.

And, despite the recent PR push by the oil industry, the environment impacts are getting worse not better. Heck, it took them twenty years to figure out how to plant trees. That hardly garners confidence.

The Gulf oil spill should instead spur government action to transition away from oil to clean energy. Canada is getting left behind as other countries invest in electric cars, high speed trains and renewable energy. We can't afford to wait to catch up.

Gillian McEachern
Program Manager
Environmental Defence