Oil Sands Truth: Shut Down the Tar Sands

Labour / Migration

It is falsely assumed that big projects equal lots of jobs and, by extension, labour peace if not outright satisfaction. The size and scope of the tarsands means for incredibly dangerous work conditions-- some fatalities at the plants have already occurred. The products seldom get their "value added" in union-run locations, instead the heavy bitumen can be shipped to many different locations across North America for refining, denying benefits to the union. However, the Union does not represent the "guest worker", now being imported in increasing numbers as legislation is changed to make access easier, the term of exploitation last longer, without any new efforts or pathways to deciding to stay after helping tear up the earth.

warning: Creating default object from empty value in /var/www/drupal-6.28/modules/taxonomy/taxonomy.pages.inc on line 33.

Foreign worker plan under fire

The temporary foreign worker programs, already a grotesque violation of the most basic, elementary labour (and human) rights, are being ramped up for the construction plans associated with Alberta's Tar Sands boom, and the Olympics set to cripple Vancouver and indigenous territories throughout BC. These TFW's are a *needed* component of all of this, thanks to the unprecedented size of the gigaproject/Tar Sands. Further, the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement [Tilma] is the facilitator of policy in Alberta being virtually the same in BC.

How to Avoid Action on Climate Change

The following is the text of Ian Angus’s keynote speech at “Smells Like Green Spirit,” a conference sponsored by the University of British Columbia Student Environment Centre, on January 19, 2008.

by Ian Angus, editor Climate and Capitalism
www.climateandcapitalism.com

Canadians are known for being modest and self-effacing. We don’t brag much, and sometimes we seem to have an inferiority complex, a belief that we do okay, but we seldom excel.

Slavery and Fossil Fuels

Slavery and Fossil Fuels
Charles Justice

The nineteenth century global economy was a like a small scale version of
today's global economy. Trade in slaves, sugar, coffee, tobacco, and cotton were
the drivers of global economic growth. But the growing trade in the above
mentioned non-human commodities was first made possible by slave labour in
plantations in the tropics and the American South.

In our modern global economy, cheap fossil fuels have taken the place of slaves.
Industrial farming, convenient travel by automobile, and the transportation of

Life on the cold side of the country's hottest economy

Life on the cold side of the country's hottest economy
The oil sands dominate Alberta's wealth and growth, but not all parts of the province are taking part – including, surprisingly, the conventional oil industry
GORDON PITTS
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
January 30, 2008 at 12:00 AM EST

In the rolling farmland around Derwent, Alta., the fields are littered with what look like oversized pop cans. These stubby storage tanks contain heavy oil that has been pumped from the ground and is waiting to be trucked away – much of it to the big Husky Oil upgrader in Lloydminster.

The Globe and Mail does Tar Sands for a week

The Globe and Mail does Tar Sands for a week
Dru Oja Jay-- The Dominion http://dominionpaper.ca/weblogs/dru/1641 (blog)

Immitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

The first of the Globe and Mail's week-long series on the tar, I mean, oil sands has at least one interesting insight, though it'll be interesting to keep track of all the things that they don't mention.

Oil Exec Explains the Hunt for Unconventional Oil in Lower 48

Five questions with George Stapleton
Looking for oil where others don't
Jan. 24, 2008, 10:50PM
Moneymakers
Brett Clanton

It's not Saudi Arabia. But there is oil in Kansas. In Montana and Missouri, too.

In fact, the lower 48 U.S. states contain enough heavy crude oil deposits to power the nation's economy for several years. But they've been largely overlooked in favor of much bigger heavy oil deposits in Canada's oil sands and elsewhere.

Feds expand temporary foreign worker pilot project

January 16, 2008
Feds expand temporary foreign worker pilot project
21 occupations added to expedited labour market opinion program
PAID ADVERTISEMENT

Custom Handbook

The federal government has added 21 occupations to the expedited labour market opinion (E-LMO) pilot project, which makes it faster for employers in British Columbia and Alberta to hire foreign workers.

McMurray Airport Passenger Numbers Still Growing

Airport passenger numbers still growing
By CHUCK CHIANG
Today staff
Tuesday January 22, 2008

If the Fort McMurray Airport seems more crowded than ever these days, it’s because that is exactly what’s happening, according to the latest passenger numbers.
The airport saw 559,059 passengers either board or get off scheduled commercial flights last year, a record high and 34 per cent higher than 2006’s 415,965 figure.
Airport officials said the pace of growth has surprised even them, noting that passenger numbers only reached 106,768 ten years ago.

Peak oil: Why is it so difficult to explain/understand?

Published on 10 Jan 2008 by Energy Bulletin. Archived on 20 Jan 2008.
Peak oil: Why is it so difficult to explain/understand?

by Martin Payne

After several years of partial success in explaining the physics-based phenomenon sometimes known as “Peak Oil”, this author has come to one conclusion: Peak Oil is difficult to explain, and it is difficult for most people to understand.