Stop tar sands!

Edmonton is the coldest place I have ever been to, I think. I remember getting off the Greyhound bus and my lips splitting instantly as the cold air hit. Not sure how the weather has been recently. But Edmonton is definetely a key place for the fight over global warming. For one of the absurdities of the currently high oil price - which should be a good thing, surely - is that ridiculous ways of producing oil have become profitable. Such as squeezing oil out of dirty sand - which is one of the most energy-consuming ways of getting at energy - and exactly what the development of the tar sands in Canada amounts to. It is stupid. It is criminal. It is pursuing disasterous climate change at all cost. It is a clear example of how "energy security", if (mis)understood as "getting fossil fuels any way we can from 'safe' countries rather than the Middle East" is a recipe for disaster. - I hence salute my Canadian colleagues who have decided to take on the tar sands fight. Yesterday, activists unfurled a banner over the North Saskatchewan River. I hope it wasn't as cold as when I was last in Edmonton. And I hope the Alberta legislature heard the message loud and clear. More info - and a chance to email the politicians responsible - here. - P.S. Picture from the Greenpeace Canada website. Thanks.