Oil sands similes

  • Exploiting the oil sands is like drinking seawater, when you are already dangerously dehydrated.
  • It’s like starting up a smoky old kerosene lantern aboard a space station that is rapidly running out of air.
  • It’s like giving more whiskey to the already-drunk guide who is paddling our canoe over Niagara Falls.

And yet, huge expansion plans are being implemented. The fact that is is profitable has led us to ignore the fact that it is incredibly reckless, as well as an act of violence directed against vulnerable people and future generations.

Author: Milan

In the spring of 2005, I graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in International Relations and a general focus in the area of environmental politics. In the fall of 2005, I began reading for an M.Phil in IR at Wadham College, Oxford. Outside school, I am very interested in photography, writing, and the outdoors. I am writing this blog to keep in touch with friends and family around the world, provide a more personal view of graduate student life in Oxford, and pass on some lessons I've learned here.

4 thoughts on “Oil sands similes”

  1. Exploiting the tar sands is like cutting of the top branch of a tree while sitting on it.

  2. Interesting quote Milan put on Twitter from CEO of BP (British Petroleum) in 1997: “It would be unwise and potentially dangerous to ignore the mounting concern. We must now focus on what can and should be done, not because we can be certain climate change is happening, but because the possibility cannot be ignored.”

  3. Exploiting the tar sands is like inheriting a beautiful Swiss watch and choosing to pry it open to sell the gears.

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