No, I don’t believe the malarkey that our oil is ethical. The only thing this argument does is compare our bad practices to the worse practices of other nations. Our oil is good because we aren’t Sudanese and killing our own people, or our oil is good because we aren’t Saudi and subverting the rights of women, or our oil is good because we regulate it better then they do in Niger. This argument would be laughable if it weren’t so sad. A proof is a proof and you know it’s a proof because it’s proven. Dirty oil is dirty because, duh, it’s dirty. Simply having a stronger stand on human rights, more democratic institutions and (I cannot believe I’m being forced to say this) a regulated industry doesn’t make the oil we are pumping out any less dirty, or the mechanisms we have in place to extract it any less harmful to the environment.
The corporatocracy will continue to trudge out it’s Levant’s, Kent’s and lord knows who else’s to try and convince us that simply because we are white, democratic (not really) and don’t stone women to death, that our oil is ethical. These arguments are straw men at best, and a burnt paper bag at the worst. How these idiots even get published is beyond me.
Cross Posted from Sister Sage’s Musings
UPDATE…Just in case anyone didn’t know, the following is what Minister of the Environment Peter Kent has decided to use as his twitter bio:
As Canada’s new Minister of the Environment it is my job to support the oil industry in its efforts to clean up their image.
So, if it had been more subtle before, it’s far more clear now that the Harper government is simply schilling for the Oil industry. Have we ever needed more clear indication. If there was any doubt about whether or not the Harper government had an environmental poliy besides letting the oil companies do as they please, those doubts can be put to rest. The oil lobby now has their man in Ottawa…his name is Peter Kent.
