<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial" size="2">Hi folks</font><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; "><br></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; ">Currently 70 nations have the capacity to develop Tar Sands proposals:</div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; "><a title="http://emd.aapg.org/technical_areas/oil_sands.cfm/" data-expanded-url="http://emd.aapg.org/technical_areas/oil_sands.cfm/" href="http://emd.aapg.org/technical_areas/oil_sands.cfm" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="twitter-timeline-link">http://emd.aapg.org/technical_areas/oil_sands.cfm</a></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; "><br></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; ">Shell signed a deal with Tatneft on Russian tar sands project</div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; "><a
 title="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/shell-signs-deal-with-tatneft-on-russian-tar-sands-project/" data-expanded-url="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/shell-signs-deal-with-tatneft-on-russian-tar-sands-project/" href="http://on.mktw.net/SIHru" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="twitter-timeline-link">http://on.mktw.net/SIHru</a></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; "><br></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; ">The first US tar sands project has been approved in Utah</div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial" size="2"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/09/first-us-tar-sands-project-approved-utah.php">http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/09/first-us-tar-sands-project-approved-utah.php</a></font></div><div><br></div><div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial"
 size="2">Currently, they are trying to develop what is anticipated to be the most polluting tar sands project in the politically corrupt island nation of Madagascar. No shortage of water there.</font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial" size="2"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/dec/17/madagascar-oil-shares-suspended?CMP=twt_gu">http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/dec/17/madagascar-oil-shares-suspended?CMP=twt_gu</a></font></div><div><br></div><div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial" size="2">Now consider this purely from a business perspective. </font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial" size="2"><br></font></div><div><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; ">Tar Sands technology created in Alberta is
 owned by big oil.</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; ">Big oil will not be loyal to Canada if the cost of production is cheaper elsewhere. </span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; ">Other nations have more water, less regulation, cheaper costs, less monitoring.</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; ">How will the project in Utah reduce our exports to the US? Syncrude is only making $14 a barrel after production costs.</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; ">What is to stop the US from going to cheaper tar sand imports? Is this why they might now want the Keystone pipeline?</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; ">If corrupt nations profit from tar sands oil, what does that mean for global
 security</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; ">Will reliance on Tar Sands feed into terrorist funding?</span></li></ul></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial" size="2">From a business perspective, those who crafted Alberta's tar sand projects have managed to give away the farm!</font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial" size="2">Big oil used our nation as a testing ground of extraction processes intended for international use while our government subsidized the hell out of them. The minute these international projects start up there is little doubt these companies will jump the Alberta ship faster than a rat. </font><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; ">That's when we'll see
 the implementation of carbon tax or something of that nature. It's a weasel clause for them. Meanwhile we as a nation will be stuck with the physical and economic mess. What happens to the retirement funds when the bubble bursts? What will happen to our national economy?</span></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial" size="2">Don't even get me started on the environmental impacts!</font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial" size="2">That's my two cents worth. (Take it now before the Senate scraps the penny)</font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial" size="2">Lulu :0)</font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font
 class="Apple-style-span" face="arial" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial" size="2"><br></font></div><div><br></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial" size="2"><br></font></div></td></tr></table>