The National Resources Defense Council calls itself "the nation's most effective environmental action organization." Presumably the nation they refer to is the United States, but that has not stopped them from lending support to efforts to deter oil discovery in Canada:
It is not news that these tar sands projects have huge emissions associated with them. What is news is that the Canadian Federal Court has weighed in and said - yes, we agree with you - global warming pollution equivalent to 800,000 cars is not "insignificant" as the defendants, Imperial Oil (in partnership with ExxonMobil) argued.
Canada is our top supplier of imported oil, as well as being our most reliable supplier. (The rest of the top 5--Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and Nigeria--all have political risks.) A significant source of Canadian oil in the years ahead will be the tar sands of Alberta--unless that production is for some reason slowed or shut down. Now, in addition to working to lock away America's domestic energy supplies, America's environmental groups are trying to shut down our most important foreign sources as well.
The end result will be to make the United States more dependent on other foreign sources--not least Saudi Arabia and other Middle East suppliers. Our security interest in the region will be ratcheted up--not down.
Hat Tip: Carter Wood
