civil B
No! We don't have diebold in CANADA so we can still stand together and remove these fuckers forever. A harper loss is an environment win. If oil was under 75$ the tar sands will not make money and shut down in a minute

Yes sometimes I feel it like a waste of time. Humans have this innate capacity to ignore all manner of warning signals in the hope that "This time it will be different".

It like we need a massive enviromental accident to wake us up. We get too used to things. A Bigger truck. A larger home. We are too focused on material wealth.

It is not just conservatives or rednecks. Thinking that it will all be better under the "Liberals" and all these problems will go away if we vote them, or that it The "Conservatives" that the cause of it all is simply getting us no where.

It a Human problem. We consume and want too much. We need a fundamental rethink at our cores.

The entire system of capitalism is built around fueling our desires to acquire and accumlate more and more of the material world. We have lost the spiritual side and it like the mantra of Capitalism and consumption is worshipped like a new god.

Now I will be the first to state that I believe the start of our transformation is a society being more able to equitably distribute its wealth. We have to rethink the entire concept of property and what is mine and look at the common good and what is ours.

But how?

From the day we are born everyone wants to be the prince living in a castle, or the princess with a palace and servants. No one wants to be the poor old woodcutter laboring away everyday in the forest.

pk

Does capitalism ever get through its greed phase? It's true that this round of development is being sold on the same old progress & growth model & that 'relative deprivation' is a very useful way to peddle the goods. While many people here may covet Alberta McMansions and take these as a sign of 'progress', some see this as a Faustian pact. Resource booms don't make everybody in a region rich. Alot of the 'development' in Saskatchewan, in neoliberal/neoconservative Alberta-style variant is being spearheaded by outside, corporate money. This is all facilitated by our local comprador elites for their place at the trough and which they sell as all-beneficial economic progress. Growth & progress is manifested in the same old globalization model - Wall Marts, condo conversions, gentification, privatization of everything & patterning of everything as business. And one hell of a lot of yellow ribbons on huge vehicles.

Does anyone beside me feel like we are fighting an ever increasing losing battle?

Now what happened on the East Coast...to the Cod fishery as example? Was that Rednecks?

They have reservations there as well. Indeed some of the Poorest reservations are on our eastern coasts.

How about those coal mines and tar ponds In Sydney Nova Scotia?

Here is the only real difference. The East Coast had its greed driven phase a few decades ago. They were settled before the West and went through the exact same exploitation phase.

All that happens is this phase follows along as the land was settled East to West. The martimes, Quebec Ontario are not without their own histroy of such.

Now that does not mean I support what Saskatchewan plans or what Alberta is up to. Indded I would have hoped they learned from the past mistakes we as a country have made.

The point is were Oil to be found in New brunswick and it would make those people rich at the cost of the enviroment, they would be as eager to exploit at as well.

It is not a red neck problem specific to one area of canada.

I live on the Canadian east coast and I just returned from a visit to north central Saskatchewan. It was surprising how people there are fired up over the prospect of getting their own oil patch, just like Alberta. No concerns about the environment from coffee row, just the anticipation of getting richer from exploiting nature again. After all, white Europeans have been farming the land and getting pretty wealthy from it for over a 100 years. This they did after forcing native peoples to live in rural slums called reservations.

Saskatchewan is becoming another greed-driven red-neck province like Alberta. Sadly, I foresee this province getting economically richer, but, as with its neighbour, lacking in compassion for anyone who is native and/or has a vision of respecting the environment.

When they get done with oil they will go to gas. Hence the pipeline wars around the Caspian.
Here is how to fight back: http://freepublictransit.org

The area in which Saskatchewans Tar sands are located is one of the most pristine areas I have been in. While this some years ago it an area marked by woodland and countless freshwater lakes. These lakes are teeming with all manner of fish , no doubt soon to be tailing ponds.

There is a fundamental split in the peoples of that Province. It has been known as a "have not" Province for years at the people watched with dismay as its population actually shrunk as people moved to neighboring Alberta for jobs.

Many people of that Province feel that blocking the expansion of the exploitation of these resources will see that Province remain a "have not".

This is not being driven by Harper though I would very much like to see Harper defeated. This is being driven by a very real desire of the people in Saskatchewan for more.

It is very important people in Eastern Canada remember this.

Ontario had its Auto_pact and its Manufacturing , and its nickel mines at Sudbury. The wages people earned in Ontario for decades was 4 and 5 times what the peoples of Saskatchewan earned. They now see a chance to elevate their standard of living and believe you me, if they see people from "The East" trying to prevent that it will only raise their hackles higher.

I think the development of the Tar sands has been too much too fast, and hope that Saskatchewan does not pursue this course, but I think it imperative that people try and understand where it is the peoples of Saskatchewan are coming from.

Just look to Newfoundland as another example. After the collpase of the Cod fishery they had nothing. People were leaving the province to find work in droves, or sitting on the governmnet poegy for 9 months of the year.

They then get offshore oil. Thier kids can now find jobs. Some return to Newfoundland to find jobs. Imagine how they would react if "The Government in Ottawa" shut it all down.

"Energy and Resources Minister Bill Boyd said the government is committed to ensuring any oilsands development is as environmentally, economically and socially sustainable as possible."

As possible translates to NOT AT ALL!

zoya said: "Well, we did vote for these neocons/neolibs in our last election here in Saskatchewan, so we're getting exactly what we deserve."

Indeed... Most of the west is in the grip of the neo-cons now... it really sickens me. We need to wake Canadians up to the true nature of Harper and his ilk. It really speaks volumes to the brainwashing done by the neo-cons when they can take control of such a historical place of progressive politics like Saskatchewan.

VOTE LIBERAL ACROSS THE COUNTRY ( Canada) IF YOU WANT REAL CHANGE. A majority gov makes change, a minority gov makes back room deals with 3rd party members.
THe US needs a 3rd party running the show to slow and stop the direction the US is heading. But then you get the Dems who vote Rep on matters that hurt America.

When will people accept that this shift to sustainable renewables is going to take some sacrifice and pain? And why does all of the pain have to be felt by consumers and the public? Why not the corporations and their shareholders?

Please don't tell me that the "shareholders" are the public. Very few regular people hold shares except perhaps in pension funds. Are those people ever given the choice between "make your retirement money" and "be alive to enjoy retirement"?

The rest of "shareholders" are the wealthy.

So let's spread the pain and sacrifice around a bit more evenly and have the wealthy feel their fair share, proportionally to the amount of money they make.

Remember to always refer to these sites as "Tar sands" and not "oil sands" as the industry would like you to do. This is similar to the push to have the term "Global Warming" replaced by "Climate Change." In both cases the idea is to soften the reference and reduce the impact of the reference. Heck, Climate Change sounds like a seasonal thing.

Does anyone remember the "Neutron Bomb?" Its special feature was "enhanced radiation."

This project is horrendous. And I was shocked to learn from a past Common Dreams article posting that a Congressman in the district next to me is one of the project's cheerleaders.

It's a shame that the "drill now" crowd want to turn us all into junkies. And destroy one of the largest forests left on earth - the boreal forests of Canada.

Well, we did vote for these neocons/neolibs in our last election here in Saskatchewan, so we're getting exactly what we deserve. We look up to Alberta as we would a big brother, and we long to turn our province into a toxic pigsty just like Alberta's.