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Manufactured LandscapesSubmitted by Charles Frost on Sun, 09/09/2007 - 17:59.
Photo from: http://images.google.com/images?q=%22Edward+Burtynsky%22&gbv=2&ndsp=20&svnum=10&hl=en&start=60&sa=N
If the Planet Earth is our "Mother", and we have been "raping" her for the last 100+ years..... what would be the appropriate term for us??? For some perspective on this, I offer this.... It is an amazing presentation by a wonderful photographer(from the written introductory notes)"Why you should listen to him: To describe Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky's work in a single adjective, you have to speak French: jolie-laide. His images of scarred landscapes -- from mountains of tires to rivers of bright orange waste from a nickel mine -- are eerily pretty yet ugly at the same time. Burtynsky's large-format color photographs explore the impact of humanity's expanding footprint and the substantial ways in which we're reshaping the surface of the planet. His images powerfully alter the way we think about the world and our place in it."http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/56 (about a 35 minute talk, but time well invested)
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Whole Foods, Bed Bath & Beyond Say No Way to Alberta Tar Sands
Submitted by Charles Frost on Thu, 02/18/2010 - 22:36.
by Naturally Savvy on 02.12.10 "The Alberta tar sands is taking another hit as two major retailers--Whole Foods and Bed Bath & Beyond--announced on Wednesday that they are moving to avoid using the petroleum products sourced from the tar sands for transporting product, according to a ForestEthics press release.
The move comes months after environmental group ForestEthics sent a letter to Fortune 500 companies to warn that using transportation fuels sourced from the tar sands puts companies' brands at risk.
Extracting oil from the tar sands produces an average of three times the carbon emissions as conventional oil, according to the WWF report Carbon Capture and Storage in the Alberta Oil Sands.
Bed Bath & Beyond's new policy reveals they plan to consult with suppliers, but it's unclear when they will actually switch to tar sands-free fuel suppliers:"
The rest of the story is at: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/02/whole-foods-bed-bath-beyond-say-no-way-to-alberta-tar-sands.php
By refusing to deal honorably with others, you dishonor yourself.
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Astounding Photos of Alberta Oil Sand Strip Mines
Huge strip mining operation, all for the sake of "oil"...
So sorry not to be able to post a sample photo here, but the site is is all in "Flash"
... So please go to: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/v5/content/features/oilsands/index.html
SANDS PHOTOGRAPHER USES STILLS WITH NARRATION
OR, just use the video. Watch the oil sands aerials and listen to the narration. More engaging than a silent photo.
The ability to put this type of simple narration up on Realneo would be desirable.
The first topic I would narrate would be about the abandoned homes all through NEO.
Bill, thanks. I happened to be in Toronto last month when the Globe and Mail ran the story on the tar sands which had a number of the photos. Maybe they have a still shot available on line.
2 years and a day later
How about it Buster? Got any good photos with narration OR video of abandoned homes here or wherever you are? Realneo is missing your posts these days. Do we have this desirable ability at Realneo yet? Got a YouTube account yet, JB?
I miss Buster, too
Too bad that in NEO--disagreement leads to bully mode--instead of civil discourse. With better weather, I hope that spirits improve around here.
Report: Alberta Oil Sands Most Destructive Project on Earth
Report: Alberta Oil Sands Most Destructive Project on Earth
Environmental Defence has released a report calling the Alberta Oil Sands the most destructive project on Earth.
Few Canadians know that Canada is home to one of the world's largest dams and it is built to hold toxic waste from just one Tar Sands operation," Rick Smith, the executive director of Environmental Defence.
And according to the report this is just the beginning. Approvals have already been given that will double the size of existing operations and Canada's leaders have been talking with the US government to grow oil sands operations in a "short time span."
Even a former Premier of Alberta is concerned. Peter Lougheed who served as Premier from 1971 to 1985 was recently quoted on the oil sands as saying:
... it is just a moonscape. It is wrong in my judgment, a major wrong... So it is a major, major federal and provincial issue."
However, there is a silver lining in all this. A recent Canadian parliamentary committee recently stated that:
A business as usual approach to the development of the oil sands is not sustainable. The time has come to begin the transition to a clean energy future."
Here's a few facts about the Alberta Oil Sands:
Oil sands mining is licensed to use twice the amount of fresh water that the entire city of Calgary uses in a year.
- At least 90% of the fresh water used in the oil sands ends up in ends up in tailing ponds so toxic that propane cannons are used to keep ducks from landing in them.
- Processing the oil sands uses enough natural gas in a day to heat 3 million homes in Canada.
- The toxic tailing ponds are considered one of the largest human-made structures in the world. The ponds span 50 square kilometers and can be seen from space.
- Producing a barrel of oil from the oil sands produces three times more greenhouse gas emissions than a barrel of conventional oil.
- The oil sands operations are the fastest growing source of heat-trapping greenhouse gas in Canada. By 2020 the oil sands will release twice the amount produced currently by all the cars and trucks in Canada.
A full copy of the Environmental Defence report is attached to the end of this post.