Calgary, Alberta ? Calgary (Alberta) Sun on “dirty oil” (May 8):

All that oil floating on the Gulf of Mexico reveals the lie about Alberta’s “dirty oil” for what it is.

While we get no pleasure from seeing our neighbors to the south contend with an unfolding ecological disaster, it at least puts the relative merits of different energy sources in perspective.

There’s no such thing as “clean” hydrocarbons.

No matter what the source, extracting oil from the Earth’s bosom is an endeavor fraught with risk.

We take the gamble because our world as we know it wouldn’t function without oil.

It feeds us and keeps us from freezing.

Canada supplies more oil to the U.S. than any other nation. That provides energy security for the Americans and a huge boost to our economy.

Yet as more of that supply comes from Alberta’s oilsands, there’s a danger sensationalistic disinformation campaigns will undermine this mutually beneficial relationship.

Environmental extremist groups have mounted an unceasing effort to portray oilsands production as “dirty oil.”

But their main basis for that claim, that oilsands production emits more greenhouse gases, pales in comparison to the potential catastrophe the U.S. is facing in Louisiana.

Especially when you consider 80 percent of the emissions from any oil source occur during the combustion process of refined products.

Yet there’s been a danger the current U.S. administration could take steps to penalize or restrict the roughly 1.5 million barrels of oil the U.S. imports every day from Alberta. …

The U.S. was all set to increase offshore drilling, but has placed a moratorium on it in the wake of this massive spill.

What a difference a disaster makes. …

This spill should serve as a wake-up call to spur government and industry to look at the safety of all forms of oil production and transport — and ensure we are able to respond effectively and quickly to potential spills in the future.

But it also reveals the absurdity of falsely singling out the oilsands as a villain in the often messy business of extracting hydrocarbons.

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