Anthony Pintabona

5987148

Chapter Fourteen: Tar Age Ahead

“…Exploitation of the tar sands without a plan is about as clever as visiting Mars without

a spacesuit” — Andrew Nikiforuk

As the title indicates, chapter fourteen of Tar Sands: Dirty Oil and the Future of a

Continent offers a vision of what is to come if we continue to recklessly—and needlessly

—pillage our natural landscape for the sole purpose of economic gain. With the North

American society so heavily invested in economic development, there is no limit to how

far oil company officials and corporate investors will go, says Nikkiforuk.

Chapter fourteen: “Tar Age Ahead” opens with a thought provoking anecdote

centered on civilization’s past. Nikkiforuk states that a historical mass of land, “The

Quarry of the Ancestors” finds itself situated amongst the hotspot of Alberta’s tar sands

project. Claiming this to be a spot of historical heritage and significance, it is said to have

once been inhabited by an ancient tribe over ten-thousand years ago. This land mass is

ground zero for crucial archaeological discoveries, with experts having found ancient

knives, forged blades and even an arrowhead with ten-thousand-year-old blood stains on

the tip—belonging to the long-extinct species of mammoths! This region possessed a

crucial type of stone that allowed these ancient peoples to forge world-class weapons

unlike any others the world had to offer. While this may seem unrelated to the tar sands,

there are more commonalities than apparent, for instance, the cultivation of this ancient

limestone is mirrored in our present-day cultivation of oil. Nikiforuk eloquently cites the

similarities—the human race has always cultivated its available resources for personal

gain, however, the scale in which modern-day society has expanded this application to, is
monumental. The Quarry of Ancestors, the ancient hot-spot of resources, has left an

environmental footprint of a mere square mile. With the evolution of the human race, we

currently have the tar sands, which is set to leave an environmental footprint “the size of

Belgium”. Such bold claims emphasize the mass-scale destruction that the tar sands

project is responsible for, which is something all Canadian citizens should take note of.

Nikiforuk makes a habit of stressing individual responsibility. It is stated that on

average, each Albertan peaks at sixty barrels of oil consumed per year. In comparison, the

average Indian consumes less than half a barrel of oil—an alarming statistic that

showcases just how severely the developed world depends on oil for our everyday lives.

Citing numerous statistics, Nikiforuk continuously emphasizes each person’s

responsibility to take notice of the aforementioned facts, and come to the realization that

each individual is playing a role in the development of the tar sands, due to the society’s

general consumption habits. To emphasize the importance to Canadians, it is stated that

similar tar sands projects were proposed for Norway, yet the official ruling on the matter

is that the project would be one “that completely destroys the boreal forest, the bogs, the

rivers as well as the natural landscape”. Diminishing respect for Alberta’s—and as a

result Canada’s—image as a whole, is not limited solely to the people of Norway. British

activists have declared Alberta’s tar sands project as “the biggest environmental crime in

history”. Nikiforuk poses the question of how Canadians can sit idly by as their country is

destroyed.

Alberta’s government is largely unaffected by slander towards the tar sands, and

continue to defend and support the project rigorously. Twenty-five million dollars has

been spent for pro-tar sands “integrity” campaigning, which has included Albertan
officials travel expenses to the U.S to reiterate that the province is committed to

supplying the United States with a secure, safe oil supply—a fact that Nikiforuk provides

clearly to emphasize the tar sands nature of existence: One of strictly profit above all else.

On a broader scale, the tar sands project poses larger questions, including a clash of belief

systems. Among the opposing sides; the federal right to protect environment, and the

provincial right to exploit natural resources. As well, Nikiforuk differentiates two distinct

sides to the tar sands dilemma: The liberal side, a grouping which is focused on economy

and profit, with a laissez-fair attitude towards environmental damage. They believe “it’ll

fix itself” according to Nikiforuk. In comparison, the opposing conservative side takes a

wiser approach to development, stating that with no real concrete plan for the future

direction of the tar sands, continuing with the project is “about as clever as visiting Mars

without a spacesuit”.

If the future is taking a direction towards sustainable energy, it cannot be

concretely said that North American civilization will still need fossil fuel to the extent

that it is required today. With that being said, one must wonder, if such a new energy

source does present itself, what is to happen to the ravaged land of Alberta, due to the

excavation of oil? It simply cannot be reverted back to its original state at this point—the

destructive alterations are so severe, that they will be a stain on Canada’s pristine

landscape for generations to come. Nikiforuk closes with a plea; live within one’s means,

and do not tax the land of its resources, for there will certainly be dire consequences in

the future if we do not change our habits.