Gore Slams Tar Sands, Michael Are You Listening?

Former vice president turned global warming guru Al Gore isn't pulling any punches when it comes to the Athabasca Tar Sands. That much was clear when he told the Toronto Star that the Tar Sands threaten the survival of our species:

"Gas from the tar sands gives a Prius the same carbon footprint as a Hummer," the former U.S. vice-president told the Star in an interview prior to a Toronto speaking engagement scheduled for Tuesday evening.

"I know that doesn't make me popular in Alberta," said the jet-hopping environmental activist, best known for the movie and book An Inconvenient Truth.

"But it's simply a fact. A lot of money is at stake, but a lot of lives and the future of human civilization are also at stake."

Gee, ya think? Of course, Al Gore is merely focusing on the massive carbon emissions problem created by Tar Sands energy. He's not even touching on the enormous waste of natural gas, the regional water and groundwater contamination and the spread of carcinogens associated with Alberta's dream megaproject.

I wonder if Michael Ignatieff has anything to add? He who declares the Tar Sands the engine of Canada's economy for the 21st century and bitumen the key to national unity for this century also.