This is the trailer for Dirty Oil, a film about the Alberta Tar Sands that premieres this week in 25 theaters across the UK.  This looks like an excellent movie and let’s hope it has an impact.  But it’s important to remember that all oil is dirty when it’s burned, not just the tar sands kind.  It just so happens we get a ton of oil from Canada’s tar sands that is the filthiest form of oil we use.

“Released in cinemas March 15th 2010 as part of the trilogy for The Co-operatives “Toxic Fuels” campaign”. Dirty Oil goes behind-the-scenes into the strip-mined world of Alberta, Canada, where the vast and toxic Tar Sands deposit supplies the U.S. with the majority of its oil. Through the eyes of scientists, big oil officials, politicians, doctors, environmentalists, and aboriginal citizens directly impacted by the largest industrial project on the planet today, the filmmakers journey to both sides of the border to see the emotional and irreversible toll this black gold rush fueled by Americas addiction to oil is taking on our planet.” (from Youtube)

I came across a blog, The Enbridge Pipeline in My Backyard. It contains a lot of information, photos and personal stories from a person who lives near the new pipeline construction area in northern Minnesota.   Life hasn’t been easy for the people there.  The blog writer has taken a lot of photos and two of them are on page 2.

Pipeline mess in northern Minnesota -- Photo by J. Johnson

They will pump 7.6 millions gallons of water from Chub Lake, then run it through the pipelines, both the 20" and 36" pipes, from Superior to Alberta, and back to Chub Lake Park. From there, they will filter it, test it, and return the 7.6 million gallons of water to the lake, all with "minimal impact on the lake". Photo by J. Johnson

See More here

The Obama administration and new energy legislation will (probably) allow for and even encourage more drilling for oil and natural gas.  The Alberta Clipper pipeline was approved by the U.S. State Department in August 2009 by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. If this project is allowed to continue, we can probably be assured of increasing CO2 emissions and runaway climate change sooner than if it were shut down as soon as possible, which is what should happen.  It was an enormous mistake to approve of this pipeline and the world’s dirtiest oil that it will carry into the United States, feeding our addiction. We are still oil junkies, but a growing number of us want off the drug.

Native American groups are suing the state department, or were trying to. I’m not aware of any success with their lawsuit.

Four environmental and Native American advocacy groups have filed suit challenging the US State Department’s August approval of Enbridge Energy’s plans to build the Alberta Clipper tar sands pipeline. The pipeline would pump 450,000 barrels of tar sands oil per [...]