Canada's Petroleum Potential in a Time Warp

In the Vancouver Sun newspaper (November 23, 2013), I  read with interest the Weekend Extra, Edmonton Journal article about the oil/tar sands in a global 'marketplace'.  It was an interesting and detailed analysis of macro economic issues related to oil production across the globe and implications for Canada as a petroleum producer.

Unfortunately, the analysis only tells us part of the story, and frankly, the item seems to have been written using and analytical framework from the 1950s, rather than from the 21st century.  The unbridled enthusiasm for petrochemical exploitation seems curiously out of date.

The forgotten part of the analysis relates to consideration of the marketplace implications of expanded exploitation and consumption without any considerations of the costs -- economic, social and climate -- of further expansion.  Not a whiff of a mention. The analysis is presented as if there are no global economic costs attached to being aggressive petroleum producing competitors on the global stage.

Curious.