From Paul Morris
Hal Hodson seems to suggest that if the US fails to build a connecting oil pipeline to Canada, the tar sands won’t be fully developed (16 August, p 10). This isn’t the case. Canada could build a pipeline to the west coast and ship the oil to China.
Canada currently sends oil from the tar sands to the US through road and rail, but it is cheaper and safer to send oil through a pipeline. It is also safer to pipe the oil than to have it shipped across the ocean, which is how the US imports most of its oil. On top of this Canada has more stringent environmental laws then many oil-producing countries, so if oil has to be used, Canada is the best place to get it.
The question is, does the US want cheaper, ethically produced, environmentally monitored oil from Canada, or does it want to keep importing more expensive oil, by ship, from elsewhere?
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
