When Ezra Levant left his Ethical Oil blog to go be a network TV star (snortle) on Sun TV, he handed over the reigns to a young man named Alykhan Velshi who has been instrumental in the communications of the Conservative Party. If you thought Ezra was the master of spin, his successor seems to be the master of outrageous spin. Thankfully there are those out there in the mainstream media who enjoy calling BS just as much as we do.
This entry in the Guardian Environment blog does a great job of picking apart the new Ethical Oil ad campaign that leaves most sane people asking the question “they don’t think we’re that stupid – do they?”. The striking ads now featured on the Ethical Oil site and as advertising for it come from the “if you tell a lie large enough, they’ll believe it” category similar to the tactics used in the movie “Wag The Dog”. My own personal favourite is the one featuring a smiling worker with the loud proclamation that aboriginals are employed. They may be employed, but we’re polluting the watersheds of their reservations with the same oil that is employing them. As with everything else to do with the tar sands, a thousand evils can be excused if they are making us money.
The frustrating part is that the technology exists to make oilsands development more environmentally friendly, but the only places it seems to be employed are in commercials that spin the tar sands as environmentally friendly. Here’s hoping that international pressure will ensure that this technology is employed, even if it means a bite into bottom-line profits. While it is true that we can’t put a stop to oilsands production due to the economics of the situation, it isn’t true that we must continue developing them at any cost to the environment.
Thank you for this article. I can’t believe how stupid this government must think we are!! The tarsands are a disgusting environmental disaster.