Gulf`s pain oil sands` gain, experts agree
The environmental evils of the oil sands, whether real or perceived, have been largely forgotten since thousands of barrels of oil began oozing out of the seafloor in the Gulf of Mexico. Louisiana`s tragedy at the hands of the exploded Deepwater Horizon oil rig, experts argue, could be to Alberta`s advantage.
"Without a doubt it takes the heat off [the oil sands] from within the [United States]," said Tyler Priest, an oil historian at the University of Houston`s Bauer College of Business. "Everyone is now focused on the Gulf of Mexico right now."
He and other observers do not mean to sound flip on the subject, considering 11 people died and others were injured in the Gulf explosion that precipitated the spill, and the ecological and economic fallout may linger for decades. Indeed, the entire energy industry could be damaged as people consider the consequences of relying so heavily on fossil fuels.
But in the meantime, images of gigantic ponds of toxic waste and dead ducks in Alberta have given way to pictures of a moving slick of crude -- one that is growing over the ocean and is not bound by barriers.
Oil has been leaking into the Gulf since April 22, two days after a rig leased by BP PLC, the British energy powerhouse, suffered an explosion and fire. An estimated 5,000 barrels of oil per day are escaping after emergency systems designed to shut off the well failed. Officials do not know when they will be able to stop the leaks. It could take months.
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