| Ethical Oil: The Case for Canada's Oil Sands | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Ezra Levant |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | McClelland & Stewart[1] |
| Publication date | 2010 |
| Pages | 261 |
| ISBN | 0771046413 |
| OCLC Number | 437081482 |
Ethical Oil: The Case for Canada's Oil Sands is a book written by Canadian lawyer and political activist Ezra Levant, which makes a case for exploiting the Athabasca oil sands and its sister projects in Alberta. Published in 2010 by McClelland & Stewart in Toronto, Canada,[1] the book became a non-fiction best seller[2] and won the National Business Book Award for 2011.[3]
In the 261 page book, Ezra Levant makes the case that in terms of four criteria (the environment, conflict, economic and social justice and freedom from oppression) the Canadian petroleum industry is "heads above other crude producers like Saudi Arabia, Libya, Nigeria and Venezuela".[4][5] Highlighting perceived hypocrisy from Western progressive and environmental movements,[6] the author confronts what he sees as unfair and excessive criticism of oil sands, stating that the "oil sands are not perfect, and criticizing them is fair game. But why has criticism of the oil sands been so disproportionately loud compared to criticism of other, larger, more disturbing sources of oil?".[7]
Ethical Oil: The Case for Canada's Oil Sands has popularized the concept of "ethical oil" as a neologism, giving ammunition to the Conservative government of Stephen Harper and providing the inspiration behind Alykhan Velshi's "EthicalOil" campaign in the United States and Canada.
Contents |
Oil sands in Alberta have a proven reserve of 170 billion barrels (2.7×1010 m3), the second largest proven reserves of crude oil in the world.[8] They have become the largest source of oil imported into the United States.[9] With significant economic development and investment into the oil sands, the industry has been enjoying strong support by both the province's government and the federal government.[10] However, the industry has also been subject to criticism due to the environmental impacts of bitumen exploitation.[11][12] While the industry has attempted to resolve these issues by developing new techniques, such as in situ extraction, environmental organizations, such as Greenpeace, have launched campaigns to delegitimize the resource, based on its greenhouse gas emission records.[13]
Canada's primary export market, the United States, has been ambivalent to the environmental questions surrounding the exploitation of the oil sands, with Republicans being generally more supportive of the resource,[14] while president Barack Obama, a Democrat, said that "there are some environmental questions about how destructive they are".[15]
In an attempt to refocus the debate, Ezra Levant, a conservative political activist, former publisher of the Western Standard and the host of The Source on Sun News Network, examines the ethical aspects of importing oil from countries where political oppression and human rights violations are prevalent, and argues that oil sands production from Canada should be considered the only true ethical alternative to OPEC oil exports.[16] His inspiration for the concept of 'ethical oil' came from the neologism 'conflict diamond', and its antonym 'conflict-free diamond'. Levant decided to write the book to change some minds, after realizing at a 2009 writer's conference in Ottawa that he was the "token Alberta whipping boy" during a panel on the oil sands, and ineffective at convincing the audience of the merits of the oil sands. Ezra Levant stated that he wrote the book from a liberal point of view, in order to appeal to those who reject the traditional conservative point of view.[17]
The book is divided into 12 chapters, with a prologue, an epilogue, acknowledgments and sources. Chapters deal with various topics, including an overview of the biggest oil producing countries, an account of the controversy over Talisman Energy's involvement in Sudan, a critical analysis of some ethical funds, a case about inconsistencies in Greenpeace activism, a rebuke of the cancer controversy in Fort Chipewyan, the implication of Middle-Eastern regimes in the anti-Oil sands movement, and a critical analysis of the green jobs arguments.
A recurring theme throughout Ethical Oil: The Case for Canada's Oil Sands is the perceived hypocrisy of Western environmental movements. In a chapter entitled "Greenpeace's Best Fundraiser Ever", Levant notes the disparities between the harsh criticism of the Canadian energy industry coming from Greenpeace Canada to the seemingly absent criticism of Chinese industrial activity (such as nuclear power) from Greenpeace China, arguing that it is much easier to criticize free and liberal democracies than to criticize controlling regimes, but also raising the question of funding, noting that China, the most populated country on Earth, is a very attractive fundraising market for Greenpeace (which Levant describes as a 'multinational corporation').
Andrew Brannan reviewed the book in the The Objective Standard, and noted that it provides a "barrage of evidence in moral defense of the oil sands producers",[18] while Peter Foster, a Financial Post columnist, suggested that Levant "not only exposes the lies and hypocrisy of the media-coddled opponents of the vast resource, but raises the uncomfortable question of what alternatives to the oilsands these moralists prefer".[19] On the other hand, David Suzuki, dismissing Levant as an "apologist", argued that "the logic is faulty. Just because a country or society is considered 'ethical' does not mean everything it produces or exports is ethical".[20] In the Winnipeg Free Press, John Collins, a retired union negotiator, criticized some of Levant's sources, noting the presence of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers in the footnotes,[21] while Patrick Brethour, an editor for The Globe and Mail writing in the Literary Review of Canada, contends that the title of Levant’s book "is a considerable misstatement" and that Levant "fails to make the case for ethical oil".[22]
Ezra Levant's work gave ammunition to the Conservative government, which adopted the neologism in a similar rhetoric. Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, was quoted as saying that it is "critical to develop that resource in a way that’s responsible and environmental and the reality for the United States, which is the biggest consumer of our petroleum products, is that Canada is a very ethical society and a safe source for the United States in comparison to other sources of energy."[23] Danielle Smith, leader of Alberta's Wildrose Alliance, echoed Levant's arguments during a speech at the Fort McMurray Chamber of Commerce.[24]
In 2011, Alykhan Velshi, a former staffer for Minister of Immigration Jason Kenney, founded a website to promote the ideas put forward by Ezra Levant in his book. The website, EthicalOil.org, launched a campaign to compare Canada's 'Ethical Oil' against OPEC's 'Conflict Oil' and features controversial advertisements comparing conditions for women, gays and other minorities in OPEC countries to those in Canada.[25] EthicalOil.org has staged counter-protests in response to opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline project.[26] After setting up the ethicaloil.org website, Velshi has returned to Parliament Hill in late 2011, in the position of Director of Planning for the Prime Minister's Office. [27] [28]
Among critics of the 'Ethical Oil' point of view is Andrew Nikiforuk, author of Tar Sands: Dirty Oil and the Future of a Continent (Greystone Books, 2008, ISBN 1553654072), who referred to Levant's reasoning as "a classic Republican ruse",[29] and dismissed Minister of the Environment Peter Kent's argument as an "infomercial on bitumen".[30] In The Guardian, Leo Hickman points out that China is a major investor in the Canadian oil sands, and asks "Shouldn't this now mean that Canada's tar sands are labelled as 'Conflict Oil', too?"[31] Another opponent, Megan Leslie, the environment critic for the Official Opposition's New Democratic Party, said the debate surrounding the ethics of Canadian oil sands "misses the point" and maintained that "Canada should be working to move beyond fossil fuels toward renewable sources of energy".[32]
At a book signing event in Saskatoon on 17 September 2010, police had to be called to defuse a verbal clash between demonstrators and Levant. Most of the demonstrators were gone before the police arrived, but Levant started his subsequent question and answer session by addressing a critic's question.[33]