London Free Press - Greg Weston - Canada awaits Obama's word on oilsands

In Prentice's words: "The policies he (Obama) has espoused over the course of the (presidential) campaign . . . represents a profound difference that is difficult to overstate in the context of North America.

"He has been adamant about . . . building a new economy in America focused on the environment, eliminating U.S. energy dependency. So his policies are strikingly different than the former administration."

All of which points directly at the Alberta oilsands as a potential confluence of contention. A key national economic engine in this country, representing almost 60 per cent of Canada's total oil production, the oilsands are also one of the great environmental blights of our time.

Besides the extraction process creating massive amounts of greenhouse gases, burning oil from the oilsands releases almost three times the global-warming pollutants of conventional petroleum.

The American environmentalists call it "dirty oil" and their demands that the Obama administration ban its importation have not been falling on deaf ears.

Fortunately for Alberta and the national economy, it's not that easy.

The U.S. imports about 58 per cent of its oil needs, and Canada is by far its largest foreign supplier. The U.S. imports almost all of the oilsands production, and that is expected to triple over the next decade.

Turning off the tap on Canadian dirty oil may have sounded like a good idea during the heat of a presidential campaign. But the resulting U.S. fuel shortages or heavier dependence on Middle East imports should give even American enviro-zealots pause.

Says Prentice: "Any projection of energy consumption (in the U.S.) over the next 50 years includes consideration of the oilsands as a stable source of supply...