Courtesy of Forest Ethics

We are stuck in a sticky oil slick.

Get comfortable… because it is not likely we are going to escape from the mess anytime soon.

While alternative sources of energy (wind, solar etc) are explored, our addiction to fossil fuels will continue unabated.

To feed our needs, energy companies are constantly looking for new sources of the mucky stuff.

They have found a tempting new prospect in nearby Canada. This could be a massive boost to American energy prospects… and a gigantic sludgy mess.

The location is the tar sands located near Alberta, Canada. Also known as oil sands, this is a very dark dirty earthy mix from which a variety of chemicals and fuels can be extracted.

But there is a hitch…the processing of the tar has a host of production and environmental hazards.

Still, after the the terrible recent BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, some folks consider a land based fuel source a safer bet.

Now there is news of a pipeline from Canada to Texas (where the sludge would be refined).

This is stirring a ton of controversy with protests in Washington resulting in a record number of arrests.

There is also opposition from a group with a fair amount of political power in Canada— the indigenous tribes.

Native Canadians and Americans have partnered to stop this pipeline to preserve the Boreal Forest near its construction.

President Obama (not Congress) has the final say on the pipeline. Advocates are promoting the prospects of new jobs the project might create (a plus in this bad economy).

We should hear soon.

With concern about America’s addiction to fossil fuels, this debate, like global warming will continue to heat up.