Shut them down.

Tar sands, oil shale and other marginally valuable oil have long been sold as pie in the sky, but economics normally bankrupt the investors long before they have created too large a mess. When one of the stake holders is a goverment, it takes a lot longer for the real economics to shine through, If Sec Clinton disapproves the pipeline request, there should be less incentive to continue.

There is a technological solution to make tar sands ecologically friendly. Do everything possible to encourage the uptake of renewable energy, the uptake of electric cars, the more efficient use of existing energy and the supply of affordable birth control to every woman of the world to stop our mad dash to bred ourselves extinct. With the resulting reduction in energy demand and hence price, tar sands will no longer be economically viable. The area will then heal itself over a ... More »