Oil sands (aka tar sands) extraction is more energy and water intensive than conventional oil extraction, but it's also big business in Canada–specifically Alberta.
The Vancouver Olympics are partnering with several companies responsible for oil sands expansion, says the Sierra Club's deputy press secretary Kristina Johnson. These firms include Petro Canada (Sunoco), which runs six oil sands projects, Transcanada, the company behind a major proposed pipeline set to run through the U.S., and the Royal Bank of Canada, which has invested more money in oil sands than any other bank.
Sierra Club has also joined forces with the , a Canadian environmental watchdog group, in an effort to make the sloggy, snowless Cypress Mountain (conditions which are tied to the current El Nino, but never mind that) a stage for an anti-oil-sands push. The groups are hoping to rally spectators into activists during the Games. “Canada's identity as a winter wonderland is threatened by its government's support of dirty oil,” says Charles Campbell of the Dogwood Initiative.
—is a freelance writer, covering the environment, sustainability andoutdoor recreation. The Good Route, her blog for ϳԹ Online, isfocused on the places where the active life and sustainability merge.