When David Barsamian visited Calgary last month, he sat down in the CJSW studios with local author and journalist, Andrew Nikiforuk to discuss the Alberta energy industry. The conversation has been made into an episode of Alternative Radio, “Tar Sands: Canada’s Mordor” that will play on over 125 radio stations and be heard by millions of listeners. The episode will air on CJSW Wednesday June 13th at 11am.
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Here is a description of the episode from alternativeradio.org.
Mordor is the realm of the evil Sauron in “The Lord of the Rings.” Tolkien describes it as “a barren wasteland, riddled with fire and ash and dust, the very air you breathe is a poisonous fume.” If you look at Canada’s Alberta tar sands you might imagine it’s something like Mordor. The gigantic effort to extract oil has turned the province into a hydrocarbon kingdom. And it may be one of the most environmentally destructive projects on earth. Tar sands burn more carbon than conventional oil; destroy forests; kill wildlife; poison the water supply and communities downstream; drain the Athabasca, the river that feeds Canada’s largest watershed, and contribute to climate change. The Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta to refineries in the U.S. has been put on hold because of protests but it is likely to resurface.
Andrew Nikiforuk
Andrew Nikiforuk is an award-winning Canadian journalist. His articles appear in major newspapers and magazines. He is the author of “Saboteurs“ and “Empire of the Beetle.” His book “Tar Sands” was honored with the Rachel Carson Environment Book Award.
