Drilling a matter of life and death

Regarding an article on Page 3 of the Business section on Aug. 26, Canada's mining of its huge deposits of oil sand to produce oil is economically possible because, in contrast to oil shale, there is a layer of water between oil and sand grain allowing easy extraction.

The clean sand is returned to reclaim the land after strip mine completion. Having witnessed the mining activities out of Fort McMurray last October, I can attest to the gargantuan size of the mining equipment described in the article "Oil boom or environmental bust?" Canada responsibly chooses economic survival.

The environmentalists' illusion or delusion that there are alternative sources of "clean energy" capable of replacing oil, coal and nuclear energy within the next 50 to 100 years is a fraud that will prove to be very debilitating for us. As our production capabilities and economy continue to contract and our resources, flexibility and mobility become more restrictive, this country, as we know it, will shrivel and die. We are bleeding ourselves dry.

M. Michael Dorr

Kildeer