Posted on Thu Jul 10, 10:47 PM in Consuming Me
Watching from a distance as the madness unfolds.
CNN has recently run an article on the Canadian oil project commonly referred to as the Oil Sands. About a year ago, the radio show Marketplace ran a segment about an industrial mechanic from Newfoundland who was joining the growing number of workers looking to make money in Alberta; I found it a touching look at how this booming area was affecting everyone.
The company I worked for up until January 2008 was a key player in making the oil sands a reality; the water process that the CNN article talks about involves steam and hot water processes, HUGE processes, and my previous employer manufactures the machines to do this. The success of the oil sand projects (or “tar sands” as we knew them) was dependent upon our technologies… and vice versa, if everything played out correctly. We were essentially producing the biggest, most powerful equipment to date in order to squeeze oil from the sand. And someone was willing to pay for that.
I don’t really have an opinion on the issues addressed by the CNN article, but it is interesting to watch things unfold. Everyone at our company knew where the project would lead if we won the bidding wars, and of course if it’s good for the company, it’s good for you. But no one talks much about the change in lifestyle, the change in environment, and the meaning behind it all, and how good all that really is. And given the state of oil these days, I’m sure (as everyone at my old employer was years ago) that all eyes will be on Canada, wondering where the oil will go, and what she will do with her new wealth.
Go ahead, have your say!