07w40:5 Stupid to the last drop Posted October 6th, 2007 by timothy. 0 Comments Goodreads | 2007 week 40 number 5 (Stupid to the last drop) Stupid to the last drop by William Marsden; Reviewed by Andrew Nikiforuk http://goodreads.timothycomeau.com/shorty/theglobeandmail/stupidalberta/ “Marsden really finds his mark while recording the tales of ordinary Davids facing powerful yet stupid Goliaths. Francis Gardner, one fine rancher, gets the better of Shell Oil in a brazen, Russian-like encounter on New Year’s Eve. Jessica Ernst, a courageous oil-patch consultant, tells how EnCana carelessly drilled into a local aquifer and gave her groundwater a shocking advantage: She can light it on fire. Dr. John O’Connor, a physician with a moral heart, explains how both federal and provincial bureaucrats tried to silence his disturbing documentation of cancer deaths downstream from the tar sands. In these inspiring tales, at least, Marsden proves that moral intelligence has not disappeared from Alberta; it just doesn’t appear to exist in government circles any more. The biggest stupidities that Marsden discovers could and probably should shock any Canadian. A government that gives away its oil for a 1-per-cent royalty is not only stupid but politically bankrupt. A regulator (“eight mulish, white male suits”) that rubber-stamps projects and then spies on citizens who question their rubber-stamping is a Soviet-style disgrace. A former environment minister who rants not about the destruction of rivers and forests, but about his Harvard education, is pure Mark Twain territory. Welcome to Saudi Alberta.” [emp mine] ——————————— Update 19 Oct 2007: Paved with dubious intentions (review by Peter Gorrie) | The Toronto Star http://www.thestar.com/sciencetech/article/264334
