Debunking Anti-Oil Sands Propaganda

[Marina Schwarz + 1,576]

12 ridiculous factual problems in the latest oilsands smear by National Geographic

I'm fully aware how the word "propaganda" has these days come to mean "facts and opinions I disagree with", so here are a few definitions to consider before anyone bursts a vein with outrage:

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/propaganda

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/propaganda

https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/propaganda

[Douglas Buckland + 6,308]

Sad to see that National Geographic has now joined the herd of incompetent journalism...where will it end?

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

7 minutes ago, Douglas Buckland said:

Sad to see that National Geographic has now joined the herd of incompetent journalism...where will it end?

NatGeo has been a lost cause for a number of years now.

[footeab@yahoo.com + 2,132]

16 minutes ago, Tom Kirkman said:

NatGeo has been a lost cause for a number of years now.

Nat Geo has been this way for ++50 years.  They have been making up blatant lies about their Anthropology articles since its inception. Same goes for their "science" articles as well.  Not sure why anyone ever thought otherwise other than people like fluff articles

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

An article is only as good as the competence of the writer.  IN this case the writer is incompetent, has some axe to grind, and has done zero research.  To illustrate, I invite the readers here to review the photos of the restoration of a Suncor tailings pond, described at:

https://www.jwnenergy.com/article/2017/10/heres-what-first-reclaimed-oilsands-tailings-pond-looks-after-seven-years-growth/

Here is reproduced a copy of what an admittedly ugly tailings pond ends up as after Suncor experts do their work:

Now, THAT is seriously nice work!  Remember that, in the pre-oil-removal state, the land holding oilsands is saturated with heavy oil, and if you walk around on it, you get oil oozing up out of the soil and coating whatever is above, including your boots and also the feet of fowl and animals.  When that oil is removed and the land is reclaimed, then you have both dry land that supports natural life, here including both pine trees and animals, and wetlands including freshwater ponds and the birds that rest on them (hello, Canada geese!).  So it becomes clear that "Man's efforts" improve the natural environment by oil removal.  OK, you can argue that the oil is part of the natural background and should be left there, but go tell that to the moose. I suspect you will find that they disagree. Hard to give birth to a baby moose lying in some oil swamp, now isn't it? 

[Douglas Buckland + 6,308]

40 minutes ago, Tom Kirkman said:

NatGeo has been a lost cause for a number of years now.

I think this all began when the PC crowd outlawed the art presented on the Mac, Makita and Snap-On tool catalogs and calendars (if you know what I'm getting at...). Then, with that success, they journalistic crowd decided to target Newsweek, The International Herald Tribune and the rest is history.

Be honest now....you did buy some tools just to get the calendar!😂 

[Marina Schwarz + 1,576]

3 hours ago, Jan van Eck said:

IN this case the writer is incompetent, has some axe to grind, and has done zero research. 

This is unpardonable as is the editor's failure or unwillingness to identify any of these problems, especially the last one. 

[BenFranklin'sSpectacles + 762]

3 hours ago, Jan van Eck said:

An article is only as good as the competence of the writer.  IN this case the writer is incompetent, has some axe to grind, and has done zero research.  To illustrate, I invite the readers here to review the photos of the restoration of a Suncor tailings pond, described at:

https://www.jwnenergy.com/article/2017/10/heres-what-first-reclaimed-oilsands-tailings-pond-looks-after-seven-years-growth/

Here is reproduced a copy of what an admittedly ugly tailings pond ends up as after Suncor experts do their work:

Now, THAT is seriously nice work!  Remember that, in the pre-oil-removal state, the land holding oilsands is saturated with heavy oil, and if you walk around on it, you get oil oozing up out of the soil and coating whatever is above, including your boots and also the feet of fowl and animals.  When that oil is removed and the land is reclaimed, then you have both dry land that supports natural life, here including both pine trees and animals, and wetlands including freshwater ponds and the birds that rest on them (hello, Canada geese!).  So it becomes clear that "Man's efforts" improve the natural environment by oil removal.  OK, you can argue that the oil is part of the natural background and should be left there, but go tell that to the moose. I suspect you will find that they disagree. Hard to give birth to a baby moose lying in some oil swamp, now isn't it?  

I would love to see an environmentalist argue that oil is part of the natural background.  The immediate response should be, "In that case, what's wrong with oil spills?"

[BenFranklin'sSpectacles + 762]

3 hours ago, Douglas Buckland said:

I think this all began when the PC crowd outlawed the art presented on the Mac, Makita and Snap-On tool catalogs and calendars (if you know what I'm getting at...). Then, with that success, they journalistic crowd decided to target Newsweek, The International Herald Tribune and the rest is history.

Be honest now....you did buy some tools just to get the calendar!😂 

That must have been nice.  I grew up with screeching liberals on the left and staunch Christians on the right.  Not a lot of fun to be had...

Surely pockets of this still exist though; where does one find them? 

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

1 minute ago, BenFranklin'sSpectacles said:

I grew up with screeching liberals on the left and staunch Christians on the right. 

At the risk of being pedantic, I would take issue with the observation of "staunch Christians on the right."   The Christian Church at its core is founded on personal and societal obligations to the poor.  In a very real sense, it is a poor man's religion.  The duties of Christians are to devote themselves to alleviate the burdens of the poor.  "Staunch Christians on the right" don't seem to grasp that, and instead use the Church as a vector to admonish non-believers, assert behavioral controls (especially upon young women and sex), and rail against societal conduct which they conflate with Sodom and Gomorrah. Those people are not "Christians," and what they preach has nothing to do with Christianity.  It has to do with smugness and intolerance, and above all the repudiation of forgiveness. Trust this explains. 

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

24 minutes ago, Marina Schwarz said:

This is unpardonable as is the editor's failure or unwillingness to identify any of these problems, especially the last one. 

Considering it took me less than a minute to discover the Suncor reclamation information and those pictures, it sure seems that the editors at National Geographic are colossal failures. Sheesh.  Even I can do better than that. Meanwhile, that so-called "writer" is nothing more than a shill.  Ugh.

[BenFranklin'sSpectacles + 762]

2 minutes ago, Jan van Eck said:

At the risk of being pedantic, I would take issue with the observation of "staunch Christians on the right."   The Christian Church at its core is founded on personal and societal obligations to the poor.  In a very real sense, it is a poor man's religion.  The duties of Christians are to devote themselves to alleviate the burdens of the poor.  "Staunch Christians on the right" don't seem to grasp that, and instead use the Church as a vector to admonish non-believers, assert behavioral controls (especially upon young women and sex), and rail against societal conduct which they conflate with Sodom and Gomorrah. Those people are not "Christians," and what they preach has nothing to do with Christianity.  It has to do with smugness and intolerance, and above all the repudiation of forgiveness. Trust this explains.  

I agree with you entirely.  Allow me to rephrase:  Sexually repressed "Christians" on the right. 

On that note, where does one find well-adjusted, emotionally stable people?

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

Just now, BenFranklin'sSpectacles said:

I agree with you entirely.  Allow me to rephrase:  Sexually repressed "Christians" on the right. 

On that note, where does one find well-adjusted, emotionally stable people?

Right here on Oilprice.com Community Board!  🙂☺️😒!

(For the rest of the planet, not so much.) 

 

[Fred czubba + 15]

Nice article and very clearly addresses all issues.  Canada's oil and gas industry seems to be constantly under attack from many side.The O&G industry is the only industry with the resources and technology that can bring Canada into the 21st century. If government and industry work together then this industry could finance the programs to transform Canada into an ever brighter future.

 

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

19 hours ago, Marina Schwarz said:

I'm fully aware how the word "propaganda" has these days come to mean "facts and opinions I disagree with", so here are a few definitions to consider before anyone bursts a vein with outrage: ...

/ side note ... below gives a new meaning to the role of a moderator on a forum, perhaps?  Although I tend to push for dissent rather than propaganda ... your mileage may vary.

Propaganda Is The Root Of All Our Problems

... As I never tire of saying, the real underlying currency in our world is not gold, nor bureaucratic fiat, nor even raw military might. The real underlying currency of our world is narrative, and the ability to control it.

As soon as you really grok this dynamic, you start noticing it everywhere. George Kurtz is one clear example today of narrative control’s central role in the maintenance and expansion of existing power structures, as well as an illustration of how the empire is wired to reward those who advance pro-empire narratives and punish those who damage them ...

[Douglas Buckland + 6,308]

19 hours ago, BenFranklin'sSpectacles said:

I would love to see an environmentalist argue that oil is part of the natural background.  The immediate response should be, "In that case, what's wrong with oil spills?"

They have had a difficult time explaining the La Brea (spelling?) Tar Pits (essentially an oil reserve at the surface) and the natural oil seeps off Santa Barbara..