some facts about the Canadian tar sands ...

Tar Sands Action's sit-ins in Washington DC are succeeding in informing people about the Canadian tar sands and the extreme price we pay for gathering oil from them.

The protest revolves around the proposed Keystone XL pipeline project, which would speed the flow of crude oil from the tar sands to US refineries.

Approx. 20% of US oil comes from Canada and 40% of Canada's oil production is from tar sands.

So what are tar sands and why should we care? Tar sands, or oil sands are a mix of clay, sand, water and oil and particularly bitumen, which is a heavy, viscous material. Unlike drilled oil, tar sands have to be mined to get at the bitumen and refine it into oil.

Bitumen is highly carcinogenic and requires extensive processing to make it thin enough to flow through pipes. Four tons of sand and soil are removed and dumped for every one barrel of oil gained from tar sands

(Al Gore wrote a great book about the devastation from soil removal- not his book An Inconvenient Truth, but an older book, I believe from before he was Vice President, the title is slipping my mind - like alot of things these days- but if you google it, it is a great read)

and three barrels of water to extract just one barrel of oil. More than 400 million gallons of water per day ends up dumped in toxic tailing pools which leak 3 million gallons of contaminated water daily.

Tar sands oil production emits 3 times more carbon dioxide per barrel than traditional oil production and the tar sands of Alberta, Canada are located under Canada's Boreal forest which is one of the largest intact ecosystems remaining on the planet. Removing the carbon-storing forest ecosystem to get at the tar sands will be more and more detrimental.

By 2020 the Tar Sands will release twice as many greenhouse gases than currently produced by all the cars and trucks in Canada!

Local production negatively impacts birds and caribou and moose and the indigenous people ... and all of us.

If the U.S. government approves the pipeline, renowned climatologist James Hansen says it will be "game over" for the global climate.

There is a petition to Obama to stop this pipeline HERE
and to focus on developing clean, safe energy.

BTW if you haven't seen Bill Nye tackle this brain-dead climate skeptic at FOX news (again) you will love this

this could be it folks ....

I mean, an earthquake and a hurricane all in one week? in New Jersey?

Global warming?

(Al?)

Well, maybe ... but my take on this is that God is seriously pissed off about all this Jersey TV - Housewives, Jersey Shore, Jerseylicious - she got one look at Snookie and said ... enough, already

(note to God - remember me, I'm the girl with the flat hair)

BTW at the post office the other day a bald man told me he has worked at the Jerseylicious salon for 15 years

(first he complimented another customer's hair, then looked at my hair and said ... nothing)

and only the mother and daughter on the show actually work there, everyone else is fake - I've never seen the show, so don't know how extensive this "fake people" thing is, but it sounds serious folks ...

As I am typing this my brother just called me and said his town is having mandatory evacuations and they need a place to go ... with their 5 cats and 2 birds - OMG

Then a friend called and said they are having an earthquake/hurricane party tonight and we are invited. I asked if I should bring some takeout

(and my brother, sister in law, 2 birds and 5 cats .. I kind of just whispered this part though)

and she said "I have a pot roast."

(grandma? sniffle)

Uh, isn't it still August? Who just happens to have a pot roast in August? But then she said the kicker that pretty much assured my participation

"I'll show you my new Dyson", she added

I mean a pot roast and a dyson demonstration just screams PAR-TAY in Jersey folks - unlike Snookie and the Situation this is how we really roll.

Off to clean my bathroom in case we have house guests this weekend .... stay safe and dry everyone.

xo

Olive Begs for Votes - no-bipartisan bickering with this one

Kella and Chris's new biz The Suburban Camping Company is a top 3 finalist in Daily Candy's annual Start Small, Think Big Contest!

The winner gets some expert business advice and since they are primarily getting their business advice from me they really need to win this thing!

If everyone could click over and give them a vote - you can vote anytime between now and Sept. 13th (and even every day) - we will be bestie best friends forever.

And of course I will totally do you a favor back - a biggie - email that old boyfriend and tell him off, prank call your mother-in-law - clean out that litter box, yes even those of you with multiple cat households - I am there for you - this is that serious!

Here is the link to VOTE for them!

(they are in the center of the bottom row)

I hate these popularity things - maybe because we are a super small family with slow clicker fingers and sporadic internet service ... plus we are very sore losers.

xo

Dig Yourself a Hole ....

I saw this quote on Seth and thought someone who doesn't read Seth (if there is such a person) might feel inspired by it today, too.



"Dig yourself a hole

Make big promises.

Burn your boats.

Set yourself up in a place where you have few options and the stakes are high.

Focused energy and serious intent will push you to do your best work. You have nowhere to run, nowhere to hide."

*do not fear print from iota illustration