How did the quest to retrieve the treasure hidden beneath huge swaths of northern Alberta go from fool's errand to monumentous payoff?
What does becoming a global energy player mean for Canada's future?
The Globe's Erin Anderssen, Shawn McCarthy and Eric Reguly tackled those mega-issues Saturday in the first instalment of "Shifting Sands," an eight-day look in the newspaper and on the Web at how the Alberta oil sands are changing Canada forever.
"A decade ago, the oil sands had resembled a massive boondoggle, backed by only a few believers who struggled to attract capital for faltering projects," they wrote in their article An empire from a tub of goo
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Internet Links
- Globe poll: How Albertans view the oil sands
- Shifting Sands: Globe stories, photos, discussions and interactives from our eight-day series on the Alberta oil sands
"Now, the race to profit off that pile of dirt spread across an area the size of Florida is transforming the country.
"Oil production in northern Alberta is expected to quadruple to more than four million barrels a day by about 2020, if all the projects proposed go ahead.
"Virtually every major oil company in the Western world has picked up a piece of the action, investing nearly $90-billion to create what promises to be the biggest industrial project on Earth and sparking predictions that Canada will become what Prime Minister Stephen Harper calls an "energy superpower."
"The oil sands are seen as a crucial source in a world of increasingly tight supply, where many reserves are in politically volatile regions controlled by undemocratic states. Put another way: Should they disappear tomorrow, one industry expert estimates, the price of oil could jump a third to $130 a barrel.
"The value and importance of the oil sands will make that much harder the choices that Albertans and all Canadians suddenly face.
"Canada has now become a major-league merchant of one of the most desirable — and dirtiest — sources of energy.
"The money is flowing in, and the profits are rolling out — good news for stockholders, the Canadian dollar and government coffers.
"But there are environmental and social costs to stuffing our pockets while the oil speeds south.
And Canadians will have to answer a question already being asked by many Albertans: When does a boom become a burden?
These are provocative questions and we're pleased that Ms. Anderssen, Mr. McCarthy and Mr. Reguly were online earlier today to answer your questions about their article, about the oil sands, and about the project's impact on Canada and the world.
Your questions and their answers appear at the bottom of this page.
Erin Anderssen joined The Globe and Mail in 1997
She has covered politics, crime and social trends, and now writes features for the newspaper.
She has won four National Newspaper Awards, and co-wrote New Canada, a book based on a Globe and Mail special project.
Shawn McCarthy covers global and national energy issues, from public policy matters and international disputes to consumer trends and innovations in alternative energy.
He previously has worked as The Globe's correspondent in New York and served three years as Ottawa bureau chief. He has also covered government finances and economic affairs for The Globe.
Eric Reguly also joined The Globe in 1997, writing the paper's main business column from Toronto. Last April, he became the Globe's European business correspondent, based in Rome.
Eric has won several awards for his work, including, in 2007, the Hyman Solomon Award for Excellence in Public Policy Journalism
Editor's Note: globeandmail.com editors will read and allow or reject each question/comment. Comments/questions may be edited for length or clarity. HTML is not allowed. We will not publish questions/comments that include personal attacks on participants in these discussions, that make false or unsubstantiated allegations, that purport to quote people or reports where the purported quote or fact cannot be easily verified, or questions/comments that include vulgar language or libellous statements. Preference will be given to readers who submit questions/comments using their full name and home town, rather than a pseudonym.
Jim Sheppard, Executive Editor, globeandmail.com: Welcome, Erin, Shawn and Eric. Thanks for joining us today to take questions from the readers of globeandmail.com on your Focus article Saturday kicking off our eight-day series on the Alberta oil sands.
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