New column day

Here, on what we should learn from the recent spate of Alberta oil spills.

For further reading...
- Stephen Hume finds that Alberta's pipelines have spilled roughly 28 million litres of oil in thousands of leaks and ruptures just since 2006, and puts the results in perspective:

(C)onsider the campaign by the B.C. Used Oil Management Association to educate citizens here regarding the environmental threat posed by small quantities of oil.
A single litre of spilled oil, the campaign points out, can contaminate a million litres of groundwater.
So, consider the impact of 28 million litres of spilled oil on water resources - at a time when your Vancouver Sun's front page headline reports that conservation of water is becoming crucial. Multiply 28 million litres of oil by a million. I get 28 trillion litres of contaminated water.

- Coverage of the three most recent spills can be found here, here and here among other sources. Meanwhile, Mike de Souza reports on the latest news about mercury contamination, while Dave Dormer highlights the damage done to Alberta ranches.
- And Graham Thomson comments that even Alberta and its oil sector have plenty to lose if they keep on minimizing the significance of what are obviously major spills.