30 September 2010
Ethical oil and Opec
Power in global oil markets doesn't rest in Ottawa or Calgary, but in Riyadh and Vienna – the headquarters of Opec
MOST people know what "fair-trade" coffee is and why its supporters say it can help exploited producers of one of the world's crucial commodities. But how about "ethical oil"? It's a concept doing the rounds now in Alberta, thanks to a book with that title by the relentless controversialist, Ezra Levant. The book is a polemical defence of the oil sands – and an attack on their opponents – that says bitumen from Alberta is the "ethical" alternative to oil sourced from corrupt, repressive, violent, "socialist", "Fascist", or otherwise downright nasty producers elsewhere in the world. Levant reserves particular scorn for Opec and its members. Americans will fill their cars with a petroleum prod
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