Tar Sand Politics Roil Canada; Spill Costs Mount In Michigan

A few amazing facts related to tar sand oil politics and risk in this New York Times piece.

*  If you've got an image in your head about warm, fuzzy, polite Canadians, think again:

To hasten development of new export routes, the Conservative government is streamlining permit processes by accelerating scheduled hearings and limiting public comment. The government has also threatened to revoke the charitable status of environmental groups that are challenging the projects. And Public Safety Canada, the equivalent of the United States Department of Homeland Security, has classified environmentalists as a potential source of domestic terrorism, adding them to a list that includes white supremacists.

*  And were you aware of how devastating that Endridge tar sand pipeline Michigan spill has been - - the same company with a bad spill record in Wisconsin, too?

A 2010 spill of diluted bitumen from an Enbridge pipeline in Battle Creek, Mich., has cost over $720 million, and parts of the Kalamazoo River remain closed.