Black Oil on White Snow
We've never hugged a tree, cried for a seal, or taunted a lumberjack, but we've had misgivings about the renewed plunder of nature in the name of material wealth and the American “way of life.” Mostly, we dislike the de-greening of America: suburban sprawl, the desire of everyone with more than $100,000 to have at least two houses, the crushing of family farms. Perhaps we ought to cultivate a dislike of the de-whitening of the north, according to this review of the book, Caribou Rising. Here's an excerpt:
“We all know the price of gas at the pump, but do we understand the true costs of oil development? Are we as a nation of energy consumers willing to restrain ourselves by driving more fuel-efficient cars to keep the core caribou calving area free of damage caused by the well drilling and oil transport? Must the legitimate and age-old rights of a few be trampled to make our highways cheaper for gas guzzlers twenty years from now?”
