What seems to be happening here is a microcosm of globalisation. Not content with shipping raw logs and dilbit across the world, Canada now wants to ship thousands of tonnes of unprocessed fish as well.
The irony here is that abundant and cheap energy (oil!) makes it possible to ship these vast quantities of raw materials across the globe to find cheap labour sources and then to ship manufactured and processed goods all over the globe to other markets.
So our good friend oil, not only is it the major source of the already visible and future catastrophic effects of climate change, but an enabler of the wasting away of local economies and jobs, massive social change and population migration and the not-so-slow death of small communities.
Oil – an apparently benign and beneficial resource whose availability and consumption creates a huge double whammy. Truly, a wolf in sheep’s clothing!!
