Never one to shy away from controversy, legendary Canadian musician Neil Young has called Fort McMurray, the town supporting the oil sands boom, a ‘wasteland’ that ‘looks like Hiroshima,’ at a National Farmers Union event in Washington, DC.
The comments came during an impassioned – if slightly rambling – defense of ethanol as a feasible alternative to fossil fuels on a large economic scale:
“There’s a lot of disinformation about ethanol. People are sayin’ that cars don’t run on ethanol…that it doesn’t run right…that ethanol’s got a problem or something. We know that’s all coming from the competition. That’s just not true.”
“Ethanol and other biofuels and cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel are the answer.”
“The fact is, Fort McMurray looks like Hiroshima. Fort McMurray is a wasteland.”
“The Indians up there and the native peoples are dying. The fuels all over – the fumes everywhere – you can smell it when you get to town.”
“The closest place to Fort McMurray that is doing the tar sands work is 25 or 30 miles out of town and you can taste it when you get to Fort McMurray. People are sick. People are dying of cancer because of this. All the First Nations people up there are threatened by this.”
And, taking the liberty, here are two of my favourites from Neil:
Credit: The Tory Blog
8 Comments
conodo
Such stupidity, naievete, and imbicilic comments is unworthy of response from thinking people.
Murray_B
Apparently Mr. Young has never been up there but describing it as wasteland is apt. What these artists do not seem to understand is that it was that way long before people arrived. The first European explorers described fountains of black bitumen coming out of the ground in several places. It was never a garden.
What kind of person is he to suggest converting even more food into ethanol and biodiesel fuel? With millions of people starving every year there must be a better way to use that food.
KDM
great point
Todd
We gotta figure out how to get more solar…it’s an inexhaustible source of electrical fuel and there’s much more there than we can use. The total solar energy that reaches the earths surface could meet existing global energy needs 10,000 times over! We hear about these nasty oil spills…when there is a huge solar spill, it’s just called a nice day 😉
Todd
Neil Young…Heart of Gold and “Old Man” two of my favorites!
bobc
Hiroshima is a beautiful city now.
If he compared Ft. Mac to Detroit than I’d be worried.
KDM
Why all these artist and movie stars believe thet are experts on this? When they start riding their bicycles or walking to places to make their glorified speeches i will start to believe. They fly on their private jets, ride in their big limousines live in their big mansions with every light on. Wonder where the energy comes from for that?
wong cong fooy
Neil is a complete asshole without any brains at all!!!!!!!!!!!