Happy Earth Day! Earth! What a place, eh? I am so fortunate to live in such a beautiful country and to be born and raised in one of the most naturally beautiful places in the world, Cape Breton Island. Although I now live in Alberta, which shares almost an equal amount of beauty in the Rocky Mountains (if such things could be measured) sadly parts of the earth that this province spans has been destroyed do to the extraction of oil in Alberta’s oil sands. While I have not worked directly in the oil sands I have lived and worked in nearby communities for a few years. I’ve seen firsthand how money generated in such a field can build up a community and create opportunities like no other. I’ve also seen the downfall as a result of such prosperity in the less fortunate members of society particularly the Aboriginal communities. And there is no possible rationalization of what all of this has done to our beautiful earth. Now you could call me hypocritical and you wouldn’t be wrong; the professions that oil extraction generates puts the roof over my head and the food on my table. I don’t see a need …