3 Quotes & Sayings By Andrew Nikiforuk

Andrew Nikiforuk is an award-winning journalist, writer, and environmental activist. He has won numerous awards for his work including the National Newspaper Award for Environment. His book, The Energy of Slaves, was released in September 2006 to critical acclaim. Andrew was born in Victoria, British Columbia, and spent much of his childhood living in remote rural regions of Canada's North Read more

He received his B.A. in English from the University of Victoria, and later earned an M.A. in English from Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia.

He was a staff writer at The Tyee, a weekly newspaper devoted to news and comment about local and national affairs in British Columbia, and was a columnist for the Vancouver Sun and the Vancouver Province for over a decade. Andrew is currently working on a book on BC's liquefied natural gas industry that will be released in the fall of 2008.

1
Probably no single event highlights the strength of Campbell’s argument (on peak oil) better than the rapid development of the Alberta tar sands. Bitumen, the world’s ugliest and most expensive hydrocarbon, can never be a reasonable substitute for light oil due to its extreme capital, energy, and carbon intensity. Bitumen looks, smells, and behaves like asphalt; running an economy on it is akin to digging up our existing road infrastructure, melting it down, and enriching the goop with hydrogen until it becomes a sulfur-rich but marketable oil. Andrew Nikiforuk
2
If Canada could simply apply the basic principles of sustainable development, such as the internalization of costs and 'polluters pay, ' it would have long-term beneficial effects, both environmental and economic. Andrew Nikiforuk