Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, has an op-ed in today’s Globe and Mail: Keep Alberta’s oil in the ground.

McKibben focuses on the risk that exploiting unconventional fossil fuel reserves such as the oil sands could lead to a catastrophic level of climate change:

Put simply: Just as the planet’s physical stability depends on Brazil’s guarding its rain forest, so it depends on Canada’s keeping that carbon in the ground. Put even more simply: The carbon in the tar sands can wreck the future. Start burning them on a grand scale, says Dr. Hansen, and it’s “essentially game over” for the climate.

For the sake of the welfare and prosperity of future generations of Canadians, it would be good if people listened to him.