The thing is the tar sands are a very high ratio or harm:benefit that we would be better off without exploiting. It's a lot like coal - we're at the point wher

The thing is the tar sands are a very high ratio or harm:benefit that we would be better off without exploiting. It's a lot like coal - we're at the point where its abundantly clear we need to get off coal for the health of the planet, and luckily many jurisdictions are doing so. Yes, we could "reap rewards" of coal, and if I happened to be living in an area that generated its power from coal I would be reaping this reward, but I would be valid in saying that we need to get off coal and switch to less polluting means of producing energy. Bitumen is analogous. We can do better.