Speaking of studies on oil sands, there’s another one out of the University of Toronto showing that oil sands will pollute the Great Lakes, reversing decades of cleanup efforts in the region.

"This expansion promises to bring with it an exponential increase in pollution, discharges into waterways including the Great Lakes, destruction of wetlands, toxic air emissions, acid rain, and huge increases in greenhouse gas emissions," [the report] says.

The report says that Ontario government is "remarkably unengaged" in the question of oil sands’ environmental impact, and that state governments in the Great Lakes region are unaware of the pollution storm headed their way, and consequently totally unprepared.

But remember: it’s renewables that are expensive!