In a rational global economy not entirely driven by short-term profit maximization, the collective body politic of all nations would have applied the precautionary principal to the threat of climate change twenty years ago. We’d now be celebrating the fruits of two decades of aggressive efficiency measures, phased down fossil fuel use, and the mass distribution of renewable en­ergy technologies. Instead, we have the tar sands. Record oil prices and declining access to the oil and gas re­sources of nations such as Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Ven­ezuela has led to a rush to develop Canada’s tar sands deposits. CIBC …