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Tar Sands author reads on island Friday, Saturday

Submitted by the Haida Gwaii Arts Council--Don't miss Andrew Nikiforuk's two presentations on the islands this week. The author of Tar Sands, Empire of the Beetle and most recently The Energy of Slaves: Oil and the New Servitude, Andrew has chronicled some of the most pressing issues of our age. Andrew has been called "one of the most astute, relentless and original writers of his generation" and his book, which reveals the true cost of the Alberta tar sands, "shows why he's so admired in some quarters and so feared in others."His latest book, The Energy of Slaves: Oil and the New Servitude serves as the backdrop to a shocking account about where our enslavement to oil-consuming machines is taking modern society.Here's what Andrew has to say: "Since 2008 I have advocated for a national debate about the pace and scale of tar sands development. And since 2010 I have endorsed a conservative and Norwegian-like solution to Alberta's chaotic bitumen development. It was first articulated by former Premier Peter Lougheed and includes the following principles: Slow Down. Behave Like An Owner. Collect Our Fair Share. Save For the Rainy Day. Approve One Project At a Time. Clean Up the Mess. Add Value To the Resource. To Lougheed's original list, I would add a national carbon tax. Rapid tar sands development combined with the ruinous impact of petro-revenues on government coffers has seriously polluted Canada's politics and undermined its economic and environmental security. It has transformed the country into another dismal petro state."He's written about energy, economics and the West for a variety of Canadian publications including the Walrus, Maclean's, Canadian Business, The Globe and Mail's Report on Business, and several others. He has won several National Magazine awards and top honours for investigative writing from the Association of Canadian Journalists. He also won the Governor-General's award for non-fiction for Saboteurs: Wiebo Ludwig's War Against Big Oil.Mr. Nikiforuk will speak at the Haida Heritage Centre in Skidegate on Friday May 24 and at the Old Massett Youth Centre on Saturday May 25. Both events are at 7:30 pm and are free.