CONTEST DESCRIPTION

Though not the dirty little secret it once was, Canada's environmental rotting-corpse-in-the-closet hasn't been smelled much — even by Canadians. As the U.S. looks for alternatives to mid-east oil, the Tar Sands are set to have their very own reality show 'big reveal', and we think it's time we put the tar onto tees.

The timing couldn't be better. Barack has promised greater dependency on Canadian oil. A number of unfortunate environmental 'incidents' (especially if you're a bird) have come to light, and one of the most influential magazines around, National Geographic, has hit hard with the article "Scraping Bottom" in its March issue, which is sure to drive down the cruise business to northern Alberta!

Allowed to continue as it has, the Tar Sands is set to become the planet's dirtiest sandbox and one of the largest single contributors of CO₂ — a serious threat to Cana... well, everyone actually! Some facts:

• The Tar Sands deposits are located in western Canada and cover an area the size of England. It is part of the Athabasca River watershed and an important area for bird nesting and migration.
• So far, about 420 km² (160 mi²) has been strip-mined.
• 40-60 m (130-200') of soil and rock has to be removed to get at the oily sand beneath. Sticking trees back on that will take decades.
• 2 tons of sand has to be dug-up, moved and boiled (essentially) to produce 1 barrel of sweet, "oh I can smell the money now", crude.
• Squeezing that out produces 3-5 times the CO₂ of the stuff we get from another sandbox.
• It takes massive amounts of water (enough for a city of 2+ million people) to process it all, and most ends up in huge, very scenic, very toxic tailings ponds.
• In Feb., over 500 ducks died when they saw their reflections in one of these ponds.

We're not advocating that the Tar Sands be shut down, because that'll never happen, there's just too much money involved, but choices have to be made and oil companies and governments have to be responsible for lessening environmental impact. They won't do it on their own, they're not in that business, no matter what their annual reports say.

So if you have a dirty design for a dirty industry, lets have it. You may not be Canadian, but it affects us all. If it's in your head, get your hands working, and put it on an organic Tee. You could win $700 + 7% Royalty for your work.

 CONTEST GUIDELINES

The contest runs until the end of May, and we'll select the design with the highest total score and one which has been well commented on by Artevist members. If the response is strong, we may select more than one, but we reserve the right to cancel the contest and move designs over into the Monthly General Selection Contest if the response is weak. Please review our Design Guidelines 'before' working on your design.

What You Can Do

• It's completely up to you as long as it's a design that comments in some way on Canada's dirty oil industry, or US/global energy policy that may fuel its growth. Remember, if it doesn't, you can always enter your design in our Monthly General Selection Contest. There is lots of dirty energy out there (coal, nuclear, etc.) and we'll eventually get to those too.

What You Can't Do

• Read our User Agreement on prohibited content, as it's all there. Just be nice and don't give a lawyer a reason to call us or you. They can be vicious! However, the 'radical' in you can test that one if you like.