Do you support the use of 'Black Loon' loonies?

Personally, I think coins are the perfect medium for advertising, so, I'm all for it.

How ironic. Using material mined from one type of resource (nickel, copper, and now, iron) to protest another type of resource mining. Hydrocarbons are used in almost everything, including for the manufacturing of that decal used to put on the loonie.

Personally, I think protest messages like that are hypocritical... and pointless.

... it's often funny how people can get all puffed-up and "environmentally concerned" about the following industries:

=> fishing, forestry, mining, petroleum ...

Don't get me wrong, I have zero-tolerance for careless individuals and/or careless companies, but in today's age where there are "soooooo" many standards, procedures, safety-regulations, and new increased threshold-limits, a careless company would certainly be out of business in record-time!! (especially in Canada) ...

I work for a very large mining company, and I can tell you honestly that the water we send out to our tailings pond is cleaner than the water that runs naturally across the nickel ore-bearing stream bottoms ... geese land on our tailings ponds every spring (and "not" 3-eyed geese) ...

=> new regulations are so strict that they are putting many companies out of business => which is probably a good thing, within reason (right?) ...

The Canadian Oilsands/Tarsands and their materials handling procedures are governed and regulated by higher standards than those found in any other country and/or continent ... eh?

=> but sure, just like lightning might accidentally strike your Grandfather when he's out golfing, there are occasionally disasters where things can go awry ... and then I admit that the prementioned industries can seemingly look like the they are randomly running-with-scissors!!

... but I'm 100% sure that the companies that actually have enough cash to mine the Canadian tar-sands and then have enough cash left-over to send huge sea-worthy tankers to Asia are following far stricter rules and safety regulations than 99% of the rest of the companies that you coin-folk are currently running and/or working for ... but sadly, "nothing" is "fool-proof" ...

SIDE-NOTE => if we actually stopped producing fossil fuels, stopped mining minerals and stopped logging, there would be complete chaos => I bet that 50% of Canadians would probably not live through a single year ... because although Nuclear and/or solar power "may" be possible future replacements for fossil fuels => the current world is "not" even close-to-being-close to running with these alternative energy sources ...

People would freeze to death, or they'd starve because supplies wouldn't arrive to remote locations ... people would take logging into their own hands and you'd see a whole lotta mayhem if the radicals that are "promoting" a black-loonie were at the helm ...

=> it is scary how naive people can be ...

Ummmm, so I'm gonna politely vote "no" to that Black-loonie idea ...

I have worked on dozens of different mine sites and they are far more environmentally aware and active than ANY city where most of the "tree huggers " live.
On some of the sites if you even throw a cigarette butt on the ground and not in the butt disposal you will be thrown off site in a heartbeat.
I think everyone should clean up our own back yard before looking over the fence.
Environmental education is a great thing and I applaud it but painting a few coins wont do zip.
We are getting better at looking after what we have but I put that down to what is taught to our kids at an early age in schools.

I agree with the cause and since the government, industry, and media would never help them out, I say do what you have to to get the message out there.

Thumbs down on this. It is amazing the selective hypocrits in society!

I have to agree with Steve and SPP on this.

I live in Calgary and make my money from O&G. The two biggest mining companies (both of which start with and "S")are my biggest customers, and the extent that they take safety and environmental responsibility is beyond what anyone who does not work in this business can fathom. If you happen to get a third party consultant involved, it gets about 3 times MORE intense. I am quite sure that there are similar standards for bulk container ships.

While I appreciate what the decals are intended to accomplish, perhaps greater focus should be spent on the respective responsible govts and their rules and regs regarding shipping and coastal preservation.

On a related note, at the recent Global Petroleum Show, the number of companies exhibiting their environmental protection products has grown exponentially since the show 2 years ago, and is a huge segment of the O&G sector.

Sadly accidents happen, but to take a guerrilla tactic like that sticker is too much.

Okay...I am all calm now....