mines prices markets

In recent days, a ruckus has been kicked up over Saudi Arabia's apparent bid to quash TV ads that highlight that country's appalling treatment of women. I agree that Canadian regulators should protect the free-speech rights of the advertiser in question - a nonprofit group called EthicalOil.org. But the group's mission - to "encourage people, businesses and governments to choose Ethical Oil from Canada, its oil sands and other liberal democracies" - is pointless.

With some minor variations imposed by local oil chemistry, processing capacity and shipping costs, there is essentially a single market for oil in the world. Whatever oil Saudi Arabia or Canada (or Venezuela or Nigeria or Russia) produces will be bought by someone - every last drop of it. And it will be purchased at a price dictated by global supply and demand, not by the humanitarian whims of consumers. Oil isn't like coffee: You can't go to your gas station and insist on paying extra to have the organic, shadegrown, horizontally traded, women's-rights-protecting variety.

Even if Westerners tune in to the messaging at EthicalOil.org and then demand that their local gas stations purge all Saudi-origin content from their supply chain, there won't be a single Saudi Sheik who loses a nickel. China and about a hundred other countries (none of which care a whit about whether Saudi women can drive cars) will step in to buy that sweet Saudi crude. All the EthicalOil.org campaign will do is needle the Saudis and point out the massive hypocrisy of anti-tar sand protesters. These are worthy goals, but let's not pretend this will help Burka-imprisoned women in Riyadh.

If you want to hurt the Saudis, there is one thing you can do: Depress the global demand for oil by using less of it. Get out of your car and walk. Buy a Prius instead of an SUV. But these are steps that you'll never hear from oil sands-boosters - for reasons you can all figure out on your own