The Alberta government – and the oil companies that influence it – would upgrade “tar sands” to “oil sands,” apparently thinking that a better name somehow silences environmental critics. Environmentalists opposing the pipeline refer, with equal deftness, to “dirty oil.”
阿尔伯塔省政府和背后的石油公司把“焦油砂”改叫“油砂”，似乎改个好听点的名字就能摆脱环保主义者的批评。而反对输油管项目的环保者也出于同样的心态将其称之为“脏油”。难怪旁观者质疑哪种做法更不可取——是蹩脚的更名还是蹩脚的俏皮话。