The oil sands -- or tar sands, depending on your viewpoint -- weren't always controversial and it's held a great deal of promise for quite a while, as you'll see in this energyTHEN from 1942.

[Film projector running]

[ANNOUNCER] The Dominion of Canada is developing vast new oil reserves from oil-bearing sands in Alberta. So rich are these sands in the precious fuel that billions of barrels are expected to be taken out during the forthcoming months to meet the ever-growing demand for oil and gasoline. There's enough sand and oil here to last a hundred years.

[ASSURAS] Of the 3 million barrels of oil a day that Canada produced last year, more than half came from oil sands. That's according to the country's Environment Ministry. And, by the way, the U.S. buys 99% of Canada's oil exports.