Extracting oil from sand has brought new riches to the province of Alberta, Canada, but also controversy over its environmental impact. So, on the eve of President Obama's summit with world leaders on energy and the climate, Canada's CBC News reports, Alberta's provincial government has hired former US Ambassador to Canada James Blanchard of DLA Piper and a team of consultants to improve the image of the province and its premiere industry. The consultants, who include former Canadian diplomat Paul Fraser, will get $40,000 a month for their services. Before Obama visited with Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Ottawa in February, a coalition of Canadian and American groups launched an advertising campaign aimed at getting Obama to resist calls for "special treatment" of Alberta's oil sands, the CBC reported at the time.

                                                                                                     --Julie Kosterlitz