Alberta Oil Sands affect the environment
COLBY STREAM
News Writer
"Problems don't stop at the border," Co-Director of Boise State Canadian Studies Lori Hausegger said. "They go across the border, so that's an issue everyone has to think about."
Canada week, which takes place the first week of April every year, addresses some of these problems.
"Canada week helps, I think, to educate folks and Boise State … about Canada. People don't know a whole lot about the country," Co-Director of Boise State Canadian Studies Ross Burkhart said.
"Foreign Oil: Energy and Environmental Issues and the Alberta Oil Sands" was presented April 2 in the Student Union Bishop Barnwell room.
The lecture discussed how the Alberta Oil Sands relate to energy and environmental issues.
Approximately 80 people, half of them students, attended the event.
"I think that it's very useful to know about main energy sources for that kind of [oil] consumption," Burkhart said. "It seems like there's more and more concern about the environment on campus."
Christopher Holly, who works in the Alberta Department of Energy, spoke first.
Alberta is second only to Saudi Arabia in oil reserves in the world, providing about 1.32 million barrels of oil a day, he said.
Holly explained that the United States imports 60 percent of its oil.
Of this, 63 percent came from Canada (mostly Alberta) in 2007.
Andy Ridge of the Alberta Environment Office spoke about the challenges facing Alberta. He discussed the kinds of processes that will help cut down on Alberta's carbon footprint and help deter global climate change.
"Climate change really is an energy issue," Ridge said.
Ridge explained that creating processes to cut back on emissions is not easy for Alberta.
The amount of resources Alberta puts out causes change to happen slowly.
"[We're asking ourselves] 'what technologies can we put in place that may take some time, but will eventually improve our carbon footprint,'" Ridge said.
Ridge said that large companies and corporations are not the only entities that need to be thinking about this problem. However, corporations can be a large part of the solution.
He said people should ask themselves if they're making the right decision and if there is a better choice for transportation.
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