Tar Sands 101
The Tar Sands "Gigaproject" is the largest industrial project in human history and likely also the most destructive. The tar sands mining procedure releases at least three times the CO2 emissions as regular oil production and is slated to become the single largest industrial contributor in North America to Climate Change.
The tar sands are already slated to be the cause of up to the second fastest rate of deforestation on the planet behind the Amazon Rainforest Basin. Currently approved projects will see 3 million barrels of tar sands mock crude produced daily by 2018; for each barrel of oil up to as high as five barrels of water are used.
Human health in many communities has seriously taken a turn for the worse with many causes alleged to be from tar sands production. Tar sands production has led to many serious social issues throughout Alberta, from housing crises to the vast expansion of temporary foreign worker programs that racialize and exploit so-called non-citizens. Infrastructure from pipelines to refineries to super tanker oil traffic on the seas crosses the continent in all directions to allthree major oceans and the Gulf of Mexico.
The mock oil produced primarily is consumed in the United States and helps to subsidize continued wars of aggression against other oil producing nations such as Iraq, Venezuela and Iran.
To understand the tar sands in more depth, continue to our Tar Sands 101 reading list
Marathon Ends Talks With Potential Tar Sands Buyer
Marathon Ends Talks With Potential Oil Sands Buyer
By Rebecca Penty - May 24, 2013
Bloomberg
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) ended talks to sell part of its stake in the Athabasca Oil Sands Project as Canadian oil sands deals languish in the face of low heavy crude prices and competing U.S. shale investments.
Enbridge to meet re-elected B.C. Liberals on Northern Gateway
Enbridge to meet re-elected B.C. Liberals on Northern Gateway
Rebecca Penty, Bloomberg News | 13/05/24
Enbridge Inc. is moving ahead with plans to meet five conditions for the British Columbia government to support its proposed Northern Gateway oil pipeline, after a Liberal re-election made clear terms needed to satisfy officials in the Pacific Coast province.
With U.S. Awash in Oil, Keystone Argument Weakens
With U.S. Awash in Oil, Keystone Argument Weakens
By John H. Cushman Jr.
May 24, 2013
InsideClimateNews.org -- U.S. oil production is suddenly growing so fast that some analysts are questioning how much the country really needs the Canadian tar sands oil that would move through the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.
House supporters of KXL received $56m from fossil fuel industry
House supporters of KXL received $56m from fossil fuel industry
Republican led House passed a bill that would force Obama to approve the controversial pipeline
By Natasha Lennard
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Jordan to Rely on Shale Oil to Meet Soaring Domestic Demand
Jordan to Rely on Shale Oil to Meet Soaring Domestic Demand
7 August 2012—Jordan aims to extract 40,000 BOPD of oil from its shale oil reserves by 2016 to meet the country’s increasing demand, Jordan Oil Shale Energy Company (JOSECO) said.
JOSECO is a subsidiary of Estonian state-owned Eesti Energia.
Nunavut sees devolution light after long Arctic winter
Nunavut sees devolution light after long Arctic winter
Yadullah Hussain | Jul 20, 2012
Financial Post
Nunavut would like nothing more than be the master of its own destiny and has begun negotiations with the federal government to transfer land rights and royalties as it seeks to explore its fossil fuel riches, says Peter Taptuna, Nunavut’s Minister of Economic Development and Transportation. Excerpts from the interview:
Q The Arctic has become a focus area for many jurisdictions. Has Nunavut also noticed a surge in interest in its petroleum resources?
Unistoten Action Camp
Unistoten Action Camp
by Noah Ross
Media Coop, August 8, 2012
Beginning on August 5th, the Unistoten, a clan of the Wet'suwet'en Nation, have established a checkpoint located on the bridge over the Morice River.
The checkpoint is in the path of the proposed Pacific Trails Pipeline south of Smithers in Northern British Columbia. It is being implemented in conjunction with the 3rd annual Unistoten Action Camp, which has attracted over 150 participants and is intended to build support for resistance to the Pacific Trails Pipeline.
Tensions Boil as Israeli Oil Riches Grow
Tensions Boil as Israeli Oil Riches Grow
News From Around the World
Monday, June 25, 2012
Ed DeShields
Israel’s once hidden oil riches are now certain to be so large its treasures could make it the richest oil country in the world. And, its neighbors are not only noticing, they’re boiling mad.
It was just forty years ago when Golda Meir, the former prime minister of Israel once famously quipped, “Why did Moses lead us to the one place in the Middle East without oil?”
Well Prime Minister, Moses turned out to have a pretty good eye for what a promised land might look like.
Alberta Premier Says No Money For BC
Alberta Premier Says No Money For BC
By Ben Meisner
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Alberta Premier Redford has made it clear, once again, that her government is not prepared to hand over any royalties to the province of BC for the movement of oil from the tar sands for shipment offshore.
Redford made the comments yesterday in Vancouver. At the same time she suggested that there is little point in her meeting with Christy Clark, her BC counterpart, to discuss the issue further.
B.C. newspaper tycoon proposing $13-billion oil refinery for Northern Gateway oil
B.C. newspaper tycoon proposing $13-billion oil refinery for Northern Gateway oil
By GORDON HOEKSTRA,
VANCOUVER SUN
August 17, 2012
VANCOUVER - B.C. community newspaper tycoon David Black proposed today building a $13-billion oil refinery near Kitimat to use all of the crude from Enbridge's controversial Northern Gateway pipeline.
It would mean tankers would ship refined fuels like gasoline off of B.C. northwest coast, not heavy oil from Alberta, reducing environmental risks, says Black.
A refinery also promises 10 times as many jobs as an export pipeline.
