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
Keystone XL key issue in U.S. election
Keystone XL key issue in U.S. election
By Yadullah Hussain, Financial Post February 10, 2012
The last time David H. Wilkins came to the National Post office for an editorial board meeting was in 2005. He was then U.S. Ambassador to Canada and President George W. Bush's key man in Ottawa.
Summing up the U.S.-Canada relationship at the time, Mr. Wilkins recalled a meeting between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mr. Bush: "The President said: 'I will tell you what my policy is on Canada. My policy is to help Canada.' "
Keystone Pipeline Blocked From Crossing Texas Farm
Keystone Pipeline Blocked From Crossing Texas Farm
February 15, 2012
DALLAS (AP) — Owners of a northeast Texas farm have obtained a court order to block TransCanada from crossing the farm with a proposed pipeline planned to carry Canadian oil to refineries along the Texas Gulf coast.
If Gateway pipeline can't go to Kitimat then we'll re-examine Rupert, says Enbridge CEO
If pipeline can't go to Kitimat then we'll re-examine Rupert, says Enbridge CEO
By Alan S. Hale - The Northern View
February 10, 2012
The CEO of Enbridge inc., Pat Daniel, says if his company isn't able to build the Northern Gateway Pipeline to Kitimaat, the company would examine the possibility of having the Pipeline go to Prince Rupert instead.
Canadian Natural's tar sands plant off line
Canadian Natural's oil sands plant off line-source
Factbox: Keystone XL dominates energy, environment agenda
Tue Feb 7, 2012
By Jeffrey Jones and Scott Haggett
CALGARY, Alberta, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Canadian Natural Resources Ltd's Horizon oil sands plant in northern Alberta is shut down for unplanned repairs and could be off line for two to three weeks, a source with knowledge of the situation said on Tuesday.
The outage pushed up U.S. oil prices and pressured Canadian Natural shares, which fell as much as 5.2 percent. By early afternoon they were down C$1.69, or 4.2 percent, at C$38.59 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Magical thinking
Magical thinking
Salt Lake Tribune
Updated Feb 8, 2012
It’s appropriate that Gov. Gary Herbert, in attacking a federal proposal to restrict the amount of public land available for oil shale and tar sands mining, should accuse the Bureau of Land Management of waving a “bureaucratic magic wand.” Because all the proposed rule would do is cut back on the amount of land where people would be allowed to carry out some magical alchemy that no one yet knows how to do.
Talk about hocus-pocus.
Tar Sands Represents Bonus and Risk to Great Lakes
Connected by Pipeline from Canada, Tar Sands Represents Bonus and Risk to Great Lakes
Tuesday, 07 February 2012
Circle of Blue
Jacob Wheeler
Transporting and processing corrosive crude raise new questions about consequences
BP is spending nearly $4 billion to expand and modernize its Whiting, Indiana refinery to process tar sands oil from Canada - an investment that has helped to make the Great Lakes Basin both a center of commerce in the two nation’s oil production boom and a target of rising environmental risks to the largest system of fresh surface water in the world.
Tar Sands Destroying Wolf & Caribou Populations In Canada
Tar Sands Destroying Wolf & Caribou Populations In Canada
by Beth Buczynski
February 7, 2012
Extracting oil from tar sands (aka oil sands) is detrimental to human health in a number of ways. It drastically increases greenhouse gas emissions, continues our society’s addiction to fossil fuels, and puts soil and water quality at risk.
But these aren’t the only threats posed by tar sands projects like the Keystone XL pipeline.
Possible tar sands pipeline to Portland worries environmental groups [Maine]
Possible tar sands pipeline to Portland worries environmental groups
By Matthew Arco
Feb 08, 2012
Portland Daily Sun (Maine)
Environmental groups fearing that talks to pump "incredibly destructive" crude oil from Canada to Greater Portland are once again resurfacing, are opposing the project even before one is officially put in writing.
Too Much Energy Used to Mine, Move Bitumen Says BC Firm
Too Much Energy Used to Mine, Move Bitumen Says BC Firm
'Energy Return on Investment' hard to justify says P.G.-based engineering
analyst.
By: By Geoff Dembicki 6 February
2012, TheTyee.ca
A B.C. engineering consulting firm claims it has hard numerical proof that
Enbridge's Northern Gateway proposal augurs poorly for the future of modern
society.
The Prince George-based C.J. Peter Associates
Engineeringcame to this conclusion after
performing an EROI analysis on the
$5.5-billion project.
Huge BC rally in Prince Rupert protests Northern Gateway pipeline
Huge BC rally in Prince Rupert protests Northern Gateway pipeline
By Lynn Herrmann
Feb 5, 2012
Digital Journal
Prince Rupert - A huge rally took to the streets on Saturday in British Columbia’s Prince Rupert, opposing Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway pipeline which would transport Alberta tar sands to Kitimat, primary access point along the province’s northwest coast.
