Alberta Tar Sands is a category limited to the location and production of tar sand bitumen, an area the size of the state of Florida in northern Alberta province. The giant processing plants near Fort McMurray where the land itself is strip mined as well as the primarily "in situ" in-ground steam separation/production and extraction plants in the Peace and Cold Lake Regions, all in Alberta, are the "Ground Zero" of the single largest industrial gigaproject ever proposed in human history.
The process of removing the tar from the sand involves incredible amounts of energy from clean-burning natural gas (with nuclear proposed along side), tremendous capital costs during build up, incredibly high petroleum prices to protect investments, and the largest single industrial contribution to climate change in North America. Production also involves the waste of fresh water from nearby lakes, rivers and aquifers that have already created toxic tailing ponds visible from outer space. None of the land strip mined has yet to be certified as reclaimed. It takes 4 tonnes of soil to produce one barrel of oil. The tar sands are producing over 1.2 million barrels of oil a day on average. The oil companies, Canada and the United States governments are proposing to escalate production to 5 million barrels, almost all destined for American markets-- and lower environmental standards while doing so. They also would need to violate the national and human rights of many indigenous nations who are rightly concerned about many dire social, environmental and economic repercussions on their communities.
To get the needed energy supplies, diluent for the bitumen and diverted freshwater to produce and then to transport the flowing heavy bitumen for refining would require massive new infrastructure and pipeline building from three different time zones in the Arctic, across British Columbia and through Alberta in a criss-cross pattern, into pipelines to such destinations as California, China, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Ontario, Illinois, Wisconsin and Texas. This entire project is now estimated at over $170 billion dollars. And after the whole process described so far, only then will all this dirty petroleum get burned and expel greenhouse gasses into the air causing further climate change.
New projects pitched to ease Fort McMurray housing woes
By The Canadian Press - For Business Edge
Published: 03/07/2008 - Vol. 8, No. 5
The Wood Buffalo Housing and Development Corp. is looking to get into the land development business to alleviate Fort McMurray's housing crunch.
The municipally-owned, non-profit corporation presented a proposal to regional council last week for developing two areas of Fort McMurray north of the Athabasca River.
Aboriginal chiefs want oilsands moratorium
Renata D'Aliesio, Calgary Herald
Published: Monday, February 25, 2008
EDMONTON - Alberta's aboriginal chiefs are calling for a moratorium on new oilsands development until they've completed plans to manage water and resource development in the region.
Nuclear provider targets oilsands
Natural gas shortage looms by 2030: Areva
Shaun Polczer, Calgary Herald
Published: Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Alberta's oilsands industry faces a natural gas shortage by 2030 without new energy sources to offset gas use in oilsands expansions, the head of nuclear power giant Areva Canada Inc. said Monday.
Speaking in Calgary, Areva CEO Armand Laferrere said continued oilsands development would consume virtually all of Canada's current natural gas supply -- some 92 per cent -- by 2030.
Oil-rich Alberta showing shades of Green
From the Globe and Mail Feb 21, 2008
DAWN WALTON
With a report from Katherine O'Neill in Fort McMurray, Alta.
February 21, 2008
LACOMBE, ALTA. -- Alberta Green Party candidate Joe Anglin could hardly believe his eyes when 50 people - mainly baby boomers, some seniors and, on the surface, not a single member of the granola set - took their seats in the Lacombe parish hall over the long weekend.
Canadian Oil No Good for U.S.?
Tuesday, March 11, 2008 9:25 AM
By: Newsmax.com Article Font Size
It might come as a surprise that the country with the largest oil reserves is not Saudi Arabia, Iran or Venezuela, but Canada.
Yet America’s No. 1 trading partner is concerned that the U.S. doesn’t want its oil.
Canada has an estimated 1.6 trillion barrels of oil on its territory. Saudi Arabia has an estimated 270 billion barrels. But much of Canada’s oil is locked in tough-to-excavate tar sands in the province of Alberta.
Speaker says nuclear power about economics
New and unexplored issues surrounding nuclear power were discussed by activist Jim Harding last Thursday evening with his presentation at the Blue Ridge Community Centre.
Whitecourt Star
Gina Racine // Wednesday March 05, 2008
With the numerous presentations made throughout the local area in the past few months, Whitecourt and area residents have had the opportunity to learn about a number of topics surrounding the nuclear debate, on both the pro-nuclear and anti-nuclear sides.
Tough new green plan targets oil sands
Regulations, which also apply to coal-fired power plants, would force future projects to store greenhouse-gas emissions underground
BRIAN LAGHI
OTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF; Compiled by Rick Cash; Shawn McCarthy, Global Energy Reporter
March 10, 2008
Ottawa will unveil new climate-change regulations this week that would force new oil sands projects and coal-fired electricity plants to capture and store the bulk of their greenhouse gases rather than spew them into the air.
The crude fact
Peak oil is no academic debate: the $100 barrel is a harbinger of the energy shortage to come
Jeremy Leggett
This week, oil reached its highest price ever, exceeding the inflation-adjusted record of $103.76 set in April 1980, at the height of the second oil shock. Then, the world was worried that the high price would trigger a global depression. Now, the scope for the oil price to soar ruinously higher than $100 does not seem to worry many people. The landmark record did not reach the front pages.
NDP to try to topple government over climate change policies
Last Updated: Friday, March 7, 2008 | 7:28 AM ET
CBC News
The New Democrats will try to bring down the federal government with a confidence motion introduced on Friday criticizing the Conservatives' record on climate change.
Parliament won't vote on the motion until Monday, but the Liberals have already indicated they will not vote for the motion, meaning the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper will not fall.
Emissions for the poor, subsidies for the rich
Latest budget continues the Harperite pattern of tax breaks for large-scale Green House Gas emitters.
Dateline: Monday, March 03, 2008
by Albert Koehl
