The International Boreal Conservation Campaign (www.interboreal.org) is another front group established by the Pew Charitable Trusts, much like the Canadian Boreal Initiative (www.borealcanada.ca). The Pew family built the original tar sands project, which became Suncor. Although the Pew family no longer owns Suncor, the family company Sunoco continues to refine much synthetic crude oil. This is their non-statement about the tar sands. Of course, no mention about a moratorium or a shut down. After all, Suncor is one of their partners in the Canadian Boreal Initiative.....
Alberta (& Saskatchewan) Tar Sands
Alberta (& Saskatchewan) Tar Sands
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.
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.
“The oilsands will get their gas no matter what. It‘s everyone else who needs to worry.‘‘
Dec 6, 2007 1:00:00 PM MST
TransCanada, Imperial led group to benefit from rumoured Mackenzie restructuring (TransCanada-Mackenzie)
CALGARY _ Analysts say a reworking of the Mackenzie Gas Project will be a boon for all involved, with pipeline operator TransCanada Corp. (TSX:TRP) likely to see major returns and the Imperial Oil-led consortium (TSX:IMO) of producers relieved of much of the cost burdens that have threatened to kill the entire energy project.
UP IN SMOKE: a decade of Canadian inaction
UP IN SMOKE
Scott Harris / scott@vueweekly.com
a decade of Canadian inaction
http://www.vueweekly.com/articles/default.aspx?i=7611
A decade after the international community agreed to the Kyoto Protocol, and five years since Parliament ratified the agreement, there isn’t a lot of good news about how Canada has done in living up to its international obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
It's the Tar Sands, Stupid-- Canada home to global warming's new ground zero.
It's the Tar Sands, Stupid
PM Harper: Bali ballyhoo.
Canada home to global warming's new ground zero.
By Mitchell Anderson
Published: December 4, 2007
email this article print this story
TheTyee.ca
You can't practice abstinence while running a brothel. Yet politicians of almost all stripes talk simultaneously about developing the Alberta oil sands while getting serous about reducing carbon emissions. Sound like a crock? It is.
Royalties No Problem for Petro Can
Petrocan chief backs oil sands despite royalties
Overall viability won't be affected, says CEO Brenneman, but company's conventional oil and gas spending likely to be cut
DAVID EBNER AND NORVAL SCOTT
With files from Canadian Press
November 29, 2007
CALGARY, EDMONTON -- Higher petroleum royalties in Alberta will not hurt the "overall viability" of Petro-Canada oil sands projects, but some planned investment in conventional oil and gas in the province will be affected, chief executive officer Ron Brenneman said yesterday.
Sharply drawn Journalism: Canadian Mining Comics
Sharply drawn
journalism
Local publishers Cumulus Press combine reportage with comics to take a look
at the mining industry
TAR SANDS EXTRACTION PITS:
From Extraction! A “Comix Reportage”
by CHRISTOPHER HAZOU
Local publishers Cumulus Press launch their first foray into the world of journalism and art this week with Extraction! A “Comix Reportage” about the Canadian mining industry and its effects on people and the environment around the globe.
Hoaxers target Big Oil
Hoaxers target Big Oil
Monday December 3 2007
Environmental campaigners today appeared to have opened up a new front in the battle against Big Oil over climate change when they established a bogus website and sent out a press release committing BP, Shell and others to a 90% cut in carbon outputs by 2050 with no strings attached.
Ed Journal: Schindler Calls for halt to Tar Sands
Halt oilsands: water expert
Athabasca River at risk, says renowned U of A scientist
Kate Jaimet, Ottawa Citizen; CanWest News Service
Published: 8:59 am
OTTAWA - The scientist who won Canada's top research prize for his work on pollution in the Great Lakes now wants a moratorium on development in the Alberta oilsands, saying the rush to extract petroleum could threaten the mighty Athabasca River.
Yukon: Uranium exploration could open Pandora’s box, critics fear
Uranium exploration could open Pandora’s box, critics fear
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
By Chris Oke Special to the Yukon News
Cash Minerals’ application to build a winter road along the Wind River Trail to further its search for uranium deposits concerns tourism and environmental groups.
Most troubling is the very mineral the exploration company is searching for.
For the past four years, Cash Minerals has been hunting for the radioactive metal.
“I see no reason why they shouldn’t mine uranium,” said Yukon Chamber of Mines president John Witham.
Canadian quarterly oil and banking profits rise
Canadian quarterly oil and banking profits rise
CanWest News Service
OTTAWA -- The energy and banking industries spurred a 5.8-per-cent
surge in Canadian third-quarter operating profits to a record high
$67 billion, Statistics Canada reported Thursday. At least one
analyst, however, warns the days of record profits may be coming to
an end.
Oil and banking accounted for almost half of the country's gains in
operating profits, the government agency said. The biggest profit
increases posted in the manufacturing sector were in motor vehicles,
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