Oil Sands Truth: Shut Down the Tar Sands

Alberta (& Saskatchewan) Tar Sands

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.

warning: Creating default object from empty value in /var/www/drupal-6.28/modules/taxonomy/taxonomy.pages.inc on line 33.

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.

Europe must do what it can to stop the rush for ‘bad oil’

Europe must do what it can to stop the rush for ‘bad oil’
http://www.transportenvironment.org/Article440.html
Jul 26, 2007
Editorial by Jos Dings

Bad oil? To some people familiar with the environmental movement, the term “bad oil” may sound odd. Isn’t all oil bad from an environmental perspective?

Everything is relative. Yes, the oil we use today is very bad for the climate. But the so-called “unconventional” oil the world is looking to use in increasing intensity is so bad for the climate that today’s oil actually looks good in comparison.

Tar Sands: Royal Dutch Shell's Self-Described Most Profitable Oil

Shell rakes in profits from Canadian tar-sands unit: Times of London
By London Bureau
Last Update: 6:31 AM ET Jul 27, 2007
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/shell-rakes-profits-canadian-oil-s...

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The world's dirtiest oil is producing the highest profit per barrel for Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA.LN), which yesterday said it would begin to report the earnings of its controversial Canadian oil sands operations as a separate business unit, the Times of London reports Friday.

Alberta building unions threaten tar sands strike

Alberta building unions threaten oil sands strike
Tue Jul 24, 2007 1:27 PM EDT

By Scott Haggett

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Five Alberta construction unions have voted in favor of their first strike in a quarter of a century as they seek higher wages and improved working conditions at a slate of multibillion-dollar oil sands projects.

Electricians, boilermakers, plumbers and pipefitters, millwrights, and refrigeration mechanics have approved a strike and 72-hour notice could be served as soon as Wednesday, though a quick walk-off is not yet certain, an analyst said.

Premier Not Safe From Tar Sands Justice!

EDMONTON SUN

By NICKI THOMAS, SPECIAL TO SUN MEDIA

A heavily guarded Ed Stelmach served pancakes to a crowd of early risers at yesterday's Premier's Capital Ex Breakfast.

Two weeks after an attempted pie attack at the Calgary Stampede, a beefed-up security team ensured a similar incident wasn't possible.

Plainclothes security staff as well as bicycle cops and uniformed sheriffs kept an eye on the crowd as Stelmach shook hands and spoke with visitors.

$100 Oil Price May Be Months Away, Say CIBC, Goldman

$100 Oil Price May Be Months Away, Say CIBC, Goldman (Update1)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aYjwn7IqTlHQ&refer=home
By Mark Shenk

July 23 (Bloomberg) -- The $100-a-barrel oil that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said would prevail by 2009 may be only a few months away.

Not enough Labour, Building entire Towns in the Tar Pits

Labour Pool Will Continue To Be Stretched As More Projects Come On Board
By Paul Wells //July 23 2007
http://www.dobmagazine.nickles.com/article.asp?article=%5Cdob%5C070723%5...

The shear volume and complexity of large-scale projects planned or occurring in the oilsands combined with booming construction in other sectors in Alberta will only increase the strain on an already stretched labour pool, PennWell Corporation's oil sands and heavy oil technologies conference heard last week.

Caterpillar Making Great Profits on Tar Sands

Caterpillar's forecast good for names like Churchill and Finning
http://communities.canada.com/nationalpost/blogs/tradingdesk/archive/200...

Weakness in North American construction markets may have driven a weaker-than-expected second quarter at Caterpillar Inc. (CAT/NYSE), but the heavy equipment maker’s positive demand outlook for its products in Canada may bode well for infrastructure companies north of the border.

Alberta Clipper pipeline will endanger Canadian jobs: energy workers‘ union

Jul 25, 2007 11:27:00 AM MST
Alberta Clipper pipeline will endanger Canadian jobs: energy workers‘ union (Alberta-Clipper)

http://www.oilweek.com/news.asp?ID=10358

OTTAWA (CP) _ Canada‘s largest union of energy workers has filed for intervener status in National Energy Board hearings into Enbridge Inc.‘s Alberta Clipper oil pipeline project application, aiming to block the export of jobs and raw resources.

25,000 Alberta tradespeople poised for strike; 95% in favour of Job Action

25,000 Alberta tradespeople poised for strike
Last Updated: Monday, July 23, 2007 | 12:20 PM MT
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2007/07/23/trades-vote.html

Alberta tradespeople in five unions have voted 95 per cent in favour of taking strike action, a move that threatens to bring the province's construction industry to a halt as early as the end of the week.

"Energy Alberta's nuclear maverick revamping power plant application"

Energy Alberta's nuclear maverick revamping power plant application
http://www.brandonsun.com/story.php?story_id=63520
Canadian Press, July 20, 2007

CALGARY (CP) - The head of Energy Alberta Corp., an upstart western company pushing nuclear power in the Prairies, isn't taking the summer off, as planned.

Instead, Wayne Henuset is revamping a site application to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission from his office in the suburbs of southeast Calgary.