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.

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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 Pew works with Nuclear: "industry and environmental cooperation"

This has to stop! The "Pew Charitable Trusts" are NOT the allies of the earth. The Tar Pits are expanding, making MAJOR amounts of money and are doing so through the back door route of funding the Pew with money made from the Tar Pits. If this "trust" gives an organization you care about money, get them out. They are soaked in oil, they are from the Pew Family, who run Sunoco, who refine tar sand guck and more importantly INVENTED the process.

Enbridge CEO Interview: Gateway, China, Canada and more

Enbridge CEO on what's wrong with Canada's DNA
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070611.RDANIEL11/TPSt...
GORDON PITTS

June 11, 2007

CALGARY -- Patrick Daniel has the classic CV of an energy CEO - prairie upbringing, strong engineering education, and a varied career amid the cycles of the oil patch. Now 60 and head of pipeline giant Enbridge Inc., he is a critical link in the supply chain between Canada's oil producers and major North American markets. Mr. Daniel talks about this role, and the challenges in pushing Canadian thinking beyond this continent.

Notes from the Tar Pits: From McMurray to MacKay

Notes from the Tarpits:
Between MacKay and McMurray, my run in with the Gigaproject
June 14, 2007

National Post doing Tar Sand Damage Control

Such damage control is very important to undertake, especially when sea-changes in public opinion are underway as they are. Many of the "inconvenient spew" of this articles "talking points" are ridiculous. The suggestion that "Americans" have asked for tarsands to be ramped up would convince me if I thought that the average American knew where the Tarsands even were, let alone that he or she wants more from them.

This is, bottom line, proof we are getting somewhere. Let's keep moving; where we are coming from holds nothing.

--M

Oilsands gain a dirty name

It's Time for Albertans to Draw a line in the (Tar) Sand

IT'S TIME FOR ALBERTANS TO DRAW A LINE IN THE (TAR) SAND
http://www.vueweekly.com/articles/default.aspx?i=6589
BILL MOORE-KILGANNON / pialberta.org

There once was a thin red line on a map. That may sound like the start of a fairy tale, but in fact it is the real beginning of a critical debate about Alberta’s energy future.

Environmental cost of tar sands too high, U.S. report says

Globe and Mail June 8, 2007
Environmental cost of tar sands too high, U.S. report says
By Bob Weber
Edmonton -- One of the most influential environmental groups in the
United States is training its sights on Alberta's oil sands in an
attempt to persuade Americans to stop increasing their dependence on
"bottom-of-the-barrel" energy.
A report by the Natural Resources Defence Council to be released
Monday at a symposium in Washington, has been obtained by The Canadian
Press. The report potentially damages the market for oil sands oil by

Is Canada the latest emerging petro-tyranny?

Copyright 2007 The Globe and Mail
June 11, 2007 Monday
ANDREW NIKIFORUK
Calgary journalist and columnist for Canadian Business magazine
Is Canada the latest emerging petro-tyranny?

Every day, the First Law of Petropolitics quietly insinuates its way
into the nation's political blood like a rogue parasite. The law,
first coined by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, posits that
the price of oil and the quality of freedom invariably travel in
opposite directions.

As the price of crude oil goes higher in an oil-dominated kingdom,

"How Shell First Tripped Over Saskatchewan's Tarsands"

How Shell First Tripped Over Saskatchewan's Oilsands

Robert Gies //Market Commentary // June 4, 2007
http://www.dobmagazine.nickles.com/columns/column.asp?article=magazine%2...

Karma for Suncor?

Thu, June 7, 2007
Smoke, embers blowing into Fort McMurray
Out-of-control forest fire has officials advising some to stay indoors
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2007/06/07/4242370.html
By CP

FORT MCMURRAY — Smoke and embers from a massive out-of-control forest fire near Suncor Energy’s oilsands plant in northern Alberta are blowing into Fort McMurray.

The MacKay River fire is burning about 25 km north of the city and covers about 150 square km.

Alberta Environment officials say people with respiratory problems are being advised to stay indoors.

Our Leaders Don't Get it -- Suzuki

Our leaders don’t get it
SCIENCE MATTERS by David Suzuki
http://commonground.ca/iss/0706191/cg191_suzuki.shtml

When Environment Minister John Baird announced his government’s new climate change plan, I was in Toronto, getting ready to shoot some television commercials promoting energy conservation. I volunteered to do the commercials because I believe that everyone has to do his fair share to reduce the threat of global warming. Mr. Baird and Prime Minister Harper apparently disagree.