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 Battle of Marie Lake": Community vs. Tarsand Seismic Operations

Marie Lake cottage owners say 'never' to oilsands seismic survey
Osum believes northern recreational area contains two billion barrels of oil

Gordon Jaremko, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Monday, April 09, 2007
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/business/story.html?id=dd3351...
EDMONTON - Call it the battle of Marie Lake.

Plans to sail an industrial mini-armada onto a beauty spot 300 kilometres northeast of Edmonton, for a spring marine seismic survey of an oilsands deposit beneath the lake, has ignited furious resistance.

Seattle Times: Olympics and Tar Sands = "Special Opportunity"

The blunt goals of the tar sand industry are often avoided blunt talk by Albertan media, afraid of a general disgust with the reasons behind all the North American energy interests disastrous social, environmental and energy policies that are making astronomical profits on their way to building the single largest complex of industrialism to try and stave off peak oil and move away from Middle Eastern imports. Fortunately, American media knows far less of those constraints.

Alberta Health: Fort Chip "Only" Eating Moose with 17-33 Times the Safe Arsenic Level

Government Study Reduces Level of Reported Arsenic in Moosemeat
http://www.dailyheraldtribune.com/z_fortmac0404.lasso

FORT McMURRAY (CP) - Area residents still doubt the safety of deer and moose meat from the oilsands region, despite a provincial study suggesting the arsenic levels are comparable to other areas.

''The community members are questioning the study,'' said Melody Lepine, executive director of the Mikisew Cree Industrial Relations Corp.

''Why were there no other contaminants being looked at?'' she asked. ''What does it really mean to compare it to the Yukon moose?''

Klein concedes: No Environmental Plan, No Health Care Plan

Former Premier Ralph Klein warns of health backlash

By RENATO GANDIA
Today staff
Thursday April 05, 2007
http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com/Local%20News/298912.html

VANCOUVER -- Former Alberta Premier Ralph Klein is quick to admit he didn’t have a plan to fix the blistering effects of the oilsands boom on the strained infrastructure of Fort McMurray and other parts of Alberta.
But he’s not as forthcoming about the reason.

Syncrude President: Industry Needs Massive Tax Breaks

Before you read on to the article below, I thought I would help to arm the reader with this link to some financial reports from Syncrude: "Selected annual financial information"

http://cos-ar.beta.zu.com/annual_report/2006/html/discussion_analysis/se...

...so with those numbers in your head and a secret plan (not a proposal) to quintuple production almost exclusively to feed US markets' rapacious needs well known to Jim Carter of Syncrude, then see what the concerns really are.

--Macdonald

Tar Sands halt called for at "Oilsands consultations"

Oilsands committee told to halt development
Last Updated: Wednesday, April 4, 2007 | 12:28 PM MT
CBC News

A provincial government committee touring Alberta to hear what people have to say about the pace of development in the oilsands were told on their Edmonton stop to halt development.

Everyone who spoke to the panel Tuesday night made passionate arguments in favour of stalling new projects until a wide range of problems are addressed.

Showdown With Big Oil-- Ed. Sun

When these are the types of editorials written by those most sympathetic to the tarsand producers, we know the tide is slowly yet surely turning.

-M

Showdown With Big Oil
April 3, 2007
By NEIL WAUGH
http://www.edmontonsun.com/Business/Columnists/Waugh_Neil/2007/04/03/390...

There’s a battle brewing out there. People are getting right ticked off.

The boom-to-end-all-booms is starting to look like a bust for many. And they are getting mad.

Already Premier Ed Stelmach has three not-in-my-backyard movements going in his constituency alone.

Suspicious Death at the Suncor Tar Pit....?

Suspicious death at the oilsands
By CP

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2007/04/02/3897136-sun.html

FORT MCMURRAY -- RCMP are investigating the suspicious death of a man at the Suncor oilsands plant north of Fort McMurray.

A worker found the body yesterday morning and reported it to emergency services.

Several hundred tradesmen were sent home and security was tight at the plant while police investigate. Const. Tye Roddick-Ament said investigators are not ruling anything out, including the possibility of foul play.

No Deal: Lubicon Battle for Basic Needs while Tar Sands make Energy Companies Rich

The following article from Alberta Views Magazine also received an important letter to the editor follow up from Reinie Jobin, the Elder mentioned at the outset of the piece. His response is attached and appended at the conclusion of the original article below, on this same posting.

Thanks to the Ontario based solidarity organization, Friends of the Lubicon for providing these two articles:
http://www.tao.ca/~fol

ALBERTA VIEWS MAGAZINE
MARCH 2007

FEATURE REPORT
NO DEAL

"...[I]s there enough labour force that can fly in from other provinces...?"

Oil sands boom adds to worker shortage woes

BRIAN BAKER
staff writer
http://dcnonl.com/article/20070402300

In labour hungry Alberta, more oil sands production is predicted through to the year 2020, a portent that may compound the province’s construction industry woes.

A Canadian Energy Research Institute (CERI) study predicts the oil sands in Fort McMurray will triple production, pushing spending over $7.5 billion mark.

Limited time for training and demand in ICI sector construction will be pushed to the limits when the bitumen boom hits its full potential.