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.

Oil and gas grab Prentice's pre-Copenhagen attention

The obvious note-- one of general preference for *any* discussion with corporations over those perceived as being "pro environment" is worthy of note, but as important if not more so is that these same ENGO's *all* are corporate themselves. The Pembina Institute is a known corporate partner of Suncor (among others) and heavy promoter of carbon offsets (and 'producing' of these offsets via so-called green energy such as wind and hydro projects, to then sell to corporations like their partner Suncor who them can greenwash their "business as usual" operations without any changes whatsoever).

Tarsands leave behind ecological dead zone

Tarsands leave behind ecological dead zone
By: Staff Writer (Winnipeg Free Press)
16/01/2010

DEAR EDITOR,

Don Klassen's letter (In defence of oilsands, Jan. 11) gives the impression that the Alberta oilsands are, relative to China and American industrial emissions, an ecologically benign development. This would be true, relative to China and the U.S., only if the sole dimension to the environmental issue of the tarsands involved CO2 emissions, which is not the case.

Outspoken chief was once 'quiet kid'

By Darcy Henton, Edmonton Journal
January 25, 2010

George Poitras looked out the window of his Fort McMurray office and saw opportunity. Outside the restaurant across the street was Premier Ed Stelmach's face beaming at him from the side of a bus.

Shell taps tar sands brakes

Shell taps oilsands brakes

CEO blames high costs for slowed growth

By Shaun Polczer, Calgary Herald
January 26, 2010

D espite signs of a revival in Alberta's oilsands, one of the world's largest oil companies plans to limit growth in the sector in the coming years, its CEO said Monday.

Speaking to the Londonbased Financial Times in his first major interview since he became the company's chief executive in July, Royal Dutch Shell CEO Peter Voser said the company will slow its oilsands expansion plans and shift focus to conventional exploration in other parts of the world.

Enbridge shuts oil pipeline after leak; reroutes supply

Reuters, Sun Jan 10, 2010

* Oil supplies rerouted after 440,000 bpd Line 2b halted
* Investigating leak in North Dakota after 3,000 bbl spill (Adds background,
details throughout)

NEW YORK, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Enbridge Energy Partners LP shut down
one leg of the main pipeline delivering Canadian crude to the United States
after discovering a leak, but said it was rerouting supplies via other
lines.

Enbridge, which operates crude oil and natural gas transportation systems in

Tar sands producers prefer B.C. carbon rules

Oil sands producers prefer B.C. carbon rules
Shawn McCarthy
Ottawa — Globe and Mail
Jan. 07, 2010

Canada's oil industry can live with U.S. states adopting low-carbon fuel standards, so long as they follow British Columbia's oil-sands-friendly model rather than the California approach.

As dozens of American states pursue climate-change regulations aimed at transportation fuels, the Alberta-based industry is focusing on the crucial details of the proposed rules, rather than aggressively opposing their adoption.

Wiebo Released Without Charge

Oilpatch activist released in pipeline bombings case
By Laura Drake and Richard Warnica,
Canwest News Service
January 9, 2010

GRANDE PRAIRIE, Alta. — After hours of police interrogation, controversial oilpatch activist Wiebo Ludwig walked out of an Alberta police station facing no charges Saturday — a day after he was arrested in connection with a series of pipeline bombings.

Wiebo Ludwig arrested in pipeline bombings

By Ryan Cormier, Hanneke Brooymans and Paula Simons, edmontonjournal.com
January 8, 2010

EDMONTON — Convicted oilpatch bomber Wiebo Ludwig has been taken into custody by the RCMP in connection with the bombings of EnCana’s pipelines in Northern British Columbia, says a friend and his lawyer.

“We believe he’s been arrested,” said Richard Boonstra, a family friend who lives on the same property. “That’s all we know. We’re in the dark here.”

One of the most important articles Climate Campaigners will ever read...

The mainstream environmental movement no longer inspires nor leads society to an enlightened existence – it simply bows down to the status quo.

Who Really Deserves the Fossil Fool Award? TckTckTck or us?

Pale Greens Honor BC Climate Vandals

Pale Greens Honor BC Climate Vandals
December 29, 2009

For some, a tiny tax outweighs massive environmental destruction

by Roger Annis

At first glance, it seemed that the “Yes Men” had scored another comedic coup for Mother Earth. CBC Radio news reported on December 16 that on the previous day, British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell was feted and presented an environmental award by many of Canada’s well-heeled “environmental groups” during the United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen.