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.

Copenhagen: Obama Guts Progressive Values

— By Bill McKibben
| Fri Dec. 18, 2009

The President of the United States did several things in his agreement today with China, India, and South Africa:

Tories mulled weaker oil-gas emission targets: documents

Tories mulled weaker oil-gas emission targets: documents
last Updated: Monday, December 14, 2009
CBC News

The Conservative government has considered abandoning some of the greenhouse gas reduction goals set out in its 2007 green plan and allowing weaker targets for the oil and gas sector, documents obtained by CBC News suggest.

The proposal raises questions on how the Tories could cut overall greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent by 2020 — a target they insist they can reach — while weakening the targets in the oil and gas sector.

Shaky economy hinders Long Lake tar sands project

Shaky economy hinders Long Lake oilsands project
By MARKUS ERMISCH, SUN MEDIA
10th December 2009

Nexen Inc. is delaying the expansion of its Long Lake oilsands project by one year to 2011, citing Canada's hesitant economic recovery and a lack of clarity about new environmental regulations as major reasons.

"Right across our industry, there is quite a measured approach to the pace of investment," Nexen CEO Marvin Romanow said in a conference call yesterday.

US should share tar sands burden: Paul Martin

US should share oilsands burden:Paul Martin
December 14, 2009
CP

TORONTO — Environment Minister Jim Prentice appears to be in agreement with former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin on who should pay for the environmental costs of Alberta's oilsands energy.

Martin has been quoted as saying the U.S. should shoulder some of Canada's carbon emissions burden because it's the chief user of energy from the oilsands.

Prentice, who is at the Copenhagen climate summit, says if Americans buy Canadian oil, the environmental costs should be absorbed on the U.S. side of the border.

Canada ranks low on climate change report card

Canada ranks low on climate change report card
By Kelly Cryderman, Calgary Herald
December 14, 2009

COPENHAGEN — Canada ranks just ahead of Saudi Arabia when it comes to progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, says an annual climate change performance report looking at 57 high-emitting countries.

"Looking at the emissions level of the ranked countries, the United States, Canada and Russia place very poorly," says the report, to be officially released as global climate change talks resume in Copenhagen Monday.

Ontario, Quebec say they won’t shoulder tar sands burden

Ontario, Quebec say they won’t shoulder oilsands burden
By Kelly Cryderman, Calgary Herald
December 13, 2009

COPENHAGEN — Delegations from Ontario and Quebec wasted no time before differentiating their position from the federal government’s after arriving Sunday at the climate change conference in Copenhagen — declaring they weren’t going to carry higher emission-reduction burdens for the sake of oilsands expansion in the Western provinces.

The Silence of the North: when the tailings ponds let go....

Ingmar Lee writes:

In the context of all the hot-air being emitted at Copenhagen, I offer this
piece:

I've just read a fantastic piece of historic Canadian literature, (The
Silence of the North) -a memoir by pioneer trappers-wife, Olive A.
Fredrickson, as told to author Ben East. She reminisces from her experiences
in the north of Alberta and BC in the 1920's when all was wild up there. Her
travels in the then wilderness took her all through the area around Fort
McMurray, now the epicentre of the Alberta Tar Sands planetary blight.

Big Greens Criticized for Climate Compromise

Tuesday 08 December 2009
by: Joshua Frank, t r u t h o u t |

All eyes are on the United Nations Climate Change conference talks that kick off in Copenhagen, Denmark, this week. Known as the COP15 summit, the international negotiations will center on cap-and-trade and offset schemes to combat global warming, not a global carbon tax or strict regulation that are being called for by some sectors of the climate change movement.

Toxic chemical levels higher in water downstream of Alberta tar sands plants

Toxic chemical levels higher in water downstream of Alberta oilsands plants

[This photo shows how at least one company is bulldozing right to the Athabasca River's edge.
Photograph by: Erin Kelly, University of Alberta , edmontonjournal.com]

By Hanneke Brooymans, edmontonjournal.com
December 7, 2009

EDMONTON — Levels of toxic chemicals in the Athabasca watershed are up to 50 times higher downstream of oilsands development, a new University of Alberta study has found.

'Upsetting the Offset: The Political Economy of Carbon Markets'

'Upsetting the Offset: The Political Economy of Carbon Markets'
Steffen Böhm and Siddhartha Dabhi (eds)

The book can be downloaded for free at http://mayflybooks.org/?page_id=194

The book will be launched in Colchester, UK, and Lund, Sweden (near Copenhagen); at both events some free copies of the book will be available:

The Old Library at Colchester Town Hall, West Stockwell Street, Colchester, UK Wednesday 9 December 4-6pm The event is free and open to all http://mayflybooks.org/?p=313