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.
Head in the Tar Sands? The New York Times Runs Anti-Peak Oil Op-Ed
BY Anya Kamenetz
Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 10:33 AM
Earlier this month, the world's chief energy economist told the UK Independent that global oil production was likely to peak in 10 years, with a "global energy crunch" starting as soon as next year.
Canada's bloody oil
UK companies are extracting oil from our traditional lands. We believe it's killing us – and that's why I'm attending Climate Camp
o George Poitras
o guardian.co.uk, Monday 24 August 2009
Wood Buffalo Housing grows in slower economy
Aug 23, 2009
ALEX BOUTILIER
Fort McMurray Today staff
Even with a battered housing market and low oil prices driving Fort McMurray’s economy down, 2008 was a success for the Wood Buffalo Housing and Development Corporation, said president Bryan Lutes, at the non-profit organization's annual general meeting last night.
About 30 people shuffled into the Golden Years Society Activity Centre to listen to reports from Wood Buffalo Housing’s board of directors, from financial statements to planning goals.
Oilsands camps brimming despite cuts
By Dave Cooper, Edmonton Journal
August 18, 2009
The number of staff in Fort Mc-Murray work camps and lodges has remained high despite the cutbacks of major projects last fall, according to a census released by the Oil Sands Developers Group.
"Co-generation"-- a term that means burning the waste gunk at the bottom of a barrel of extracted bitumen, for energy-- is a massive increase in carbon footprint, in the name of 'efficiency'. It was originally developed by Ormat-- the parent of tar sands developer Opti-- to develop oil shale in 1948 Palestine. The dirtiest plant in terms of "intensity" (the reduction of which is supposedly the goal of the Harper co2 plan) is the Opti and Nexen Long Lake plant south of Fort McMurray.
Native Americans to join London climate camp protest over tar sands
Canadian First Nations seek to highlight UK's 'criminal' role in CO2-heavy oil schemes
Terry Macalister
guardian.co.uk,
Sunday 23 August 2009
Native Americans are to join the Climate Camp protests in the City of London this week in an attempt to draw attention to corporate Britain's "criminal" involvement in the tar sands of Canada.
Five representatives from the Cree First Nations are coming to co-ordinate their campaign against key players in the carbon-heavy energy sector with British environmentalists.
Tar sands oil dirty as ever despite Alberta and industry spin: Sierra Club
on Aug 3rd, 2009
CALGARY, OTTAWA – Tar sands oil is as dirty as ever despite the most recent communications spin by the Alberta government and oil industry says Sierra Club Canada.
Tar Sands protest comes to UK Climate Camp
Ecologist
18th August, 2009
Oil extraction from tar sands is causing large-scale environmental damage, say activists
The fight against the extraction of oil from the tar sands of Alberta in Canada will reach the UK later this month.
Representatives from First Nations, the group that speaks for Canada's aboriginal people, will join in the London Climate Camp protest from August 27th to 31st.
Peace wants say on massive dam
Region wants consideration before any studies on $6-billion Site C
BY SCOTT SIMPSON, CANWEST NEWS SERVICE
AUGUST 19, 2009
Northeast British Columbia won't yield to B.C. Hydro's Site C mega-hydroelectric project without a fight.
Directors of the Peace River Regional District have voted to recommend the B.C. government reject Hydro's request to undertake geotechnical surveys of potential locations for the estimated $6-billion Site C dam and its reservoir.
Alberta cuts funding for acid-rain tests
Edmonton — The Canadian Press
Aug. 18, 2009
Alberta has cut funding for tests to determine how much acid rain is falling in the oil sands region around Fort McMurray, according to a government document obtained by The Canadian Press.
The cut went ahead even though the briefing note for the province's Environment Minister dated Aug. 11 acknowledges acid rain is falling on the energy boomtown.
The note adds that precipitation falling in northeastern Alberta has a "similar" acidity to that falling downwind in Saskatchewan.
