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.

Polluted tar sands ponds leaking, report indicates

Polluted tar sands ponds leaking, report indicates
MARTIN MITTELSTAEDT / ENVIRONMENT REPORTER
December 9, 2008

The tailings ponds storing waste water left over from the processing of Alberta tar sands oil are leaking an estimated 11 million litres of contaminated water every day, according to a new report.

The figure, one of the first publicly available on the scale of the seepage from tailing ponds that dot the landscape in Northern Alberta, is being released today in a report by Environmental Defence, a Toronto-based conservation advocacy group.

Alberta rethinks film funding rules after anti-tar sands doc gets cash, Academy award nomination

Alberta rethinks film funding rules after anti-oilsands doc gets cash
Thursday, December 11, 2008
CBC News

A documentary that takes a critical look at the oilsands is raising a big stink at the Alberta legislature.

It turns out that Downstream, by U.S. documentary maker Leslie Iwerks, was funded in part by the provincial government.

That's prompted the government to take a closer look at how films get funded in Alberta.

Great Lakes, Great Peril: Oil and Water

Great Lakes, Great Peril: Oil and Water
Little city is at center of a great debate
Pipes link the Great Lakes with massive oil reserves in friendly Alberta. They may bring jobs, energy and pollution. And it's all happening as the century of oil gives way to the century of water.

By Dan Egan of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Dec. 6, 2008

Great Lakes-Alberta tar sands connection
Journal Sentinel

First of two parts

Superior - U.S. dependence on foreign oil conjures images of derricks pecking at Saudi Arabian sands or supertankers steaming for coastal refineries.

Tar Sands: The worst fuel on the planet?

A Reporter's Notebook: "Midwest oil mining a crude idea to many: Are we now scraping the bottom of the barrel?"

Photo from chicagotribune.com. Taken by Jiri Rezac / WWF UK.

As Minnesota sanctions the transport and use of oil sands--the second largest reserve of usable crude in the world--it takes a prominent role in a transcontinental controversy.

Many argue our state is on the wrong side.

From dead birds to sick humans and fish, hardly anyone has anything positive to say about the new carbon intensive fuel polluting our air and water.

David Suzuki: Tar sand wealth comes with environmental costs

David Suzuki: Tar sand wealth comes with environmental costs
By David Suzuki and Faisal Moola

If you want to be scared, you don’t need to watch a horror movie or read the latest Stephen King bestseller.

Real terror can be found by simply firing up Google Earth, the computer program that allows users to look at satellite pictures of any place on the planet. By mousing over and zooming in, you can see what Alberta’s tar sands look like from space.

It is not a pretty sight. In fact, it’s scary—and for good reason.

Billions of litres of tainted tar sands water leaking: Report

Billions of litres of tainted oilsands water leaking: Report
Mike De Souza, Canwest News Service
Published: Tuesday, December 09, 2008

OTTAWA - Oilsands production is releasing four billion litres of
contaminated water into Alberta's groundwater and natural ecosystems every
year, according to a new national report that was immediately dismissed as
"false" by the provincial government.

The annual volume of water pollution in 2007 would have been enough to
fill Toronto's Rogers Centre, but could be stopped if the federal

StatoilHydro scraps C$16 bln tar sands upgrader downstream

StatoilHydro scraps C$16 bln oil sands upgrader
Thu Dec 4, 2008 2:21pm EST

(Recasts with additional comment and detail, changes dateline from OSLO)

CALGARY, Alberta, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Norway's StatoilHydro (STL.OL: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Thursday it scrapped plans to build a C$16 billion ($12.6 billion) upgrader for its Canadian oil sands holdings, the latest in a string of big-ticket cancellations in the oil-rich but expensive region.

Alberta to seek tax breaks for tar sands

Alberta to seek tax breaks for oil sands
Capital writeoffs for bitumen upgraders on wish list for struggling sector, as finance ministers prepare to meet
SHAWN MCCARTHY
Globe and Mail // December 8, 2008

OTTAWA — The Alberta government is seeking federal tax breaks for the newly struggling oil sands sector, including accelerated capital writeoffs for upgraders, as sliding oil prices and high costs have caused companies to delay or shelve development plans.

Ottawa promises to protect tar sands from economic crisis

Ottawa promises to protect oilsands from economic crisis
Mike De Souza, Canwest News Service
Published: Friday, December 05, 2008

OTTAWA - The Harper government pledged to protect the oilsands sector from economic uncertainty as it challenged opposition parties on Friday to explain how their proposed coalition would regulate pollution from the western Canadian industry.

Tar sands threatens millions of birds, report says

Tar sands threatens millions of birds, report says
MARTIN MITTELSTAEDT
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
December 2, 2008

The development of the tar sands could lead to the loss of more than 160 million birds over the next 30 to 50 years because of the elimination of habitat and deaths from drowning in tailings ponds, according to a report being released today.