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.
Shell moves to slow Canadian oil sands project
Thu Nov 27, 2008 12:57pm EST
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L: Quote) is delaying another Canadian oil sands project, saying on Thursday it has withdrawn a regulatory application for its 100,000 barrel per day Carmon Creek thermal project as it looks to shave costs by revamping the project.
Harper asks Obama to ignore oilsand devestation
But can we blame him?
Jackie Grom // Dec 1, 2008
Science and Technology Writer
Bush Quietly Passes Dozens of New Rules
Stephen Leahy
UXBRIDGE, Canada, 1 Dec (IPS) - As the world community meets in Poland
this week to find solutions to the climate crisis, the George W. Bush
White House is chaining the United States' tiller to prevent a change
of course by President-elect Barack Obama by passing new anti-
environmental rules and regulations at a furious pace.
Nearly a million hectares of public wildlands in Wyoming and Utah are
being opened up to oil shale extraction, the Endangered Species Act is
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The Alberta tar sands cover a vast area of huge open pits and tailings ponds.
The environmental consequences are enormous and make a mockery of
any Canadian attempt to reduce carbon emissions under the Kyoto
Protocol. Petr Cizek is a land use planner and author. He says that a
Hidden tar-sands agendas
BARRY HEALEY
November 13, 2008
Toronto -- Jeffrey Simpson points out the dishonesty of Stephen Harper in proposing to unite with the U.S. to combat global warming while leaving the tar sands out of the agreement (Little New For Obama In Ottawa's Energy 'Offer' - Nov. 12).
Company may delay McKay River project
2008-11-25
By KRISTINE OWRAM, THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO -- Petro-Canada CEO Ron Brenneman says the company is considering a delay of its McKay River oilsands expansion and a $1-billion equipment improvement at its Montreal refinery to reduce costs.
Brenneman, speaking to media ahead of the company's investor day, said the McKay River expansion in northern Alberta, as well as its Montreal coker, haven't yet received regulatory and corporate approvals.
Tue, November 25, 2008
Oilsands surviving downturn
Projects benefit as economic crisis makes contractors and suppliers hungrier for work
By MARKUS ERMISCH, SUN MEDIA
While delays of several oilsands projects have again raised the question whether it is cheaper to upgrade bitumen in the U.S. rather than in Alberta, the sagging loonie, easing inflation and lower demand for labour could be working in the oilpatch's favour.
Claims of industrial genocide in northern AB
Click here to email Troy Adams
11/24/2008
A speaker at a conference of people opposed to oilsands development in northern Alberta says aboriginals face a ``genocide'' as companies release waste into rivers that flow through their communities.
Mike Mercredi told the Everyone's Downstream 2 conference in Edmonton that it's a slow, industrial genocide.
"Indians: Oil sands development 'genocide'"
EDMONTON, Alberta, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- A Canadian Indian rights advocate claims oil sands development in Alberta is akin to genocide from water contamination on reservation lands.
Speaking at a conference in Edmonton Sunday, Mike Mercredi, 33, said death rates at the Fort Chipewyan reservation's 1,200 people 400 miles northeast of Edmonton were on the rise, the Edmonton Sun reported.
