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 Set to Spike in 2012, Say Analysts

Friday, December 16, 2011

Jason Simpkins
NuWire Investor

Reflections on Apartheid Oil

by Media Co-op
December 21, 2011

The Apartheid Oil series, which was originally published here on the Media Co-op, has created waves of discussion throughout the activist community and beyond. As a follow up to the five pieces that were part of the Apartheid Oil project, the Media Co-op did a follow-up interview with author Macdonald Stainsby.

Media Co-op: Is there a religious element to arguments in favour of developing these oil shale deposits?

'Secret' Environment Canada presentation warns of tar sands' impact on habitat

'Secret' Environment Canada presentation warns of oilsands' impact on habitat

By Mike De Souza, Postmedia News December 22, 2011

Contamination of a major western Canadian river basin from oilsands operations is a "high-profile concern" for downstream communities and wildlife, says a newly-released "secret" presentation prepared last spring by Environment Canada that highlighted numerous warnings about the industry's growing footprint on land, air, water and the climate.

Stephen Harper has doubts on Keystone pipeline approval, sees markets in Asia

By Jordan Press, Postmedia News December 20, 2011

Canada could sell its oil to China and other overseas markets with or without approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline in the United States, says Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

In a year-end television interview, Harper indicated he had doubts the $7-billion pipeline would receive political approval from U.S. President Barack Obama, and that Canada should be looking outside the United States for markets.

Harper miscalculated Keystone XL anger, opposition parties say

Harper miscalculated Keystone XL anger, opposition parties say
By Jessica Murphy ,Parliamentary Bureau

Monday, November 14, 2011

Bob Rae Liberal Leader Bob Rae speaks to the media following Question Period in the Foyer of the House of Commons at Parliament Hill in Ottawa Nov 14, 2011. (ANDRE FORGET /QMI AGENCY)

OTTAWA - The Harper government is underestimating the political weight the aversion to the Keystone XL pipeline and Alberta's oilsands has, opposition parties have charged.

Tar Sands Actions Escalate in Ottawa

Oil Sands Actions Escalate in Ottawa
Over 100 Arrested as Tensions Over Resource Heat Up

Sheridan Polinsky & Julian Ward — September 30, 2011
Volume 32 Issue 05 |
The Link

Hundreds of protesters gathered on Parliament Hill to demand a proposed pipeline between the US and Canada be put to rest once and for all.

Oppenheimer: "America's tar sands and shale will be world's oil source"

Oppenheimer: America's tar sands and shale will be world's oil source

By Andres Oppenheimer
JournalStar.com
Thursday, September 29, 2011

The turmoil for reform sweeping most Middle Eastern oil producers is grabbing big headlines today, but that region may lose some of its economic clout in the future: There are signs that the Americas will replace the Middle East as the world's biggest oil-producing region.

"Canadian crude under attack on two fronts"

Canadian crude under attack on two fronts
By Bill Mann, MarketWatch
September 29, 2011

VANCOUVER, B.C. (MarketWatch) — With the rancorous Keystone-XL pipeline debate currently raging across the United States and Canada, it seems we’re at a tipping point: Will Canada’s oil sands be seen as an “ethical” source of oil, or a polluting pariah?

The other Keystone debate

Canada’s oil industry
The other Keystone debate
The Economist
Oct 1st 2011

China's cash floods into Canadian energy sector

China's cash floods into Canadian energy sector
By Wenran Jiang
Asia Times

As China has become the world's second-largest economy, its demand for energy has caused it to become the world's biggest comprehensive energy consumer. Accompanying this process has been a sharp upward trend in Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) focused on energy and other resources.

Canada has become the latest addition to Beijing's FDI investment priority list with C$15 billion (US$15.2 billion) worth of Chinese capital pouring into the energy-rich province of Alberta in 2010. [1]