Oil Sands Truth: Shut Down the Tar Sands

International oil & gas

Stock markets and global oil interests (including war) would be included here, as would attempts to get oil out of high risk, low return areas from oil shale in Colorado, to natural gas and heavy oil in the high eastern Arctic. The tar sands are part of this trend and should be seen as such. What happens with the tar sands will have a tremendous impact on what kind of choices are made elsewhere, environmentally and socially.

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International Oil & Gas is a category for stories relating to tar sand production or climate change but not in any of the projects already listed geographically. This includes other regions of the planet with horrible environmental and high energy costs that, like the tar sands, are only a "choice" because of high prices and the global depletion of easily recoverable oil reserves. Such issues as the threat of war on Iran, "instability" in Iraq and Venezuela or disasters like Katrina will all drive up oil prices, which in turn doubly encourages tar sand production-- by price demand and energy demand. Stock markets and global oil interests (including war) would be included here, as would attempts to get oil out of high risk, low return areas from oil shale in Colorado, to natural gas and heavy oil in the high eastern Arctic. The tar sands are part of this trend and should be seen as such. What happens with the tar sands will have a tremendous impact on what kind of choices are made elsewhere, environmentally and socially.

Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil (link to video)

http://onebigtorrent.org/details.php?id=2424&hit=1

Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil (2006) AVI
New repack 9-01-2007
Size 350Mb
Runtime: 53min. 5 sec.

New on OBT, a resized version for more rapid download.
These resizes are done for torrents which have had on-going interest
and traffic over time.

In 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba experienced an
'energy famine.' Transportation and agriculture virtually came to a
stop due to lack of diesel fuel and fertilizer shortages. This film

My Kingdom for a Horseless Carriage: The Biofuels Trap

My Kingdom for a Horseless Carriage
The Biofuels Trap
http://counterpunch.org/mittenthal08312007.html
By ROBIN MITTENTHAL

We must move our nation beyond fossil fuels. But let's not be suckered by the promoters of biofuel alternatives like corn ethanol and soy biodiesel.

Large companies that stand to reap billions in subsidies and tax breaks from these energy "sources" are selling them as the way to a healthy planet and energy independence for the United States. For two reasons, don't believe it.

Updating the book on global warming

Updating the book on global warming
by George Monbiot

Here is a portion of George Monbiot's speech at the Camp for Climate
Change in London August 18 2007 {1}. He has been studying and writing
about global warming for over twenty years and is the Author of Heat
(South End Press, 2007) which is about climate change and what needs to
be done about it. He explains that because of recent scientific
discoveries the book needs an extreme update.

Indymedia.org.uk (August 31 2007)

I'm going to start with some bad news, and the bad news is this. Two

Axis of Arctic Oil

Axis of Arctic Oil
Germany And Norway Form Partnership, While Russia Plans Oil Exploration
http://www.thedailygreen.com/2007/08/31/new-allies-in-arctic-oil-scrambl...
Dan Shapley/ News Editor Blog

They all say it’s not a land grab. Really, it isn’t. It’s an oil grab.

United States, China Clash over Peak Oil May Endanger World Peace

United States, China Clash over Peak Oil May Endanger World Peace
By Ann Weaver Hart
Published Aug 30, 2007
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/363360/united_states_china_clas...

Peak Oil may have put the United States on a collision course with China as the two nations compete for African oil reserves. "Peak Oil" refers to the fact that worldwide, per capita petroleum production peaked in 1979. Owing to population growth, even though more actual barrels of oil per day are extracted, the amount of oil pumped per person continues to drop.

The Sierra Club [USA] Greenwashes Al Gore

August 30, 2007
The Desecration of John Muir
The Sierra Club Greenwashes Al Gore
http://counterpunch.org/donnelly08302007.html
By MICHAEL DONNELLY

The Sierra Club accelerated its plunge to environmental irrelevancy, firmly cementing its role as Democratic Party lapdog by awarding its highest award, the John Muir Award, to Carbon Off-set magnate, Al Gore, Jr.

The club announced this year's award with a fawning press release stating;

Tar Sands the Only Reason Reserves Not Dropping

Global oil reserves up only 1% last year
Canada's Oilsands Sole Booster, Study Says
Claudia Cattaneo, Financial Post
Published: Thursday, August 30, 2007
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=7bd3bdc5-...

CALGARY -- Record global oil and gas profits of US$243-billion and record spending of US$401-billion have resulted in a marginal 1% increase in world oil reserves last year -- all of it coming from a 1.9-billion-barrel addition from Canada's oilsands, according to a new study.

Tar Sands, Peak Oil and lack of New Discoveries

Copyright 2007 The Calgary Herald.
All Rights Reserved
The Calgary Herald (Alberta)
http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/calgarybusiness/story.html?id=a...
August 30, 2007 Thursday
Final Edition

SECTION: CALGARY BUSINESS; Deborah Yedlin; Pg. E1

LENGTH: 799 words

HEADLINE: Canada's oilsands bear the burden

BYLINE: Deborah Yedlin, Calgary Herald

BODY:

Anyone sounding the warning bells about oil prices crashing to earth
in the wake of the ongoing liquidity crunch would be well advised to

Higher CO{-2} May Imperil Grasslands

Higher CO{-2} May Imperil Grasslands
Scientists warn of dire consequences for grazing areas
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/08/28/3461/
by Alan Zarembo

Rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere might be contributing to the conversion of the world’s grasslands - critical for livestock grazing - into a landscape of useless woody shrubs, according to a study released Monday.

By artificially doubling carbon dioxide levels over enclosed sections of the Colorado prairie, researchers created a dramatic rise in Artemisia frigida, commonly known as fringed sage. 0828 03

A methane battle is brewing

By Andrew Findlay
Publish Date: August 23, 2007
http://www.straight.com/article-106704/a-methane-battle-is-brewing

Back in 1978, a young Wade Davis scored the job of his dreams. Hired as a park ranger to explore and map B.C.'s newly established Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Park, he had a wonderfully vague job description: wilderness assessment and public relations. In two seasons he "related" to fewer than a dozen visitors.