Oil Sands Truth: Shut Down the Tar Sands

Mackenzie Gas Project / Alaska Highway pipelines [NWT/AK]

The Alaskan Highway Pipeline would be 2700 km's long and bring natural gas from northern Alaska to northwestern Alberta, cutting across Yukon and BC. Recently, projections from the industry of a north-central corridor pipeline across Alberta have been released, making this mega project connected directly to the tarpit production plants. There are varying projections of capacity, but multiple millions of cubic feet per day of natural gas are all set to go right into the Albertan grid. This would be one of the longest pipeline projects in history, cutting through many "protected areas" across northern Turtle Island.

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Mackenzie Gas Project / Alaska Highway pipelines [NWT/AK] is a category for articles and stories relating to the proposed Mackenzie Gas Pipeline from the Beaufort Sea to Alberta, or the Alaska Highway pipeline from Alaska's North Slope through Yukon to BC and then Alberta. The MGP would be 1220 km's long and take the largest untapped gas reserve (outside of the Sverdrup Basin in Nunavut) on the planet to the tarsands. The project has been resisted valiantly by many Dene and Inuvialuit peoples, communities and nations along with environmentalist allies throughout the Valley and across the North for over 30 years. Recently the MGP was re-estimated at $16.2 billion to construct. When first conceived, it was the largest proposed industrial project in the history of Canada. Now, it is a mere feeder of energy needs for the colossal "gigaproject" known as the tarsands. The Alaskan Highway Pipeline would be 2700 km's long and bring natural gas from northern Alaska to northwestern Alberta, cutting across Yukon and BC. Recently, projections from the industry of a north-central corridor pipeline across Alberta have been released, making this mega project connected directly to the tarpit production plants. There are varying projections of capacity, but multiple millions of cubic feet per day of natural gas are all set to go right into the Albertan grid. This would be one of the longest pipeline projects in history, cutting through many "protected areas" across northern Turtle Island.

Deh Cho Process Talks Halted

Dehcho Process talks on hold
Last Updated: Monday, March 19, 2007 | 6:39 PM CT
CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2007/03/19/nwt-dehcho.html

Dehcho land-claim negotiations remained in limbo on Monday with the cancellation of the latest round of negotiations this week.

As well, the Dehcho First Nation announced it will not nominate any members to the two boards looking at Mackenzie Valley resource management. In the past, Grand Chief Herb Norwegian has claimed the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act does not apply to the Dehcho.

National Post: MGP Defeated, Alaskan Over-the-Top Pipeline an "optimistic scenario".

Clip:

"If the project in its current form is indeed on its last legs, it's nothing to be proud of. It would be one of the first energy megaprojects in Canada to fold at such an advanced stage due to cost increases, aboriginal sabotage and federal red tape.

Ted Stevens Trying to Streamline Alaska Highway Pipeline

This pipeline will also, along with the Mackenzie Gas Project, be used at least in large part to feed the energy needs of the tarsands in Alberta. To state that since the energy would be consumed in the US means it really isn't shipping out American gas to non-American sources would be a direct admission of the irrational yet oil-dependant need to go after the tarsands, would it not?

That could go bad in a lot of ways. Let's just talk about something else, like sending the gas to the lower 48. We could believe them.

But that ignores the bidders public, "investor read here" plans:

Deh Cho wary of tar sands, demand action

N.W.T. fears toll from oilsands development
http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com/Local%20News/295973.html

By RENATO GANDIA
staff// Fort McMurray Today
Friday March 23, 2007

Destruction of the Mackenzie River watershed, hundreds of dead adults and sick babies in the Deh Cho First Nation. That’s the scenario a Northwest Territories chief is predicting if oilsands development is not slowed.
Grand Chief Herb Norwegian wants immediate action from the Alberta and N.W.T. governments to protect the quality and quantity of water that flows downstream from the oilsands.

The Bi-Partisan Politics of Oil: Crude Alliance

March 9 / 11, 2007
The Bi-Partisan Politics of Oil
Crude Alliance

By JEFFREY ST. CLAIR
Counterpunch

Soon after John Kerry had sewed up the delegates needed to seize the Democratic nomination for president in the spring of 2004, he huddled for two hours with James Hoffa, Jr., the noxious boss of the Teamsters union. The topic was oil. The Teamsters wanted more of it at cheaper prices. They had suspicions about Kerry. After all, the senator had already won the backing of the Sierra Club, who touted him as the most environmentally enlightened member of the US senate.

Mackenzie Gas Project to cost $16.2B: Imperial Oil

A few quick points.

With the recent holes in all of the so-called "action plans" on climate
change so big you could drive one of the tarsand trucks carrying 400
tonnes of earth through it, the updating of projected costs here is a
giant challenge-- a gauntlet drop, if you will-- at the feet of the
Federal government.

The MGP is now well known to be, despite being the largest industrial
project in settler Canada's history at the time it was first conceived,
just a mere inflow into the vast energy needs of the tarsands. As

Buying the Green Movement: Scouring Scum and Tar from the Bottom of the Pit

Scouring Scum and Tar from the Bottom of the Pit
Petr Cizek

Canadian Dimension Magazine, July/August 2006 Issue
http://canadiandimension.com/articles/2006/07/07/557/

N.W.T. natural gas destined for tarsands/ MGP to be repegged $11 billion

N.W.T. natural gas destined for Alberta's oilsands, groups charge

Last Updated: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 | 11:01 AM CT
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2007/02/27/jrp-edmonton.html
CBC News

A coalition of national environmental groups is concerned that natural gas from the Northwest Territories will be used to fuel oilsands extraction in northern Alberta.

N.W.T. to push for water deal with Alberta

Last Updated: Friday, March 2, 2007 | 11:17 AM MT
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2007/03/02/water-oilsands.html

Water will top the agenda when the environment ministers from the Northwest Territories and Alberta meet in Edmonton on March 20.

The territorial government is trying to reach an agreement on water quality and quantity with its southern neighbour, said Bob Bailey, the N.W.T.'s deputy environment minister.

Dehcho, Chipewyan nations call for oilsands moratorium

Last Updated: Wednesday, January 31, 2007 | 12:38 PM CT
CBC News North

Northern First Nations are calling for a halt to further development in Alberta's oilsands, saying the massive industrial growth is hurting their land, their water and their people.

Dehcho First Nations Grand Chief Herb Norwegian told a news conference in Fort McMurray Tuesday the effect of the massive development can be felt downstream along the Mackenzie River system.