Forests lose more trees and habitat to pipeline “right of way” cuts and tar pit building than to clearcuts. With minor variation, pipelines go the direct route. Through the strip mining of the land that contains tarsand petroleum and through pipeline construction to accomodate, only the Amazon Basin in Brazil would see larger rates of deforestation than the Boreal forest cover surrendered to the tarsands. Roads often accompany pipelines, as do various other developments. Hundreds of thousands of miles of forests, all combined, have been lost to infrastructure built to accommodate tarsands operations. Now the industry wants to build two approximately 1200 km long Mackenzie and Gateway pipelines as well as 2700 km's from Alaska's North Slope to accomodate tarsand oil production.
Here are the other tar-sands pipelines Canada is trying to build
By Bobby Magill on 31 Mar 2015
Climate Central
A decision on whether to allow the Keystone XL pipeline to be built in the U.S. could come at any time, but there are myriad other projects on the table designed to do exactly what Keystone XL was designed to do: transport Canadian tar-sands oil to refineries.
Grassroots Dene people defending the land in northern Saskatchewan
By Scott Neigh
| March 25, 2015
On this week's episode of Talking Radical Radio, I speak with Don Montgrand and Candyce Paul. They are grassroots Dene people living in northern Saskatchewan, and they talk with me about the Northern Dene Trappers Alliance and its efforts to defend the land and to defend the Dene people in the face of companies and governments pushing predatory resource extraction.
Tar sands campaigners are Canada's new 'terrorists'
Pete Dolack
5th March 2015
Canada's 'Anti-Terrorism Bill' proposes a massive increase in the power of security services, writes Pete Dolack - and in the crosshairs are campaigners against a tar sands industry that's intent on releasing 240 billion tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere, and those fighting the pipelines needed to get the heavy crude to market. Who are the real 'extremists'?
With Keystone XL pipeline uncertain, Alberta floats idea of moving tar-sands oil through Alaska
02/10/2015
Officials in the Canadian province of Alberta say they hope to talk to Alaska leaders about shipping tar-sands crude oil through the state as the Keystone XL pipeline route through the Lower 48 remains bogged down in politics.
An Alaska economist said the idea faces many challenges but is possible.
"The desert is full of mirages, but the desert also has water," said Gunnar Knapp, director of the University of Alaska Anchorage's Institute of Social and Economic Research.
Opposition Mounting to Energy East Export Pipeline Even Before TransCanada Files Official Application
OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - May 20, 2014) - Opposition to TransCanada's proposed Energy East pipeline - which would be North America's largest oil pipeline, transporting crude from Alberta east through Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes - is mounting steadily across eastern Canada, even before the company has filed its official project application.
Urgent: Enbridge Line 9 Site has been occupied close to Burlington, Ontario this morning
Krystalline Kraus
| May 20, 2014
Early this morning, anti-tar sands activists are currently blockading the access road to an exposed section of Enbridge’s Line 9 pipeline. They have pledged to remain on site for, “at least twelve hours, one hour for every thousand anomalies Enbridge has reported to exist on the line.”
The blockaders arrived on site at 7:00 am and began to turn Enbridge Oil employees as they began to arrive for their morning shift.
Special Report: A Canadian family's 'Plan B' to pump tar sands oil
Posted: March 27, 2014
"The genesis of this is really the Keystone XL pipeline, and the continuing political obstacles to getting approval for it," said Frank McKenna, former New Brunswick premier, Irving family friend and vocal advocate of the project.
By Richard Valdmanis and Dave Sherwood
Reuters
Canadian group pitches Alaska rail line for oil sands
Posted on February 4, 2014
By Jennifer Canfield
Juneau Empire
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Could a $15 billion railroad project reduce the cost of living in Alaska overnight? Matt Vickers, a lead member in the startup group G7G Railway Corp., thinks it can.
Keystone-Resisting Landowners See Cash Offers Skyrocket
Jan 26, 2014
Huff Post (Canada)
PAGE, Neb. - Cash offers have been skyrocketing, as much as seven-fold, for holdout Nebraska landowners who are willing to sign quickly to allow the Keystone XL pipeline onto their property.
The landowners say they've received written offers from pipeline builder TransCanada Corp. in the last few weeks offering exponentially more money than initially promised, on the condition that they sign soon.
The Oil Pipeline from the Canadian Tar Sands to the Gulf Coast Is Complete
Philip Bump
Jan 22, 2014
Associated Press
Congratulations to the people of TransCanada, Inc., whose long fight to connect the tar-sands-oil-pumping Keystone pipeline to the Gulf Coast of America finally reached fruition on Wednesday. Even without Keystone XL being approved.
