Land, regardless of whether covered by forests, tundra or grasslands, is threatened by mining operations such as Alberta’s vast open tar pit operations, or through incredible networks of “right of way” cuts for pipelines that extend in the hundreds of thousands of miles, all told, and across the continent in four directions and to three oceans—either through feeding the tarsand operations with fossil fuel energy or through feeding energy markets from tarsand operations after production. In the case of pipeline right of ways, they can blast directly through mountains or be buried in permafrost if needed, to get the energy to move.
House GOP Pushing Dirtiest Fuel on Planet, Oil Shale (Much Worse than Tar Sands)
By Zachary Shahan On February 3, 2012
Oh my, they just can’t stop. The House GOP seems dead set on destroying the country and destroying the planet. Here’s the latest, via Climate Progress, on its push to develop the dirtiest fuel on the planet (you thought tar sands were bad?!):
by Joe Romm
US proposes scaling back onshore leasing for oil shale, oil sands
Washington (Platts)--
3 Feb 2012
The US is proposing to dramatically scale back the acreage set aside for oil shale and oil sands development in three western states, the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management said Friday.
The BLM said it had reconsidered a Bush-era plan that made 2 million acres available for commercial leasing for the still experimental techniques for extracting kerogen, a precursor to crude oil, and to develop oil sands containing bitumen.
How First Nations Are Gearing Up for Legal Battle Against Gateway
Native groups likely to cite evidence they weren't consulted as required by Supreme Court decisions.
By Geoff Dembicki, Jan 30 2012
TheTyee.ca
On Sept. 28, 2011, Enbridge appears to have made an extraordinary offer of peace to several of its most dedicated opponents.
Federal documents spark outcry by oil sands critics
nathan vanderklippe
Globe and Mail
Jan. 27, 2012
Critics are attacking Ottawa’s energy strategy after internal documents shed new light on the extent of federal efforts to advocate for the oil sands industry.
University of Utah professor warns tar sands process could taint water
By brandon loomis
The Salt Lake Tribune
Jan 23 2012
The citrus-based chemical that a Canadian company plans to use to strip oil from eastern Utah tar sands will leave tailings that could leach cancer-causing compounds into the groundwater, a University of Utah scientist warns.
![Map shows Trans Mountain's existing pipe and possible twinning expansion. The Anchor project (red) was completed three years ago, while twinning from Darfield to Kamloops and from Hinton to Edson was done many years before that. [Kinder Morgan graphic]](http://oilsandstruth.org/sites/oilsandstruth.org/files/78996clearwaterTransMtnMap.jpg "Map shows Trans Mountain's existing pipe and possible twinning expansion. The Anchor project (red) was completed three years ago, while twinning from Darfield to Kamloops and from Hinton to Edson was done many years before that. [Kinder Morgan graphic]")
Kinder Morgan investigates twinning Trans Mountain pipeline
By Keith McNeill - Clearwater Times
Published: January 23, 2012 10:00 AM
Many local residents have been following the hearings that recently began to look into the proposed Enbridge Gateway pipeline from Alberta to Kitimat.
Ottawa plays down oil sands document
David Ljunggren - The Globe and Mail
January 26, 2012
The federal government disassociated itself on Thursday from an embarrassing official policy paper that said the country’s independent energy regulator, now studying a controversial oil pipeline, is in fact a government ally.
Critics have long charged the right-of-centre Conservative government is trying to pressure the regulator – the National Energy Board (NEB) – to approve Enbridge Inc. ’s plan to build a pipeline from the Alberta oil sands to the Pacific Coast.
With the Keystone Pipeline Stalled, Canada Turns to China
Rachel Glickhouse
www.as-coa.org
January 19, 2012
Canada plans to expand oil shipments from Alberta to British Columbia, in order to increase trade with Asia.(AP Photo)
Saudi Arabia. Nigeria. Venezuela. Canada?
Is our neighbor to the north becoming a jingoistic petro-state?
By Will Oremus|Posted Friday, Jan. 20, 2012
Slate.com
How Enbridge Sawed Off Good Relations with BC First Nations
Killing Haisla's sacred trees just one way firm has undercut dealings with aboriginals on Pacific Gateway route.
By Geoff Dembicki, 16 Jan 2012, TheTyee.ca
More than five years ago, in a patch of coastal rainforest not far from the mouth of the Kitimat River, what was supposed to have been a quiet land survey turned into a public relations nightmare.
