Oil Sands Truth: Shut Down the Tar Sands

Social Impacts

Social Impacts. Overnight injections of migrant workers will not build healthy communities and can have severely adverse impacts on existing communities, especially those of indigenous nations on their traditional lands. Such development brings vices and long term displacement too often. Drugs, alcohol and associated violence spreads. Hunting becomes difficult when the land is threatened, leading to a further loss of culture and tradition. In towns like Fort McMurray there is no planning for the future, but merely consumption in the present. However transient the individuals may be, the populations will not leave, as “development” takes on a logic all its own. All levels of run away development are subordinate to that development, not social need.

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Tar Sands: Royal Dutch Shell's Self-Described Most Profitable Oil

Shell rakes in profits from Canadian tar-sands unit: Times of London
By London Bureau
Last Update: 6:31 AM ET Jul 27, 2007
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/shell-rakes-profits-canadian-oil-s...

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The world's dirtiest oil is producing the highest profit per barrel for Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA.LN), which yesterday said it would begin to report the earnings of its controversial Canadian oil sands operations as a separate business unit, the Times of London reports Friday.

Alberta building unions threaten tar sands strike

Alberta building unions threaten oil sands strike
Tue Jul 24, 2007 1:27 PM EDT

By Scott Haggett

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Five Alberta construction unions have voted in favor of their first strike in a quarter of a century as they seek higher wages and improved working conditions at a slate of multibillion-dollar oil sands projects.

Electricians, boilermakers, plumbers and pipefitters, millwrights, and refrigeration mechanics have approved a strike and 72-hour notice could be served as soon as Wednesday, though a quick walk-off is not yet certain, an analyst said.

Premier Not Safe From Tar Sands Justice!

EDMONTON SUN

By NICKI THOMAS, SPECIAL TO SUN MEDIA

A heavily guarded Ed Stelmach served pancakes to a crowd of early risers at yesterday's Premier's Capital Ex Breakfast.

Two weeks after an attempted pie attack at the Calgary Stampede, a beefed-up security team ensured a similar incident wasn't possible.

Plainclothes security staff as well as bicycle cops and uniformed sheriffs kept an eye on the crowd as Stelmach shook hands and spoke with visitors.

$100 Oil Price May Be Months Away, Say CIBC, Goldman

$100 Oil Price May Be Months Away, Say CIBC, Goldman (Update1)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aYjwn7IqTlHQ&refer=home
By Mark Shenk

July 23 (Bloomberg) -- The $100-a-barrel oil that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said would prevail by 2009 may be only a few months away.

Not enough Labour, Building entire Towns in the Tar Pits

Labour Pool Will Continue To Be Stretched As More Projects Come On Board
By Paul Wells //July 23 2007
http://www.dobmagazine.nickles.com/article.asp?article=%5Cdob%5C070723%5...

The shear volume and complexity of large-scale projects planned or occurring in the oilsands combined with booming construction in other sectors in Alberta will only increase the strain on an already stretched labour pool, PennWell Corporation's oil sands and heavy oil technologies conference heard last week.

Caterpillar Making Great Profits on Tar Sands

Caterpillar's forecast good for names like Churchill and Finning
http://communities.canada.com/nationalpost/blogs/tradingdesk/archive/200...

Weakness in North American construction markets may have driven a weaker-than-expected second quarter at Caterpillar Inc. (CAT/NYSE), but the heavy equipment maker’s positive demand outlook for its products in Canada may bode well for infrastructure companies north of the border.

Alberta Clipper pipeline will endanger Canadian jobs: energy workers‘ union

Jul 25, 2007 11:27:00 AM MST
Alberta Clipper pipeline will endanger Canadian jobs: energy workers‘ union (Alberta-Clipper)

http://www.oilweek.com/news.asp?ID=10358

OTTAWA (CP) _ Canada‘s largest union of energy workers has filed for intervener status in National Energy Board hearings into Enbridge Inc.‘s Alberta Clipper oil pipeline project application, aiming to block the export of jobs and raw resources.

25,000 Alberta tradespeople poised for strike; 95% in favour of Job Action

25,000 Alberta tradespeople poised for strike
Last Updated: Monday, July 23, 2007 | 12:20 PM MT
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2007/07/23/trades-vote.html

Alberta tradespeople in five unions have voted 95 per cent in favour of taking strike action, a move that threatens to bring the province's construction industry to a halt as early as the end of the week.

"Energy Alberta's nuclear maverick revamping power plant application"

Energy Alberta's nuclear maverick revamping power plant application
http://www.brandonsun.com/story.php?story_id=63520
Canadian Press, July 20, 2007

CALGARY (CP) - The head of Energy Alberta Corp., an upstart western company pushing nuclear power in the Prairies, isn't taking the summer off, as planned.

Instead, Wayne Henuset is revamping a site application to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission from his office in the suburbs of southeast Calgary.

Conoco to use Keystone and Alberta Clipper to transport Tar Sands Crude to the Gulf

Conoco has big plans for oil sands
Third-largest U.S. oil firm is willing to pay billions to pump Alberta crude to Gulf Coast refineries
SHAWN MCCARTHY
July 20, 2007
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070720.RCONOCO20/TPSt...

ConocoPhillips Co. is prepared to spend billions of dollars on pipelines and refinery upgrades to allow it to process oil sands crude throughout its refinery network stretching to the U.S. Gulf Coast, company chairman Jim Mulva said yesterday.