Oil Sands Truth: Shut Down the Tar Sands

Water

Water is needed in huge amounts in tarsands production and in all other construction stages of tarsands infrastructure across the continent. It takes five litres of water to produce one of usable petrol. There is also water used to move gas, build new tar pits or that water which becomes polluted in the outlying areas. Waste tailings ponds are so vast as to be visible from outer space at this early point in production. Water is now being privatized in slow motion, as “access rights” are available in Alberta. As production grows and climate change continues to parch southern Albertan land, more and more water will be needed to help supply fuel for the American market. This water will ultimately be diverted from rivers, lakes, farms and cities throughout Canada; the water levels in the Athabasca River have already dropped several meters. The Deh Cho/Mackenzie River is already threatened, both from development along its valley and it is downstream from tar sands operations. A generation ago, the Athabasca River was clear and drinking was common. Now, those that live with the river consider it poison and off-limits.

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Jordan inks $1.8-bn oil [strip mining] shale deal with British firm

Jordan inks $1.8-bn oil shale deal with British firm
2011-03-09 23:10:00

Amman, March 9 (DPA) The Jordanian government Wednesday signed a $1.8 billion concession agreement with the Karak International Oil (KIO), a subsidiary of Britain's Jordan Energy and Mining Ltd, for the production of crude from Jordanian oil shale deposits.

A signatory to the agreement is also Polysuis AG, a subsidiary of Thyssenkrupp Group of Germany, which will prepare the designs, and install and maintain the equipment for the project.

Green groups call for more review of [Keystone XL] pipeline

Green groups call for more review of pipeline

By JAMES MacPHERSON
More from BusinessWeek
March 3, 2011
BISMARCK, N.D.

The U.S. government must evaluate the additional impacts of allowing domestic crude on a proposed pipeline designed to carry Canadian tar sands oil to refineries along the Gulf Coast, a coalition of environmental groups has said.

B.C. may face unprecedented native unrest if rights ignored

TEX ENEMARK,
VANCOUVER SUN
MARCH 3, 2011

In an article in The Sun Feb. 14, ("The Skeetchestn say enough already"),
Rich Deneault, the Skeetchestn Band chief served notice that the way
business and governments ride roughshod over native rights in British
Columbia has to come to an end, or face the consequences, which may not be
pretty.

He says, very bluntly, "In the days ahead, those companies and agencies
that have not acted honourably will be receiving letters from us, advising

Government of Trinidad and Tobago are now hawking tar sands...

The government of T&T is now openly pushing the expansion of Tar Sands bitumen extraction to include their small island. The link below is to a pamphlet put out only a couple of weeks back. Anyone who knows people in T&T should immediately raise the alarm as to what is actually taking place, and not allow this development-- the most destructive in the world-- from entering through the backdoor on this spectacular island.

http://www.energy.gov.tt/content/244.pdf

Suncor, Syncrude face new regulations

Suncor, Syncrude face new regulations
CARRIE TAIT
CALGARY— Globe and Mail Update
Published Tuesday, Mar. 01, 2011

The Alberta government is on the verge of rewriting rules governing oil sands reclamation, changes that target the two largest players in northern Alberta as well as any new mines.

Keystone’s tar sands pipeline concerns environmentalists

Keystone’s tar sands pipeline concerns environmentalists
2011-03-02 /
The Cherokeean Herald

TransCanada’s Keystone Pipeline System is being heralded as one of the largest infrastructure projects ever undertaken by the United States and Canada – four times the length of the Alaska pipeline.

The 2,151-mile pipeline already connects Hardisty, Can. with Cushing, Ok. Lying in the path of the Keystone Gulf Coast Extension (Keystone XL) from Cushing, Ok. to Port Arthur is Cherokee County.

NDP says funding of tar sands land reclamation is too little for the job

Funds to reclaim oilsands land fall short: NDP
Not enough security, warns auditor general

By Jason Fekete, Calgary Herald March 1, 2011

Leaked documents show the Alberta government will collect $400 million less from energy producers over the next nine years for oilsands reclamation, the NDP charges, despite the auditor general warning the province is financially at risk.

Disaster Capitalism at the Local Level: Tar Sands to Toledo

Disaster Capitalism at the Local Level
Tar Sands to Toledo
Weekend edition,
February 25 - 26, 2011
By TRUDY BOND

"I am extremely pleased with the announcement that BP has given the green light for the Sunrise project in Alberta."

-- Ohio Democratic Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur

Environmental groups urge regulations on 'tar sands' crude oil type that spilled into Kalamazoo River

Environmental groups urge regulations on 'tar sands' crude oil type that spilled into Kalamazoo River
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
Chris Killian | Special to the Kalamazoo Gazette

BATTLE CREEK — Sometime this year, Congress will begin work to reauthorize funding to monitor and regulate the nation's 2.3-million mile network of hazardous liquids pipelines.

Madagascar Oil standoff with island government continues (corporate report)

[For background to this story, check here:
http://www.mediacoop.ca/story/devastation-madagascar/5524 ]

Madagascar Oil standoff with island government continues
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
by Andre Lamberti

Madagascar Oil’s standoff with the government is still continuing and the group said it remains extremely concerned by the delays that have been incurred since the initial meeting on December 16 2010 in which the island’s Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons (MMH) said it was interested in buying the company's licences.

The stock remains suspended at 75 pence.