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.
Tribal Councils in U.S. and Canada Uniting Against Oil Sands Pipeline
By Elizabeth McGowan at SolveClimate
Thu Oct 7, 2010
Editor's Note: In late September, SolveClimate News reporter Elizabeth McGowan traveled to Nebraska to find out more about the Keystone XL pipeline that TransCanada plans to build to carry crude oil from the tar sands of Alberta to Gulf Coast refineries in Texas. This is the fifth in a series. Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 here.
The money quote is here:
"Although Suzuki expressed surprise at Coutu's overtures, CAPP vice-president Greg Stringham says such meetings between companies and environmentalists happen all the time."
Mercury in eggs downstream from oil sands grows 50 per cent: study
Bob Weber
Edmonton— The Canadian Press
Published Friday, Oct. 01, 2010
A study by Environment Canada indicates levels of toxic mercury in the eggs of water birds downstream from the oil-sands industry seem to have grown by nearly 50 per cent over the last three decades.
The study, one of the few to compare the region's ecosystem before and after its industrial boom, doesn't tie the increased mercury specifically to energy development.
Canada announces oil sands water review panel members
By Stephanie Dearing.
+
Canada's Environment Minister, Jim Prentice, unveiled his picks for the six person review panel he had announced he would set up. The panel is to review all the Alberta oil sands water monitoring information.
Prentice's follow-through on his announcement to form the panel in September caught Alberta off balance, said The Tyee's Andrew Nikiforuk. The federal government of Canada has had a 'hands-off' approach when it comes to the oil sands developments.
Port will be key link in controversial Canadian oil project
By Aaron Corvin
Columbian Staff writer
October 1, 2010
Monday, the Port of Vancouver will display its ability to handle huge, odd-looking international cargo, generating revenue and fulfilling long-term economic-development objectives along the way.
Refinery emissions could pollute our water
Published On Sun Sep 12 2010
David Israelson Special to the Star
As Canadians look with dismay at the aftermath of the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico, it turns out that’s not the only place we need to worry about leaking oil.
What happened in the Gulf has implications for what happens to water in Canada, right here on the Great Lakes. There’s ever-increasing pressure to supply the oil-thirsty U.S. with more product from Alberta’s tar sands.
More birds dying in oil sands than first reported: study
CTV.ca News Staff
Tuesday Sep. 7, 2010
A new report suggests more birds are dying in Alberta's tar sands than the government has let on.
Government industries have estimated that on average, about 65 birds die each year from tailings pond exposure, according to the study released Tuesday. The mean annual rate was determined by analyzing the mortality rate between 2000 and 2007.
Syncrude chairman in Vancouver defends tarsands
Chairman says carbon emissions have been reduced
By Damian Inwood,
The Province
September 10, 2010
Syncrude Canada chairman Marcel Coutu stood before a business-friendly Vancouver lunch crowd and fired a salvo in defence of the Alberta tarsands giant's environmental record.
NASA scientist to testify at Total oilsands hearing
The Canadian Press
Date: Sunday Sep. 19, 2010 10:15 AM ET
One of NASA's top scientists will appear at hearings into a proposed oilsands project to warn about the climate change consequences of approving Total E&P Canada's $2-billion plan to build the Joslyn North mine.
James Hansen, head of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, is slated to testify at public hearings into the proposal, which begin Tuesday in Fort McMurray, Alta.
Ottawa tightens muzzle
Documents reveal scientists need approval from minister's office before speaking with major media - a measure one researcher calls 'Orwellian'
By MARGARET MUNRO, Postmedia News
September 13, 2010
The Harper government has tightened the muzzle on federal scientists, going so far as to control when and what they can say about floods at the end of the last ice age.
