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.
The Congo (actually, both Congo-Brazzaville and DR Congo) is supposed to be not only opening up to foreign tar sands development, but trusting people who learned how to carry it out in Canada. They have shown, much like BP, whether tar sands developers can be trusted anywhere.
--M
UN says at least 220 dead in oil explosion in eastern Congo
From the Associated Press
KINSHASA, CONGO —
The Collapsing Western Way of Life
The greatest threat to the Western Way of Life is the Western Way of Life itself.
By John Kozy
Global Research, June 18, 2010
The Age of Enlightenment was born sometime around the beginning of the
eighteenth century. A mere three-quarters of a century later, industrialization
ushered in the Age of Endarkenment, and human life has grown more and more
perilous ever since. The Golden Age of capitalism cannot be recreated merely by
applying the right mixture of spending, subsidies, re-regulation, and
Ignatieff promises B.C. oil-tanker-traffic moratorium
By SCOTT SIMPSON, Vancouver Sun
June 21, 2010
Federal Liberals would formalize a moratorium on crude oil tanker traffic on British Columbia's north coast waters, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff announced on Monday.
Scientist admits defaming oilsands researchers
June 21, 2010
CBC News
A scientist who works for the Alberta government has apologized to two scientists for calling their research "a lie."
Dr. Preston McEachern, an environmental effects biologist who works for the government of Alberta, issued a letter of apology and retraction to Kevin Timoney, a researcher with Treeline Ecological Research, and Peter Lee, executive director with Global Forest Watch Canada.
Gulf oil spill: A hole in the world
Naomi Klein, June 19, 2010
The Deepwater Horizon disaster is not just an industrial accident – it is a violent wound inflicted on the Earth itself. In this special report from the Gulf coast, a leading author and activist shows how it lays bare the hubris at the heart of capitalism
Global Forces Making Vancouver a Major Oil Port
China craves oil sands fuel. Ottawa wants to diversify its US market. So huge amounts of crude will have to pass through a risky Second Narrows.
By Mitchell Anderson,
17 Jun 2010,
TheTyee.ca
Burrard Inlet and Second Narrows bridge
Second Narrows Bridge in Burrard Inlet received highest hazard rating by Coast Guard.
What Happened on the BP Oil Rig?
The facts, now out, are detailed here. The moral reckoning has yet to begin.
By Rex Weyler, TheTyee.ca
June 18 2010
Red flags were ignored.
After the Deepwater well blew out, the first announcement from British Petroleum (BP) assured the public that "we have the best engineers in the world." Then they announced that the damaged well flowed at a rate of "one thousand barrels per day" (b/d).
Estimates now range between 50 and 150 b/d.
How do the "best engineers in the world" get this wrong by two orders of magnitude?
Alberta MP urges Stelmach to safeguard river from oilsands plan
By Trish Audette and Mariam Ibrahim,
Edmonton Journal
June 17, 2010
EDMONTON — A Fort McMurray Conservative MP wants Premier Ed Stelmach to protect a northern Alberta river and send a "clear signal" to the oil industry about safekeeping freshwater sources.
In a two-page letter sent last month, Fort McMurray-Athabasca MP Brian Jean took aim at Nexen Inc.'s plans for the Long Lake oilsands project, which include tapping into the Clearwater River.
BP Gulf Oil Spill No Barrier to $3.8 Billion Refinery Expansion
June 02, 2010
More From Businessweek
By Joe Carroll
June 2 (Bloomberg) -- BP Plc’s $3.8 billion expansion of the largest refinery in the U.S. Midwest won’t be delayed by criminal and regulatory probes into the company’s role in the largest oil spill in the country’s history.
Cuba gets ready for BP oil spill
Cuba is making preparations to protect its coast as the BP oil spill continues spreading through the Gulf of Mexico, Cuban officials said today.
News wires 15 June 2010
They offered few specifics about the preparations, but said Venezuela, Cuba's oil-rich ally, has sent a team of spill-fighting experts to help the communist-run island.
Millions of gallons of oil have gushed into the gulf in the 57-day-old spill and fouled 120 miles (190 kilometres) of US coastline.
