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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The Silence of the North: when the tailings ponds let go....

Ingmar Lee writes:

In the context of all the hot-air being emitted at Copenhagen, I offer this
piece:

I've just read a fantastic piece of historic Canadian literature, (The
Silence of the North) -a memoir by pioneer trappers-wife, Olive A.
Fredrickson, as told to author Ben East. She reminisces from her experiences
in the north of Alberta and BC in the 1920's when all was wild up there. Her
travels in the then wilderness took her all through the area around Fort
McMurray, now the epicentre of the Alberta Tar Sands planetary blight.

Cap and Fade-- James Hansen

Cap and Fade
By JAMES HANSEN
Published: December 6, 2009
New York Times

AT the international climate talks in Copenhagen, President Obama is expected to announce that the United States wants to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to about 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050. But at the heart of his plan is cap and trade, a market-based approach that has been widely praised but does little to slow global warming or reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. It merely allows polluters and Wall Street traders to fleece the public out of billions of dollars.

Keystone Pipeline made an impact (Nebraska)

Pipeline made an impact
December 7, 2009
By Greg Wees
WORLD-HERALD NEWS SERVICE

NORFOLK, Neb. — Crews who spent the summer here building part of one of the longest crude oil pipelines ever constructed have pulled up stakes.

It won’t be long before oil starts filling the 2,148-mile Keystone Pipeline.

“We expect to start to fill the line with oil this year. The fill process will take several months to complete,” said Jeff Rauh, a spokesman for pipeline owner TransCanada.

Toxic chemical levels higher in water downstream of Alberta tar sands plants

Toxic chemical levels higher in water downstream of Alberta oilsands plants

[This photo shows how at least one company is bulldozing right to the Athabasca River's edge.
Photograph by: Erin Kelly, University of Alberta , edmontonjournal.com]

By Hanneke Brooymans, edmontonjournal.com
December 7, 2009

EDMONTON — Levels of toxic chemicals in the Athabasca watershed are up to 50 times higher downstream of oilsands development, a new University of Alberta study has found.

Suncor planning to grow tar sands business

Suncor planning to grow oilsands business
By MARKUS ERMISCH, SUN MEDIA
Last Updated: 3rd December 2009

Investors need not fear Suncor Energy is moving away from being an oilsands-dominated company after merging with Petro-Canada, an executive told an energy conference in Miami yesterday.

Prior to its merger with Petro-Canada, Suncor's business consisted of 80% oilsands and 20% of what John Rogers called "other stuff," such as natural gas and downstream operations.

Statoil chief discusses priorities in his first Canadian interview

Lars Christian Bacher: Statoil's oil sands pragmatist

Statoil chief discusses priorities in his first Canadian interview

Nathan Vanderklippe

CALGARY —
Globe and Mail
Saturday, Dec. 05, 2009

When Statoil ASA brought Lars Christian Bacher to Calgary, the company named him president of its Canadian operations and gave him a mandate to get bitumen out of the oil sands - and, when that's done, think about getting more of the land around Fort McMurray into the portfolio.

Enbridge Gateway Pipeline review draws criticism

Pipeline review draws criticism
Environmentalists say scope of hearings is too narrow
By Judith Lavoie, Times Colonist
December 5, 2009

Federal terms of reference for assessing the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline brought instant condemnation from environmental groups yesterday.

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and the National Energy Board announced they will hold open forums on the pipeline, which would run from the Alberta oilsands to a port at Kitimat.

Suncor to sell Shell gas in Colorado

April 09, 2009 - DENVER -- Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc. reached a marketing agreement with Shell Oil Products U.S., allowing Suncor to sell Shell-branded gasoline in Colorado, the Denver Business Journal reported.

Suncor Energy (U.S.A.)—the Denver-based U.S. unit of Calgary, Alberta-based Suncor Energy Inc., which recently agreed to merge with
Petro-Canada—currently has an agreement to sell Phillips 66-brand gas in Colorado, which expires in July 2013, according to the report. Terms of the deal were not announced.

'EnCana bomber' has quit: locals

Last Updated: Wednesday, December 2, 2009
CBC News

A 1.8-metre-wide crater left after an explosion in October 2008, about 50 kilometres east of Dawson Creek in northern B.C.A 1.8-metre-wide crater left after an explosion in October 2008, about 50 kilometres east of Dawson Creek in northern B.C. (RCMP)After five months of quiet, people in northeastern B.C. seem to believe the so-called "EnCana bomber" won't strike again.

Clay County commissioners reach impasse on Keystone crossing fees

Pipelines International, December 01, 2009

Commissioners from Clay County in Kansas, United States of America, have instructed the County Highway Department to refrain from issuing any road crossing permits required to construct TransCanada’s Keystone Pipeline until the issue of road crossing fees has been resolved.

Clay County has proposed a “road crossing fee” of $US1,500 for each road crossed by the Keystone Pipeline in their county.