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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Greenwashing the globe

Adrian Parr believes that the sustainability movement has been hijacked

Mark Hopkins
Urban Living
October 15, 2009

Once upon a time, “sustainability” was a buzzword for hippies and
activists, shouted through megaphones with increasing frustration at an
SUV-driving, suburb-loving public. For a while, that uphill battle seemed
more like a downward spiral.

But things have changed: Now, sustainability is everywhere! Laundry
detergent comes in green bottles, leaf-patterns are plastered all over gas

Alberta delays upgrader plans

Alberta delays oil sands upgrader plans

Nathan VanderKlippe

Globe and Mail
Oct. 20, 2009

The Slow Road to Conservation: Northwest Territories Protected Areas Strategy

The Slow Road to Conservation:
Northwest Territories Protected Areas Strategy

from "Offsetting Resistance: The effects of foundation funding from the Great Bear Rainforest to the Athabasca River", a special report by Dru Oja Jay and Macdonald Stainsby. Released September, 2009.

Testimony from Petr Cizek:

EPA Backs Opponents of BP’s Whiting Refinery Expansion Plan

EPA Backs Opponents of BP’s Whiting Refinery Expansion Plan
By Tina Seeley and Paul Burkhardt

Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it has granted part of a petition by environmental groups objecting to BP Plc’s expansion of its Whiting refinery in Indiana.

The EPA said in a statement today that Indiana regulators must re-evaluate the emissions calculations for BP’s plan to expand the facility to refine high-sulfur Canadian crude oil.

Suncor Submits Fort Hills Tar Sands Tailings Plans

This project was originally led by Petro Canada, the official energy supplier to the 2010 Olympic Games, until the entire company was recently bought up by Suncor Energy.

Sadly, industry representatives continue to show their wonderful even handed nature and behaviour towards anyone and anything that may (or, may not) be the slightest bit deviant from their basic line of total production everywhere, at all times, and intimidate and harass those who defy it. As such, the article below was removed from this site after a series of bizarre threats for posting the article.

Offset Promoting Partner of the Canadian Boreal Initiative: Nexen calls for tripling production in Tar Sands.

Nexen says oilsands to triple production
Cities Commit To Cut Emissions

By Dan Healing, Calgary Herald
October 8, 2009

CALGARY - The Alberta oilsands will triple production to three million barrels of oil per day, Marvin Romanow, president and chief executive of Nexen Inc., predicted Thursday, adding he's confident it will happen but is a little hazy on the timeline.

More Fear Mongering in the Tar Sands, Courtesy of G & M.

Protests in oil sands raise anxieties

Oil companies say activists are most at risk, but one security specialist warns the oil patch is a sitting duck for terrorists

NATHAN VANDERKLIPPE

CALGARY — From Monday's Globe and Mail
Published on Monday, Oct. 12, 2009

The parade of Greenpeace protesters marching through the heart of Alberta's oil sands in recent weeks has provided an embarrassing glimpse at the state of the industry's security, says a former special forces operative who has helped safeguard Canada's nuclear plants.

NWT projects to be promoted to the feds

Guy Quenneville
Northern News Services
Published Monday, October 12, 2009

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - In what the GNWT is calling "a big step forward," the NWT Chamber of Commerce has successfully pushed three key NWT infrastructure developments with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, which will now lobby for those projects - as well as reforming the NWT regulatory regime - with the federal government.

Sunoco idles NJ Refinery, plans to expand Philadelphia

Sunoco Announces Strategic Actions to Strengthen Competitive Position; Idles Eagle Point Refinery, Reduces Quarterly Dividend to $0.15 Per Share
Tue Oct 6, 2009 4:01pm EDT
PHILADELPHIA--(Business Wire)--

Sunoco, Inc. (NYSE:SUN) announced today it is indefinitely idling all process
units at its Eagle Point refinery located in Westville, New Jersey in an effort
to reduce losses in its refining business at a time when a recessionary economy,
weak demand for refined products, and increased global refining capacity have

Suncor takes Greenpeace to court

Here's the latest - Suncor is suing Greenpeace for disrupting its
operations last week.

(BTW - it is absolutely outrageous that the reporter (or his editor)
is linking the tar sands actions to the Encana gas pipeline bombings
in this article, with the inference being GP is somehow connected to
the bombings.)

Suncor takes Greenpeace to court - $1.5M lawsuit comes after protest at mine

By Shaun Polczer, Calgary HeraldOctober 9, 2009 9:08 PM

CALGARY - Environmental protesters say they will continue to target