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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From the Athabasca to the Saint Lawrence and the Great Lakes

From the Athabasca to the Saint Lawrence and the Great Lakes:
Events in Montréal, Toronto, Ann Arbor and Chicago.

Montreal Event:
Tar Sands: Stopping the flow of destruction
from the ATHABASCA to the SAINT LAWRENCE
WHEN: Friday March 20, 7pm
WHERE: Room 26, Stephen Leacock Bldg (855 Sherbrooke Ouest)

Toronto Event:
WHEN: Saturday, March 21, 7pm
WHERE: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE)
252 Bloor St. West, Room 5-250

Ann Arbor Event:
Tuesday, March 24. TBA

Chicago Event:
WHEN: Wednesday, March 25. 6:45pm.
WHERE: The Lincoln Park Library Auditorium.

Is this the risk we should take? (Enbridge Gateway)

Is this the risk we should take?
March 18, 2009
Smithers Interior News

On March 24, 1989 the Exxon Valdez began spilling what amounted to approximately 40 million litres of crude oil into Prince William Sound. While the incident ranks well down on the list of the world’s largest oil spills by volume, it is considered one of the most devastating.

As we commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Exxon Valdez, it’s worth looking at the trauma that 40 million litres of misplaced oil can cause, and comparing it to what is being asked of Northern communities today.

Former Fort Chip doctor calls for tar sands slowdown

Former Fort Chip doctor calls for oilsands slowdown
Last Updated: Monday, March 9, 2009
CBC News

Dr. John O'Connor, shown here in Edmonton Sunday, is featured in Downstream, a documentary by American filmmaker Leslie Iwerks. Dr. John O'Connor, shown here in Edmonton Sunday, is featured in Downstream, a documentary by American filmmaker Leslie Iwerks. (CBC)

The doctor who first raised concerns about cancer rates in Fort Chipewyan, Alta., three years ago — and became the target of a professional complaint — said on Sunday he'd do it all again.

Conference to spotlight ground water issues (Keystone)

Conference to spotlight ground water issues
Staff Reports • Argus Leader • March 16, 2009

The South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources will host its 21st annual Environmental and Ground Water Quality Conference on Wednesday and Thursday at the AmericInn Teton Island Conference Center in Fort Pierre.

The conference is free and open to the public. It will feature new technologies and findings in ground water testing and remediation, the latest developments in ground water quality regulation and a forum to exchange ideas on ground water protection and cleanup.

Budget triples for Mackenzie Valley review panel

Budget triples for Mackenzie Valley review panel
SHAWN MCCARTHY AND NATHAN VANDERKLIPPE
March 16, 2009

OTTAWA and CALGARY -- The budget for the panel reviewing the proposed $16-billion Mackenzie Valley Pipeline has nearly tripled amid delays that have frustrated industry and government, an internal federal report says.

The report from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency says the Joint Review Panel's costs have risen to $18-million, from the original budget of $6.8-million when it was established in the summer of 2004.

Double talk on tar sands

Double talk on tar sands
Mar 01, 2009 04:30 AM
Toronto Star

Alberta's tar sands have always been a political hot potato. Now they are being tarred by no less an authority than National Geographic as a blight on the boreal forests and a pox on the planet.

There is something about being featured in foreign publications that captures the attention of Canadians unlike anything else. Now, federal politicians are weighing in with alacrity, if not quite clarity, about the place of the tar sands in Canada's future.

Tarsands are an addiction

Tarsands are an addiction
By SILVER DONALD CAMERON
Sun. Mar 15 - 6:22 AM

THE ALBERTA tarsands, says Andrew Nikiforuk, represent "a nation-changing event" which has made the rest of Canada into "a suburb of Fort McMurray." A distinguished Calgary-based journalist, Nikiforuk was in Nova Scotia in early March to discuss his new book, Tar Sands: Dirty Oil and the Future of a Continent (Greystone, $20).

TransCanada files plans for its second [Keystone] oil pipeline

TransCanada files plans for its second oil pipeline
By Bob Mercer
State Capitol Bureau

PIERRE -- TransCanada Keystone Pipeline company has applied to the state Public Utilities Commission for a permit to construct its second crude-oil pipeline through South Dakota, this time through the sparsely populated ranch country west of the Missouri River.

The Calgary-based company’s construction timetable calls for work to begin in South Dakota in 2011 and service to begin in 2012, with a peak construction work force of up to 1,400 people during the months of May through August of 2011.

Suncor, contractors charged with dumping into Athabasca

Suncor, contractors charged with dumping into Athabasca (article one of two)
JEFF CUMMINGS, METRO EDMONTON
March 11, 2009

Oilsands powerhouse Suncor and two of its contractors have been charged under Alberta’s Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act with 90 counts of dumping poorly treated sewage water into the Athabasca River.

The companies, which were all charged back in February 2008, are also accused of providing misleading and false information to the province for two years at Suncor’s work camp north of Fort McMurray.

Trinidad and Tobago to study tar sands viability

Trinidad and Tobago to study tar sands viability
Curtis Williams
OGJ Correspondent

PORT OF SPAIN, Mar. 10 -- Trinidad and Tobago has awarded a license to Petroleum Co. of Trinidad and Tobago Ltd. to explore tar sands at Parrylands-Guapo fields, which are thought to contain 2 billion bbl of oil. The fields are just south of the La Brea Pitch Lake.