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.
For T&T oil sands, talks before threats
Trinidad Express Editorial
Apr 23, 2012
As an international caucus [sic] of environmentalists zeroed in on Trinidad and Tobago's oil sands prospects, activist Wayne Kublalsingh, leader in an aggressive campaign to reroute part of the Point Fortin highway, unmistakably threw down another gauntlet. He actually warned on Sunday that "if the Government were to proceed (with oil sands) they will fall."
Stephen Harper's Farcical, Cowardly and Insulting Hearings
Dirty Oil Comes to Bella Bella
by INGMAR LEE
April 3, 2012
Vancouver Island.
I was demonstrating along the Bella Bella airport road with my family when Canada’s “National Energy Board Joint Revue Panel” entourage arrived in the Heiltsuk First Nation’s village yesterday. Bella Bella is situated on BC’s primaeval and pristine Central Coast, at the heart of the ‘Great Bear Rainforest.’
Protesters staged a noisy rally, opposing oil pipelines, in Vancouver today.
CKNW News Talk 980 (Vancouver)
Charmaine de Silva |
3/26/2012
Whether its Enbridge's Gateway pipeline or the Keystone XL, around 1000 people opposing the expansion of oil pipelines took part in a noon-hour rally at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
"We need to stop oil tanker expansion on British Columbia's beautiful coast." that is an example of what at least one speaker had to say to the crowd.
Eesti Energia considers Serbia's oil shale project
Juhan Tere, BC, Tallinn, 21.03.2012.
Estonian energy operator Eesti Energia, the biggest Baltic utility, may take part in Serbia's planned oil-shale project, Blic news site's report was quoted by Bloomberg, citing a company director.
Serbia has announced plans to tap an estimated two billion tons of shale reserves in the country's south and Eesti Energia is interested in providing the technology, according to the report quoting Priit Raid, a director for business development at Enefit Technology.
Rifle City Council weighs changes to BLM oil shale plan
Rifle government appears to favor leasing fewer acres in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming
Nelson Harvey
Special to the Citizen Telegram
Rifle, Colorado CO
The Rifle City Council appears ready to endorse a revised plan for oil shale and tar sands development on public lands that would open far fewer acres for leasing than the current plan, adopted in 2008 by the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Israel Capable of Producing 250 Billion Barrels of Oil
"Our company has mapped over 250 billion barrels of recoverable oil in Israel," says Dr. Harold Vinegar of Israel Energy Initiative Ltd.
By Ben Bresky
First Publish: 3/20/2012
Dr. Harold Vinegar of Israel Energy Initiative Ltd. in Jerusalem is optimistic about Israel's potential in the oil industry. He spoke to Israel National Radio's Goldstein on Gelt show with Douglas Goldstein about energy independence and the "black gold" that is underfoot.
A cautionary pipeline tale for B.C. from N.W.T.
Financial Post
Claudia Cattaneo Mar 15, 2012
First Nations members from B.C. protest against Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway oil pipeline in Calgary last May. David Ramsay, the Northwest Territories’ Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, advises British Columbia to find a balance between development and the environment.
While Canadians seem more concerned than ever about the costs and risks of pipelines, the Far North is feeling the pain of not having one.
Upton: Keystone Pipeline not dead
March 14, 2012
U.S. Rep. Fred Upton says the Keystone Pipeline issue is not dead.
That’s what he told the Berrien County Manufacturer’s Council at its annual meeting Wednesday.
The pipeline project is being included as an amendment in a Republican highway funding bill. It couldn’t pass the Senate in a vote last week, getting 56 of the necessary 60 votes, Upton said.
Enbridge, Enterprise to double Seaway oil pipeline
Todd Korol Reuters
March 27, 2012|
Orlando Sentinel
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Enbridge Inc and Enterprise Products Partners LP will more than double capacity of the Seaway Pipeline and expand another line from Illinois to ship more crude oil out of the glutted U.S. Midwest.
The companies said late on Monday they will invest more than $2 billion in expanding the U.S. pipeline network after securing sufficient customer commitments for shipping a growing surplus of crude in the U.S. Midwest to refiners along the Gulf Coast.
Term 'oilsands' can't hide that bitumen is tar
By Steven Hill, The Daily News March 29, 2012
Here's an illustration of the "la-la world" of the Stephen Harper government, where lies, if spoken often enough and loudly enough, eventually acquire an aura of truth.
It is now politically incorrect to refer to the "Alberta Tar Sands." They have somehow, perhaps magically, become the "Alberta Oil Sands."
However, both the Keystone XL and the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipelines are designed to transport bitumen, which is colloquially referred to as tar.
