Tar Sands 101
The Tar Sands "Gigaproject" is the largest industrial project in human history and likely also the most destructive. The tar sands mining procedure releases at least three times the CO2 emissions as regular oil production and is slated to become the single largest industrial contributor in North America to Climate Change.
The tar sands are already slated to be the cause of up to the second fastest rate of deforestation on the planet behind the Amazon Rainforest Basin. Currently approved projects will see 3 million barrels of tar sands mock crude produced daily by 2018; for each barrel of oil up to as high as five barrels of water are used.
Human health in many communities has seriously taken a turn for the worse with many causes alleged to be from tar sands production. Tar sands production has led to many serious social issues throughout Alberta, from housing crises to the vast expansion of temporary foreign worker programs that racialize and exploit so-called non-citizens. Infrastructure from pipelines to refineries to super tanker oil traffic on the seas crosses the continent in all directions to allthree major oceans and the Gulf of Mexico.
The mock oil produced primarily is consumed in the United States and helps to subsidize continued wars of aggression against other oil producing nations such as Iraq, Venezuela and Iran.
To understand the tar sands in more depth, continue to our Tar Sands 101 reading list
Investor urges Enbridge to assess risk of delay
Investor urges Enbridge to assess risk of delay
DAVID EBNER
Globe and Mail
March 30, 2009
VANCOUVER — — The prospect that Enbridge Inc. [ENB-T]'s $4-billion Gateway pipeline project, which would connect Alberta's oil sands with lucrative Asian markets, could become mired in disputes with first nations groups has at least one major shareholder demanding a reckoning.
The company is set to bring its Gateway proposal, which has $100-million in backing from 10 companies, oil sands producers in Canada and refiners in Asia, before the National Energy Board in the next three months.
Most attractive leases in the tar sands snapped up
Most attractive leases in the oil sands snapped up
By Carrie Tait, Financial Post
March 27, 2009
CALGARY, Alberta -- In Alberta’s oil sands, an area roughly the size of Florida, the best real estate is off the market.
Kevin Meyers, head of ConocoPhillips Canada, Friday said the most attractive leases in the oil sands have been snapped up, and his company plans to finish projects it has under construction despite spending cuts.
Devon Jackfish worker in coma after skull fractured in accident
Oilsands worker in coma after skull fractured in accident
By Ben Gelinas, edmontonjournal.com
March 29, 2009
EDMONTON — A 19-year-old contractor for Devon Energy is in an induced coma after he was hit in the head with a 2X4 on a construction site about 30 kilometres southeast of Conklin at the company's Jackfish 2 oilsands site.
The man was operating a small ride-on packer, levelling a tank base under construction around 9 a.m. Saturday, when his machine caught a rope used to secure a wooden light-tower nearby.
UTS Energy rejects Total bid
Oil sands firm rejects Total bid
By Dina O'Meara, Calgary Herald
March 27, 2009
Oil sands junior UTS Energy Corp. again publicly rejected an unsolicited bid by Total E&P Canada, Friday labeling the French energy giant's offer as inadequate against a "significant" new oil sands discovery and improved financial environment.
UTS is a minority stakeholder in the $21-billion Fort Hills oilsand project led by Petro-Canada, which this week announced it was merging with Suncor Energy Inc.
People Died at Three Mile Island
March 24, 2009
30 Years and Counting
People Died at Three Mile Island
By HARVEY WASSERMAN
People died--and are still dying--at Three Mile Island.
As the thirtieth anniversary of America's most infamous industrial accident approaches, we mourn the deaths that accompanied the biggest string of lies ever told in US industrial history.
As news of the accident poured into the global media, the public was assured there were no radiation releases.
That quickly proved to be false.
"Separating Deh cho politics from business"
Separating Deh cho politics from business
Roxanna Thompson
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, March 26, 2009
LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - A recent forum held in Fort Simpson is being hailed as the first step in a new chapter of economic and business development in the Deh Cho.
The goal of the forum was to discuss economic development in the Deh Cho and the separation of politics and business within the Dehcho First Nations (DFN), said Cynthia Cardinal James, the chairperson of the Dehcho Economic Corporation.
"It's just in the interest of better business," she said.
Yesterday's fuel, yesterday's deal
Yesterday's fuel, yesterday's deal
The real 'crude' in Suncor's takeover of Petro-Canada — long stripped of its Canada-first credentials — is the push to deliver ever more 20th-century fossil fuels when the world is moving to renewables
GORDON LAXER
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
March 25, 2009
Oil firms have started buying each another again
This is the real nature of what will happen during the economic downturn if we "leave the market devices to take care of things themselves"-- the amalgamation of tar sands operators into the world's largest energy companies only. As capital hurts, the biggest players survive and the medium to smaller players disappear. We must escalate the campaigns while they are teetering or else have a much harder time when the reality of peak oil inevitably drives the price of tar sands bitumen (and oil in general) right back where it all started a year ago.
--M
Well matched
Mar 26th 2009
City councillor wants tar sands halted (Yellowknife)
City councillor wants tar sands halted
Tim Edwards
Northern News Services
Published Friday, March 27, 2009
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - City council appears set to vote in favour of a motion calling on Alberta's government to halt new tar sands development south of the NWT border.
City council will vote on a motion next month which calls on the Alberta government to halt tar sands development until a number of environmental measures have been met.
Tar Sand Demands:
1. Public contingency plans for catastrophic breaches of oil sands tailing ponds.
