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
Enbridge brings "experts" to Burns Lake to "inform" locals
Enbridge brings experts to Burns Lake to inform locals
Published: November 25, 2008 11:00 PM
Enbridge held an open house on Nov. 17 at College of New Caledonia (CNC) as part of its efforts to let the public know what is going on with its Northern Gateway pipeline project.
Several dozen people attended the open house, which was held from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm to allow people flexibility in attending the information session, and a dozen Northern Gateway engineers, environmental experts, and communications people were on hand to answer people’s questions.
TransCanada shores up liquidity for Keystone
TransCanada shores up liquidity for Keystone
Reuters
Published: Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Despite uncertain markets, Trans-Canada Corp. closed its second big stock offering of the year Tuesday and secured a $950-million credit facility as it moved to shore up its balance sheet to cover the cost of building the $5.2-billion Keystone pipeline.
Native Rights Concerns Cloud 2010 Games
CANADA: Native Rights Concerns Cloud 2010 Games
By Jon Elmer
VANCOUVER, Dec 1 (IPS) - A coalition of indigenous elders, social
justice activists and community organisers is voicing opposition to
the upcoming Winter Olympics, promising to continue their protests up
to and throughout the 2010 games.
Taking advantage of a three-day media briefing hosted by the official
Olympic body in late November, the Vancouver Organising Committee
(VANOC), activists and native representatives invited the local and
Did peak oil go away? No
Did peak oil go away? No
By Tim Stevenson
Saturday, November 29 // Brattleboro Reformer
ATHENS -- With the price of oil plummeting below $50 a barrel, shedding close to $100 since July, and commensurate readings appearing at the gas pump, people have something to feel good about during an otherwise dismal economic time. Unfortunately, it may mislead the less informed to dismiss warnings about imminent peak oil as so much Y2K false alarm.
Shell moves to slow Carmon Creek Project (Near Peace River)
Shell moves to slow Canadian oil sands project
Thu Nov 27, 2008 12:57pm EST
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L: Quote) is delaying another Canadian oil sands project, saying on Thursday it has withdrawn a regulatory application for its 100,000 barrel per day Carmon Creek thermal project as it looks to shave costs by revamping the project.
Harper asks Obama to ignore tar sand devestation
Harper asks Obama to ignore oilsand devestation
But can we blame him?
Jackie Grom // Dec 1, 2008
Science and Technology Writer
Bush Quietly Passes Dozens of New (anti-Earth) Rules
Bush Quietly Passes Dozens of New Rules
Stephen Leahy
UXBRIDGE, Canada, 1 Dec (IPS) - As the world community meets in Poland
this week to find solutions to the climate crisis, the George W. Bush
White House is chaining the United States' tiller to prevent a change
of course by President-elect Barack Obama by passing new anti-
environmental rules and regulations at a furious pace.
Nearly a million hectares of public wildlands in Wyoming and Utah are
being opened up to oil shale extraction, the Endangered Species Act is
Commercial ship travels through Northwest Passage for first time
Commercial ship travels through Northwest Passage for first time
The Canadian Press
November 28, 2008 at 8:14 PM EST
GJOA HAVEN, Nunavut — CBC News is reporting that a commercial ship has travelled for the first time through the Northwest Passage this fall to deliver supplies to communities in western Nunavut.
The broadcaster says the Canadian Coast Guard says the MV Camilla Desgagnes, owned by Desgagnes Transarctik Inc., transported cargo to the hamlets of Cambridge Bay, Kugluktuk, Gjoa Haven and Taloyoak from Montreal in September.
"Slow Industrial Genocide" -- talk by Mike Mercredi
From Dominion Radio:
» Listen to "Slow Industrial Genocide"
» Subscribe to a podcast of Dominion Radio
Shutting down the tar sands-- audio interview with Petr Cizek
http://www.radio4all.net:8080/files/redeye@coopradio.org/91-1-shutting_d...
Program Podcast: Redeye - Co-op Radio: Shutting down the tar sands
Podcast for Program: Shutting down the tar sands
In series: Redeye - Co-op Radio
The Alberta tar sands cover a vast area of huge open pits and tailings ponds.
The environmental consequences are enormous and make a mockery of
any Canadian attempt to reduce carbon emissions under the Kyoto
Protocol. Petr Cizek is a land use planner and author. He says that a
