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
"Obama's win signals a larger role for Canada in managing North America"
Warning: Barbara Yaffe is the author.
--M
Obama's win signals a larger role for Canada in managing North America
Barbara Yaffe, Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Tuesday's historic changing of the guard in Washington D.C., sets the stage for a realignment of the world's closest bilateral relationship.
During his campaign, Barack Obama pledged to lead a more diplomatic and multilateralist U.S. Which suggests Americans may consult Canada more often on foreign and continental policy.
Obama win could upset tar sands: Expert
Obama win could upset oilsands: Expert
NEIL MACKINNON /METRO CALGARY
November 05, 2008 05:06
AnswerTips-enabled
A Barack Obama presidency may hold some environmental trouble for Alberta’s energy dependent economy, says the University of Calgary’s Institute for United States Policy research director.
Stephen Randall said with Obama in power, a pipeline running from Alaska through Alberta to the States might not go ahead, causing an economic ripple throughout the province.
Canada quietly adjusts to Obama's agenda
Clip from below:
And a Canadian leak that weakened the credibility of Mr. Obama's position on NAFTA in rust-belt states created a political headache, although Ms. Greenwood bets it is forgotten. She said that Canada already has a card it can play to make its interests relevant to Mr. Obama, by selling itself as the solution to a U.S. "obsession" with energy security.
The word on 'dirty 'oil
The word on 'dirty' oil
Authors take critical look at oilsands;
Eric Volmers, Calgary Herald
Published: Sunday, November 02, 2008
Andrew Nikiforuk may feel let down by the various vanguards of Canada's establishment -- our government, our media, our industry.
But the journalist and author acknowledges Canada can be a relatively benign place to operate if you're a pot-stirring writer looking to topple apple carts and criticize what has been, up until recently, a bit of a sacred cow in his home province.
"Finding room for Canada"
Finding room for Canada
PM faces an uphill battle to gain the next president's ear, experts say
By CHRISTINA SPENCER, NATIONAL BUREAU
Imagine what it was like to be the American president in the year 2000.
The U.S. was not at war. It boasted a hefty budget surplus. Markets were stable and the average price of crude was under $30 US. The environment wasn't a political priority. Sept. 11 held no special significance.
Now, imagine the hailstorm of crises facing whichever man is elected president of the U.S. on Tuesday.
Ft. Chip residents, activists protest tar sands intrusion
Ft. Chip residents, activists protest oilsands intrusion
Clara Ho, The Edmonton Journal
Published: 12:00 am
Mike Mercredi is ready to fight what he calls the "slow industrial genocide" that oil companies are waging on the people in his hometown of Fort Chipewyan.
Last year there were over 20 deaths in the community of 1,200 people. Many were cancer-related deaths, which Mercredi said are linked to the oilsands activities in nearby Fort McMurray.
"Let's put a lid on it and slow things down," he said. "The graveyard is getting full."
French oil giant Total mulls exploiting Congo tar sands
French oil giant mulls exploiting Congo tar sands
October 28, 2008
BRAZZAVILLE (AFP) — French oil company Total said Tuesday that it was considering exploiting tar sands in the west central African country of Congo, where it is the chief oil and gas producer.
"In the future, there are things to do in oil and gas, and -- why not? -- tar sands," the company's director of sustainable development and the environment Jean Michel Gires told the 6th annual World Sustainable Development Forum (WSDF) meeting in Brazzaville.
Ethical Funds Company calls for pause in tar sands development
Ethical Funds Company calls for pause in tar sands development
By Travis Lupick
A “heady mix of litigious, liability, regulatory, and reputational risks” are in store for any company involved in Alberta oil sands development, a new report warns.
Imperial profit surges on higher oil, gas prices
CALGARY, Alberta, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Imperial Oil Ltd's (IMO.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) third-quarter profit surged 70 percent as crude prices hit records before the world financial crisis led to a steep drop, Canada's largest oil producer and refiner said on Thursday.
Imperial, which is majority owned by U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), earned a company-high C$1.4 billion ($1.1 billion), or C$1.57 a share, in the quarter, up from year-earlier C$816 million, or 88 Canadian cents a share.
Funding uncertain from major shippers on Keystone pipeline
Oil sands-carrier pipeline may be delayed
Funding uncertain from major shippers on Keystone pipeline
By Tom Stundza -- Purchasing, 10/29/2008 9:42:00 AM
Uncertainty over the pace of oil sands development could delay the construction of a major pipeline that will connect Canada’s Alberta province to the U.S. Gulf Coast, potentially slowing the flow of bitumen to an untapped refining market. The key utility is worried about the level of funding from protential major shippers on the pipeline.
