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
Pilot makes comment to passengers about tar sands
Pilot makes comment to passengers about tar sands.
American Airlines says it is looking into allegations against one of its pilots.
Bradley Everett was shocked with comments the pilot made on his American Airlines flight.
Updated: Thu Aug. 26 2010
ctv calgary
A Calgary couple is outraged after a comment an American Airlines pilot allegedly made over the intercom when they landed in Calgary.
The Republican Who Dared Tell the Truth About Oil
The Republican Who Dared Tell the Truth About Oil
Matt Simmons understood the wages of addiction and wasn't afraid to sound warnings, even to George W. Bush.
By Andrew Nikiforuk, Today, TheTyee.ca
"A call to arms may be wrong. We may not even know who the enemy is. And maybe the enemy is us." -- Matt Simmons
Kyoto's Carbon Offsetting Moves from Tragedy to Farce
Huffington Post
Posted: August 25, 2010 03:42 PM
Patrick McCully
Kyoto's Carbon Offsetting Moves from Tragedy to Farce
The Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has long been known to be a honey pot of carbon credit income for cheating project developers. But a recent investigation commissioned by German NGO CDMWatch shows that the problem is even worse than many critics had feared.
Permits revoked for oversized shipments through Idaho
Permits revoked for oversized shipments through ID
(AP) – August 25, 2010
LEWISTON, Idaho — A judge on Tuesday revoked special permits allowing a company to truck four oversized loads of oil refinery equipment through a federally protected river corridor, saying the state failed to address public concerns.
Second District Judge John Bradbury ordered the Idaho Transportation Department to review the request from ConocoPhillips again and to take action to ensure the safety and convenience of the public.
Tar Sands Discovered in Greenland/ Kalaallit Nunaat?
British oil company's Arctic find fuels hope of huge new reserves
By Daily Mail Reporter
25th August 2010
The Arctic is set to become the world's last dash for oil after a British energy company reported a discovery off the coast of Greenland.
Cairn Energy said it had found oil and gas bearing sands in one of its exploration wells, indicting there was an ‘active hydrocarbon system’ there.
The Edinburgh-based company is drilling in a basin the size of the North Sea, meaning the find is potentially of enormous significance.
Canada Insists Oil-Rich Tar Sands Are Sustainable
Canada Insists Oil-Rich Tar Sands Are Sustainable
By Leon Kaye | August 25th, 2010
Triple Pundit
Some of Canada’s most stunning natural beauty is in the prosperous province of Alberta. Walk through downtown Calgary and you get the vibe that it is the true economic center of Canada. Banff and Jasper National Parks boast incredible scenery and awe-inspiring wildlife. About 275 miles and a nine-hour drive away, the landscape changes, and displays the driver behind Alberta’s economic success.
"Saving the Oil Sands"
Of the three supposed most incorrect statements listed here in this Tait article, I would assume that since the 3rd one is word for word lifted off of the front page of OilSandsTruth.org it deserves response.
However, since it is clearly designed to mock the tar sands critics, and to do so with the most far reaching split hairs, let us take up the first two points she critiques:
Sentencing of Syncrude Canada in dead ducks trial delayed
Breaking Environmental News
The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION
Sentencing of Syncrude Canada in oilsands-dead ducks trial put over to Oct. 22.
By: The Canadian Press
Posted: 20/08/2010
ST. ALBERT, Alta. - Syncrude Canada will have to wait longer to hear what sentence it will face after being found guilty earlier this summer in the oilsands-dead ducks trial.
The Crown and defence asked Friday to have sentencing put over until Oct. 22.
"Peak oil is the villain governments need"
Peak oil is the villain governments need
Using the threat of a high oil prices is a sell the public will buy into – unlike intangible arguments over climate change
o Graham Wayne
o guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 11 August 2010
Environmentalists, Landowners oppose Keystone Pipelines
Groups Oppose Pipelines
Friday, 20 August 2010
Written by Press Room
Environmental groups and landowners are urging the government to deny a proposal for an oil pipeline that would go from the Montana-Canada border to refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast. TransCanada’s proposed 1,661-mile Keystone XL pipeline would connect with its existing 2,151-mile Keystone pipeline. State regulators have granted condemnation powers to the proposed Keystone oil pipeline across eastern Montana.
