Alberta Tar Sands is a category limited to the location and production of tar sand bitumen, an area the size of the state of Florida in northern Alberta province. The giant processing plants near Fort McMurray where the land itself is strip mined as well as the primarily "in situ" in-ground steam separation/production and extraction plants in the Peace and Cold Lake Regions, all in Alberta, are the "Ground Zero" of the single largest industrial gigaproject ever proposed in human history.
The process of removing the tar from the sand involves incredible amounts of energy from clean-burning natural gas (with nuclear proposed along side), tremendous capital costs during build up, incredibly high petroleum prices to protect investments, and the largest single industrial contribution to climate change in North America. Production also involves the waste of fresh water from nearby lakes, rivers and aquifers that have already created toxic tailing ponds visible from outer space. None of the land strip mined has yet to be certified as reclaimed. It takes 4 tonnes of soil to produce one barrel of oil. The tar sands are producing over 1.2 million barrels of oil a day on average. The oil companies, Canada and the United States governments are proposing to escalate production to 5 million barrels, almost all destined for American markets-- and lower environmental standards while doing so. They also would need to violate the national and human rights of many indigenous nations who are rightly concerned about many dire social, environmental and economic repercussions on their communities.
To get the needed energy supplies, diluent for the bitumen and diverted freshwater to produce and then to transport the flowing heavy bitumen for refining would require massive new infrastructure and pipeline building from three different time zones in the Arctic, across British Columbia and through Alberta in a criss-cross pattern, into pipelines to such destinations as California, China, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Ontario, Illinois, Wisconsin and Texas. This entire project is now estimated at over $170 billion dollars. And after the whole process described so far, only then will all this dirty petroleum get burned and expel greenhouse gasses into the air causing further climate change.
Whatever It Takes:
Protecting the Tar Sands, Protecting Capitalism
Ryan Katz-Rosene
Something is rotten in the province of Alberta! And it's not just the tar sands. It's the way political and corporate elites do whatever it takes to extinguish potential threats to the bituminous megaproject. The attempt to protect the tar sands from criticism can be framed as a part of a broader effort to protect the ‘rights’ of private interests to profit from bitumen production.
September 27, 1962
Tar Sand Project Approval Starts New Era For Canadian Oil
BY: CARL O. NICKLE, Publisher of the Daily Oil Bulletin & Oil In Canada
In recommending approval of the application of GREAT CANADIAN OIL SANDS LIMITED for the first commercialscale development of Alberta's famed Athabaska Tar Sands, the Alberta Oil & Gas Conservation Board has made a vital and far reaching decision.
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
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
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 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.
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
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.
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:
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.
