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.
Cenovus plans five-fold boost in oil sands output
Wed Jun 16, 2010
CALGARY, Alberta, June 16 (Reuters) - Cenovus Energy Inc (CVE.TO), the oil sands company spun off by EnCana Corp (ECA.TO) late last year, said on Wednesday its northern Alberta properties contain more than enough oil to support plans for a five-fold rise in production over the next decade.
A lot of people-- especially ENGO's from North America-- are systematically denying the possibility that we can do the organizing and politicking needed to build a movement that can *really* tackle climate change. The arguments are that the "political will" simply is not there. But what is never mentioned about this line of argument is that the needed will to get there, speaking planet wide, not only is "there" it is _already happening_.
Delay refinery until health effects are studied, Alberta regulator urged
Josh Wingrove
Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.
Globe and Mail
Jun. 11, 2010
The latest in a string of applications to build a massive oil refinery in an Alberta farming community – one coping with a rising cancer rate and soaring number of hospitalizations – should be put off until an inquiry can be called to examine the health impact of rapid industrial development, an energy hearing was told on Friday.
Saskatchewan oilsands development could hurt environment: think-tank
By James Wood, Canwest News Service
June 13, 2010
REGINA — Developing Saskatchewan’s oilsands could harm the environment, a think-tank warns.
A fact sheet released by the Alberta Pembina Institute compares “in situ” extraction used for deep reserves of bitumen — like those found in Saskatchewan — and the surface mining used for shallower deposits.
U.S. emissions laws could backfire, Alberta minister warns
By Archie McLean, Canwest News Service June 14, 2010
EDMONTON — New low-carbon fuel standards proposed in the Northeastern U.S. could actually slow the greening of the oilsands, Alberta Environment Minister Rob Renner warned Monday.
“We need to make sure that whatever we do doesn’t have the unintended consequence (of discouraging further investment) into technology that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Renner said from Boston, where he was attending an energy forum.
Co-op campaign for ban on tar sands fuel
June 14, 2010
A coalition led by Manchester’s Co-operative Group has accused EU lawmakers of watering down landmark climate change legislation in order to allow fuels derived from the controversial Canadian tar sands to be imported into Europe.
Last year the European Commission’s proposals for the fuel quality directive penalised tar sands oil for emitting significantly more greenhouse gases than conventional oil, but following lobbying by the Canadian government all reference to tar sands has been dropped.
Offshore Drilling Backlash May Boost Shale, Oil Sands
*Date:* /15-Jun-10/
*Author:* Jon Hurdle and Jeffrey Jones
The massive Gulf oil spill may hasten the development of shale gas and oil
sands, North America's two most important emerging energy sources.
The risk of pursuing deepwater oil reserves dwarfs the environmental concerns
facing both onshore sectors.
Neither Canadian oil sands petroleum nor natural gas from U.S. shale beds will
immediately substitute for delayed Gulf of Mexico crude output in the wake of a
Alberta tar sands equipment supplier opens in Billings
By KIM BRIGGEMAN of the Missoulian | June 9, 2010
A major supplier of equipment to the rapidly expanding oil and gas market in the Alberta tar sands has set up shop in Billings.
Berry Y&V Fabricators plans to assemble modules in Montana and truck them north to the oil sands fields near Fort McMurray, according to a report last week in the Edmonton Journal.
The Decline of Big Green, Part One
Shaky Foundations: Toxic Sources, Tainted Money
Weekend Edition
June 4 - 6, 2010
By JEFFREY ST. CLAIR
Back at the start of the 20th century, John D. Rockefeller remarked that "not even God himself can keep me from giving my money to the University of Chicago." The old bandit's investments duly paid off, with platoons of Chicago economists and jurists all hymning the free market and invoking the inexorable laws requiring that some be rich and many be poor.
Another big year for Alberta oil sands
By QMI Agency
Last Updated: June 7, 2010
Alberta oilsands production could see another big year as the economic recovery puts global crude demand back on track.
Overall production in the region ramped up 14% in 2009 despite the widespread economic downturn, unstable crude prices and global criticism aimed at Fort McMurray operations.
In 2009, Alberta squeezed out 1.49 millionbarrels per day of raw crude bitumen from the oilsands for a total of 544 million barrels, according to the province’s Energy Resources Conservation Board.
