Economics drive tar sands operations. Record highs in oil prices, though still fluctuating, will make tar sand oil ‘economical’ (read: profitable) well into the future. Government subsidies to this environmentally disastrous process remain in place from a time when the federal government was sponsoring research into the possibility of recovering this oil. Stock prices of tar sands developers grow the more conventional oil is scarce.
Image being addressed
http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com/Local%20News/328436.html
By MATTHEW HEINDL
Today staff
Friday August 03, 2007
The need for a homeless shelter for youth was broached at a homeless strategy session in Fort McMurray Thursday, but it wasn’t adopted as one of the areas identified as immediate priorities.
The World's Most Expensive Babysitters
By Tom Dyson
August 6, 2007
http://www.dailywealth.com/archive/2007/aug/2007_aug_06.asp
Today, I heard the story of Angela.
Angela is 17 years old. Recently, she was offered $3,500 per month to babysit three children for a few hours after school each day while the parents work late. Two of the children are grown up. The third is a toddler. The toddler sleeps. The other two children take care of themselves. Angela watches TV, does her homework, then goes home. That's it.
Oilpatch risks turn from value creation to value destruction
Everybody Wants A Bigger Cut Of The Booming Industry
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=40c0596f-...
Claudia Cattaneo, Financial Post
Published: Tuesday, August 07, 2007
For the first time in a generation, Alberta is facing a general strike within its construction trades that threatens to disrupt its booming oilsands industry and is introducing a new type of uncertainty --labour unrest.
Buying our way out of sin
THE TELEGRAM [St Lohn's, NFLD)
The Telegram
http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=51665&sc=80
For such a modern-day problem, it seems like a terribly Medieval solution. The problem is climate change — the way humanity is altering the Earth’s weather by spewing fossil-fuel emissions into the atmosphere.
GLOBE AND MAIL:
Print Edition 31/07/07 Page B1
RESOURCES: EXPANDING IN THE OIL SANDS
Shell unveils plan for biggest upgrader
Proposal could cost up to $27-billion as price of refining Alberta's heavy crude continues to climb
NORVAL SCOTT
July 31, 2007
CALGARY -- Royal Dutch Shell PLC is planning construction on the largest oil sands upgrader to date, even as other firms delay or cancel their own projects in the face of spiralling costs.
Target: tarsands
Greenpeace comes to Edmonton
By NICKI THOMAS, SPECIAL TO SUN MEDIA
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Edmonton/2007/07/31/4383282.html
Greenpeace is setting up shop in Edmonton with their sights set on shutting down Alberta’s tarsands.
“The tarsands are one of the most environmentally destructive projects in Canada, if not the world,” said tarsands campaign organizer Geeta Sehgal.
Sehgal said the tarsands create 40 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year, ensuring Canada can’t meet its commitments to the Kyoto Protocol.
Oil, gas development could harm First Nations' quality of living: Sierra Club
Last Updated: Friday, July 27, 2007 | 12:23 PM MT
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2007/07/27/nwt-sierra.html
CBC News
Decades of oil and gas activity in northern Alberta has done little to improve the lives of aboriginal people living there, according to a national environmental group that used federal government numbers that gauge community well-being.
Snippets from the Business pages:
1 Enbridge Promises to build Gateway Pipeline without PetroChina & build Alberta Clipper
2 Largest Companies trying to get in on Expansion of Tar Sands
3 CP to further Expand in Tar Sands
4 Husky adding more Refineries
5 Imperial Oil buys huge exploration permit in Arctic /Beaufort Sea
These stories paint a collective picture of development of mock "oil" out of control.
some may think it a bit unfair of myself to often change the headlines originated by the newspapers or other news sources the story is fair-used from. But this one begs to be the prototypical reason why that is necessary: The recommendations concluded have only the small or nearly inconsequential ideas approved, and things from water use to moratoriums to land use, to greenhouse gas emissions and more are "not able to reach consensus". In other words, the whole procedure is a giant play, and the consultations are not to be incorporated.
As the article explains, this is not only Suncor but one of many new vast expansions being planned by the "major players". The upgrader facilities are essential and not hard to understand. All of this development is, as always, continuous and along side existing facilities and tar pits, none of it slowing down or remaining static at a certain speed but like a run-away freight train. This train loaded with gas is headed straight for the water.
--M
Suncor to expand tar sands mining operations
By Scott Haggett
