Energy and how it is captured and consumed is barely viable in tar sands production. While the amount of oil in places such as the tar sands in Alberta or the Orinoco Belt in Venezuela may have deposits of similar size to the reserves of countries such as Saudi Arabia or Iraq, the return of new energy after expending energy in production is not even close. In Iraq, the process of using one barrel of oil generates 100 new barrels. In the tar sands, estimates of 3 to 1 and even as low as 1.5 to 1 have been made. Offsetting the net energy loss would require minimally 25-30 tar sands facilities for one Saudi plant operating at the same capacity.
When I see an article like this, I am reminded of a quote from Utah Philips: "The earth is not dying, she is being killed... and the people killing her have names and addresses!"
--M
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Bitumen Who’s Who
Six influential individuals who's opinions count regarding oilsands development
From Western Gold: Heavy Oil and Oilsands in Canada
There are a lot of things about Alberta’s oilsands that are nice to know:
Angry Union Workers Continue Loud Demonstrations Against Labour Laws
Sep, 13 2007 - 2:40 PM
CALGARY/AM770CHQR - A court ruling early Thursday morning has put the kibosh on information pickets being staged at various locations throughout the province, particularly in the Edmonton area and Fort McMurray.
Outside the Petro-Canada refinery in Fort Saskatchewan, the cease and desist order didn't have much of an impact, as many more workers gathered, including Roger Jordan.
Canada votes 'no' as UN native rights declaration passes
Last Updated: Thursday, September 13, 2007 | 3:07 PM CT
CBC News
The international community adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on Thursday, despite high-profile opposition from Canada and three other countries.
Street drugs, gangs on rise in the West
'Street-level' social problems worst in Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver: study
Larissa Liepins, CanWest News Service
Published: Wednesday, September 12
Western Canadian cities are fighting a rising tide of street drugs and gang activity, says a report released Tuesday by the Canada West Foundation.
In researching Hard Times: A Portrait of Street Level Social Problems in Western Canada, the foundation consulted 311 frontline workers, experts and community leaders.
Protest against Shell takes campaign to British media
CATHRYN ATKINSON
September 11, 2007
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070911.BCSHELL11/TPSt...
Native protesters and environmental groups are taking the next round of their fight against a coal-bed methane exploration project in a remote part of central B.C. to the British media.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Story last updated at 1:16 am on 9/12/2007
Pipeline Concerns Are Aired
By: Nathan Johnson
nathan.johnson@yankton.net
http://images.morris.com/images/yankton/mdControlled/cms/2007/09/12/1988...
During a meeting Tuesday to comment on the Department of State's Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Keystone Pipeline, area residents pinpointed what they see as shortcomings in the document.
Exxon Mobil Seeks Arbitration Over Venezuela Assets (Update4)
By Jim Kennett and Steven Bodzin
Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest oil company, filed for arbitration in a dispute over assets seized by the Venezuelan government.
The Irving, Texas-based company's 41.7 percent stake in the heavy oil project had a net-book value of about $750 million at the time of the expropriation, according to a regulatory filing today. The company said it requested arbitration Sept. 6 with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.
However benignly this article is written, it means that the pipeline infrastructure from all directions-- BC, NWT, southern AB, lower 48 and more-- is expected to grow heading *into* the tar pits so that it can grow heading *out of* the tar pits. This doesn't include the "into" pipelines for 'diluent' kerosene needed to convert heavy bitumen into a flowing sludge mock-oil. This article is timed with the corporate projection announcement made by Suncor that they intend to overtake Syncrude as the single largest producer of tar sands mock oil this year. Small wonder, it's a matter of physics.
Let me ask a question: Is it not incredibly bad PR for a corporation to announce that they have a "secret buyer" for one of the world's most infamous sources of energy, and a source of energy that hasn't even been approved or constructed yet?
Canada's water 'on the negotiating table,' report says
Vague wording in NAFTA doesn't protect country against bulk shipments and other forms of sale to the U.S.
MARTIN MITTELSTAEDT
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070910.WATER10/TPStor...
September 10, 2007
Despite regular assurances from the federal government that Canada won't allow water exports, the country remains vulnerable to water diversions to an increasingly thirsty United States, says a new research paper commissioned by the Munk Centre for International Studies at the University of Toronto.
