Oil Sands Truth: Shut Down the Tar Sands

Land

Land, regardless of whether covered by forests, tundra or grasslands, is threatened by mining operations such as Alberta’s vast open tar pit operations, or through incredible networks of “right of way” cuts for pipelines that extend in the hundreds of thousands of miles, all told, and across the continent in four directions and to three oceans—either through feeding the tarsand operations with fossil fuel energy or through feeding energy markets from tarsand operations after production. In the case of pipeline right of ways, they can blast directly through mountains or be buried in permafrost if needed, to get the energy to move.

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Peak coal to follow peak oil?

Peak coal to follow peak oil?
mongabay.com
December, 19, 2008

Is peak coal coming sooner than we think?

Governments have greatly overestimated global coal reserves according to estimates presented by a geologist at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.

David Rutledge, a professor of engineering at Caltech, estimates economically recoverable coal reserves at 400 billion tons worldwide. By comparison, governments claim 850 billion to 998 billion tons of recoverable coal.

"New Technology Could Help Tar Sands Producers"

New Technology Could Help Oil Sands Producers (SU)

SRI Consulting published a new report on producing crude oil from western Canada's oil sands deposits. The report concludes that "with rational engineering and prudent business decision making, grass roots tar sands projects should be economically viable at benchmark crude oil prices below US$60 a barrel." This brings about good news and bad news for the Canadian Oil Sands sector.

North Dakota: Enbridge plans new pipeline (Alberta Clipper)

IN MY HOMETOWN: Enbridge plans new pipeline
Kevin Bonham Grand Forks Herald
Published Monday, December 22, 2008

While the controversial Keystone Pipeline is being built across North Dakota — from Hardisty, Alta., to Illinois and Oklahoma — another pipeline company continues to expand in the region.

The unjustifiable destruction of the environment (Fidel on the tar sands)

Reflections of Fidel
The unjustifiable destruction of the environment

CAN capitalist society avoid it? News about the issue is not encouraging. In Poznan, they are discussing the project to be presented in December of next year in Copenhagen, where the agreement that will replace the Kyoto Protocol will be discussed and voted on.

Vandals target another B.C. gas pipeline

Vandals target another B.C. gas pipeline
Thu Dec. 18 2008
ctvbc.ca

Vandals have targeted another set of natural gas well sites in northeastern British Columbia, but authorities aren't immediately linking the latest attacks to three earlier bombings to EnCana pipelines in October.

Const. Jackelynn Passarell said Thursday valves were tampered with and shots were fired at well sites operated by Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (TSX:CNQ) and Iteration Energy (TSX:ITX).

Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation takes province to court over tar sands leasing

First Nation takes province to court over oilsands leasing
Thursday, December 11, 2008
CBC News

Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation speaks to reporters in Edmonton on Thursday.Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation speaks to reporters in Edmonton on Thursday. (CBC)

The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in northern Alberta announced Thursday it has filed a request asking a court to review how Alberta grants leases for oilsands developments.

The notice was filed Wednesday in Edmonton's Court of Queen's Bench.

Canada: Oil and Immigration

Canada: Oil and Immigration
13/11/2008 by Gareth McConnell

It’s worth $1.5 trillion, is the largest in North America and for Canada and the world a potential source of petroleum energy and work in Canada for the next one hundred years.

Canada’s oil sands, situated in north-eastern Alberta in an area larger than the state of Florida and is about to become a major avenue to explore for migrants workers wishing to move to Canada.

Minnesota: Midwest oil mining a crude idea to many

Midwest oil mining a crude idea to many
Minneapolis City Pages
December 3, 2008 // By Beth Walton

Some 1,500 miles northwest of Minneapolis, the luscious green boreal forests that once lined the banks of the Athabasca River have been flattened. All that's left is an empty, lonely, gray moonscape. That, and the drills.

Polluted tar sands ponds leaking, report indicates

Polluted tar sands ponds leaking, report indicates
MARTIN MITTELSTAEDT / ENVIRONMENT REPORTER
December 9, 2008

The tailings ponds storing waste water left over from the processing of Alberta tar sands oil are leaking an estimated 11 million litres of contaminated water every day, according to a new report.

The figure, one of the first publicly available on the scale of the seepage from tailing ponds that dot the landscape in Northern Alberta, is being released today in a report by Environmental Defence, a Toronto-based conservation advocacy group.

Great Lakes, Great Peril: Oil and Water

Great Lakes, Great Peril: Oil and Water
Little city is at center of a great debate
Pipes link the Great Lakes with massive oil reserves in friendly Alberta. They may bring jobs, energy and pollution. And it's all happening as the century of oil gives way to the century of water.

By Dan Egan of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Dec. 6, 2008

Great Lakes-Alberta tar sands connection
Journal Sentinel

First of two parts

Superior - U.S. dependence on foreign oil conjures images of derricks pecking at Saudi Arabian sands or supertankers steaming for coastal refineries.