Tar Sands: The Most Destructive Project on Earth
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.19.08
Environmental Defence just released a new report on the Alberta Oil Sands, calling it the most destructive project on Earth. DeSmogblog gleaned some facts from it:
-Oil sands mining is licensed to use twice the amount of fresh water that the entire city of Calgary uses in a year.
-At least 90% of the fresh water used in the oil sands ends up in ends up in tailing ponds so toxic that propane cannons are used to keep ducks from landing.
-Processing the oil sands uses enough natural gas in a day to heat 3 million homes.
-The toxic tailing ponds are considered one of the largest human-made structures in the world. -The ponds span 50 square kilometers and can be seen from space.
-Producing a barrel of oil from the oil sands produces three times more greenhouse gas emissions than a barrel of conventional oil.
All to keep up the happy motoring! PDF of report here via ::DeSmogBlog
Where can I get one of these "propane canons?"
US should not except this oil. Then they would have to build a pipe to the west coast slowing things down a bit. I've worked their and its just like Mad Max. The whole area smells like theres a paving crew working 24 hours a day. I'm never going back.
Effing disgusting is all I can say. This is beyond silly. Its outright stupid. 3 barrels of pollution to make 1?
U.S. environmentalists (I consider myself one) should really be ashamed of how they've been out maneuvered. As a source of crude largely for the U.S. market this is far more of an environmental disaster than many of the projects environmentalists spend far more time fighting against.
Bush and Cheney are likely gloating over this victory.
worse part is that the provincial government continues to approve project after project. I am sure that alberta will be nothing more than a toxic scar by the time the oil sands are done. Yes the province is rich now, but that money will run out and all that will be left is a wasteland. nice job conservative government.
I have been following this project. It truel is a catch 22. We desperatedly need the oil in the US. It is actually the US demand that is fueling this project.
Without a doubt it makes the conventional oil look clean.
What a shame. A ancient forest and lifestyle of the once pristine North gone forever!
You guys do realize this is canada, not the US right? US bashing doesn't really fit here.
You guys do realize this is canada, not the US right? US bashing doesn't really fit here.
What is even scarier is living in this province where there is only now critical dialogue of the tar sands disaster - everyone relishes the boom, so there is little backlash when people are rolling in cash. We have ruined a pristine environment to secure energy for the US. So people can drive 8 blocks instead of walking. When our premier was in Washington recently he called the tar sands environmental record a MYTH. We're in the middle of an election and it isn't an election issue because the same party has been in power since the tar sands were first developed in the 70's. What to do? Tell your MP to tell Alberta to clean up their (our) act.
What is even scarier is living in this province where there is only now critical dialogue of the tar sands disaster - everyone relishes the boom, so there is little backlash when people are rolling in cash. We have ruined a pristine environment to secure energy for the US. So people can drive 8 blocks instead of walking. When our premier was in Washington recently he called the tar sands environmental record a MYTH. We're in the middle of an election and it isn't an election issue because the same party has been in power since the tar sands were first developed in the 70's. What to do? Tell your MP to tell Alberta to clean up their (our) act.
propane cannons, farmers use them to scare geese from pea fields.
http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/iid/2656/cid/789
I have worked at the very project in the photo, that's Suncor. And Surfcam is right about Mad Max... although it reminds me more of Mordor.
Its a very depressing place to be, and most Canadians don't want this explosive expansion, its drawing a transient population that's taxing out infrastructure greatly. Even those that don't see the destruction are tired of the effects of the boom.
Greenpeace has also been very vocal about stopping expansion in the oil sands.
But, if it makes Bush and big oil happy, Harper and Stelmach will gladly sign away the rights our future.
It is really a stupid thing. We need to stop it.
I have an idea. Let's tell them to shut that down, and instead drill in ANWR. In the end, that would be far less environmentally destructive.
Preventing drilling in one place only outsources the pollution somewhere else.
It's a dumb puppy that pees in his own milk.
I read a while back (mid-2007) that the companies involved in tar sands extraction were going to use two CANDU reactors for heat because natural gas prices were too high. As a proponent of nukes I still have to say that's a really stupid use of nuclear power!
Keep an eye on how the fossil fuel industry begins to account for reserves. I saw one instance of a change in oil reserve calculations that included tar sands and oil shale. Hey, forget Hubbert's Peak, we'll just change the definitions so anything we can turn into gasoline can be counted as oil.
So when they've squeezed all the oil out of these sands, where's the next place they'll go drilling?
It's easy to play the blame game on the tar sands but its really an Alberta problem. Other countries could help out by slowing the demand down. It's the similar to the drug problem. The demand for both commodities is never ending.
It's easy to play the blame game on the tar sands but its really an Alberta problem. Other countries could help out by slowing the demand down. It's the similar to the drug problem. The demand for both commodities is never ending.
This is not the U.S. People. It needs to be shut down! It is killing the earth!
this is why i ride a bike
Oil sands are completely horrible. I'm glad these are finally getting reported on. Canada has most of them. They are extremely expensive to develop and create an insane amount of pollution. Check out the damage here: http://www.managedq.com/search.php?q=oil+sands
The oil sands pump out lots of CO2 and have fairly toxic trailing ponds and use tons of water.
Having worked in the area, I dont find it much different than any large mine tho. The suncor site is about 20km long and 5 km wide. The forests in the area are not rain forests either. However the oil sands companies need to be required to replant the tree like logging companies.
One good thing about the oil sands is that they have economy of scale working for them. With increased tech I think they can reduce Co2 by large amounts. But these companies will need to be forced to do so.
If you like them or not, oilsands are very important to secure our energy. There are some problems, indeed. But they provide oil and (wellpaid) employment.
Vice Magazine has a great series on Toxic Alberta... Fort McMurray is a crazy town !!
http://www.vbs.tv/video.php?id=987199110