Tar Sands 101
The Tar Sands "Gigaproject" is the largest industrial project in human history and likely also the most destructive. The tar sands mining procedure releases at least three times the CO2 emissions as regular oil production and is slated to become the single largest industrial contributor in North America to Climate Change.
The tar sands are already slated to be the cause of up to the second fastest rate of deforestation on the planet behind the Amazon Rainforest Basin. Currently approved projects will see 3 million barrels of tar sands mock crude produced daily by 2018; for each barrel of oil up to as high as five barrels of water are used.
Human health in many communities has seriously taken a turn for the worse with many causes alleged to be from tar sands production. Tar sands production has led to many serious social issues throughout Alberta, from housing crises to the vast expansion of temporary foreign worker programs that racialize and exploit so-called non-citizens. Infrastructure from pipelines to refineries to super tanker oil traffic on the seas crosses the continent in all directions to allthree major oceans and the Gulf of Mexico.
The mock oil produced primarily is consumed in the United States and helps to subsidize continued wars of aggression against other oil producing nations such as Iraq, Venezuela and Iran.
To understand the tar sands in more depth, continue to our Tar Sands 101 reading list
Kazakhstan will squeeze oil from sand and clay
Kazakhstan will squeeze oil from sand and clay
Sunday, 08.07.2012
Tengri News
Kazakhstan wants to start extracting oil from sand in 2013, deputy Director of the Scientific-Research Institute of New Chemical Technologies and Materials of Al-Farabi Kazakh State University Valentina Yemelyanova told Tengrinews.kz.
Tar Sands Giants’ Sneaky New Playbook Revealed [Re: Trailbreaker]
Tar Sands Giants’ Sneaky New Playbook Revealed
By Climate Guest Blogger on Jul 7, 2012 at 10:46 am
by Tony Iallonardo, via National Wildlife Federation
Polluters seem to have drawn the wrong lesson from the Keystone XL controversy. Rather than temper the headlong rush to exploit tar sands, they’re getting sneakier.
Another First Nations community says no to [Gateway] pipeline
Another First Nations community says no to [Gateway] pipeline
QMI Agency
Toronto Sun
First posted: Sunday, July 08, 2012
A B.C.-based First Nations community has added its name to the list of opponents of the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline.
Following a ceremony Saturday, the Tsleil-Waututh Nation signed the Save the Fraser Declaration, an indigenous law ban on tar sands pipelines through First Nations traditional territories.
Opec’s gift to tar sands producers: high oil prices
Opec’s gift to oil sands producers: high oil prices
Financial Post
Yadullah Hussain Jul 6, 2012
Canadian oil sands producers battling high development costs are getting help from an unlikely quarter: Saudi Arabia and its OPEC allies.
“OPEC’s pursuit of higher prices has underpinned the growth of non-OPEC producers,” says Julian Lee, senior energy analyst at U.K.-based Centre for Global Energy Studies. “Non-OPEC developers should be extremely grateful for OPEC for keeping the price of oil high and making all the exotic and expensive sources of oil economically viable.”
Canada favors tech cooperation with J'lem
Canada favors tech cooperation with J'lem
By SHARON UDASIN
Jerusalem Post
06/27/2012
‘Israel is a hotbed of innovation, technological activity,’ Canadian resources minister says before meeting with Uzi Landau.
With Canada’s widespread experience in natural resources regulation and development and Israel’s eminence as an innovation hub, the two countries would make ideal partners for collaborative advancement in both traditional and renewable energy fields, a Canadian minister told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.
"Invest in Israel's epic oil and gas boom"
Invest in Israel's epic oil and gas boom
Mike Kapsch, Investment U
7/5/2012
When I think of Middle Eastern nations with massive oil and gas reserves, Israel isn’t a country that comes to mind… ever, really.
After all, Israel still imports 99% of its oil and 70% of its natural gas.
In fact, for the last 60 years, energy companies there have basically drilled one dry hole after the next.
But that’s all getting ready to change in the coming years thanks to new drilling capabilities.
Will tar sands oil flow through Vermont?
Will tar sands oil flow through Vermont?
by Craig Idlebrook | June 19, 2012
Vermont Digger
Editor’s note: A companion story to this piece, Environmental groups push for preemptive halt to oil transit, by Alan Panebaker, was published on VTDigger.org today.
More BS than Bitumen Flowing From Alberta After Third Recent Spill
More BS than Bitumen Flowing From Alberta After Third Recent Spill
by Damien Gillis l The Canadian.ca
A story in yesterday's Edmonton Journal on the latest pipeline spill in Alberta, this one near Elk Point, was more full of crap than the province's rivers and farms are full of oil these days.
Texas Activists Move Toward Tar Sands Blockade
Texas Activists Move Toward Tar Sands Blockade
Tuesday, 26 June 2012
By Candice Bernd, Truthout
Texas climate justice activists are prepared to use nonviolent, direct action to block the Keystone XL pipeline's construction.
Despite Spills, Enbridge Pushes For More Tar Sands Pipelines
Despite Spills, Enbridge Pushes For More Oil Sands Pipelines
6/26/2012
Alberta's three oil sand deposits are known as the Athabasca Oil Sands, the Cold Lake Oil Sands, and the Peace River Oil Sands. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
