Oil Sands Truth: Shut Down the Tar Sands

International oil & gas

Stock markets and global oil interests (including war) would be included here, as would attempts to get oil out of high risk, low return areas from oil shale in Colorado, to natural gas and heavy oil in the high eastern Arctic. The tar sands are part of this trend and should be seen as such. What happens with the tar sands will have a tremendous impact on what kind of choices are made elsewhere, environmentally and socially.

warning: Creating default object from empty value in /var/www/drupal-6.28/modules/taxonomy/taxonomy.pages.inc on line 33.

International Oil & Gas is a category for stories relating to tar sand production or climate change but not in any of the projects already listed geographically. This includes other regions of the planet with horrible environmental and high energy costs that, like the tar sands, are only a "choice" because of high prices and the global depletion of easily recoverable oil reserves. Such issues as the threat of war on Iran, "instability" in Iraq and Venezuela or disasters like Katrina will all drive up oil prices, which in turn doubly encourages tar sand production-- by price demand and energy demand. Stock markets and global oil interests (including war) would be included here, as would attempts to get oil out of high risk, low return areas from oil shale in Colorado, to natural gas and heavy oil in the high eastern Arctic. The tar sands are part of this trend and should be seen as such. What happens with the tar sands will have a tremendous impact on what kind of choices are made elsewhere, environmentally and socially.

Eesti Energia considers Serbia's oil shale project

Eesti Energia considers Serbia's oil shale project
Juhan Tere, BC, Tallinn, 21.03.2012.

Estonian energy operator Eesti Energia, the biggest Baltic utility, may take part in Serbia's planned oil-shale project, Blic news site's report was quoted by Bloomberg, citing a company director.

Serbia has announced plans to tap an estimated two billion tons of shale reserves in the country's south and Eesti Energia is interested in providing the technology, according to the report quoting Priit Raid, a director for business development at Enefit Technology.

Rifle City Council weighs changes to BLM oil shale plan

Rifle City Council weighs changes to BLM oil shale plan
Rifle government appears to favor leasing fewer acres in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming
Nelson Harvey
Special to the Citizen Telegram
Rifle, Colorado CO

The Rifle City Council appears ready to endorse a revised plan for oil shale and tar sands development on public lands that would open far fewer acres for leasing than the current plan, adopted in 2008 by the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

"Israel Capable of Producing 250 Billion Barrels of Oil"

Israel Capable of Producing 250 Billion Barrels of Oil
"Our company has mapped over 250 billion barrels of recoverable oil in Israel," says Dr. Harold Vinegar of Israel Energy Initiative Ltd.
By Ben Bresky
First Publish: 3/20/2012

Dr. Harold Vinegar of Israel Energy Initiative Ltd. in Jerusalem is optimistic about Israel's potential in the oil industry. He spoke to Israel National Radio's Goldstein on Gelt show with Douglas Goldstein about energy independence and the "black gold" that is underfoot.

Eesti Energia hopes to sell the majority of the Jordanian project in 2012 [oil shale]

Eesti Energia hopes to sell the majority of the Jordanian project in 2012
Juhan Tere
baltic-course.com

Estonian state-owned energy giant Eesti Energia wants to complete the Jordanian oil shale consuming power station procurement and find investors before the end of the year 2012, LETA/Postimees Online reports.

After that, the share of Eesti Energia in the Jordanian project will decrease to around 10%, Eesti Energia finance director Margus Kaasik told the press on Monday.

Activists heckle Netanyahu during talk on green growth

Activists heckle PM during talk on green growth
By SHARON UDASIN 02/28/2012
Jpost
Environmental economics vital to future development, and even to efforts against Iran, says Netanyahu.

Protesters disrupted Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s opening address at Tuesday’s First National Green Growth Convention, with shouts against the government’s intended planning and building reforms.

The reforms intend to streamline the building approval process and make it more efficient, minimizing the participation of local committees and outside organizations in the initial planning process.

Energy behemoth on the hunt [in Vermont]

Times Argus [Vermont]
Published: February 15, 2012
Letter to the editor
Energy behemoth on the hunt

Utah tar sands still seeking investors despite questions

By brandon loomis

The Salt Lake Tribune
First published Feb 15 2012

Eastern Utah’s tar sands are just a year or so from producing their first commercial quantities of oil — if environmental appeals are settled and the company planning to mine can attract investors.

Those are big ifs.

Two oil shale mining companies contend they’re right behind and said Wednesday at the Governor’s Energy Development Summit that the state is poised for “the next big play” in energy.

Magical thinking

Magical thinking
Salt Lake Tribune
Updated Feb 8, 2012

It’s appropriate that Gov. Gary Herbert, in attacking a federal proposal to restrict the amount of public land available for oil shale and tar sands mining, should accuse the Bureau of Land Management of waving a “bureaucratic magic wand.” Because all the proposed rule would do is cut back on the amount of land where people would be allowed to carry out some magical alchemy that no one yet knows how to do.

Talk about hocus-pocus.

Too Much Energy Used to Mine, Move Bitumen Says BC Firm

'Energy Return on Investment' hard to justify says P.G.-based engineering
analyst.

By: By Geoff Dembicki 6 February
2012, TheTyee.ca

A B.C. engineering consulting firm claims it has hard numerical proof that
Enbridge's Northern Gateway proposal augurs poorly for the future of modern
society.

The Prince George-based C.J. Peter Associates
Engineeringcame to this conclusion after
performing an EROI analysis on the
$5.5-billion project.

Enter the Four Degrees Celsius World

South Africa: Enter the Four Degrees Celsius World - the Failings of Climate Negotiations
By Saliem Fakir

12 December 2011
All Africa

Fourteen days of climate change negotiations started off with much scepticism and ended with a sense of despair despite the COP 17 outcome being declared "landmark" and "historic". COP 17 was painted, at once, as a victory for the world -- but such statements belie the real truth.