Blood Diamonds Research Paper

The social community improvements of alberta as a result of the oil sands. The albertan government committed around 2.5 billion dollars in fixing up the communities of alberta as a result of the oil sands making so much money(Alberta government,march 15 2013). Some examples of this are the 1 billion in road projects, 241 million in building new neighbourhoods, and 103 million in wastewater treatment and to improve the old ones(Alberta government,march 15 2013). Air is rated good 99% of the time, drinking water consistently meets the the guidelines for canadian drinking water(Alberta government,march 15 2013). Which means the quality of life is good in the oilsands region. In conclusion the oil sands affect the communities of that region positively, by bringing in enough money to make improvements to the infrastructure.

Dr. Lorne Taylor (2012, p. 3), the chair of the Alberta Water Research Institute, states, “Organizations like Greenpeace and the Sierra Club are convincing Canadians and the world that Alberta’s oil sands are a scourge on the environment”. Environmental groups and the media are unfortunately shedding a poor light on the development of the oil sands in northern Alberta. Bob Weinhold (2011, pg. 119), a veteran environmental journalist, states “the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) panel found no evidence that people are currently being harmed by oil sands activity”. Both the environmentalist side and the oil sands producer’s side must be evaluated with an objective mind as each contains truths as well as embellishments. Taylor (2009, pg. 2) argues that a major misconception is “the province, people and industry of Alberta

The Alberta Oil Sands have affected many stakeholder groups such as government, residents, researchers and employees. However, we will focus on how it affects the Alberta Government; specifically, Ed Stlemech of the Conservative Government. As my stake holder, Ed Stlemech does not live within the Alberta Oil Sands area as well as have any direct relevance to it, I will instead examine how it has affects the citizens of Alberta and more importantly, those who live in and near the Fort Chipewyan area. In this way, the environmental, the economical as well as the societal impacts will impact Albertan voters and therefore impact the Conservative Government in way of the Alberta General Election.

When the expansion of the oil sands continues, the trees in the Northern boreal forest need to be clear cut for access to the sands. The deforestation i'm not only bad for the environment, but the species that live in the forests. Many species of bird are losing their habitats and being put at risk of endangerment, along with several different species of plants. The oil sands have also caused several forest fires which help contribute to deforestation and habitat loss. The deforestation, forest fires and development of the oil sands are putting forests and many different species in

The Alberta oil sands operations are the fastest growing source of heat-trapping greenhouse gas in Canada. Therefore, as environmental concerns increase with amplified pollution, governments must ensure policies are in place as to avoid further environmental damage. Currently the government does not enforce enough environmental policies to properly protect this beautiful country and its people. Moreover, the alternative components of the oil sands business contribute an enormous amount of environmental destruction. Pipelines to transport crude oil from the refineries to cities across North America cut across sacred land and pipelines and freighters have high possibility of spillage. Furthermore, the damage to human health from water contamination and air pollution is a major concern, the oil sands business causes massive detriment to human wellbeing. Lastly, the surrounding area of the oil sands are deeply affected. The deforestation of the boreal forest and the toxic tailings ponds that surround the operation endanger wildlife and the environment.

Some pros of the oils sands are they made Canada the biggest supplier of oil to the US which allowed for the beginning of a fruitful economic partnership. The oil sands are also a stable source of energy due to the oil sands being the second largest site in the world. Alberta has flourished due to the oils sands which creates thousands of jobs for locals. On the downside there are also cons to every project. Some disadvantages to the oils sands are since the oil is so deep underground; the process of extraction is very carbon intense which creates more greenhouse gas. Thousands of bird species have a loss of their breeding grounds due to the fact that the mining operation is located where the breeding ground used to be. As of right now and our rate of consumption of oil we have approximately only 40 years worth of oil left. Some people say that we rely on the oils sands too much and eventually we will have to find a new source of energy. I say, for now it’s fair to say that we will have an issue in the future about energy but for as of now it is not a huge problem. In my opinion, the pros outweigh the cons on the sole fact that we have this resource at our disposal and we might as well take advantage of what God has given us. From what I understand is that we are also reconstructing the landscape once we are finished with the sites so the native species will be able to inhabit the area once

As the issue of global warming becomes more prevalent, we must evaluate choices that are “green” or do not impact our environment in a negative way. Thus, the impacts of oil sands as an energy resource on the environment will be discussed. The Canadian and Global environment take the hardest hits from the tar sands. Depleting and contaminating water, air pollution, processed lands and tailing ponds are left barren with their geology disrupted, and take years to generate new life. Wildlife patterns and populations are disturbed, and greenhouse gases are emitted at an incredible rate, to accompany the huge expense of natural gases. The oil sands do not just produce

This affects local population settlements along the banks. The production of the oil sands is a human rights issue as it effects local drinking water , an environmental issue with the destruction of local wildlife and an first nations people issue. By and large the general public in Canada and the United States do not know what is going on in northern Alberta. The public still does not fully comprehend how First Nations communities are the most negatively affected. First Nation Canadians live very close to the oil sands , mostly along the Athabasca River basin area. These are the First Nations communities of Fort McMurray, Fort Chipewyan and Fort McKay. The oil sand production plants around Fort McMurray and Fort McKay are located north along the Athabasca river . Currently oil sands production and storage of toxic waste has completely changed the Athabasca river and surrounding wetlands. This production and storage has caused de-forestation , toxic contamination of rivers and wetlands and disruption of wild life habitats. These changes to the environment have disturbed the way of life that people in these communities grew up on , currently the levels of mercury and lead in the Athabasca river are high enough that residents will not eat the fish in the river.

The importance of oil in our society is so great that it affects developed and developing countries. It is a huge contributor to economic growth and environmental destruction. Although the Alberta Oil Sands has destroyed acres of local and global (indirectly) ecosystems, it has achieved and ensured that Canada stays as an economic power. The economical, cultural, and political benefits the oil sands give to Canada makes it an irreplaceable asset to our nation and our global community

Human blood is shed on almost every diamond mined in Africa, bought from Africa, or traded out of Africa. In the beginning of Aryn Baker’s article “Dirty Diamonds” in TIME magazine, Baker presents a man conflicted with his decision to buy an engagement ring, because he does not want “. . . a symbol of our union to also be associated with chaos and controversy and pain.” (Baker 64). This man in the example, Max Rodriguez, undoubtedly knew of the backbreaking work that children are subjected to, to provide for their families or to raise money to receive an education. Baker argues that the diamond industry in Africa hinders the development of children, nations, and that this problem may be too large to control as she appeals to logic, evoking

Oil has become extremely vital in our society, so vital that it has affected developed and developing countries. It is a massive contributor to economic growth as well as environmental destruction. The Alberta Oil Sands has destroyed acres of local ecosystems, but has also achieved and ensured that Canada stays as an economic power. The economical, cultural, and political benefits the oil sands give to Canada makes it an asset they can not function without.

Alberta is a province that is rich and abundant in natural resources such as oil sands. What are oil sands? Oil reserves play a very important role in the Canadian economy. Oil sands from areas such as Alberta have been described as “Canadians greatest buried energy treasure” by popular magazines such as Time magazine. Oil sands are a naturally existing mixture of sand, clay and other materials such as water and bitumen. Some materials in oil sands including bitumen are highly viscous that they need to be treated and refined before they can be used by industrial sites in order to produce fuels such as gasoline. Oil sands can be refined to make oil. There are approximately 170.4 billion barrels of oil that can be used in the Northern part of Alberta. Approximately 80% of the oil sands can be recovered through the In-situ production. 20% of the 80% is oil that can be recovered and purified by mining. Bitumen, a highly viscous material in oil sands is found by mining 90% of the time. While oil sands have a positive effect on us, it has a very negative effect on the environment. Oil sands have a very negative effect on aquatic ecosystems all around the world. Oil sands use up a lot of the water and energy. At present, two to five barrels of natural and recycled water are needed for every barrel of oil produced for mining. Oil sand project affect the natural aquatic ecosystems. Some of the negative effects oil sands have on aquatic ecosystems are that sometimes oil sands

The damage caused by extraction of these oil sands is not a theoretical problem. Over the past sixteen years more than two million acres of the Canadian boreal forest has been cleared to extract these sands (Nikiforuk). Not only does the extraction process cut down trees it also produces more greenhouse gasses than the extraction of crude oil, and leaves polluted residue across the extraction sight. These contaminants then spread to surrounding bodies of water. Once these contaminants have reached these water supplies they have an immediate effect on wildlife. Fish have been found with cancerous growths in rivers near extraction sites (Forrest). From this we should infer that not only has this oil mining had a negative on wildlife, but it could also pose health risks to local residents near the extraction sites. Though there is little Americans can do to prevent Canada’s current extraction. By not installing the

First of all, the mining of bitumen burns enough natural gas every day that can heat 6 million homes. It takes more than 3 million barrels of fresh water a day to produce 1 billion barrels of bitumen, 2 tons of earth excavation and sand to make 1 barrel of bitumen, about 2 tons of tar sands are required to produce 1barrel of oil and then 90% of the polluted water are dumped in the world’s largest impoundments of toxic waste which are the tailing pounds along the Athabasca River. If tar sands growth goes unchecked an area the size of Florida will become a wasteland. A single incident, in 2008, 1,600 ducks died after landing in the tailing pounds of syncrude tar sands mine. It is not only destructive to ancestral lands, habitat, both on land and water but also causes enormous GHG emissions. Data shows that oil sands are Canada’s largest source of CO2 emissions.

A diamond is the hardest natural substance on Earth and is made of pure carbon(Rossi 1). Diamonds are formed in extreme heat, usually reaching around 2,200 degrees fahrenheit, meaning that they come from the world’s warmest countries. These countries that many of the world's diamonds are mined in include Russia, South America, or Africa(Bindenagel 2). Diamonds can be used used as a gift to a loved one, a parent , or a child, but many do not know the history of where these diamonds are coming from. A conflict diamond also known as a blood diamond, is a diamond that is mined from slavery and is sold to finance wars, rebels or a warlord (Calderwood 2). Conflict diamonds were first introduced to the world in 1935 when the De Beers,the leading