Fort Mcmurray: The Importance Of The Oil Industry

The Athabasca Delta is a breeding ground for species of birds, which was destroyed to clear the land for oil development. These development practices are a leading factor towards increases in pollution. A scientific panel stated on Tuesday that pollution must be corrected, as there are major debates against the oil sands development. Proponents argue that business through the Oil Sands has made Canada a major player in foreign supplement. Unemployment rates have decreased across Canada and companies generate huge profits. The Alberta Oil Sands provide Canada with a secure source of energy. Throughout the world, Canadian oil reserves are the second largest in the world. Oil mining operations in Canada also help create more trading partnerships with different countries. This is a great way Canada can strengthen relationships and ties with various nation-states. The Oil Sands is a stabilizing force for Canada’s economy, yet it has a tremendous effect on the environment. Corporations are held responsible for their actions, and environmental protection should be their main concern. The procedures that the Oil Sands has taken are not effective, to an extent, where the pace of investment and development in the oil sands

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 are a large contributor to the pollution of the air and water. They're responsible for 9.3% of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions and 0.13% of global emissions. The oil sands already produce a large amount of air pollution but the emissions are

The question that has arisen from this shift is whether or not the Canadian oil and gas industry inclusive of the upstream, and midstream sectors, has a net positive benefit to Canada. This essay will explore and seek to understand the myriad of issues that this industry faces daily.

The article, “Stop oilsands expansion, Canadian and U.S. researchers say” by CBC News is a convincing model of how Canada should progress with the oil sands in the future due to the credibility of the arguments. As stated in the article, “The answer isn’t a moratorium, but even more spending on research to mitigate the industry’s impacts” . All in all, the article was convincing as the analysts show maturity and a sense of realism to understand that the Canadian economy needs the oil sands so expansion may be harmful, but a moratorium is out of the

The other adverse effect of the Canadian oil sands is that pipelines and massive processes of refining oil sands in Canada are a source of pollution that pose a great threat to air, water, and land as well as human health. Additionally, the use of its products like natural gas that is used to run medium-sized turbines that produce electricity releases greenhouse gases. These emissions are mostly produced when steam is injected to reduce the viscosity of the crude and during refining. These further increases to the global warming effect that is already out of hand and it also negates the gains made by society by exposing them to the adverse negative

The Canadian province of Alberta is home to one of the world’s largest unconventional oil reserves — a roughly 140,000 km² area covered by a combination of boreal forest and peatland. Bitumen, the substance comprising these reserves, is a particularly resource intensive and environmentally destructive fuel source to extract, requiring significant amounts of water and often strip-mined land (Huseman & Short, 2012). Now referred to by many as the Athabasca oil sands, the area has traditionally inhabited by a number of Canada’s First Nations (FN) groups. These rich hunting, fishing, and gathering grounds in northern Alberta have sustained FN groups for

It is also important to recognize Canada and in particular Alberta’s dependence on the development of natural resources to be economically secure. In the past resource development has had less tangible consequences with smaller populations, less advanced extraction methods, and inability to access reserves. In a contemporary setting it appears that natural non-renewable resources are being rapidly depleted in a sequential manor by their most economically redeemable characteristics. Michele Heng, Keith Hipel, and Liping Fang also validate this argument in their paper that the rapid oil sand development does not consider future generations economic, social, and environmental well being. This displays many clear intersections present the issue of oil and gas development in Alberta. The ramifications however can be seen across provinces and globally. The pollution resulting from form the tar sands effects water sheds and ecosystems that are nation wide. A new discussion and analysis of not only the long-term adverse environmental implications, but also the political and socio-economic inequities is needed (Heng, M. Kipel, K. Fang, L. pg. 1137). This change in discourse and policy is discussed as well by Jeff Galius in An Act of Deception. Galius emphasizes the need for a scientific based creation of a strong environmental assessment

I. The environmental problem that I am studying is pollution on the Canadian oil sands. According to industry sources, this is the largest single oil deposit in the world at an estimated 1.7 to 2.5 trillion barrels (

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

The Alberta tar sands, is currently the largest construction project taking place in the world, and as such is a very important development. The Alberta tar sands are a necessary evil, because the world is running out of conventional oil, and they are the last remnants of oil. All of the easy oil has been discovered, and exploited, and the tar sands is the crude oil that we are left with. As we all know oil is what makes the world go round, and without it we would be unable to produce enough food, or perform many other important processes. Therefore, the Alberta tar sands are very essential for keeping the world supplied with oil. However, there are many negative effects from the development, and refining of the oil from the tar sands, which has caused much environmental damage.

The oil sands are a topic that always seems to be contested, after all its effects on the environment and economy are significant. The CBC and The Globe and Mail have both released articles regarding the oil sands. One article supports the expansion of the oil sands through the use of numbers to dispute common reasons against its development; the other opposes its development through the concerns of those with expert power. The exceptional use of statistics allows The Globe and Mail to validate every point they make, creating an article with a quality that you can trust. On the other hand, the CBC article voices the concerns of professionals. This makes the article worth reading as their concerns are often based on knowledge rather than solely

In a country where over half of its Provinces and Territories are involved in the oil industry, the transportation of this valuable resource is a prominent topic not only for its government and citizens, but also to its neighboring countries and international trading partners. In this paper the economic, political and environmental effects on Canada, and the United States of America, from the oil pipeline industry will be discussed.

In journal #4 (Jordaan, Sarah M, David W Keith, and Brad Stelfox. "Quantifying Land Use of Oil Sands Production: A Life Cycle Perspective." Environ. Res. Lett. Environmental Research Letters: 024004. Print.) a 2008 study in Alberta, Canada examine the wildlife and the effects that drilling causes it. Alberta drills 1.3 mbpd (million barrels per day) worth of crude oil, which is about 1.5% of the world’s daily production. Surface mining is the main type of drilling there. The cycle by which oil is drilling and the effects of it are in the picture below:

Oil Drilling has many effects on the environment from the air we breathe to the oceans that inhabit many species. While one of the outcomes of oil drilling is money, it is forgotten that money won’t help repair all of the damage that is done to mother nature. Not only does the outcome of drilling for fossil fuels affect the oceans, rainforest, etc. it also has an effect on local business’ and the health of humans. If people want change, they need to be the