To what extent does the Athabasca Oil Sands take responsibility in promoting environmental stewardship? The Oil Sands are a mixture of sand, water, clay and bitumen. Bitumen is oil that is too heavy or thick to flow or be pumped without being diluted or heated. Throughout many decades, the environment has become a critical concern, and the responsibility the Oil Sands has taken is preposterous. The GHG (greenhouse gas emissions) emissions that are released into the environment undermines its practices. The only way environmental stewardship can be encouraged, is if the Oil Sands discontinues its oil development. Other alternatives such as stricter rules and regulations should be placed by the government of Alberta to ameliorate the environment.
The Alberta tar sands, is currently the largest construction project taking place in the world, and as such is a very important
Canada ranks among the leading energy producers in the world, through oil production. These oil deposits rank oil sands of Canada as the largest oil deposits in the world after the Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. The only challenge with the oil sand deposits is that oil deposits are seen as unconventional. In effect, tar sands are recognized as one of the dirtiest energy sources in the world (Bailey & Droitsch, 2015). This fact is founded on the production factor; in producing one barrel of tar sands oil, the hazardous emissions are three to five times that of producing the equivalent of conventional oil. The Alberta oil sands are viewed as the single largest economic project in human history. The Canadian government and oil
This essay discusses the many similarities and differences between Avatar and Alberta oil sands. We can explore this through social sustainability, meaning that development should increase people's control over their own lives, cultural sustainability, a development that takes into account the values and beliefs affected by it, and ecological sustainability, the development that considers the maintenance of environmental resources, biological diversity, and ecological process.
For centuries, humans have had the unsatisfiable desire for more. This is seen quite often throughout history, with a common characteristic being that the environment or some people are negatively affected, usually with longterm effects, in mankind’s quest to satisfy their lust. A modern day example of this is seen in Alberta’s oil sands, as well as in James Cameron’s sciencefiction film Avatar. Alberta oil sands have the third largest oil reserves in the world, making up over 20% of Alberta. The oil industry is a staple part of our economy, as we rely heavily on it. However, in order to get to the bitumenrich oil sands, countless trees have been cut down, and many people in northern Alberta have been affected, including over 20 indigenous groups.
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.
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
Diverse and multi-faceted, the Canadian business market is one of the strongest functioning mixed market economies in the world. Within the Canadian economy, the oil and gas sector stands as one of the largest and most influential sectors. The oil and gas industry is unique as it affects almost every person and sector of the economy worldwide, whether it is through commodity or material input costs. In Canada, this growing industry could allow for the country to be the one of the “biggest energy producers in the world” leading to a massive paradigm shift globally.
Countries having the bituminous sand but the wide range of this sand are finding in Canada. The research show that this company is important for economy and showing robust future in the future because in 2004, the processing of engineered unrefined petroleum (SCO) and natural rough bitumen spoke to 41 percent of aggregate Canadian oil generation. At an accepted WTI cost of $32 for every barrel, the oil sands generation is relied upon to expand three fold by 2017, helping considerably more than 50% of Alberta's oil supply. The normal elevated amount of oil action ought to prompt gigantic budgetary development in the district and in addition in the area. The number of inhabitants in the locale (i.e., Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake Economic Region7) has expanded by 8 percent between 2000 and 2004. This contrasts and a development of 7 percent for the region, and 5 percent for the country over the same period. The development and improvement in the oil sands industry at the provincial level affects the common, national
A canadian oil boom is negatively affecting animals humans and the environment. Studies show that cancer rates near the mine are up by thirty percent. Oil pollution in Alberta, Canada can cause cancer, negatively affecting native americans and poisoning bird eggs with toxic levels mercury.
Konrad Yakabuski’s stance on the issue was made clear from the title, “Why Canada needs to develop the oil sands”. The author’s decision to add the word “why” indicates that there will be several pieces of evidence to back up the author’s argument. These pieces of evidence included: How vital the oil sands are to Alberta’s economy, it provides employment, and how the oil sands are a great opportunity for Canada to grow economically. When talking about the province’s economy in relation to the oil sands the author writes, “Oil sands royalties are critical to Alberta’s fiscal health. And Ottawa relies on oil-related tax revenue from Alberta to fund federal programs.” 2 The author also talks about how it is “a source of valuable foreign investment that
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
Manufacturing oil is the most important job for those who live in Northern Alberta. In the Athabasca oil sands workers have produced oil since 1967. The industry has created more than a million jobs for workers and is the third largest in the world. Producing 2.3 million barrels of oil a day and expanding the oil sands are exploring some conflicts. The 30 different first nation groups in the surrounding areas oppose to this issue. The problem in the Athabasca Oil Sands is similar to the movie Avatar. In Avatar, earth is losing its resources and therefore we decide to move to Pandora to get the mineral unobtanium. However,in order to get unobtanium on Pandora safely the Navi population in Pandora must leave. The Na'vi don’t want to lose