Oil Sands Essay

There is a huge debate if the oil sands of canada are affecting canada positively or negatively.The social and community improvements are a result of the oil sands in alberta. The economic benefits are another positive that the oil sands bring. Finally the direct and indirect jobs created in the oil sands are a huge benefit to canada. The oil sands are one of the best things that happened to canada.

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

In “Tarmageddon: Dirty oil is turning Canada into a corrupt petro-state,” Andrew Nikiforuk argues that the Canadian oil industry has harmed Canada’s environmental, political and economical images. First, Canada starts to be regarded as having a defensive attitude towards environmental issues since the Bitumen has been explored. Regardless of the Bitumen’s high cost and emission, Canada still welcomes billions of foreign investment in the Bitumen. Consequently, newly operated industries begin to destroy the forest and generate toxic waste (even into water). While refining oil, lots of energy and freshwater are squandered, outpouring a considerable amount of carbon emission. Hence, Canadian oil industry has been pictured as a “carbon-making

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

Oil also plays a big role in Canadian’s everyday lives. Not only does oil fuel our vehicles, cook our food and heat our homes and generate electricity; it is also used in almost everything we use on a daily basis. From rain, snow or sunshine and from head to toes, you could be wearing petroleum-based products. There’s more than gas in your vehicle, tires, mud flaps, wiper blades, your vehicle is an oil and gas machine. From the time, you wake up and put your coffee maker on, until you set your alarm clock at night. You’re using oil products. We use hundreds of petroleum-based oil products every day from household appliances, electronics, personal products and much more. In an article about oil and Canada’s future it states “These along with

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.

Alberta has the second biggest recoverable oil patch in the world after Saudi Arabia, which hides underneath Canada’s boreal forest. Indeed, the Albertan oil patch consists of tar sands, also referred as oil sand, a combination of clay, sand, water and bitumen – a thick and sticky form of crude oil. Tar sands are mined and transported to extraction installations, where the oil-rich bitumen is extracted from the mixture. Alberta holds at least 175 billion barrels of crude bitumen throughout its vast territory, thus the industry disturbs a 149 000 square kilometers area – about the size of England –, where the land was removed due to the mining required to access the oil sands. The bitumen is separated from the mixture by using large amounts of fresh water – about four barrels of water to produce one barrel of oil – and is heated by natural gas, thus requiring larger quantities of energy and water than conventional extraction. Indeed, the industry itself results in the emission of more carbon dioxide in a year than all Canadian cars combined, thus accelerating climate change at an alarming rate. The Albertan industry exploits the water from the Athabasca River, which is fed by the Canadian Rocky Mountains’ glacier, which shrinks at a frightening rate and is further endangered by the carbon emission of the industry. Therefore, the extraction of oil sands in Alberta results in a cycle of consumption that truly endangers the environment. The clay and minerals from the oil

Canada has always been a leader in the oil sands industry. Over the past few years there has been controversy in Canada over oil production. Some say we should continue to expand the production of oil and others say we should try to reduce our production. The first article “Why Canada needs to develop the oil sands” by Konrad Yakabuski argues that Canada should continue to expand the oil sands. Contradictory to the first article, the second article “Stop oilsands expansion, Canadian and U.S. researchers say” argues that Canada should stop expanding the oil sands. In this paper both articles are summarized and compared based on factors that could influence the reader. In this paper I will argue that the article that supports the expansion of the oil sands is more convincing as it is better organized and the writing style makes the reader think about the issue more so than the other article.

World needs energy and Alberta need the oil sands to strengthen the economy. When considering Canada, especially Alberta has been in the oil market, bringing heaps of economic benefits to the country. Besides, energy has turned out to be one of the essential and basic needs, mandatory for the economic progress of a nation. Depending on consumption of the main energy sources, oil is used in a percentage of around 38%, gas is around 21% and also, coal is around 28%. As the developing countries and developed world continue to grow rapidly, many obstacles arise from our dependence on these burnable energies. The availability and consumption of energy resources need to be related to the costs of the global economy and as well as to the ecological impacts. Mainly, the environmental risks associated with energy consumption are related to oil abstraction and their discharge related problems. In addition, these natural resources like coal, oil and gases generate difficulties in both ways, while extracting as well in their use. Besides, the other main problem is the supply of these fuels from other countries and they highly rely on transportation methods or pipe lines which could cause massive destruction to our nature. And at the same time, many arguments take place in regard to the damage cause by these oil sands. Yet, there are no primary energy origins which are free of economic or

What would your first thoughts be as the ruler of a country that found out that and estimated ¼ of the worlds oil supply was in its own back yard? Would your reaction be how it could financially help your country? Or would you think of how finding this oil could harm the environment, or furthermore the political aspects the oil may have. This is a struggle that Canada may have to face. The three main aspects of the oil struggle are the research, the reward, and the result. One question most people would over look in this situation is where would you start?

The Alberta Tar Sands have been a contentious issue in recent years. Although the tar sands is estimated to be one of the Earth's biggest reserves of fossil fuels, the extraction of these resources is known to cause a variety of social and ecological problems. The extraction process itself is inefficient and the pipeline that has been proposed is subject to many environmental risks. Portions of the pipeline have already been approved and the construction of the pipeline is already begun in some areas. This paper will look at some of the factors associated with tar sands extraction and production of fossil fuels.

This publication from the Government of Alberta’s Department of Energy tries to focus on an all-around view of the oil sands. It talks about what they are, how they work, and environmental problems and solutions. The publication is not nearly as current as some other sources, it was published late 2008. It is free from bias but tries to stay overly optimistic, something is a “challenge” not an environmental concern. Since it is a government source it is mostly objective but does try to keep the oil sands in a positive view, possibly to benefit our economy. The publication is factual, accurate, and has a limited bias

Canada’s oil sands are a major resource within Canada’s energy sector, accounting for 97 percent of Canada’s total oil reserves. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is committed to developing Canada’s oil sands and heavy oil resources in a sustainable and responsible way through advances in science and technology (Oil Sands I Natural resources Canada).

In a scholarly article, Mark J. Kasoff concluded that the Canadian oil sand production is a good thing for Canada. The reason behind his argument is because other Asian countries especially China and Japan are willing to invest into the Canadian energy sector. This stimulates the international market. Furthermore, since Canada is the main source for U.S oil imports, the expansion of the market would likely to increase and strengthen the economy and its bilateral