Petropolis: Aerial Perspectives Of The Alberta Tar Sands

The Keystone XL is a controversial oil pipeline extension that would travel from Alberta, Canada, to the United States Gulf Coast. The Keystone XL should not be built because of the damage it would cause to the environment. The oil would be found within tar sands that contain bitumen. The process of extracting the crude oil uses a lot of energy and causes a large amount of greenhouse gases. Many citizens, in Canada and the United States, are outraged because it can be detrimental to the surrounding land and wildlife. TransCanada, the company building the oil pipeline, has to receive permission from the United States government to begin construction. If the United States does not have the pipeline built and chooses to not use Canada’s oil, then TransCanada will have the pipeline built elsewhere and exported to other countries. There has been a divide between those in favor of the Keystone XL and those who are not. The Keystone XL would be able to provide the United States with a reliable source of oil, but it would also take the risk of faults in the oil pipeline and ruining parts of America’s resourceful soil. The Keystone XL will cause a negative effect on the environment and damage resourceful land; therefore, the oil pipeline should not be constructed.

The extraction of the bitumen rich tar sands usually entails heating the oil while in the ground so that it may be pumped up to the surface which can be dangerous and cause harm to the surrounding area. The refining of the oil can be even more dangerous to the environment because the tar sands requires a special process of refining that would create copious amounts of greenhouse gases. Many opposing the pipeline also believe that the pipeline would not be as safe as supporters say it would be. Looking at the Keystone 1 Pipeline, the “previous pipeline was said to be safe but leaked much more than anyone anticipated. ‘In its first year, the pipeline leaked 14 times, with the largest spill exceeding 21,000 gallons’” (Swift). TransCanada claimed that the first pipeline would be safe and that it would not leak for many years, yet the pipe still leaked and caused major damage to the surrounding area. This left those affected, as well as other concerned Americans, to wonder why they should trust the company with building another pipeline and why the company’s promises should be trusted again. Environmentalists and those against the Keystone XL Pipeline “also object

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

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

The Alberta tar sands, is currently the largest construction project taking place in the world, and as such is a very important

“In a few decades, the relationship between the environment, resources, and conflict may seem almost as obvious as the connection we see today between human rights, democracy, and peace (Nobel Peace Prize Medalist Maathai 2004).” A Canadian oil company that goes by TransCanada hopes to build an oil pipeline that would extend an enormous 1,200 miles onto an already gargantuan 2,600 mile long pipeline. Keystone XL represents just under a third of the entire Keystone project, and every other piece of pipe has been built and laid out. In fact, TransCanada 's pipeline system is already shipping hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude oil from the Canadian oil sands across the U.S. border -- and into Illinois (Diamond). The current proposal would take the pipeline on a journey all the way through to Texas. Extracting crude oil from oil sands would be enormously problematic for the environment as it causes the pumping of about 17% more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than standard crude oil extraction. Tar sand oil has levels of carbon dioxide emissions that are three to four times higher than those of conventional oil, due to more energy-intensive removal and refining processes (Friends of the Earth). The construction of the Keystone XL pipeline would stimulate employment, the effects would be temporary and the whole scheme would produce a negative long term outcome. The construction of the Keystone XL pipeline has caused

It has been proven and stated by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) that “Tar sands oil is the dirtiest oil on

People that support the oil sands argue that they're beneficial for our economy, jobs and energy, but what happens when the oil sands are gone? Canada depends on the oil sands very heavily for those things so once they're gone we're going to be scrambling to find other sources to replace what the oil sands provides for us for so long. The oil sands are making around 23 billion dollars per year and makin 151 000 jobs which means Canada will need to find another way to make that money and jobs. Once the oil sands are gone, Canada will be desperate for somewhere to get money, jobs and

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 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.

While the Alberta oil sands are critical to the Canadian economy, environmental policies must be strengthened in order to diminish the immense risk in the transportation of crude oil, the harming of human health, and the deterioration of the surrounding

The Tar Sands Disaster is a piece of content written by Thomas Homer-Dixon. His purpose on writing the piece was to help bring awareness on the potential environmental damages that are caused by tar sands production in Canada. Thomas explains that Canada is using pipelines (specifically the Keystone XL pipeline) to export tar sands to the United States, and while it does help the economy financially, it harms the environment. Thomas hopes for his readers to go against the tar sands industry, and help shut it down. His target audience is Canadians. He claimed that even though many Canadians are against tar sands production, they cannot have open conversations about the problem, due to the fact that the Conservatives attack researchers for climate

The statement ‘Canada oil sands are much more of a blessing rather than a curse’ is not true because the disadvantages of oil sands outweigh the advantages. For this reason, this paper aims at indicating points against the statement. To understand the defects of oil sand exploration in Canada, one has to delve into the explanation of what oil sands are as well as how the entire process of mining and refining and thereafter, determine the disadvantages based on socioeconomic factors, environmental factors, as well as the infrastructure and energy required for its production.

Canada is the second largest country in the world and makes most of the money from exports to the United States. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has lead to a boom in the economy of Canada. The oil found in Alberta is nothing less than a benediction for its citizens. This oil reserve is the third largest in the world and is estimated be commensurate to 173 billion barrels of oil. Inflation is one of the major economic problems that Canada has in check.

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