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?
First things first how is Canada going to lay claim to the fact that any oil they find is rightfully ours if the Arctic is so vast and no real boundaries are drawn. Also don’t think for
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One of the biggest problems being faced is that sonar equipment that they use to take readings dose not work in ice. One thing working in the oceanographers favor is that the ice is being pushed further and further north making it easier to access the areas to map, but also the areas where the oil patches are believed to be. The big question being asked is all this research and money worth it for an unknown amount of oil. A very contradictory view would be to think is it worth it to spend all this time, money, research for an estimated amount of oil; when we know more about the surface of the moon than we know of the ocean floor. The estimated amount is believed to be an approximate 90 billions barrels. The naive may bring up the point that the arctic has already said claim to numerous oil rushes, the difference this time is that the oil is out of any countries current jurisdiction. This quote from a National Geographic reporter explains it best “The race for the arctic may be about oil, but it is about the oil they hope is there not the oil they know is there.” Just exactly how much oil is truly believed to be available is up for debate. Some say 13% of the world’s total oil; others say 25% both numbers like 90 billion barrels are being called the most likely. Also with gas at the price it is there is defiantly money to be made, but the biggest question is to whom to write the cheque.
These factors result in several issues and challenges. These matters have brought a conflict between the various stakeholders in this industry (Oilsandstruth.org, 2015). This discussion aims to identify the primary issues associated with the Canada oil sands and the involved stakeholders. Secondly, the stakeholders’ political view will be established. Finally, the discussion will recommend policies that can be effective in solving the challenges associated with the issues.
Foreign oil dependency is a major topic that is hotly debated in US politics. The United States relies on imported oil for about 40% (in 2012) of petroleum consumed and is the world’s largest consumer of oil. About 53% of the foreign oil imported is from other Western nations such as Canada, Mexico and Brazil. 28% is from the Persian Gulf, 16% from Africa and the remaining from other areas of the world. Canada is currently the leading crude oil supplier to the US. Some believe that importing oil has benefits to our economy, while others believe it is a security threat.
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 Canadian Arctic, one of the defining features of our vast landscape. It spans more than 40% throughout our country and is home to more than 100,000 Canadians (Arctic, 2013). There is a variety of climate and terrain throughout this region. The Arctic in general has ownership claims by many countries including Canada, Denmark (including Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States (Member States, 2011). All these countries claim that they own parts of the Arctic but how valid are those claims? What and why does our government want to claim parts of the Arctic?
His resistance against Britain’s intrusion of Canadian autonomy explains itself and his adopting of two provinces rich in resources and fertile land may be the reason Canada is still afloat when it comes to international trade today. In fact, current statistics show Canada is one of the largest producers of canola globally and in 2016 Saskatchewan accounted for 53.7% of Canadian canola area. Alberta is rich in energy-resource, as it is home to oil sands, the largest reserve in the country, and third largest in the world, along with mass amounts of natural gas and
The U.S. should invest in alternatives to oil, and drill on the United States grounds because it will assist the economy, preserve energy and fix the world’s environmental problems. The supply and demand for oil is always on the rise, and problems are contemplated with the use for oil. Those problems are starting to catch up to the modern world, and something needs to change before the world enters a black out. Experts can predict that there is estimated to be somewhere around 61 years of oil left for us to use at our current rate. The demand for oil is always rising. People in today’s modern society rely so heavily on oil, that they would not know what to expect if it
In the case of the Arctic over the past twenty-five years, biologists have been studying and have quantified how underground petroleum activities disturb the life on the surface. For the past thirty-years, petroleum geologists have worked to create less destructive methods of locating and removing oil. Typically people think of science and technology working together to better our lives. In the Arctic situation it is more a case of science versus technology. These two groups of scientists, biologists and geologists, have been pitted against one another. It is difficult to determine who to believe and in that decision, it depends on what one feels to be more important: nature or need. What we must also consider is who the funding for the studies is coming from.
The research around that time found that the estimate of oil deposits in the Arctic was 28 billion barrels of oil. It also shows at least 50 billion barrels of oil equivalent in the Beaufort Sea’s Amerasia Basin (U.S. Energy). These facts make the point Begich is making weak. He not only fails to cite the source of his information, he also has the information incorrect.
The Canadian Government has been faced with a decision that could destroy an already delicate relationship with the Indigenous Canadians. There have been several pipeline expansion proposals to increase the production and extraction of oil throughout Canada and the U.S. The primary factor delaying the Canadian Government from starting these projects is the Indigenous people. With promises by the newly elected federal Liberal government and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, it has outlined the importance of the Indigenous peoples’ rights when it comes to natural resource extraction that affects their land.
The Canadian “Alberta Oil Sands” are the third largest oil reserves in the world and has an investment value of over $27 billion. Over 100,000 employment opportunities are generated as a result of the oil sands and it leads to a production rate of approximately 2.3 million barrels per day. One of the largest controversies in Canadian politics is whether to oust the oil sands production or expand it. However between the two articles, “Why Canada needs to develop the oil sands” by Konrad Yakabuski and the article “Stop oilsands expansion, Canadian and U.S. researchers say” by CBC News, the debate is whether to expand the reserves or remain the same. After analysing the two articles it is evident that the author Konrad Yakabuski wrote his article
Modern day Canada is posed with the current issues of energy and the environment becoming increasingly important within the public and political sectors. The impetus has come from a variety of factors such as the collective development of nonconventional resources, the environmental concern from Canadians, and the demand for renewable energy sources. Many premiers have since called for a ‘national energy strategy’ however the clashes of policies on the federal and provincial levels cause a decrease in progress. This has become largely apparent in the current debates over Alberta’s bitumen deposits and pipelines. The Alberta government has advocated for a ‘national energy strategy’ led by Ottawa placing their political emphasis on the need for Canada to achieve a vision of environmental supremacy. This paper seeks to investigate the clashes of interprovincial trade and commerce powers with the provinces natural resource power debates over Alberta’s pipelines and bitumen deposits in conjunction with the general Canadians feeling of a lack of democracy.
Modern day Canada is posed with the current issues of energy and the environment becoming increasingly important within the public and political sectors. The impetus has come from a variety of factors such as the collective development of nonconventional resources, the environmental concern of Canadians, and the demand for renewable energy sources. Many premiers have since called for a ‘national energy strategy’ however the governments tendency to avoid national approaches to energy allows no progression to be made. This has become largely apparent in the current debates over Alberta’s bitumen deposits. The Alberta government has advocated for a ‘national energy strategy’ led by Ottawa placing their political emphasis on the need for Canada to achieve a vision of environmental supremacy. This paper seeks to investigate the clashes of interprovincial trade and commerce powers with the provinces natural resource power debates over Alberta’s bitumen deposits in conjunction with the general Canadians feeling of a lack of democracy.
America has been in an oil crisis for many years, it should stop. People and companies are using more oil than they should. Oil supplies are fragile. If the United States drills for oil in several other countries it would cost a lot of money and gas prices will increase. There is an option of drilling in Alaska for oil. If the United States did drill it would be cheaper because it is domestic. If the United States collected oil from Alaska's wildlife it would have an overall positive outcome.
In his speech before the Bloomberg Energy Conference in New York on April, last year, former Canadian Minister on Natural Resources Joe Oliver outlined the significance of the Keystone XL oil pipeline in meeting the growing demands of the United States for an environmentally safe and secure energy source and distribution. He argued that North America’s continued growth as a global superpower depends on how it can meet its energy demands without depending so much on offshore sources such as the Middle East which are mostly in conflict and are therefore unstable. Oliver seems to present a compelling argument in favor of Canada’s energy projects especially when he cites independent third party reports made by the International Energy Agency
A lot Scientists and oil field experts have been collecting facts and scientific evidences to try to predict the period at which peak oil will occur. Two of the scientists working toward this discovery are Colin J. Campbell and Jean H laherre. Those two scientists wrote an article about the aftermath s of the 1970 's oil embargo sppured reachees over the decline of oil, which resulted in erroneous conclusions due to various factors (78). In order to truly cast light on the issue of oil decline, Campbell and Laherrère merged a variety of techniques which comprise the examination of “the decline of aging fields” and “the diminishing returns on exploration in larger regions”, the extrapolation of the size