Canadians ponder cost of rush for dirty oil

[CHIMO]

As oil prices continue to reach record highs, the search for new sources of energy has led the world to Alberta, Canada, and its vast oil sands. Now, John Vidal finds, the country famed for its wilderness and clean living finds itself caught between fuelling the world's oil-hungry economy and the ecological devastation and soaring greenhouse gas emissions that exploiting the tar sands produces

The Caterpillar 797B heavy hauler is the world's biggest truck. It's taller than a four-storey house, as wide as a tennis court and it removes nearly 35,000 tonnes of oily sand a day from a deep open cast mine in northern Alberta in western Canada.

Truck number 108 is driven by Norman Johnson, 63, a long-time Shell man who is planning to spend his retirement fishing, camping and "hunting the critters" in the vast boreal forests and bogs that stretch across the region. "It's just like driving your car. Couldn't be easier - once you get used to its size," he says from his cab, 40ft off the ground. He won't let the Guardian start up either of its two great engines.

But the future of northern Alberta's aspen and pine woods, its rivers and animals are in doubt as the world's greatest modern oil rush accelerates. Shell, Chevron, Exxon, Total, Occidental, Imperial and most other oil majors have so far invested nearly $100bn Canadian dollars (£50bn) in the 1,160 square mile (3,000 square kilometre) "bitumen belt", which is being called the "new Kuwait".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jul/11/fossilfuels.pollution

[LaStrega]

1. fishing, camping and "hunting the critters" ...

Don't get too used to that buddy.

[HeresyLives]

2. Speaking of critters

Alberta Environment finishes dead-duck probe
Journal Staff, edmontonjournal.com
Published: Saturday, July 05
EDMONTON - Syncrude Canada executives should learn within the next few weeks whether their company will face charges for the deaths of 500 ducks last spring in an oilsands tailing pond.

snip...

The ducks died in late April after landing on a tailings pond at Syncrude Canada's Aurora mine north of Fort McMurray. The pond contains a toxic mix of byproducts generated after oil is washed out of the sand.

Syncrude made a public apology shortly after the incident, saying it had not set up noisemakers to scare away migrating fowl at the pond because of late winter storms.


http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=2ddf5121-be5b-4558-93fc-f89593884523

[elehhhhna]

3. uh, perhaps a tailings TANK, rather than POND, is called for.

GEEZ

what century are we in?

[kgrandia]

4. Lakes not ponds

These toxic tailing "ponds" are in fact some of the largest man-made infrastructure projects in the world - toxic lakes, or small seas would be much more appropriate.

[elehhhhna]

5. that's ridiculous! we have some pretty damnned big tanks on the properties of

many companies here in Houston. So build a LARGE one already,okay, miners!

Where are they, mostly? Can we see one on google earth? I've looked at mountaintop removal mines on G-earth, in W. Virginia...not hard to find. How can I find a biga$$ tailing lakepond? Have any names of nearby towns? THX.

[NickB79]

6. 540 MILLION cubic meters of tailing waste

http://www.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/com/elements/issues/22/wateau-eng.php

"At a massive 540,000,000 cubic meters in volume, Canada’s largest dam is second in size only to China’s Three Gorges Dam. But unlike that world-famous utility structure, the monumental Syncrude Tailings Dam near Fort McMurray, Alberta, doesn’t generate electricity or attract the attention of tourists.

It’s an industrial processing dam that holds back a thick soup of fine tailings, a by-product of oil sands extraction. These tailings and the ponds that contain them are a common feature of surface-mined oil sands facilities. Managing these artificial ponds requires the construction of dams, many of which are large enough to be visible from space."

The lake behind that dam is actually visible from space! You're gonna need a BIG tank.

[elehhhhna]

7. Fort McMurray, Alberta...note to self, googleearth this 2morrow

THANKS!