I was watching the show "energyNOW!" on Bloomberg TV this morning and the show devoted it's entire 30 minute run-time to the subject of Canadian oil sands, more commonly known as tar sands. The major segment of the show dealt with the controversy that surrounds the proposed building of an oil pipeline from Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada to the Gulf Coast refineries in Texas. Many people that farm and live along the proposed corridor have recognized the danger of building a pipeline above and below their water aquifers and parcels of land. Thankfully, they have stood up and protested the building of the pipeline and have asked the Obama administration to deny the permit for building the pipeline (the Obama administration would have to approve this project since it crosses an international border).
Many of those opposed to the building of the pipeline do so by recognizing the fact that if a leak develops it could poison the water that is used for drinking, bathing, and watering crops. These tar sands contain many different chemicals, some of which are known to be carcinogenic, such as benzene. Leaks that contain such harmful materials would wreak havoc to the local ecosystem, especially if it entered the water supply.
TransCanada, which is proposing the building of the pipeline, says that oil pipelines are the safest form of transport for crude oil, and the worst leak they've seen was the equivalent of 500 barrels of oil, the average leak being limited to 10 barrels of oil. This is where I grew angry. Again the facts are being skewed and ignored by those with an interest in making more money at the cost of the environment.
This year alone, there have been at least a dozen leaks, ranging from the North Sea to the Gulf of Mexico and right in Alberta, Canada. Two leaks in Alberta, Canada earlier this year leaked 1,300 barrels of oil and an astonishing 28,000 barrels of oil!! These leaks occurred near wetlands and wild areas and the effects to plant and animal life in those regions will be felt for years to come. TransCanada needs to get in line with the facts and state things as they really are. How can you do an interview for a show and forget to mention the largest oil pipeline spill that has occurred since the the 70s in your country and have a clean conscience?
Another link to the tar sands environmental issue is a story/study that has come to light in recent days concerning the wolf. Canada has seen a sharp reduction in Caribou populations and the blame has fallen on the wolf. Government and business leaders, and even some scientists, are pushing for the wolf population to be culled. A study done by a group of scientists (hired by an oil company ironically to complete the study) has actually linked and documented the reduction of Caribou populations to human activities encompassing the tar sand mining operations, not to wolves. Caribou are actually very skittish creatures and eat in areas that contain clear and uninterrupted views, so they can see any potential threats. The tar sand mining operations have built roads and buildings in such clear areas and have brought an unneeded level of stress to the Caribou, ultimately resulting in population decline. It's not the wolves, it's the humans! When faced with the documented evidence, however, government leaders and businessmen still think that a cull of the wolf population is the only solution to the Caribou crisis (for recent information on this story, click here).
It's time for Canada's government and business leaders (particularly the oily kind) to wake up to reality and stop creating an alternative one. Stop pointing the finger of blame at other kinds of life when it is your practices which are hurting the environment. You can still have a successful business and be good to the environment. Instead of funding ways to come up with more money by taking more from the land, how about funding ways to find cleaner and safer fossil fuel transport methods, or better yet, work on developing renewable and sustainable clean energy. Do you realize that refining tar sands is actually more costly to the environment that regular crude oil? I have no idea why these businesses with the money, which can pay for the brains, need for us, who aren't involved in their businesses, to tell them this kind of s**t. It's ridiculous!
For those that care, let's continue to petition the Obama administration to stop the building of another pipeline and to put political and business pressure on those leaders in Canada so they can start facing reality.
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