Benefits And Consequences Of Alberta Tar Sands - 1938 Words

Running head: The Benefits and Consequences of the Alberta Tar Sands 1 The Benefits and Consequences of the Alberta Tar Sands Darlene Kittleson Environmental Science 101 10-08-14 Abstract 2 Our insatiable need for oil has lead us down an unsavory pathway looking for it. The Alberta Tar Sands, an economic boom and an environmental disaster, is just one of those places. Once thought of as too intrusive and destructive on the land, has made way for one of the largest tar sands reserves of this century. Harvesting the tar sands will fuel our thirst for oil for many years. Canada and America will both reap the benefits and the consequences of that oil. Running head: The Benefits and Consequences of the Alberta Tar Sands 3 The Alberta Tar Sands is one of the best and worst oil finds of the 21st century. Best in the fact that Canada becomes a big player in theShow MoreRelatedAlberta Tar Sands Sustainability Report1264 Words   |  6 PagesAlberta Tar Sands Sustainability Report Introduction Tar sands are a combination of clay, sand, water, and bitumen. As a type of unconventional petroleum deposit, tar sands are found in many places worldwide, the largest deposits are found in Alberta, Canada. The Alberta tar sand deposits contain more than 70.8% of the world s reserves of natural bitumen which representing 40% of the world’s combined extra-heavy crude oil and crude bitumen reserves. It is the only bitumen deposits that are economicallyRead MoreConcerns on Building the Keystone Pipeline1436 Words   |  6 PagesIn June of 2010, a plan to construct a pipeline that would run from Alberta, Canada through the center of the United States, making its way to its final destinations in Nederland, Texas, and Pakota, Illinois were finally commissioned. As an energy management major at the University of Oklahoma, I was intrigued to research the Keystone Pipeline and the plans that hinge alongside it. The plan to construct the pipeline that would connect the two countries c ertainly began with good intentions, howeverRead MoreHow Social Vulnerabilities Are Important Within Disaster Research2333 Words   |  10 Pagesenvironmental disasters that continue to develop is the Alberta tar sands. The Alberta tar sands also known as â€Å" Athabasca oil sands† have been expanding over the past decade being the third largest oil reserve in the world (â€Å"Energy Alberta†, n.d). It has been said that the tar sands are a fundamental element within the Canadian economy occupying approximately 142, 200 square kilometers in northern Alberta. (â€Å"Energy Alberta†, n.d). 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The Alberta Energy and Utilities Board estimates that the oil sands contains approximately 1.7 trillion barrels of crude bitumen, however only 19% can be ultimately recovered (Raynolds, Severson-Baker Woynillowicz, 2005; Humphries, 2008). The availability of recoverable bitumen makes Canada’s oil sands deposit larger evenRead MoreKeystone Pipeline Xl : Continuing Petroleum Dependence1316 Words   |  6 Pageswhich has raged for six years, has become fierce and even bitter. I have followed the controversy closely. Supporters of the project have built their argument largely on hopes of economic benefit and the benefits of reducing our dependence on oil imported from the Middle East. Those opposed see that the economic benefits would be short-lived and insignificantly impact the national economy long-term and that reducing our dependence on oil imported from the Middle East is best accomplished by reducing theRead MoreThe Exploitation Of The Alberta Community1374 Words   |  6 Pagesand over time, the quality of nature is destroyed. After reviewing the case concerning tar sands in Canada, it is apparent that once again, there needs to be a change. Money only goes so far in the world, and if there is no action taken to help improve their environment, they will lose other aspects of society that contribute to the well-being of all individuals.  The results from the video show that the Alberta community is in environmental danger that is increasing rapidly. The power from the upperRead MoreThe State Of The Keystone Xl Pipeline1606 Words   |  7 Pagespolitics, news media and in our personal lives at home. Recently in the past few years, the news media has been vastly covering an ongoing political debate about the construction and proposed expansion of a pipe system to transport crude oil from the Alberta province in Canada to the Gulf Coast region of Texas by the TransCanada Company. The pipeline infrastructure in place known as the Keystone Pipeline would now feature a larger section, which would be known as the Keystone XL. Many arguments to beRead MoreThe Pipeline Is A Proposed Crude Oil Pipeline1012 Words   |  5 PagesKeystone pipeline is a proposed crude oil pipeline that would be built from Hardisty, Alberta all way through Steele, Nebraska. It would stretch for 1,179 miles and it would transport up to 830,000 barrels of oil per day. The project was proposed by Trans-Canada to the United States government in 2005 and since then, it has been a controversial subj ect between the two neighbouring countries. The company argues that the pipeline would support more than 42,000 direct and indirect jobs while reducingRead MoreThe Oil Business1794 Words   |  8 Pagesgovernment to pass the bill, which would allow for the building of the pipeline to begin. If passed, the company TransCanada would head up the building of the pipeline. The pipeline itself would consist of 2000 miles of pipeline that would carry tar sands oils from Alberta Canada south across the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. This paper will focus on the direct impacts the pipeline would bring to the United States environmentally and economically, and in particular focusing on the overall negative effects