Summary Of Tarmageddon By Andrew Nikiforuk

The oil production in Canada has several significant issues that depict the destruction nature of the industry. These issues can be categorized as environmental, political, economic, and social. The environmental issues lead the pack; in that the environmental destruction associated with the industry is extensive. The environmental problems are climatic, land, water and air related (Best & Hoberg, 2015). Under climatic effect, studies indicate that the development of the tar sides has resulted to three times more greenhouse gases (GHGs) than in production of conventional oil. These environmental issues are caused by the composition of the tar sands. Unlike the convention oil, tar sands are a mixture of bitumen and sand. The process of separating the two results triples GHGs emissions when compared to conventional oil production (Koring, 2013).

Government has been working closely with industry for years, which is also a key factor in developing the oil sands in a socially responsible way. Most major oil companies are involved with initiatives like Water for Life Strategy, Alberta Water Council and Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada (CAPP, 2012). Alberta’s oil sands are being developed with social responsibility in mind.

       The Alberta oil sands are a large contributor to the pollution of the air and water. They're responsible for 9.3% of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions and 0.13% of global emissions. The oil sands already produce a large amount of air pollution but the emissions are

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.

In “Tarmageddon,” Andrew Nikiforuk is talking about his ideas and explain how the tar sands influence in Canada, such as environment pollution, policy and economic. The author wrote an excellent title which guides and attracts audiences to continue to read the essay and find out the reading purpose in this article. In addition, he directed to use the keywords, “dirty oil” and “corrupt petro-state”, to mention what is serious issue effect in Canada. Andrew Nikiforuk ,who is Canadian journalist, he has wrote a number of articles. The Green Interview indicate that “Andrew Nikiforuk has won seven National Magazine Awards, and his investigative writing has been honoured by the Association of Canadian Journalists.” Therefore, I believe article of

The Alberta oil sands operations are the fastest growing source of heat-trapping greenhouse gas in Canada. Therefore, as environmental concerns increase with amplified pollution, governments must ensure policies are in place as to avoid further environmental damage. Currently the government does not enforce enough environmental policies to properly protect this beautiful country and its people. Moreover, the alternative components of the oil sands business contribute an enormous amount of environmental destruction. Pipelines to transport crude oil from the refineries to cities across North America cut across sacred land and pipelines and freighters have high possibility of spillage. Furthermore, the damage to human health from water contamination and air pollution is a major concern, the oil sands business causes massive detriment to human wellbeing. Lastly, the surrounding area of the oil sands are deeply affected. The deforestation of the boreal forest and the toxic tailings ponds that surround the operation endanger wildlife and the environment.

Nearly fourteen years ago, the Calgary-based oil enterprise "Enbridge" announced its most controversial project yet; to build a $6.5-billion oil-duct from Bruderheim, Alberta to Kitimat, British Columbia (Canadian Press, 2013, para. 1). It was to be named the "Northern Gateway Pipeline”.Enbridge 's preliminary announcement on the sixth of March, 2002, not only divided the province of British Columbia on whether environmental or economic prosperity was more important, but the country of Canada as a whole. Although the name "Northern Gateway" is well-known in many Western-Canadian households, few truly know the details of what this project entails. Many environmentalists and economists (Mortillara, Nicole, Global News, 2014) debate the benefits and the negative-impacts that this pipeline will have on Canadians and Canadian society. Others, though, are trying to understand what steps are being taken to ensure environmental sustainability during construction, and for the many years after its projected completion.This multi-billion dollar project has many vocal opposers, and a seemingly equal amount of environmental risks that accompanies it, all adding up to the general consensus that this duct is not worth the economic benefits that it would produce.

The article, “Stop oilsands expansion, Canadian and U.S. researchers say” by CBC News is a convincing model of how Canada should progress with the oil sands in the future due to the credibility of the arguments. As stated in the article, “The answer isn’t a moratorium, but even more spending on research to mitigate the industry’s impacts” . All in all, the article was convincing as the analysts show maturity and a sense of realism to understand that the Canadian economy needs the oil sands so expansion may be harmful, but a moratorium is out of the

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.

In 2015, the world will face a vast amount of dilemmas; these dilemmas range from how someone is going to get their food to how they are going to cook. But the biggest dilemma of them all, is how they are going to continue to get energy to do everyday tasks. The most efficient resources are those of the nonrenewable variety. These nonrenewable resources include fossil fuels, such as coal, natural gas, and petroleum. Someday these resources will run out and will not be replenished for thousands of years. As of now, an overwhelming majority of the energy used in the world today is non-renewable. We, as civilized people, are so dependent on fossil fuels that we go through extraneous efforts to retrieve these properties. The world needs energy to function and sites that once contained vital resources are on the verge of depletion. It is inevitable that the world looks elsewhere for another resource to absorb the depleting reservoirs. One reservoir capable of withstanding the demand for oil are the tar sands located near Alberta, Canada. These tar sands are the third largest reservoir of crude oil in the world and are conveniently located just north of the United States border (About the Project). There is a wide spread debate on whether or not the crude oil produced from these tar sands should be transported via pipeline. With critical analysis of all point of views, it is without a doubt that the United States should cease their delay on

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.

The other adverse effect of the Canadian oil sands is that pipelines and massive processes of refining oil sands in Canada are a source of pollution that pose a great threat to air, water, and land as well as human health. Additionally, the use of its products like natural gas that is used to run medium-sized turbines that produce electricity releases greenhouse gases. These emissions are mostly produced when steam is injected to reduce the viscosity of the crude and during refining. These further increases to the global warming effect that is already out of hand and it also negates the gains made by society by exposing them to the adverse negative

Americans have been drilling for oil for more than half of their existence. Before the 1850’s oil was of little use and had no market for commerce as there was not one overwhelming use for it. Until around the 1850’s, when technology advanced, with it sparking search for one of the most sought after natural resources that countries would later go to war over, petroleum oil. Early inventions like the kerosene lamp provided a new stable home necessity to live by, increasing the demand for crude oil. This would be met in part by Colonel Edwin Drake, who drilled the first successful oil well in 1858. While Drake’s invention for extracting crude oil from the ground would bring about a new era for industrialization, his “black gold” would bring about an even larger effect, the environmental disasters caused by man. For over one hundred and fifty years of drilling for oil, both on shore and offshore, has led to some of the worst catastrophes to both nature and mankind. While many of these catastrophes have led to the deaths of hundreds of crew members, they have also led to long lasting effects on the environment, local and national economies, legislation, regulations, and human morale. These following effects can be seen in the most recent and most contaminated marine oil spill in history. To the media and public it’s known as the British Petroleum offshore drilling oil spill in 2010.

Canada is one of the developed nations in the world and with that comes a certain type of lifestyle that its citizens are accustomed to and often expect. This lifestyle is definitely not conscious of the environment at most times, however is trying to improve or at least find some kind of alternative to environmental problems that we can’t actually fix because they’ve become an important part of our everyday life. For that, our lifestyle has been measured by way of an ecological footprint and the results obviously haven’t been something to be proud of. Although there are many reasons why the ecological footprint of Canada is so high, one of the reasons is because of our excessive fossil fuel emissions from our cars, trucks, busses and planes.

Oil has become extremely vital in our society, so vital that it has affected developed and developing countries. It is a massive contributor to economic growth as well as environmental destruction. The Alberta Oil Sands has destroyed acres of local ecosystems, but has also achieved and ensured that Canada stays as an economic power. The economical, cultural, and political benefits the oil sands give to Canada makes it an asset they can not function without.