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cali

(114,904 posts)
Tue Apr 2, 2013, 07:42 AM Apr 2013

Powerful NYT Op-Ed: The Tar Sands Disaster

IF President Obama blocks the Keystone XL pipeline once and for all, he’ll do Canada a favor.

Canada’s tar sands formations, landlocked in northern Alberta, are a giant reserve of carbon-saturated energy — a mixture of sand, clay and a viscous low-grade petroleum called bitumen. Pipelines are the best way to get this resource to market, but existing pipelines to the United States are almost full. So tar sands companies, and the Alberta and Canadian governments, are desperately searching for export routes via new pipelines.

<snip>

The most obvious reason is that tar sands production is one of the world’s most environmentally damaging activities. It wrecks vast areas of boreal forest through surface mining and subsurface production. It sucks up huge quantities of water from local rivers, turns it into toxic waste and dumps the contaminated water into tailing ponds that now cover nearly 70 square miles.

Also, bitumen is junk energy. A joule, or unit of energy, invested in extracting and processing bitumen returns only four to six joules in the form of crude oil. In contrast, conventional oil production in North America returns about 15 joules. Because almost all of the input energy in tar sands production comes from fossil fuels, the process generates significantly more carbon dioxide than conventional oil production.

<snip>

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/01/opinion/the-tar-sands-disaster.html?_r=0

15 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Powerful NYT Op-Ed: The Tar Sands Disaster (Original Post) cali Apr 2013 OP
K&R, a must read G_j Apr 2013 #1
K+R And here's yet another informative article nonoyes Apr 2013 #2
K G_j Apr 2013 #3
I believe that the Governors of the states with the pipeline right of way, should be answering to DhhD Apr 2013 #11
MUST READ malaise Apr 2013 #4
K&R 99Forever Apr 2013 #5
K&R. Overseas Apr 2013 #6
k&r rhett o rick Apr 2013 #7
Duplicate posting from yesterday happyslug Apr 2013 #8
Many articles are linked in different forums. nonoyes Apr 2013 #14
k and r Berlum Apr 2013 #9
From the article: "Bitumen is junk energy". About says it all. n/t truth2power Apr 2013 #10
HUGE K & R !!! WillyT Apr 2013 #12
The last paragraph siligut Apr 2013 #13
Oh, we don't need the GOP doing it...we are good doing it ourselves. Evoman Apr 2013 #15
 

nonoyes

(261 posts)
2. K+R And here's yet another informative article
Tue Apr 2, 2013, 08:22 AM
Apr 2013
Seven things you learn driving the length of the Keystone XL pipeline

That debate can get a bit abstract at times. And so, to make things more concrete, my colleague Steven Mufson decided to take a road trip last summer down the length of the proposed Keystone route, from Alberta to Texas.
He’s written the whole trip up in an excellent new e-book “Keystone XL: Down The Line.” The book is a fairly quick read and really offers a fascinatingly detailed look at many of the issues raised by the pipeline. It’s highly recommended for anyone interested in energy and environmental topics.
Here are seven interesting things about the Keystone XL pipeline I came across in the book — though keep in mind there’s a lot more in there:


http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/04/01/seven-things-you-learn-driving-the-length-of-the-keystone-xl-pipeline/

DhhD

(4,695 posts)
11. I believe that the Governors of the states with the pipeline right of way, should be answering to
Tue Apr 2, 2013, 10:49 AM
Apr 2013

the public about who will be making this $25 million a day as the paid for product is being loaded on ships for transport to foreign countries?

Is is not true that China has been allowed to buy land leases in our country? How many export refineries and coastal shipping facilities do they own? Texas Governor Rick Perry knows the answer; ask him for starters.

Testing on varies section of the Ogallala Aquifer should be going on now. So there is a starting point is knowing that contamination was NOT already present there.

Department of the Interior should demand that the Energy Company(ies) set up a clean up/spills manual that says that the company will set up reservoir lakes if the Great Plains aquifer system and its downstream users, receive contaminated the water from any source. Then tar sands may not be worth the money. The Obama Administration was supposed to be studying the venture.

http://co.water.usgs.gov/nawqa/hpgw/HPGW_home.html

[link:co.water.usgs.gov/nawg/hpgw/HPGW|http://co.water.usgs.gov/nawqa/hpgw/HPGW]



 

nonoyes

(261 posts)
14. Many articles are linked in different forums.
Tue Apr 2, 2013, 11:13 AM
Apr 2013

Not everyone reads each and every forum for articles they might find of interest.

I'm not sure what your point is in pointing this duplication out. I would imagine more people read this General Discussion Forum than read a forum on Environment. We will see. So far today, this article has been viewed almost 10 times more than the link in the other forum.

siligut

(12,272 posts)
13. The last paragraph
Tue Apr 2, 2013, 11:03 AM
Apr 2013
Mr. Obama must do what’s best for America. But stopping Keystone XL would be a major step toward stopping large-scale environmental destruction, the distortion of Canada’s economy and the erosion of its democracy.


The GOP greed destroying democracy in Canada now.

Evoman

(8,040 posts)
15. Oh, we don't need the GOP doing it...we are good doing it ourselves.
Tue Apr 2, 2013, 12:45 PM
Apr 2013

The government we have is absolutely horrible. They are ruining our country just fine by themselves.

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