Stunning photos drive home the destructiveness of tar sands

[Submariner]

Dial-up warning: many large photos.

http://www.businessinsider.com/canadian-oil-sands-flyover-2012-5?op=1

[NYC_SKP]

1. Take nothing but pictures, Leave nothing but footprints...

...kill nothing but time.

[GCP]

2. Ugly

You can see these huge pits from 35,000 ft when flying cross-country. They're raping the earth in the name of fossil fuel.

[FogerRox]

14. Visible from Orbit......... Visible on Google EArth too.

[asjr]

3. The Greed Basin.

[Surya Gayatri]

4. Amazing! Almost as informative as an on-site guided tour.

The super-heated steam drilling process certainly looks cleaner and less destructive than the open-pit mines. But, what's happening underground?

Thanks for posting this, Sub!

[tabatha]

5. This needs to go viral.

How disgusting. How heartbreaking.

Ruining the planet so that we can drive around with gas and ruin the planet more.

[dkf]

6. Maybe that is the trade off for 240,000 jobs and affordable oil.

Canada is in a lot better shape financially because they are doing this sort of thing. If we greatly dislike it we need to boost oil prices significantly higher to discourage use and encourage a transition to renewables.

It's all about choices.

[arikara]

18. Yet if the oil prices weren't so high

it wouldn't be worth their while to destroy so much of Alberta to extract it. Its a catch 22.

[BlueToTheBone]

20. When the only thing left is money

what will we eat? How will we live?

I agree that we need to discourage and boost, but I think human nature would move more easily if we boosted first and then raised. Alternatives that are possible is the only way it can happen. Without war, we could subsidize the remediation of the planet.

But of course, first, we must deal with the greedy and that is the real question. How?

[dickthegrouch]

7. And you know those trucks are the size of small houses /nt

[otohara]

8. So Much Destruction

for one barrel of oil.

Thanks for posting.

[Meiko]

9. I thought it was interesting

to note that the oil companies must return the land to it's original condition. At least they don't just leave a big open pit like so many mining operations do.

[tabatha]

12. There is no way at all, ever, that the land can be returned to its original condition.

The soil is disturbed and will take a very long time to recover if at all.

In the meantime all of the invasive plants that proliferate in disturbed areas will take over - probably permanently.

99% of California grasslands are non-native, and they will never return to what they were - and this invasion occurred in areas that were not disturbed at all.

[Meiko]

15. Poor choice of

words on my part. The hole will be filled in, how's that? At least they are forced to cover it up unlike what used to be. I have to agree it would be nice if they could plant something for ground cover, even a tree or two would be nice.

[FogerRox]

13. SLightly inaccurate

All they have to do is establish grasses and such, but once the Muskeg is torn up, it'll take 1000 years to re establish the Muskeg- peat bogs.

So they'll fill in the holes, and drag some soil over the top and plant grasses and such.

[Meiko]

16. You are correct

It will never be original condition. I don't think you can even regenerate muskeg, that stuff is an eco system onto itself.

[FogerRox]

17. Yup- IT would take 100's if not a 1000 years for Muskeg to develop

In a best case scenario..... sigh

[arikara]

19. They can't and won't.

This land was muskeg, which is basically the kidneys of the Earth. What they do is cover it up a bit and plant some easy to grow grasses and trees that never grew there before, a few deer and rabbits might eventually move in but it is in no way what it used to be. There is no way with that destruction that they can put it back and the Harper government could care less as long as the Chinese gets their oil.

[FogerRox]

10. Destroying the Muskeg, the Canadian peat bogs

Yes, they're supposed to replant the areas, with grass and bushes, it will take 1000 yrs to regenerate the Muskeg if at all.

[arcane1]

11. It's like scraping out the residue from a crack pipe, for just one more hit