Tar Sands
Tar Sands
The majority of oil used by the United States as well as internationally soon may come from the tar sands in Alberta, Canada. Extracting oil from tar sands is an extremely costly and immensely dirty way of obtaining fuel. There is currently a plan to build a pipeline, the Keystone XL, which will run from the supply of tar sands in Albert down the western United States to refineries in Texas. There are two major concerns when dealing with the creation of this pipeline and the increased use of tar sands. There is the unavoidable fear that this pipe with leak partnered with the fact that refining tar sands causes far more greenhouse emissions than traditional oil extracting methods. Arguments for this toxic highway include the creations of American jobs and a strong need to free our country from our dependence on foreign oil. However recent studies have shown that if the Keystone XL is built, it could actually have the opposite effect on our economy. Eventually this project will leading to job loss and end up feeding the global market of dirty oil, all while causing repugnant negative externalities on the bodies of American citizens and doing irreversible damage to the earth.
The once the picturesque boreal forests of Canada’s Alberta province now has a vastly different landscape. Today this area is filled with filthy strip mines and tailing ponds so large they are visible from space. For here lies the world’s largest reserve of tar sands, a mixture of clay, sand, water and bitumen. Heavy black viscous oil, bitumen can be harvested and refined to yield a high amount of fossil fuel. However, mining and refining tar sand into usable oil is an extremely costly and complex process as compared to traditional oil excavating techniques. The tar sands, commonly referred to as oil sands, must first be extracted from the land. Unlike liquid oil, tar sands cannot simply be pumped from the ground through a well. Either strip mining or open pit mining is required
The majority of oil used by the United States as well as internationally soon may come from the tar sands in Alberta, Canada. Extracting oil from tar sands is an extremely costly and immensely dirty way of obtaining fuel. There is currently a plan to build a pipeline, the Keystone XL, which will run from the supply of tar sands in Albert down the western United States to refineries in Texas. There are two major concerns when dealing with the creation of this pipeline and the increased use of tar sands. There is the unavoidable fear that this pipe with leak partnered with the fact that refining tar sands causes far more greenhouse emissions than traditional oil extracting methods. Arguments for this toxic highway include the creations of American jobs and a strong need to free our country from our dependence on foreign oil. However recent studies have shown that if the Keystone XL is built, it could actually have the opposite effect on our economy. Eventually this project will leading to job loss and end up feeding the global market of dirty oil, all while causing repugnant negative externalities on the bodies of American citizens and doing irreversible damage to the earth.
The once the picturesque boreal forests of Canada’s Alberta province now has a vastly different landscape. Today this area is filled with filthy strip mines and tailing ponds so large they are visible from space. For here lies the world’s largest reserve of tar sands, a mixture of clay, sand, water and bitumen. Heavy black viscous oil, bitumen can be harvested and refined to yield a high amount of fossil fuel. However, mining and refining tar sand into usable oil is an extremely costly and complex process as compared to traditional oil excavating techniques. The tar sands, commonly referred to as oil sands, must first be extracted from the land. Unlike liquid oil, tar sands cannot simply be pumped from the ground through a well. Either strip mining or open pit mining is required