As I wrote in Our Choice two years ago, gasoline
made from the tar sands gives a Toyota Prius the same impact on climate as a Hummer using gasoline made from oil.
On a lifetime basis, a gallon of gasoline
made from tar sands produces about 15 % more carbon dioxide emissions than one made from conventional oil.
Increasingly larger volumes of liquid fuel
made from tar sands oil may, in the future, be exported from US refineries with access to an oil pipeline originating in Alberta Canada.
industry requires investment — our gov» t isn't directing any of the «billions»
it makes from the tar sands into green energy tech or even saving a penny of it for any useful reason.
Not exact matches
Refiners don't particularly want
tar sands oil, which is tougher to
make into usable transportation fuel, so it sells for about $ 20 to $ 30 less per barrel than crude
from Texas or the Dakotas.
But rather than searching for ways to stretch the oil we still have — like a modern Hanukkah — it
makes more sense to accelerate development of clean alternatives such as electric cars or biofuels
from algae — and avoid dirty ones like turning coal or
tar sands to liquid fuels.
Exxon was also concerned about reports that synthetic oil
made from coal,
tar sands and oil shales could significantly boost CO2 emissions.
History is being
made right now in Ottawa, Canada as hundreds of people
from across North America are risking arrest on Parliament Hill during a mass civil disobedience sit - in to protest
tar sands development.
My problem with Peak Oil is that once it is upon us it will trigger a desperate search for alternatives that will include
making gasoline
from coal,
tar sands and oil shales (among others).
From 2010 to 2020, emissions from the tar sands are expected to more than double, making it Canada's fastest - growing source of greenhouse gas pollut
From 2010 to 2020, emissions
from the tar sands are expected to more than double, making it Canada's fastest - growing source of greenhouse gas pollut
from the
tar sands are expected to more than double,
making it Canada's fastest - growing source of greenhouse gas pollution.
An overwhelming objection is that exploitation of
tar sands would
make it implausible to stabilize climate and avoid disastrous global climate impacts... [I] f emissions
from coal are phased out over the next few decades and if unconventional fossil fuels including
tar sands are left in the ground, it is conceivable to stabilize earth's climate.
State
made several flawed assumptions in its environmental review, including 1) an unrealistically low cost for transporting
tar sands by rail
from Alberta to Texas, 2) an inaccurate estimate of
tar sands production costs and 3) an unrealistic assumption that
tar sands production costs will not increase with rising labor, material and energy prices.
By Anthony Swift Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Wednesday, March 06, 2013 Read this blog post on the originating site In its recently released draft environmental review of the Keystone XL pipeline that would bring
tar sands from Canada to the Gulf Coast for export, the State Department attempts to
make...
Nuclear heat can provide the energy needed to extract the bitumens
from the
tar sands and to provide steam to
make hydrogen to upgrade the bitumen to pipeline standards.
It will launch a lot adapatation planning and new spending, and it will
make people more aware that sea level rise is real and serious, but to assume that it will also lead to a major shift in carbon usage and stop the
tar sands from being exploited and Keystone built, extend the wind tax credit, among many other things, is an assumption that can't be
made.
«Folks
made it known that Vermonters, and our friends
from the Northeast, oppose the proposed
tar sands pipeline, and that this project will face a concerted and stiff local resistance if and when big oil decides to try and move it forward,» said David Vandeusen, conservation organizer for the Vermont Sierra Club.
A time - lapsed map released today by the World Resources Institute using satellite imagery
from Global Forest Watch shows how much forest is being lost in Northern Alberta to
make way for major industrial operations, mainly to extract oil
from the
tar sands, also referred to as the oilsands.
Indeed, the market conditions and policies necessary to
make the
tar sands a cost - effective source of energy will almost certainly result in dangerous levels of global warming that will exceed two degrees Celsius, the internationally agreed upon limit that will prevent climate change
from destroying the planet.
You would only have surface rights but just wait a few years and oil pollution
from the
tar sands will be enough to
make it economical to recycle a few barrels at a time.
As the American public becomes acquainted with images of
tar sands flowing across lawns, driveways and streets of an Arkansas suburb near Little Rock (for video of the spill go here), Exxon is now
making the claim that the crude spilled
from its ruptured Pegasus pipeline isn't technically
tar sands.
The Church said # 12 million worth of investments in companies
making 10 % or more of their revenues
from the production of coal or oil
from tar sands would be sold.
If agreed by states, LCFS could have a significant impact on the sale of fuels derived
from Canadian
tar sands in the United States, regardless of any decision the Obama administration
makes over the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.
We'll just have to continue to wait and see what happens, but
make no mistake about it, the fact this conversation is even happening and that the future of KXL is still unknown is a huge victory for environmentalists and climate hawks who want to keep the
tar sands «carbon bomb»
from detonating.
Repeated a number of times is the stat about how much improvement has been
made: Greenhouse gas emissions per unit of output
from tar sands production have dropped 39 % since 1990 according to official figures — with a laundry list of improvements undertaken to reduce this aspect of their environmental impact.
With All Eyes on Keystone, Another
Tar Sands Pipeline Just Crossed the Border «The Keystone XL pipeline may be in political limbo, but that hasn't stopped another Canadian company from quietly pressing ahead on a pipeline project that will ramp up the volume of tar sands oil transported through the U.S.. What's more, the company, Enbridge, is making those changes without a permit, and environmental groups say it is flouting the l
Tar Sands Pipeline Just Crossed the Border «The Keystone XL pipeline may be in political limbo, but that hasn't stopped another Canadian company
from quietly pressing ahead on a pipeline project that will ramp up the volume of
tar sands oil transported through the U.S.. What's more, the company, Enbridge, is making those changes without a permit, and environmental groups say it is flouting the l
tar sands oil transported through the U.S.. What's more, the company, Enbridge, is
making those changes without a permit, and environmental groups say it is flouting the law.
This Monday, White House spokesperson Josh Earnest said that President Obama would
make a finial decision before the end of his term on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which would transport oil
from Canada's
tar sands into the U.S. and beyond if approved.