Grist | Topics | 23 Results

RESULTS		Results 1 – 23 of 23
Headline	Author	Published	Section
A billion here, a billion there Alberta sets aside nearly $4 billion for public transport and CCS	Sean Casten	10 Jul 2008	Gristmill
From Greenwire ($ub. req'd) comes this news from Alberta that sounds so promising and then gets it so very wrong. First the good news: Alberta, under continuing pressure to do something about their tar-sand driven boom in CO2 emissions, has committed to using C$4 billion worth ($3.92 billion) of their budget surplus to lowering CO2 emissions. Whatever one thinks of tar sands, that's admirable. But then, in an all-too-common case of confusing the path with the goal ...
Topics: Alberta, carbon sequestration, climate, climate change mitigation, oil sands, public transportation (all these topics)

Oil prices will go ... up? No easy explanation for continued price increases in the oil markets	Jason D Scorse	07 Jul 2008	Gristmill
At the end of last year I predicted that the price of oil would go down; so far I have been terribly wrong. My prediction, shared by many other economists and energy experts, was premised on a reasonable assumption: Since the world was headed for an economic slowdown, brought about the housing bubble and the financial crisis, global demand for energy would likely moderate, putting downward pressure on prices. While it was a sensible prediction, I am happy that no one ...
Topics: economy, energy, gas prices, oil, oil sands, renewable energy (all these topics)

Me Tar Sands, You Insane U.S. emphasis on Canada's tar sands a bad idea, says report		04 Jun 2008	News
Posted at 2:43 PM on 04 Jun 2008 As the United States expands its oil-refining capabilities, more than two-thirds of planned capacity will be devoted to processing crude oil from Canada's tar sands, says a new report from the Environmental Integrity Project and Environmental Defense Canada. Tar-sands capacity is predicted to see a total increase of 1.9 million barrels per day, says the report, while conventiona ...
Topics: Canada, energy, insanity, news, oil, oil sands, United States (all these topics)

Time for tar sands The mag exalts Canada's potential to become the Saudi Arabia of the north	Joseph Romm	28 May 2008	Gristmill
This post is by ClimateProgress guest blogger Bill Becker, executive director of the Presidential Climate Action Project. ----- I consider Time to be one of the more forward-looking periodicals when it comes to the environment. But the editors messed up in this week's edition. The June 2 Time carries a breathless feature about the potential petroleum bonanza in Canada's tar sands. The article's authors are so giddy with the testosterone rush of big-ass earth-moving ...
Topics: Alberta, deforestation, energy, magazines, mining, oil, oil sands (all these topics)

Ducks per gallon Tar sands are hardly 'environmentally responsible'	Josh Dorner	02 May 2008	Gristmill
Alberta's tar sands got yet another huge black eye this week when as many as 500 ducks died after simply landing on a giant pond full of highly toxic oil sands tailings. Only five were said to have survived their toxic plunge. A member of a Canadian environmental watchdog group described the water found in the ponds as follows: Drinking a glass of water from a tailings pond would be like drinking a diluted glass of oil or gasoline. Whether the bitumen is cooked ...
Topics: Alberta, animal welfare, energy, environmental movement, international politics, oil sands, politics (all these topics)

Reason #689,251 oil sands suck	David Roberts	30 Apr 2008	Gristmill
Killing ducks?! Come on now.
Topics: oil sands, energy, animal welfare (all these topics)

Focus on fossil fools A different way to mark April Fools' Day	Erik Hoffner	25 Mar 2008	Gristmill
Just one week until Fossil Fools Day! April 1 will mark a day of creative protest against global fossil energy industry hegemony, sparked by grassroots action group Rising Tide. Here's their list of suggested targets: New coal plants Proposed liquefied natural gas import terminals Proposed oil and natural gas pipelines Oil refineries Existing coal plants Local electricity providers Mountaintop removal mining sites near or connected to you Tar sands Che ...
Topics: coal, energy, fossil fuels, grassroots activism, oil sands, politics (all these topics)

Canadians Are So Cute When They're Mad Canadians fear U.S. energy bill clause could disallow oil-sands exports		11 Mar 2008	News
Posted at 2:17 PM on 11 Mar 2008 A clause in the recently passed U.S. energy bill could be interpreted to prevent the U.S. from sourcing fuel from Canada's oil sands, putting Canadian officials all in a tizzy. Section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security Act prohibits the U.S. government from purchasing alternative fuels with higher lifecycle greenhouse-gas emissions than conven ...
Topics: Canada, energy, greenhouse-gas emissions, legislation, news, oil, oil sands, politics, United States (all these topics)

Sand Boxed Canadian federal court ruling could halt planned oil-sands project		06 Mar 2008	News
Posted at 11:02 AM on 06 Mar 2008 A Canadian federal court has ruled in favor of environmental groups that sued in opposition to a massive planned oil-sands mine in Alberta. The 120-square-mile strip mine had recently been approved by a joint federal-provincial panel that found the project's estimated annual greenhouse-gas emissions of 3.7 million tons to be insignificant. Yet no justification was given for the finding ...
Topics: Canada, climate, litigation, news, oil, oil sands (all these topics)

Sands Between Your Woes Canada oil sands not good for the environment, says study		11 Jan 2008	News
Posted at 1:34 PM on 11 Jan 2008 To absolutely no one's surprise, Canada's oil-sands operations have been given poor environmental marks in a study by green groups Pembina Institute and the World Wildlife Fund. Ten oil-sands ventures in the province of Alberta, including seven that have not yet started producing, were rated on their pollution of (or potential to pollute) the land, air, and water, as well as their ...
Topics: Canada, energy, news, oil, oil sands, World Wildlife Fund (all these topics)

Proof that 'beyond petroleum' was greenwashing BP joins 'biggest global warming crime ever seen'	Joseph Romm	19 Dec 2007	Gristmill
The tar sands are rightly called one of the world's greatest environmental crimes, as I've written. No company that invests in the Canadian tar sands can legitimately call itself green. Yet BP, the oil company that lavished millions on advertising its move 'Beyond Petroleum,' announced this month it's putting $3 billion into this dirtiest of dirty fuels! BP is buying a half-share of the ironically named Sunrise field: 'BP's move into oil sands is an opportunit ...
Topics: fossil fuels, energy, oil, greenwashing, business, oil sands (all these topics)

The Sands of Grime Waterways downstream from oil sands are full o' toxins, says study		09 Nov 2007	News
Posted at 1:46 PM on 09 Nov 2007 Fish, water, and sediment downstream from the gigantic oil sands projects in Alberta are chock-full of carcinogens and other toxins, says a new study. While the research does not make a direct link between the oil sands, the toxins, and presumed health consequences, the largely Native residents of downstream community Fort Chipewyan have long suspected that they experience high ...
Topics: Alberta, energy, environmental justice, health, news, oil, oil sands, scientific research, toxics (all these topics)

The tar sands Canada's version of liquid coal	Joseph Romm	11 Oct 2007	Gristmill
Canada has about as much recoverable oil in its tar sands as Saudi Arabia has conventional oil. They should leave most of it in the ground. Tar sands are pretty much the heavy gunk they sound like, and making liquid fuels from them requires huge amounts of energy for steam injection and refining. Canada is currently producing about one million barrels of oil a day from the tar sands, and that is projected to triple over the next two decades. The tar sands a ...
Topics: Canada, energy, oil, oil sands (all these topics)

O Canada, what are you doing? Tar sands are the enemy of the planet	Jon Rynn	14 Sep 2007	Gristmill
Our civilization's addiction to oil is being displayed in all its nefarious glory in the tar sands of Canada. According to Chris Nelder: What we have here is arguably the most environmentally destructive activity man has ever attempted, with a compliant government, insatiable demand, and an endless supply of capital turning it into 'a speeding car with a gas pedal and no brakes.' It sucks down critical and rapidly diminishing amounts of both natural gas and water, paying ...
Topics: Canada, energy, oil, oil sands (all these topics)

Conoco Your Own Way First major U.S. oil company joins coalition to limit greenhouse gases		12 Apr 2007	Daily Grist
Conoco Your Own Way First major U.S. oil company joins coalition to limit greenhouse gases You thought the times were a-changin' in the '60s? Meet 2007, baby! This week, ConocoPhillips became the first major U.S. oil company to join the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a coalition of green groups and corporations begging Congress to impose federal limits on greenhouse gases forthelovag ...
Topics: Big Oil, climate, energy, greenhouse-gas emissions, news, oil sands (all these topics)

Canadian business: 'Please send Mexicans' Skills shortage in Alberta	John McGrath	27 Feb 2007	Gristmill
From the unfolding saga of 'how Canada can suck ever more oil from the ground' we get this little news item: Canada and Mexico should accelerate efforts to import temporary Mexican energy workers to alleviate the skills shortage in Alberta and other provinces as oil sands development ramps up, top North American CEOs will recommend today. It's mildly amusing that the most heavily Republican Conservative region of Canada is so desperate for workers that Mexicans are a ...
Topics: oil, oil sands (all these topics)

Dinosaur Farts? Alberta premier doesn't like Al Gore talkin' smack about oil sands		06 Jul 2006	Daily Grist
Dinosaur Farts? Alberta premier doesn't like Al Gore talkin' smack about oil sands Al Gore has pushed the buttons of Ralph Klein, premier of Canada's conservative Alberta province (think North Dakota, but even norther). Interviewed in the latest Rolling Stone, Gore disparaged Alberta's oil-sands industry: "For every barrel of oil they extract there, they have to use enough natural gas to heat ...
Topics: Al Gore, Canada, climate, energy, news, oil, oil sands (all these topics)

Tar sands fever	John McGrath	20 May 2006	Gristmill
Via GCC, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers has announced that by 2020, Canada will be producing almost 5 million barrels of oil, almost all of that being from tar sands.This explains, in large part, why Canada has opted for empty symbolism: We've hitched our wagon to the tar sands, come hell and high water. I'm actually pretty sympathetic to our new Conservative government, who at least made their disdain for Kyoto honestly known. The previous Liberals wer ...
Topics: oil, oil sands, Canada (all these topics)

High gas prices: priming the pump Driving less is great, but producing more oil is a less-desirable reaction	Clark Williams-Derry	27 Apr 2006	Gristmill
In this post, David echoes what seems to be conventional eco-wisdom on high gas prices: It's good that gas prices are rising. We want people to buy more fuel-efficient cars and drive less. I'm not so certain. Sure, high prices will spur people to use less gas. But the incentives cut both ways: high prices also spur energy companies to produce more oil. And now that most of the world's easy-to-reach, easy-to-refine oil has already been put to the drill, hig ...
Topics: energy, gas prices, oil, oil sands (all these topics)

Chavez makes a play New scheme for OPEC would make Venezuela's oil reserves world's largest	David Roberts	05 Apr 2006	Gristmill
There's some big stuff happening in Venezuela these days. In an interview with the BBC, President Hugo Chavez announced a bid that could change the entire world oil situation. He wants OPEC to set its long-term oil target price at $50/barrel. Why? At $50, large portions of Venezuela's copious heavy crude in the Orinoco Tar Sands become economically viable, and Venezuela's official oil reserves automatically skyrocket to 312 billion barrels -- surpassing Saudi Arabia's ...
Topics: international politics, oil, oil sands, Venezuela (all these topics)

Sand Trap Cancers, other diseases rising near Alberta oil sands		13 Mar 2006	Daily Grist
Sand Trap Cancers, other diseases rising near Alberta oil sands Illnesses including leukemia and lymphomas are cropping up at greater than expected rates in a First Nations community near oil sands in Canada's Alberta province. Elders at Fort Chipewyan say incidence of disease started rising when the oil industry started extracting and processing hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil a day near their comm ...
Topics: Alberta, energy, health, news, oil, oil sands (all these topics)

Tar Nation Canada's oil sands boom for business, bust for environment		11 Oct 2005	Daily Grist
Tar Nation Canada's oil sands boom for business, bust for environment We have seen our energy future, and it's very, very dirty. By some estimates, the oil sands of northern Alberta, Canada, contain 175 billion barrels of crude, reserves second only to Saudi Arabia's. Problem is, getting usable oil out of the tarry, sticky sand requires clearing vast swaths of forest, burning tons of natural gas, polluting millions o ...
Topics: Canada, energy, news, oil, oil sands (all these topics)

Gentlemen, start your SUVs The dirty truth about Canada's famed oil sands.	Tom Philpott	11 Oct 2005	Gristmill
[W]hen Canada announced in 2004 that it has more recoverable oil from tar sands than there is oil in Saudi Arabia, the world yawned. There is estimated to be about as much oil recoverable from the shale rocks in Colorado and other western states as in all the oil fields of OPEC nations. Yes, the cost of getting that oil is still prohibitively expensive, but the combination of today's high fuel prices and improved extraction techniques means that the break-even point for ...
Topics: Canada, energy, oil, oil sands (all these topics)

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