Avo posted this in the Current Events forum, but it's worth a re-post here. What a vicious, nasty scam the tar sands industry is:

[url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/30/AR2006053001429.html]Canada Pays Environmentally for U.S. Oil Thirst -
Huge Mines Rapidly Draining Rivers, Cutting Into Forests, Boosting Emissions[/url]

What an incredible mess.

(Free registration on the Washington Post site may, or may not, be required.)

From the article:

"There is a whole lot of work being done," Charles Ruigrok, chief executive of Syncrude, one of the largest companies, said at his corporate headquarters in downtown Fort McMurray. "I do believe technology will fix it."

and...

Industry officials say they do not pollute the river, and instead reuse the water they take as often as 17 times. The leftover emerges as a black, foul liquid collected in tailing ponds. The ponds have grown; one dam is among the largest in the world. The mining companies must fire off propane cannons to scare away migrating birds from the toxic waters.

Don't you just love technology ?

A junkie in the throws of addiction is a sad, sad site.

Too bad there isn't something like the Betty Ford Clinic for industrial civilization. There's no one to help though. No one to intervene.

Canada is a third world whorehouse. If you've got the money, she's got what you need. From the forests of British Columbia, to the tar sands of Alberta, to the cod of Nova Scotia. Just bring your money and Canada will bend right over for you.

That article clearly illustrates what Matthew Simmons calls turning Gold (Water) into Lead (Oil).

No problem with technology / intelligence just lack of wisdom in it's application.

I think mother nature is waiting in the wings, she bats last and hits very hard

If Canda takes every one of these plants and multiplies them by 20 timies,
20 more rivers,
20 more provinces ruined,
20 times the neighbors upset,
then amrica can be covered in her excesses.

But mother nature is destroyed.
And CO2 which is "REDUCED LIFE" fills the air each morning.

Yes I love your avatar Seldom! The entire tar sands is a one big Ponzi scheme. Canada is truly a whore. Such beutiful lands too! When I was up there in 2003 backpacking the Ponzi of death was gearing up to "hit" the last pristine areas. Gearing up for those last "glorious and free" days. Whata bunch of malarchy. what a load of shit.

I went up to the Aurora mine last year and shot a video of the tour out of the bus, around an hour long, you can see it on Google Video at:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... q=Oilsands

Oil Sands' Natural Gas Demand Expected to Triple

"We don't see any issues on gas availability," said Bill Wall, oil technical specialist for the NEB.

What a hoax. What a colossal god-damned farce that absurd operation is.

We deserve everything that is going to happen to us. Homo Hydrocarbonus indeed. We suck.

Wow, quite an enlightening video Snowrunner, thanks...

Thanks for the video, I've seen a couple of strip mininig areas but this one is quite depressing.. Sorry to say that but I hope the native people cursed the investors, planners and workers for this sheer destruction..

One can not escape the thought do they make some profit?
I mean the huge expensive tires and trucks, trailer park city for the
workers etc.. It looks so hopeless..

"sucking water from rivers and natural gas from wells and producing large amounts of gases linked to global warming."

When a new plant starts up alot of water is used to charge the closed loop system. Over time the amount of water that is used per barrel comes down. Once the mine has been played out(25-50yrs) and the water cleaned up to return to the river the actual average would be about 2/10,000 of a barrel per barrel of oil. Loses are from evaporation in settling ponds.

For the most part these plants are powered by natural gas turbines.(yes, like turbines in jets!) Turbines are one of the most efficient method to produce electricity from hydrocarbons. The excess electricity is sold on the grid. The turbines' hot exhaust gasses are then used to generate steam, making the turbine even more efficient. Gone are the days of the fire breathing boiler.

Nicely written prikey, you should go pro. So how do you suggest they clean the water? What are the losses of selling electricity into the grid at relatively remote locations? And are you sure they have 25-30yrs of gas and water to prop up tar sands mining?

Fucking idiots. I hope this is only happening in a small area, and becomes uneconomical quickly.

No problems with gas supply my butt, what a shitface.

Thanks Snowrunner for the video. Bloody lucky that Canada is such a huge country. If you did that damage here to land you would be Satan. You could have been on the moon for all I knew.

Whats the feel in Canada for what is happening to their forests and ecosystems? Only people stop this shit but it sounds like the true guradians that have been there for centuries have given up thier customery rights for jobs. When the locals give up its shit uphill.