The Alberta Oil Sands The Alberta Oil Sands

The Alberta Oil Sands

The Alberta Oil Sands By: Aidan Witvoet

What Is Social Justice? • Social Justice is supporting or encouraging equality, human rights and other things that may benefit many people. • Social Justice is also making a difference in the lives of people in a certain country or around the world (for the better).

What Are The Alberta Oil Sands? • The Alberta Oil Sands are oil mining areas in Alberta that are supposed to be "not as harmful" to the environment as mining for oil. • The Alberta Oil Sands project is a very controversial issue because there are HUGE environmental risks, but the oil sands benefit our economy greatly.

Good Things About The Alberta Oil Sands • According to the government of Alberta, "About 71 square kilometers are under active reclamation". • The government of Alberta also says that as they proceed with these oil sands, they are developing better reclamation techniques and technology.

• These oil sands benefit our economy by creating jobs, creating more trading opportunities with other countries. . . etc. • The government of Alberta closely monitors the emissions of these oil sands facilities, to make sure that the air remains within the provincial standards. • These oil companies try their best not to disturb wildlife in the area, and to keep the animals out of these hazardous facilities.

Bad Things About The Alberta Oil Sands • According to Desmogblog, "Oil sands mining is licensed to use twice the amount of fresh water that the entire city of Calgary uses in a year". • If the toxic liquid from a tailing pond in one of the facilities leaks into one of the many nearby rivers, this would wipe out much of the aquatic life connected to the rivers.

• It is said that making one barrel of oil from the oil sands emits up to THREE TIMES more greenhouse gasses than a barrel of oil from your average oil. • By 2020, it is estimated that the two "most active" oil companies will have made tailing ponds of toxic liquid that will be over one billion cubic meters big! • The Alberta Oil Sands are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada.

My Action Plan • Im going to take Action against The Alberta Oil Sands and their outrageous plan to turn much of the boreal forest into a toxic wasteland! • We cannot let this happen, so I am going to try my best to use a mode of transportation that does not use fossil fuels. • I will also encourage others to use modes of transportation that do not use fossil fuels as well.

Bibliography Text • Alberta Geological Survey. Last revised: 7 April 2011. 22 February 2012. <http: //www. ags. gov. ab. ca/energy/oilsands/alberta_oil_sands. html>. • Cenovus Energy. 14 February 2012. <http: //cenovus. com/news/a-different-oilsands. html>. • Desmogblog. 13 February 2012. <http: //desmogblog. com/top-10 -facts-canadaalberta-oil-sands-information>. • Forestethics. 14 February 2012. <http: //forestethics. org/tar-sands-the-issue>.

Text • One Blue Marble. 13 February 2012. <http: //one-blue-marble. com/alberta-tarsands 2. html>. • Government of Alberta. Last Revised: 31 December 2010. 14 February 2012. <http: //www. oilsands. alberta. ca/>. • Wikipedia. Last revised: 22 February 2012. <http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Social_justice>. • Wikipedia. Last revised: 8 February 2012. 10 February 2012. <http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/oil_sands>.

Pictures • <http: //www. google. ca/search? tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&q=alber ta+oil+sands&btn. G=Search+Images&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=g 10&aql=&o q=&biw=1024&bih=672&sei=Im. ZFT 7 Oc. Ae. HL 0 QGkqpzq. Aw>. • <http: //www. google. ca/search? hl=en&tbo=d&gbv=2&tbm=isch&q=al berta+tar+sands&revid=347817583&sa=X&ei=Im. ZFT 5 f. DDu. HY 0 QH 824 Hq. Aw&ved=0 CDAQ 1 QIo. Ag&biw=1024&bih=672>. • <http: //www. google. ca/search? tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&q=recla mation+area&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=g. S 1&aql=&oq=&biw=1024&bih=672&sei=PARHT 4 mi. FMfh 0 QG 32 onu DQ>

Pictures • <http: //www. onearth. org/files/onearth/article_images/07 fall_alberta 4 1_slideshow. jpg>