ATHABASCA OIL SANDSBy Nicole LeSage

WHAT ARE THE ATHABASCA OIL

SANDS?

A large deposit of oil rich Bitumen A mix of crude oil, sand, clay and water They cover 141,000 km2 of lightly

populated boreal forest and muskeg The major provider for extracting oil in

Canada There are three main oil sands in the area

which are the Athabasca oil sands, Cold lake oil sands, and the Peace river oil sands

Where are oil sands located?

The oil sands are located in the northern half of Alberta

Primary located in and around of the city of Fort McMurray

Fort McMurray was a small town until the energy crisis in the 1970’s which transformed it to a boomtown

HOW DO THEY BENEFIT US?

Due to the oil sands Alberta has recorded the strongest period of economic growth in a province and the unemployment rate is the lowest in the history of the province

Due to the region the oil sands are in they are not likely to be in danger if a revolution or a war occurred in Canada.

Earns a profit in selling the oil internationally especially recently due to the increase in the price of oil

HOW DO THEY HURT OUR ENVIORNMENT?

Destroys the boreal forest and muskeg, as well as changing the natural landscape and the Alberta government only requires them to equivalent land capability, rather then to restore the land to it’s original state

When Canada signed the Kyoto Protocol, they agreed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 6% by 2012 with respect to 1990, but have increased their emissions by 24% between 1990-2002, majorly due to the extraction of oil from these oil sands

Uses twice the amount of water that the city of Calgary uses annually

WHAT ADJUSTMENTS CAN BE MADE?

Instead of using all three oil sands use only two of the three

Restore the habitat to its natural state Get new laws enforced to protect the

area such as if there are any endangered animals in the area, or only allow them to extract oil 9 months out of the year to decrease the amount of water being wasted.

INFORMATION FROM:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athabasca_Oil_Sands

http://www.oilsands.cc