Alberta's Oil Sands in pictures

[Igottago]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

Obviously there are environmental costs. The first tailings ponds from the 60's will be completely reclaimed by the end of this year. Its taken this long for the technology to come around. Most of the processes recycle 90% of the water now. At least the project I'm on does. We draw water from a saline aquifer and use very little fresh. Mind you this is a SAGD job and not a mining project. I don't like the mining method, its the most costly from an environmental standpoint. We are making inroads and all the mines and tailings ponds will be reclaimed. There are plenty of other industries that destroy the enviroment but dont get the same press. Mining, pupl and paper, even just logging in general. Drive around your home province and tell me the logging industry hasnt scarred the landscape.

You're right, I know that other industries have their impact on the environment as well. I think all industries have to examine how to reduce their impact.

By the way, my home province is Alberta .

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by Igottago

You're right, I know that other industries have their impact on the environment as well. I think all industries have to examine how to reduce their impact.

By the way, my home province is Alberta .

I just saw your location being Vancouver.. My family has property in BC and I see first hand how the logging industry operates.

[burn_baby_burn]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

Thats a load of bullsh*t. Those ponds are contained with clay and geotextile liners and monitored by the ERCB. I love how people who know nothing about the industry like to take shots at it.

I think we have all been shown by TV shows like Dallas and now Wild Roses that any environment or government inspection agency have all been black mailed by the heads of the oil companies. Thus they are forced to follow the commands of the JR Ewing's of the world. Usually resulting in suicide after they have shamefully sullied their good name.

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by burn_baby_burn

I think we have all been shown by TV shows like Dallas and now Wild Roses that any environment or government inspection agency have all been black mailed by the heads of the oil companies. Thus they are forced to follow the commands of the JR Ewing's of the world. Usually resulting in suicide after they have shamefully sullied their good name.

People actually watch those CBC shows?

[macker]

Last time I checked the US were using 20 million barrels per day and the Chinease 8 million. US is producing 10 million cars per year and the Chinease 10 million cars per year up from 1 million a decade ago and this number could increase to 20 million cars per year within 5-10 years. The oil has to come from somewhere...

[Igottago]

Originally Posted by photon

I agree, and I think most people have been waiting for the government to put some kind of standards and plan in place for forever. Just tell the companies what goals they have to meet and they'll meet them.

I think we need the left wing whiners to make noise about the enviroment, to make the government, and in turn, the companies, respond to the enviromental concerns. Without that pressure I don't think the corporations would concern themselves enough with the enviromental side of things. They need someone to keep them honest.

I have worked in the oil & gas industry and currently work in the mining industry, and I think its vital that the environmental concerns keep becoming an issue, because at the end of the day, for a corporation, money and profits are top priority. I think companies are starting to respond well, and are starting to actually care about the enviromental impact they have, but I question whether they would do so without external entities making noise about it.

[Saint Troy]

Thanks for pics, I have to go up there to see a sag d production site for work and am actually looking forward to it. Though the pic of the traffic jam was less than appealing.

[photon]

Of course, a company is going to do the least amount cost wise they can to meet the obligations they have, they can do nothing else.

[habernac]

Originally Posted by Saint Troy

Thanks for pics, I have to go up there to see a sag d production site for work and am actually looking forward to it. Though the pic of the traffic jam was less than appealing.

yeah, it's criminal how poorly the infrastructure has been looked after up there. With all the money the oilsands bring to Alberta, you'd think the govt would spend some in Fort McMurray.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by habernac

yeah, it's criminal how poorly the infrastructure has been looked after up there. With all the money the oilsands bring to Alberta, you'd think the govt would spend some in Fort McMurray.

Things just happened way too fast... the traffic should become much better throughout the city as the stop lights at the bottom of Confed and Thickwood Blvd are being removed in favour of massive over passes. New bridge project also well on it's way.

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

Alberta Oilsands - Kills ducks.

Saudia Arabia Oil - Crashes planes into the WTC.

Take you pick and shut your mouth is what the argument should be.

Yes, but you're forgetting the fact that last month, the more fundamentalist extremist allies of the ducks -- the geese -- staged a suicide attack that was nearly successful in taking down a plane over NYC. This was clearly a warning shot, and one that was largely ignored by the media and went unacknowledged by the government. Seriously. We keep polluting the lakes and there will be more attacks, and no North American city with an airport is safe.

Obviously, I should point out that not all geese are extremists. If they were, it would be easy to just exterminate them all, like the often cited anti-bear plan that hasn't yet made it to parliament (but will soon, God willing). Pretty much the only thing to do is heightened security to look out for sleeper flocks.

[AFireInside]

Originally Posted by habernac

yeah, it's criminal how poorly the infrastructure has been looked after up there. With all the money the oilsands bring to Alberta, you'd think the govt would spend some in Fort McMurray.

I've often wondered if there is another reason its taken so long. A lot of people who live an work in Fort Mac, do not use Fort mac as their permanent residence, they work there ,and then go home on their days off. Plus the guys from the camps. So these people are using the resources in Fort Mac, and Fort Mac's official population is probably about 52,000 when there are actually a lot more people there living in camps etc...

I don't know if that makes much of a difference though.

As long as they get that highway out of town twinned ASAP (I know they've already started). I think that is one of the biggest issues, highway 63 is just crazy at times, plus there are quite a few deaths on that road.

Then again I'll probably never see the changes as I don't plan on going to back to the Fort ever again.

[habernac]

the highway has been sadly out of date since the late 70's.

[BavarianHorde]

Wow. I have heard about the oil sands, heard radio interviews, but I have never seen any pictures of them.

I know it is a catch 22. Environmentally it is a disaster and I would hate to see that in my back woods. The beauty is just destroyed....

That being said, there is a need to create jobs and it generates a lot of money. But man, that looks just awful. I know that might not be popular for me to say on this board, but wow.

I don't know what the answer is, but my biggest question is how the heck do you clean that up and make the area environmentally friendly again?

[habernac]

They rather conveniently don't show the reclaimed land.

[LChoy]

Originally Posted by BavarianHorde

Wow. I have heard about the oil sands, heard radio interviews, but I have never seen any pictures of them.

I know it is a catch 22. Environmentally it is a disaster and I would hate to see that in my back woods. The beauty is just destroyed....

That being said, there is a need to create jobs and it generates a lot of money. But man, that looks just awful. I know that might not be popular for me to say on this board, but wow.

I don't know what the answer is, but my biggest question is how the heck do you clean that up and make the area environmentally friendly again?

Those open pit mines are only 20% of the operations in Ft.Mac. Most of product is too deep to open mine. It sucks really, but mining isn't pretty. Google pictures of coal mining and you see places like Virginia where they literally remove the top of mountains to get at it. The land just looks like a scene from mars afterwards
However, there are some good success stories out there, as former mining sites are turned into golf courses and nature preserves.

[guzzy]

Originally Posted by Ronald Pagan

Straw man: talk about the issue

Even if it is biased the figures are still striking. Say they overestimated and instead of 11 million litres of tailings leaking a day it's 5 million litres.

If 5 million litres a day were leaking you probably siphon water out of the river to fill your gas tank. Grab a brain man. THere isn't a govt in north America that would allow that kind of seepage.

As for the native bands who are blaming oilsands for their health has been refuted by health care professionals from all over canada who are calling it more "lifestyle" than oilsand production.

[RougeUnderoos]

I read in the Herald recently that 150,000 ducks were killed by hunters in Alberta last year. The ducks in the toxic drink is obviously a terrible thing, but I think their memory is being tarnished.

Most of us recognize that they have to take the oil out. The most rational gripe (I say that because it is mine) is that they seem to be doing it as fast as possible and with no regard for the consequences.

Get the oil out, go for it. Just don't poison the water and recklessly pollute the air while you are doing it and don't leave it looking like the surface of the moon.

[united]

Recently the ERCB released Directive 074: Tailings Performance Criteria and Requirements for Oil Sands Mining Schemes.
http://www.ercb.ca/portal/server.pt/...nr2009_04.aspx

Also the ERCB is drafting a Directive dealing with water use for oil sands operations.
http://www.ercb.ca/portal/server.pt/...nr2009_06.aspx

Steps in the right direction.

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by BavarianHorde

I know it is a catch 22. Environmentally it is a disaster and I would hate to see that in my back woods. The beauty is just destroyed....

That being said, there is a need to create jobs and it generates a lot of money. But man, that looks just awful. I know that might not be popular for me to say on this board, but wow.

The mining operations in the Wyoming Powder River basin aren't much prettier. True, they don't have tailing pond issues on the same scale, but any mining is ugly business these days.