Athabasca Essay

The Athabasca oil sands, more commonly known as the Alberta tar sands, are large deposits of heavy crude oil in the North Easterly reaches of Alberta. According to Alberta Energy, the oil sands are the third largest crude oil reserves in the world. Only two countries, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, possess reserves greater than Canada (Alberta Energy, 2012). Arguably, the capital gained from exporting Athabasca bitumen or crude oil (a form of petroleum) promotes job and economic growth, and also contributes royalties toward Albertan education and healthcare. On the other hand, the growing reliance on the Athabasca oil sands makes the Canadian economy incredibly susceptible to collapses in global oil prices. Furthermore, the region immediately…

Oil sands, defined simply are a mixture of water, sand, clay, and natural bitumen. Natural bitumen is a heavily viscous oil, which must undergo specialized procedures in order to be extracted. While oil sands occur in many places in the world, the largest such occurrence is located in the forests of Northern Alberta. This area is referred to as the Alberta Oil Sands, or the Athabasca Oil Sands. Oil sands were not always included when estimating the world’s recoverable oil reserves. It is…

The photograph example on page 417 at the beginning of Part 3 depicts the receding Athabasca Glacier in Alberta, Canada, in the Canadian Rockies. This photography uses elements of angle and orientation, people in scenes, and distance in order to convey the rising problem of global warning. The distant photo is divided into three horizontal bands- the blue sky, the snowy moutains, and the dirt road- but the focal point is the sign that reads, in two different languages English and French, "The…

Tolko Athabasca (TA) is a division of Tolko Industries and is in the Strand Based Business (SBB) product sector of Tolko’s corporate departmentalization strategy. Tolko Industries is a forest products company serving the North American, Japanese, and Australian markets with dimensional lumber, plywood, Oriented Strand Board (OSB), and Laminated Strand Lumber (LSL) products. A 30,000-foot view of Tolko Athabasca's organization would reveal that the uppermost departments are categorized…

Environmental responsibility in oil sands suggests 19 different solutions that can help Alberta’s oil sands and other oil sand operations reduce their environmental impacts. Firstly, it is suggested that the government legislatively protects at least 50% of its public forest lands from industrial development. Furthermore, protected areas should be developed and co-managed with Aboriginal peoples (Oilsands Solutions, n.d.). Additionally, a 3:1 offset ratio should be established — three hectares…

Mackay since 1999 and a 10% increase at Ft. Chipewyan since 2000, 200 km north of the tar sands facilities” (Timoney and Lee 2009, p.73) It should be concluded that air pollution is a serious problem that is worsened by oil sands activity. The land impact of the oil sands is also cause for concern, both due to the negative environmental impact and inefficient reclamation efforts. There is sufficient evidence that oil sands extraction has a negative impact on the land and environment: The…

we are able to realize that disasters often have increased impacts due to the social vulnerabilities already present within society. One of the most well known environmental disasters that continue to develop is the Alberta tar sands. The Alberta tar sands also known as “ Athabasca oil sands” have been expanding over the past decade being the third largest oil reserve in the world (“Energy Alberta”, n.d). It has been said that the tar sands are a fundamental element within the Canadian economy…

which leads to the deforestation particularly in the boreal forest. The annihilation of the environment is not just restricted to mining areas, but there are road are being built for transportation purpose that also play a crucial role in deforestation. The major concern for deforestation is the destruction of animal habitats. In the result of cutting down trees, more animal are losing their natural habitats, and constant have to face many challenges to survive, which cause extinction of…

“Tarmageddon”, an essay authored by Andrew Nikiforuk, demonstrates how the tar sands have negatively impacted Canada both economically and environmentally. The environmental factors are elaborated by explaining Canada’s contribution to green house emissions and acid rain when they were once a global leader against such pollutions. Nikiforuk compares Canada as being second worst for climate change next to Saudi Arabia since they started using bitumen. He highlights the politics surrounding the…

Another factor to consider is the boom in petroleum-based commodities of the last decade, and the role that oil companies such as Petro-Canada plays from an environmental perspective. With the rapid expansions in petroleum comes many impacts to the environment as well as to society as a whole. There has been shifting economic landscape and government regulations to control the boom in this period. The world is dependent on fossil fuels for 80 percent of its energy, but at the same time, it is…