Alberta Oil Sands Case Study

The oil sands have encouraged massive economic growth in Alberta. The province had suffered an economic recession however the oil sands helped produce huge profits and provide thousands of jobs. Due to the oil sands Canada has became the top top supplier of oil to the United States and this has helped strength economic ties between both countries. Over 121,500 people were employed in the oil sands in 2012.The goods, materials, and services used to construct and operate in oil sands projects, come from across Canada. For example financial services in Ontario, engineering firms in British Columbia, and steel mills in Saskatchewan. The tar sand employs 112,000 people outside the province of Alberta. It is expected that in the next few years there

The greenhouse gas emissions from the Alberta oil sands are up to 15 per cent higher than the crude oil processed in the United States because oil is too deep within the ground to be removed using conventional ways. The Athabasca Delta, where the oil sands are located, is a nesting ground for hundreds of species of birds. For the production of oil the land is cleared which destroys the breeding grounds. In the next twenty years over thirty millions birds will be lost. Large amounts of water are required for the production of the oil. To make one barrel of oil it takes three barrels of water. There is not enough water available to meet the needs of all planned oil sands projects while maintaining the stream flows. The flow of the Athabasca River from the town of Fort McMurray has declined by one third. A level-drop of a few centimeters of the river can prevent spring flooding. This is very important to fill nearby streams and wetlands. Also it can have an effect on the 31 species of fish and other marine life due to the drying up spawning and nursery sites. It is expected that the company will withdraw 529 million cubic meters of water from the Athabasca annually. There are over seven hundred and twenty billion liters of poisonous materials on the landscape in the Athabasca oil sands area. These toxic ponds cover an area of over 130 square kilometers. It is estimated that by 2040 these toxic ponds will cover over 310 square kilometers, an area the size of Vancouver. Tar sands mining operations are considered a threat to the Peace-Athabasca Delta because of the volumes of water that is drawn from the Athabasca River. The water cannot be sent back to the rivers because it has become toxic in the withdrawal process. Oil sands development causes large-scale disturbances to Alberta’s northern boreal forest which is an important carbon sink because it holds 22 per cent of the total carbon stored on the earth’s