Tar Sands: Dirtiest Fuel in the World
Tar sands are a type of unconventional petroleum deposit containing
a dense form of petroleum mixed with sand, clay and water. Found in large
quantities in Canada and Venezuela, tar sands once were considered too
expensive to exploit, but higher oil prices and new technology have enabled
them to be profitably extracted and refined by the oil industry.
While the oil industry may be reaping massive profits from
the tar sands deposits in Canada, the local population and the environment are
paying the price.
Making liquid fuels from tar sands requires large amounts of
energy and water for steam injection and refining. This process generates two
to four times more greenhouse gases per barrel than extraction of conventional
In Canada, even before the oil is extracted from
a surface mine, the industry first must raze large tracks of the Boreal forest,
then remove an average of two tons of peat and dirt that lie above the oil
sands layer, then remove two tons of the sand itself. After the oil is
processed, the toxic byproducts are discharged into tailings ponds. The toxic
mine tailing ponds from Athabasca tar sands in Alberta, Canada, now cover approximately
50 square miles.
Keystone XL Pipeline: Not in the National Interest
The Keystone pipeline, owned and operated by the TransCanada
corporation, was developed to transport crude oil from the Athabasca tar sands
to multiple destinations in the United States, including refineries in Illinois
(the original Keystone pipeline), an oil distribution hub in Oklahoma
(Keystone-Cushing Extension) and refineries along the Gulf Coast of Texas (the
proposed Keystone XL pipeline).
The first section of the Keystone pipeline became
operational in June 2010. The
Cushing-Extension was completed in February 2011. Since being proposed in 2008,
the 1,700-mile Keystone XL extension has been met with strong opposition from
landowners and indigenous communities in the path of the pipeline and from the
The pipeline would carry the tar sands crude oil from
Alberta, Canada, through the U.S. heartland, into Texas and to the Gulf of
Mexico. It would run through the Ogallala Aquifer, which provides drinking
water for millions of Americans and provides 30 percent of the nation’s
In November 2011, after tremendous pressure
pipeline opponents, President Barack Obama postponed a decision until 2013. In
response, Senate Republicans introduced legislation aimed at forcing the Obama
administration to approve the Keystone XL pipeline within 60 days, unless the
president declared the project not in the national interest. On Jan. 18, 2012, President
Obama rejected the project, stating that the arbitrary deadline made it
impossible to adequately review it.
Problems Raise Questions About the Integrity of the Keystone Pipeline (PDF).
Press Release: Public Citizen Calls for Probe of Construction Problems on Keystone XL Southern Segment.
Report: America Can’t Afford
The Keystone Pipeline (PDF).
Press Release: Keystone XL Would Increase Gas Prices, Reduce National Energy Security.
Fact sheet: Why America cannot afford the Keystone XL pipeline (PDF).
Letter to Senate: Reject legislation that would approve the Keystone XL pipeline (PDF).