oil sands

There’s no use talking about new energy sources without assessing the social, political, and economic contexts into which they might emerge. For unless a nascent technology can command broad stakeholder assent within a given socio-political context, the technology is likely to remain marginal within it. The Canadian oil sands, which I discussed here previously, provide a case in point. And, perhaps, a harbinger of things to come.[read more]

Oil Sands via Shutterstock

I recently got the chance to tag along with a group of journalism fellows on a tour of some oil sands production sites in Alberta, which is home to almost all of Canada’s oil sands reserves.The Canadian oil sands are one of the biggest energy stories of our time. The good news is that this is a huge North American resource. Because of...[read more]

Photo by likeablerodent via Flickr

When we wrote last week about technologies to mitigate water demands during hydraulic fracturing, we knew we’d find more examples of energy innovation for the simple fact that there’s a lot of innovating going on. Here’s a little bit about two other advances in the area of fracking waste water, as well as another company’s initiative to...[read more]

Christopher Kolaczan/Shutterstock

In a recent New York Times opinion piece, NASA climate scientist James Hansen again puts forward his very compelling argument for strong action on limiting global CO2 emissions. He argues that Canadian oil sands is illustrative of an ongoing global trend to extract or mine increasingly challenging reserves of oil, gas and coal and bring them to market, a behaviour that could mean "game over for the climate".[read more]

In this week’s episode of R-Squared Energy TV, I answer more questions about gas prices, and discuss the Keystone XL pipeline and future development of Canada’s oil sands. Some of the topics discussed are: The EROEI for producing oil sands The emissions profile of shipping the oil sands to China versus refining it in the U.S. Why I...[read more]

The Keystone XL pipeline proposal is one of the most controversial energy issues facing America today, roiling the energy industry and bringing protests to the White House’s front step. Supporters say it would provide a secure source of energy and jobs, but opponents say oil-sands crude will threaten fragile ecosystems and worsen global warming. The Obama Administration hasn’t yet made its decision, but comments by cabinet members, including Energy Secretary Steven Chu, hint at an approval.[read more]

As I was catching up on a two-week backlog of news after my vacation, I ran across a New York Times editorial with the promising title of "Tar Sands and the Carbon Numbers." Thinking that perhaps the Times might have woken up to the necessity of comparing the lifecycle emissions from oil sands to those from other crude oils, I was...[read more]

For a generation that’s supposed to start cleaning up its energy mix, I find it disturbing that the big money is flowing toward dirtier and dirtier sources instead. Take the case of shale gas, which is plentiful and now economical to develop in North America. Shale gas, at the point of combustion, is no cleaner or dirtier than...[read more]

I can recall when technologies like oil sands and coal gasification were commonly referred to as alternative energy, with the same high-tech aura now attached to solar power and advanced biofuels. Much has changed since then, not least our perspective on climate change and the greenhouse gases that contribute to it. It's no longer...[read more]

The oil industry, Alberta's provincial government, and the Canadian federal government are all breathing huge sighs of relief with the release of the Royal Society of Canada's report [pdf] on the Alberta oil sands. The cause for relief comes from the fact that a comprehensive study about the Alberta oil sands conducted by independent...[read more]

Albertan Tar Sands: Podcast 1In terms of oil, we are more dependent on Canada than on Saudi-Arabia. 20 % of our oil imports comes from Canada, and more than half of that is produced from the oil sands in the Albertan boreal forest. We are by far the largest consumer of oil sands and it is our increasing demand for oil that...[read more]

The Sierra Club is campaigning against piping oil from the Canadian tar sands southwards (the "Dirtiest oil on earth to enter the U.S") - Dirty Oil Sands.Quick FactsCanada is the United States’ number one source of foreign oil, and the oil sands comprise about half of Canadian oil. Also known as tar sands oil, it is the world’s most...[read more]

In the last few years I've watched perceptions of US energy security and climate change, the two main drivers of energy policy, converge gradually toward a general sense that smart climate policy will be good for energy security, and vice versa. There's even a growing understanding that a stable climate contributes to national security...[read more]

We visited the oil sands, also known as tar sands, near Ft McMurray in Alberta last week. We are still in the process of editing our footage and preparing a documentary covering the controversial production of the oil sands. As a teaser, here's the perspective of Samora Garling on this trip. Samora is a sophomore at Stanford and my...[read more]

Via The Oil Drum: Canada, we learn from the Globe and Mail that the UN’s top environment official blasted Canada during the IPCC conference in Bali. The head of the UN’s climate change agency is a careful diplomat. So when he took the unusual step of firing a barb at Canada, it was a sign of how far the country’s reputation has sunk....[read more]