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Overall Review:
Oil Industry:
Environment:
Government:
First Nations:http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2429900143/
The government focuses on developing oil sands to promote the economy. It partners with the National Energy Board and the Alberta Energy Board and its overall objective is to increase job growth and profit. The government says that they own a very valuable resource and highlight how it is needed by the entire world. They primarily focus on benefiting Albertans (mainly economically) by using the oil sands. This is shown through the use of statistics like the 121,500 people (in 2012) employed in Oil related jobs, or the expected $350 billion made by the province through royalties that the oil and gas corporations will pay over the next 25 years.
Currently, the government has big ambitions for developing one of the world’s largest deposits of oil. They also have created many new limitations that protect the water and air quality, along with the ecosystems in the area. As one of the largest industries in Canada, the government of Alberta has a responsibility to increase the economic value of the oil sands along with making sure the resource benefits people across Canada.
Alberta’s oil sands were originally called the tar sands, but this was officially changed to the oil sands by the government due to the negative environmental image this was painted. Their slogan was changed to “Alberta’s Oil Sands: Resourceful. Responsible” and more priority was placed on maintaining good environmental standards. The main reason for this sudden focus on ecological impacts was that Albertans were beginning to criticize the rapid growth of an industry at the cost of their environment – and possibly their health.
Oil industries such as the Athabasca Oil Corporation recognze that they must operate while minimizing their impacts: But just how are they doing so?
It takes more work to extract oil from the oil sands than it does regular oil, so the government claims that they have many new technologies that help reduce the ecological footprint of the oil sands. They also state that they are continually making amendments to their legislation regarding the oil sands and are working with everyone involved with the oil sands – industry representatives, Aboriginal communities, environmental organizations, and municipalities – to ensure that everyone is satisfied with the development of this resource.
These organizations are largely made up of the scientific community and frequently present data and research on the harmful impacts caused by the oil sands to help enforce their opinions. For example, they may point out facts like Fort McMurray is deficient in 70 out of 72 quality of life indicators (selected by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities), or that any government research conducted in the area that analyse conditions do not have to submit their research to a secondary opinion. From this point of view a general statement can be made that costs to human health and ecosystems are not factored into the costs of oil sands projects by oil companies.
Oil companies overall have a very positive view towards the oil sands, particularly regarding regarding its development and profit. The oil sands are potentially the largest reserve of natural oil in the world, bringing in a potential profit of over $1.7 billion over 30 years. They have currently proven to be the third largest deposit of oil in the globally, behind only that in Venezuela and Saudi Arabia. In a world so dependant on oil as the one mankind lives on, it seems that the oil is crucial. Oil companies and investors are eager to jump on opportunities for further develop the resource, and the oil sands are just one of those investments, although a large one. They will provide thousands of jobs for Canadians, as well as bring the benefits of the oil companies developing them with them. In 2015 alone, the oil sands created 150,000 jobs. These companies often benefit communities by building homes and sponsoring other facilities. Additionally, the oil sands do benefit many first nations groups. A company run by the Fort McKay First Nation generates more than 4,000 jobs for the nearby communities, and earns over $100 million annually.
Oil companies have made the commitment to have the end in mind when operating in the oil sands, and so they strive to minimize their impacts and reclaim the land.
The soil and geological deposits that make up the oil sands are naturally toxic with PAHs – Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons – which are naturally occurring. These chemicals are naturally carcinogenic. When these chemicals are undisturbed in their natural state, there is less release of the PAHs into the environment. When oil companies use mining to extract the raw bitumen, they expose more of these toxins to the surroundings.
The main benefits that the oil sands provide to the government are a ready source of jobs and tax revenue, which ensures that more social programs and infrastructure projects can be carried out. Alberta led all provinces in economic growth in 2014 and this strong performance was likely linked to its oil industry. In 2014, energy exports totaled $92.3 billion; the biggest categories being crude oil and natural gas. The government continues to develop the oil sands responsibly and economically successfully, and it represents one of Canada’s driving industries.
Government research in the area is very important. Government testing of water quality show that contaminants in the water are naturally occurring from the toxins in the ground. The oil sands are located in the ecosystem known as the boreal forest, but the area being mined by the government less than 1% of the total area of forest in Alberta. Government monitoring of air quality is also unchanged, and shows that pollutant levels are low in the area. Tailing ponds are monitored closely by the government and a number of precautions have been taken to ensure that they have minimal effects on groundwater and ecosystem health. Overall, the oil sands emit less than 0.1% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
The oil sands affect an area that spreads across a unique ecosystem – the boreal forest. There are multiple ways that oil extraction affects the environment in this area, as the process creates many byproducts and disturbs the natural balance in the environment.
The problem with the way the oil companies assess their environmental impact is that they do it on an individual scale, not overall impact from the oil sands. A newer method of evaluating the overall effect that the oil industry is creating is through Cumulative Impact Assessments – when multiple oil companies view their combined impact on the surrounding environment. Environmentalists are also concerned with the Ecological Footprint of the Oil Sands, and the contributions of emissions from oil extractions to global warming.
Oil companies use strip mining to get to the shallow oil deposits. They basically plough over these areas of forest and remove the topsoil, then dig out the bitumen to extract the oil. During the extraction process multiple chemicals are released in gas emissions that have a detrimental impact on air quality. There is a lot of water used to extract this bitumen, and disposal of this water affects water quality in the surrounding area. Tailing ponds are the pits where the byproducts of the bitumen extraction process are held; the contents of these ponds are extremely toxic and are only held in by a clay liner. Leakages from these ponds can also create problems regarding water quality.
Environmental organizations generally have a very strong negative perspective on the oil sands. These groups are the people who are most concerned about air and water quality in the area, as well as the contributions of the fossil fuels produced to global warming. This resource and the extraction process that comes along with it are regarded as the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. The oil sands also make up a huge part of air pollution in the area, and although the oil industry denies it, research and samples have shown that harmful chemicals and heavy metals are being released into the water supplies by human activity. Communities downstream of the oil sands are experiencing unusually high cancer rates, and many fish in Lake Athabasca have been found with various deformities.
First Nations
Reclamation in this area is another issue. After the tailing ponds are full, topsoil is layered on top and trees and plants that mimic the habitat that was there before are planted on this top layer. The problem with this method is that the Boreal Forest is not only a forest; parts of it are massive wetlands and there are many lakes and rivers that branch across the area.
Fort Chipewyan
Many first nations groups are affected by the development of the oil sands; including the Mikisew Cree First Nation, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Fort McMurray First Nation, Fort McKay Cree Nation, Beaver Lake Cree First Nation Chipewyan Prairie First Nation, and the Metis people. The people as a whole feel very negatively towards the topic of the oil sands. The groups as a whole are facing what they consider an “industrial genocide”, as the oil takes away from their traditions, cultures, heritage, land, and health. The native people of canada have always been close to the land, and now they see it and its resources being depleted and destroyed in the pursuit of profit. The development of the oil sands has greatly affected any land in its vicinity as well as land downstream of it along the Athabasca River. Many have embraced the economic benefits of the oil industry operating on their land, but feel it was forced onto them. Additionally, the use of the river has been linked by many scientists to be carcinogenic to First Nations in Fort Chipewyan.
There are many companies developing the oil sands; the major ones are; Shell, Syncrude, Total, Statoil, Husky, CNRL, Imperial Oil, Suncor, Nexen, Petro Canada, and Devon. Oil companies have many reasons to invest in the oil sands. They are always concerned with their own growth and profit, and in doing so also help the countries in which they are established profit. The companies strive to supply the global need for crude oil and natural gas; while the world does strive to reduce and eventually abolish its carbon emissions, which the oil companies understand. They also recognize that the world needs to be supplied with oil to help reach that goal while supplying it until that goal is reached. The companies also invest in their own ways to reduce emissions, such as how Cenovus has been using helicopters to reach their sites in the oil sands. This makes it so no roads are required to be built, reducing deforestation and carbon emissions from other vehicles.
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"Environment." - Athabasca Oil Corporation. Athabasca Oil Corporation. Web. 09 Jan. 2016.
"First Nations Bear the Risks of Oilsands Development | Toronto Star." Thestar.com. Thestar.com, 28 Aug. 2015. Web. 10 Jan. 2016.
News, CBC. "Oilsands Study Confirms Tailings Found in Groundwater, River." CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, 21 Feb. 2014. Web. 10 Jan. 2016.
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"Oil Sands Pollutants Contaminate Traditional First Nations' Foods: Report." The Globe and Mail. The Globe and Mail, 7 July 2014. Web. 10 Jan. 2016.
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Government of Alberta. JWP Publishing. PDF. http://environment.gov.ab.ca/info/library/7925.pdf
The area being used for the development of the oils sands affects many first nations groups and an estimated population of 23,000 people. Directly, the oil sands result in a lot of deforestation to access the ground needed, which can push native species out of the area. Many groups also feel that This is a violation of treaty rights signed with them. This can be especially devastating on native populations, who rely on the land and its animals and resources. People who previously relied on hunting for their economy and personal affairs were no longer able to use it for such purposes, and were forced to accept oil as their only economic support.
Oil companies also recognize that their development not only benefits them, but also benefits the places that they invest in. When they develop a region, they also build thousands of houses and sponsor community centres such as arenas and community facilities. That, along with government taxes and regulations also allow the companies to benefit a country’s economy; they are a major part of the Canadian economy. Cenovus expects that, “Over the next 25 years, new oil sands development is expected to contribute more than $2 trillion to the Canadian economy” (Cenovus Energy).
Despite the success of the Fort McKay First Nations group in the oil sands, they feel that development has destroyed their culture and traditions. Chief Jim Boucher describes the oil as a “new trap line” which was the only economic option. According to Boucher, “There is no more opportunity for our people to be employed or have some benefits except the oil sands” (Boucher). The Fort Mckay First Nations were once a hunting group, but that as an economic function was no longer viable for the people after the 1980s. The group has virtually no unemployment, but still witnesses that which they care about most being destroyed on enormous scale as a result of it. The people remain unhappy because they are losing their land.
Oil Companies on First Nations
When Athabasca Chipewyan Chief Allan Adam spoke those words, they were in protest to the development of the oil sands. A popular belief and value amongst the different First Nations is their connection to the land and their ways of life that go along with it. The Athabasca group has always fished, however the fish have become increasingly deformed in the region. This is believed to be a result from the high levels of toxicity in lake Athabasca; The lake is fed by the Athabasca river, and is many kilometers away from the nearest oil sands developments. But the water is more than just a way of life for the first nations; it is the basis of life for humans and plants alike. They phrase “water is life” is found internationally; it was even part of a campaign in Mexico to defend the resource as a community resource. The First Nations see water as a resource not only for them, but for everyone in the world, and believe it must be protected using more than just the policies of large oil companies to use it efficiently.
Noticeably, almost all oil companies have a component of their websites dedicated to and focusing on their affairs with the First Nations peoples. The pages centralize on how they strive to build their relationships with the people just as they do their shareholders; that is, by sharing accurate information in a timely manner and responding to the issues of people in a mutually responsible way. A recurring theme is the establishment of effective long-term relationships with the groups, to improve the quality of life in the areas and communities that they operate with. It for these reasons that the companies endeavour to be active members in communities. For the Fort McKay First Nations, who own companies developing the land, the development of oil sands has led to over $100,000,000 in revenue and has generated over 4,000 jobs. The group has been very economically successful.