Skip to content

Pollution

Canada moves on Utah's tar sands

by Colin Ricketts 24 Feb 2014
Canada moves on Utah's tar sands

The double arch of Utah's Arches National Park helps to point out that tourism and nature are possible more important than the short term gains on the profit sheets of an oil company;Utah image; Credit: © Shutterstock

The mess created by Canadian extraction of tar sands is about to be joined by a 2000 barrel a day mess in Utah. Strip mining of the earth involves the extraction of mainly sand and clay, but 10% of the earth taken will contain crude bitumen. Bitumen is one of the lower fractions of crude oil and has to be treated to create yet more mess, in the form of piles of fine carbon dust, pet coke or mine tailings. The inevitable product is 3X the amount of carbon dioxide, compared to the extraction of crude oil.

If the thought of global warming puts you off, just wait till the ground water becomes contaminated. Rather like the fracking debacle, people have discovered that the mine tailings, as they sit in ponds, leak down into the water able in some areas.

The result, according to experts in the World Watch Institute, is that, "the high concentrations of pollutants such as naphthenic acids, which are found at concentrations 100 times greater than in the natural environment, are acutely toxic to aquatic life, yet the government has no water quality regulations for these substances... How this tailings waste, and its grave risks, might be dealt with in the long term remains unknown." The Utah situation is such that using the necessary vast amounts of fresh water (116 gallons per minute) would cripple the drought-stricken western US. Such a high cost in energy and water, simply to destroy the environment and produce huge piles of waste seems a little extravagant for this low-grade fuel. US Oil Sands, (somehow located in Toronto) and The Kentucky-based Arrakis Oil Recovery must love this low-grade to cater for their high-greed.

Our previous tar sand writ-ups included the Alberta situation itself as Pet coke expands, and pollutes everywhere. However we found Alisha Mims writing about these shenanigans in Ring of Fire Radio!.


Trending Eco-Friendly Clothing

Love My Planet Women's Relaxed Fit Hoodie
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Love My Planet Women's Relaxed Fit Hoodie
Love My Planet women's eco-friendly relaxed fit hoodieSize Guide Centimeters 8 10 12 14 16 18 Bust 84 88 92 97 103 108 Waist 66 70 75 80 85 91 Hips 91 95 99 104 109 116 Bust: Measure around the fullest part of...
£38.00
£38.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Penguins Hate Push-Ups Men's Pullover Hoodie
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Penguins Hate Push-Ups Men's Pullover Hoodie
Penguins Hate Push-Ups men's eco-friendly pullover HoodieSize Guide Centimeters XS S M L XL XXL Height 171 175 179 183 189 195 Chest 86 93 99 104 116 129 Waist 71 76 81 89 99 112 Chest: Measure all round your chest just below...
£38.00
£38.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Lightning Bolt Kids Long Sleeve T-Shirt
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Notify me
Lightning Bolt Kids Long Sleeve T-Shirt
Lightning Bolt kids eco-friendly long sleeve t-shirtSize Guide Centimeters 3-4yrs 5-6yrs 7-8yrs 9-10yrs 11-12yrs Height 98 112 125 136 147 Chest 60 66 70 75 84 Chest: Measure all around your chest just below your armpits. Height: Your natural height If you fall between...
£18.00
£18.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Notify me
Union Jack Tote Bag
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Union Jack Tote Bag
Union Jack eco-friendly colour tote bagProduct Specification Organic Cotton Tote Bag. Twill Weave (170gsm). 37 x 42 cm (7cm gusset.) Made in India / Designed on the Isle of Wight. Wash Cool, Hang Dry.
£16.00
£16.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Prev Post
Next Post

Eco-Friendly Shop

Women's Clothing

Eco-Friendly Clothing for Women Our online shop offers a wide range of sustainable women’s clothing products, including t-shirts, hoodies, vests, sweaters, shorts, and...
Shop Now

Men's Clothing

Eco-Friendly Clothing for Men Our online shop offers a wide range of sustainable men’s clothing products, including t-shirts, hoodies, vests, sweaters, shorts, and...
Shop Now

Kids Clothing

Eco-Friendly Clothes for Kids Our online shop offers a wide range of sustainable kids clothing products, including t-shirts, hoodies and jumpers. Our garments...
Shop Now
Someone recently bought a
[time] ago, from [location]

Thanks for subscribing!

This email has been registered!

Shop the look

Choose Options

Earth Times
Sign up for exclusive updates, new arrivals & insider only discounts

Recently Viewed

Edit Option
Back In Stock Notification
this is just a warning
Login
Shopping Cart
0 items

Before you leave...

Take 20% off your first order

20% off

Enter the code below at checkout to get 20% off your first order

CODESALE20

Continue Shopping