Looming Drought On Prairies Will Be Worse Than 1930s Dust Bowl Days

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tar_sand">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tar_sand</a><br />
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&#8220; Environmental Impacts<br />
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Tar sands development has a direct impact on local and planetary ecosystems. In Alberta, this form of oil extraction completely destroys the boreal forest, the bogs, the rivers as well as the natural landscape. The mining industry believes that the boreal forest will eventually colonize the reclaimed lands, yet 30 years after the opening of the first open pit mine near Fort McMurray, Alberta, no land is considered by the Alberta Government as having been "restored."<br />
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Furthermore, for every barrel of synthetic oil produced in Alberta, more than 80 kg of greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere and between 3 and 5 barrels of waste water are dumped into tailing ponds. The forecast growth in synthetic oil production in Alberta also threatens Canada's international commitments. In ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, Canada agreed to reduce, by 2012, its greenhouse gas emissions by 6% with respect to the reference year (1990). In 2002, Canada's total greenhouse gas emissions had increased by 24% since 1990&#8221;<br />
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Plus I recall reading were oil production uses water to fill the cavities crated by oil extraction <br />
<p>---<br>Real education must ultimately be limited to men who insist on knowing, the rest is mere sheep-herding. <br />
Ezra Pound<br />
The only good is knowledge...

Global warming has an impact that far exceeds the Athabasca tar sands. The Athabasca river is fed by the Athabasca Icefields (glacier.)and it's shrinking. This same river quit flowing in the winters and actualy had on occasion froze to it's bed. No more. This year it wasn't untill December that it even froze over. Tributaries were mostly from snow melt off farmers fields. Again, not this year. The mildest winter on record prevented the reserve of moisture and not the tar sands nor the nearby pulpmill. I have seen lakes in the area become drybeds and bigger lakes drop over 10' feet over the decades. 30° winters are no more and neither is 10' snow drifts. Alberta is not the only province to suffer the effects of globalwarming. It's just easier to blame the tarsands.

Population in the rural areas is declining but the need for water is increasing. Corporate farms, feedlots and mass crop production is on the rise. Like any corporation, profits rely on production. Profits must exceed the previous year at any cost.

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Expect little from life and get more from it.

The news reports that actually quote Dr. Schindler who authored the water study do quote him as saying Alberta's water shortages are a direct result of the Tar Sands production which takes three barrels of water to produce one barrel of very heavy crude oil out of the tarsands

The news reports that actually quote Dr. Schindler <<

That still don't explain why the water levels south of Fort McMurray are getting low. The creek I played by as a child, is a mere trickle now in comparison to then. "Flat Lake" is now a farmers field and the Athabasca river was never it's source. Perhaps Schindler never lived in the area. No doubt the tarsands & the pulpmill have an impact but I still maintain that the water levels were going down prior to the full scale operations. The pulpmill is only ten or so years old and considered one of the largest anywhere.

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Expect little from life and get more from it.

It's not just Fort Mac that is getting low. If you go back upstream on the Atha-B, to Athabasca falls south of Jasper, you'll see the falls are severly lowered - right at the headwaters. Even at the Hinton pulp mill the river is low. Same with the pulp mills at Whitecourt.

Considering we didn't have a flake of snow from October to February, one has to wonder if it's oil (which is a major user of fresh water) that's lowering the rivers or a lack of precipitation.

Southern Alberta experienced record rainfalls and floods last summer, but in the same period, central and northern Alberta saw not a drop.

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"I think it's important to always carry enough technology to restart civilization, should it be necessary." Mark Tilden

[Too bad this story doesn't mention the huge quantities of water necessary for extracting oil from the Alberta tar sands -- but speaks of limiting population growth as a way of conserving water!]


The story also doesn't mention the new water treatment plant in Edmonton that removes the water from sewage (the biosolids are removed for fertilizer and methane production) and the water re-processed for use in industrial and oilfield use, and for golf courses.

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"I think it's important to always carry enough technology to restart civilization, should it be necessary." Mark Tilden