Dirty Oil - Social and Environmental Issues

1. DIRTY OIL
The social and environmental impact
of Canada’s largest reservoir of crude oil.
by Justin Armula

2. The Alberta Oil
Sands
• Third-largest proven crude oil
reserve in the world, next to
Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
• Oil sands production is
expected to increase from 2.3
million barrels per day in 2014
to 4 million barrels per day in
2024
• Alberta’s oil reserves play an
important role in the Canadian
and global economy, supplying
stable, reliable energy to the
world.
http://www.energy.alberta.ca

3. Oil Sands 101
• Oil sand is a naturally occurring
petrochemical that can be upgraded into
crude oil and other petroleum products.
• Oil sands are a mixture of sand, water, clay
and bitumen. They are found in several
locations around the globe including
Venezuela, USA, Russia and Canada.

4. The Economic
Benefits
• The oil sands have made
Canada the Number One
foreign supplier of oil to the U.S.
This has become a major factor
in the close economic
partnership shared by the two
countries.
• The oil sands provide Canada
with a relatively secure source
of energy. While Canada’s oil
supply isn’t unlimited, Canadian
reserves are the second-largest
on the planet.
• The oil sands have spurred
massive economic growth in
Alberta. Despite the recent
economic downturn, the Alberta
oil sands continue to generate
huge profits and provide
thousands of jobs.

5. The Economic
Benefits
• Reserves are limited. In total,
global reserves sit at around 1.3
trillion barrels, equivalent to
about 40 years of reserves at
current consumption rates.
• Some critics believe that our
dependence on the oil sands
(they account for 47 per cent of
the total amount of oil produced
in Canada) is simply putting too
many eggs in one basket.

6. The Environmental
Costs
• As far as extraction methods go, the
ones used in the Alberta oil sands
are among the most carbon-
intensive. When compared to the
average crude oil processed in the
United States, greenhouse gas
emissions from the Alberta oil sands
are approximately five to 15 per
cent higher because the oil is too
deep to be extracted using
traditional methods.
• The Athabasca Delta, where the oil
sands are located, is a breeding
ground for hundreds of species of
birds. But these breeding grounds
are destroyed to clear the land for
oil production.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro0LWXPlTSA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwwVo3CEFAQ

7. The Social Costs
• First Nations in the tar sands face difficult
issues. They claim that development of the
tar sands is destroying their traditional
lands. They argue that they are not
consulted about development and do not
receive adequate compensation for the
destruction of their lands and water
supplies.
• Many of Canada’s First Nations people,
including the Cree, Métis, Dene, and
Athabascan, are tied to the land and rely
on the continued existence of wildlife for
their living. Wildlife is becoming tainted by
toxins. Fish and game animals are
appearing covered with tumours and
mutations. Fish frying in a pan smells like
burning plastic. Moose meat from the
region contains unacceptably high levels
of arsenic, which is a potent cancer-
causing substance.

8. The Social Costs
• Between 1996 and 2006 more
than 700,000 people poured into
Alberta to work in the oil
industry, creating severe housing
shortages and a $7-billion
infrastructure shortfall in roads,
schools and healthcare facilities.
• The negative socio-economic
effects of rapid growth include
alterations to the traditional way
of life, negative impacts on
traditional lands, drug and
alcohol abuse, and increased
dependence on non- profit social
service providers.

9. The Social Costs
• Substance abuse, gambling and
family violence increased in
Alberta, especially in towns near
tar sands projects.
• Fort McMurray for example:
• has the highest suicide rate in the
country for men age 18-24
• reports five times more drug
offences than the rest of Alberta
• has an 89 per cent higher rate of
assault
• has a 117 per cent higher rate of
impaired driving offences

10. Structural-
Functionalist Theory
• Canada and the world’s
economy rely heavily on the
production of oil.
• Alberta oil sands are leaving a
tremendous environmental
footprint in the region; loss of
arable land, clean water and
fish and animals.
• Unintended negative
consequences that are not
widely recognized.

11. Probable
Environmental
Solutions
• World primary energy demand
is projected to increase by 1.5
percent per year between 2007
and 2030, an overall increase of
40 percent.
• It is important to invest in
renewable energy technologies;
wind, solar, geothermal, tide
and wave, and bio-energy.
• Better regulation and
management of the
environmental impacts of oil
production.

12. Probable Social
Solutions
• Increased funding of social
services from both industry and
government.
• Increased monitoring of air and
water conditions related to
health and well-being of people
and animals.
• Government must slow the
expanse of the oil sands to
allow society and infrastructure
to catch up.

13. References
Alberta Energy. (2015). About Oil Sands. Retrieved from
http://www.energy.alberta.ca/OilSands/585.asp
Terry, A. (2009). Global News. Pros and cons: Alberta oil sands. Retrieved
from http://globalnews.ca/news/66591/pros-and-cons-alberta-oil-sands/
Greenpeace. Tar Sands and Social Costs. Retrieved from http:/
www.greenpeace.org/canada/global/canada/report/2010/4
socialcosts_fs_footnotes_rev_4.pdf
Mooney, L.A. (2013). Environmental Problems, Understanding Social Problems (pp.
433-434). Toronto, ON: Nelson Education
Draw The Line. Moving Beyond Tar Sands Oil. Retrieved from http://
www.drawthelineattarsands.com/learn-about-tar-sands/summary-of-issues/