Some Of The Stuff They Don't Talk About When Discussing Tarsands - LA Times

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The leftovers are stockpiled on the surrounding landscape. Huge yellow blocks of sulfur impurities are stacked pyramid-fashion. Dunes of sand expelled from the plant sweep toward the horizon. On lake-sized tailings ponds, floating scarecrows and bursts from air cannons discourage birds from alighting on the oily wastewater that would kill them. Recovering oil from sand requires the use of natural gas to heat water, which produces greenhouse gases and other air pollutants. The water itself is drawn from the nearby Athabasca River, which flows 765 miles from glaciers in the Canadian Rockies through numerous small communities and sustains waterfowl, fish and other wildlife.

Although improved technology and recycling have reduced the amount of water and energy needed for each barrel of oil, Syncrude's reports show overall quantities growing along with oil production. The oil sands operations accounted for 4% of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions in 2005, and energy regulators say it has been increasing. University of Alberta ecologist David Schindler projects that oil development, coupled with climate change, could cut the Athabasca River's low winter flow in half or more by midcentury. "What they want to withdraw is an unsustainable amount," he said.

Alberta environmental officials recently established water use rules to prevent biological damage to the river, and the provincial government has required a 12% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions per barrel of oil. But experts at the Pembina Institute maintain that those measures are inadequate.

The industry, which generates billions of dollars in economic activity, royalties and taxes each year, says it plans to minimize environmental effects through improved efficiency and land restoration required by government leases. Syncrude reports that it has reclaimed a quarter of the land disturbed by mining, although the government has not yet certified the land's ability to sustain wildlife and plants.

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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-oilsands8jul08,0,7328980.story?page=2&coll=la-home-center