Ryan Sandarage 24/7/2012 ENG3U
Alberta Tar Sands: The Most Harmful Industrial Project on the Planet
Imagine all the things that come from natural resources. (pause) The chairs you sit on are plastic; the soles on your shoes can be vulcanized rubber, these come from crude oil. Your desk and pencil are made of compressed sawdust coming from wood, and these just some of the uses for these resources. The demand for natural resources has sky-rocketed since the latter half of the 20th century. As a result, humans are exploiting these resources at faster and faster rates without thinking about the future consequences. Examples of the exploitation of these resources include open-pit mining, forestry and oil drilling. These processes are known to have detrimental effects on the environment from land being cleared to habitats and ecosystems being decimated. Sounds bad, doesn’t it? (pause) Well… there an industrial project that is more detrimental, more harmful, and more destructive, not just to the environment but to humans as well. That project is the Alberta tar sands. The tar sands are destroying the environment and affecting the lives of all Canadians.
The Alberta tar sands put excessive harm on the environment. A large amount of energy and resources are required to extract crude oil from the tar sands, which are made up of clay, soil, water, and saturated petroleum. This extraction process requires the burning of fossil fuels and steam injecting water (usually fresh water, a resource we Canadians take for granted) into the tar sand from which the petroleum can be separated and extracted. But what happens to the materials that aren’t extractable or usable? Unfortunately, these toxic remnants are dumped into massive tailings ponds (pause) or should I say toxic sludge dumps. These toxic dumps contain everything from heavy metals to carcinogenic substances. These sites have become so immense that they are now visible from outer space.3
Tar Sands Essay
Throughout my travels in Canada, I’ve met many people with differing opinions on the issue of the “Tar sands” or “Oil sands” (I shall use both unambiguously) development. Environmentalists (like myself) and concerned citizens in Canada, as well as the international community, decry that the largest industrial energy project on the face of the planet is destroying future generation’s right to clean ...
Although oil companies say that these “tailings ponds” are safe and will eventually be restored to their natural state, THIS IS A LIE! (speed up) These toxic sludge dumps are far from safe; they have already led to water contamination in various waterways. In 2008, Suncor (an oil company) revealed to the community of Fort Chipewyan that its forty year-old “tailings pond” had been leeching contaminated water into the Athabasca River for over a year, at a rate of six million litres/day.2 The contamination of the river, the community’s water supply, has been associated with abnormally-high cancer rates within the community. There was expected to be 31 cases of cancer in the community within a 12-year period, but in reality there were 51 confirmed cases. This statistic is very disturbing as families in these communities had (and still do have) next to no choice but to use the contaminated water supply, along with eating carcinogenic food from hunting. Remember, these Aboriginal communities are very under privileged, with most residents living in poverty. They have no choice but to continue to consume tainted food and water, even with the knowledge that their food and water is contaminated. If you were a parent trying to provide for your family, could you imagine being forced to give carcinogenic food or water to your children? (pause)(return to speed)
The tar sands also affect the environment in several other ways. No other industrial project on the face of the planet has the potential of being as big as the state of Florida. Due to the size of tar sands, the land must be clear-cut before the sand is extracted. This destroys boreal forests, a major carbon sink. The destruction of boreal forests has gotten the attention of celebrities like the famous Canadian director, James Cameron, who said, “You have this resource there, in that case it’s energy. But the cost of harvesting it is enormous in terms of the forest.” Moreover, the petroleum produced from the tar sands is the dirtiest on the planet, as it requires more energy and transport to extract the petroleum than conventional oil drilling. This seems a bit contradictory, as oil companies are burning tonnes of fuel to make fuel. The destruction of carbon sinks, which remove CO2 from the atmosphere, combined with the release of greenhouse house gas pollutions coming from the extraction, refining, and transport processes of the tar sands, have a negative 2-for-1 effect on the environment.
The Essay on Exxon Valdez Oil Water Ship
The Exxon Valdez oil tanker left the Trans Alaska Pipeline terminal at 9: 12 PM March 23, 1989. The Exxon Valdez was the companies second newest tanker, it was 987 feet long and was carrying 53, 094, 510 gallons of crude oil. It's destination, Long Beach California. William Murphy, an expert ship's pilot had been hired to steer the ship through the Valdez Narrows. Joe Hazelwood, the captain, and ...
Now many critics would argue that the tar sands are beneficial to Canada’s economy, stating that it creates jobs and tax money for the government. This is true, but Canada is not benefitting from the tar sands as much as most people may think. The tar sands are riddled with foreign ownership – approximately 71 percent of the tar sands are foreign owned. This statistic has to do with the fact that those supposedly “Canadian” companies who own the tar-sands are actually owned by non-Canadians, who serve foreign interests and send profits overseas.4 As a result, the Government of Canada is serving the interest of foreign oil companies while completely disregarding the environment and people affected by the Alberta tar sands. (slow down)
Although Canada was one of the first signatories of the Kyoto Protocol, Canada has become a climate change villain in the eyes of the international community and the tar sands play major a role in that assumption. (slight pause) The government of Canada is only thinking about the monetary benefits of the tar sands, not the detrimental effects that they may have. The government has implemented weak legislations which give oil corporations a significant power and say; these corporations control the tar sands, which should not be happening. More pressure must be put on the government to introduce tougher legislations that better protects the environment, the economy and Canadians themselves. Canadians must also do more to prevent the tar sands from continuing to destroy our planet. The tar sands are not only bad for the environment; they are bad for all Canadians. Is this what we Canadians want in our backyards? What effects will this have on the next generation of Canadians? These are questions that we must answer sooner rather than later, or else we will be forced to live with the consequences.
The Essay on Kim Campbell Canada Woman Web
Even though times are changing and the number of double standards between men and woman are declining, it is still uncommon to see a woman in a prominent leading position. Woman's rights have always been a major social issue, and within recent years women have begun to take charge. Kim Campbell is one prominent woman who has devoted the majority of her life to politics and feminism. Having the ...
Cues:
* (Pause) – pause
* Emphasis – emphasis word
* Sympathetic – sympathetic voice tone
* “Emphasis” – emphasis + hand gestures
Rhetorical Devices:
* Rhetorical question
* Alliteration
* Hyperbole
* Metaphor
* Analogy
* Allusion
* Repetition
Bibliography:
Urquhart, Ian. “Between the Sands and a Hard Place?: Aboriginal People and the Oil Sands.” Buffet Center for International and Comparative Studies Working Paper: Energy Series. Buffet Center for International and Comparative Studies, Nov. 2010. Web. 18 July 2012. <http://www.cics.northwestern.edu/documents/workingpapers/Energy_10-005_Urquhart.pdf>.
2 Dr.Gosselin, Pierre, Steve Dr.Hrudey, M. Dr.Naeth, Andre Dr.Plourde, Rene Dr.Therrien, Glen Dr.Van Der Kraak, and Zhenghe Dr.Xu. “Environmental and Health Impact of Canada’s Oil Sands Industry.” Royal Society of Canada. Royal Society of Canada, Dec. 2010. Web. 18 July 2012. <http://www.rsc.ca/documents/expert/RSC_ExP_ExecutiveSummary_ENG_Dec14_10_FINAL_v5.pdf>.
3 “STOP: Stop Tar Sands Operations Permanently.” STOP: Stop Tar Sands Operations Permanently. Word Press, n.d. Web. 18 July 2012. <http://stoptarsands.wordpress.com/>.
4 Brooymans, Hanneke. “Director James Cameron Compares Oilsands to Rainforest Destruction – News – Dirty Oilsands.” Director James Cameron Compares Oilsands to Rainforest Destruction. Dirty Oil Sands, 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 18 July 2012. <http://dirtyoilsands.org/news/article/director_james_cameron_compares_oilsands_to_rainforest_destruction>.
5 “WHO BENEFITS? AN INVESTIGATION OF FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN THE TAR SANDS.” Forest Ethics. Ed. Nikki Skuce. Forest Ethics, 10 May 2012. Web. 18 July 2012. <http://forestethics.org//sites/forestethics.huang.radicaldesigns.org/files/FEA_TarSands_funding_briefing.pdf>.
The Essay on Web Sites Drilling Oil Refuge
Senate Rejects Bush Drilling Plan Thu Apr 18, 4: 33 PM ET By H. JOSEF HEBERT, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate rejected by a wide margin President Bush (news - web sites) 's plans for oil drilling in an Arctic wildlife refuge Thursday, turning aside arguments that the oil was needed for the nation's security. Photos AP Photo Audio/Video Daschle Vows to Defeat Arctic Drilling ...
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[ 1 ]. Urquhart, Ian. “Between the Sands and a Hard Place?: Aboriginal People and the Oil Sands.” Buffet Center for International and Comparative Studies Working Paper: Energy Series. Buffet Center for International and Comparative Studies, Nov. 2010. Web. 18 July 2012. Comparative Studies, Nov. 2010. Web. 18 July 2012. .
[ 2 ]. Dr.Gosselin, Pierre, Steve Dr.Hrudey, M. Dr.Naeth, Andre Dr.Plourde, Rene Dr.Therrien, Glen Dr.Van Der Kraak, and Zhenghe Dr.Xu. “Environmental and Health Impact of Canada’s Oil Sands Industry.” Royal Society of Canada. Royal Society of Canada, Dec. 2010. Web. 18 July 2012. .
[ 3 ]. “STOP: Stop Tar Sands Operations Permanently.” STOP: Stop Tar Sands Operations Permanently. Word Press, n.d. Web. 18 July 2012. .
[ 4 ]. Brooymans, Hanneke. “Director James Cameron Compares Oilsands to Rainforest Destruction – News – Dirty Oilsands.” Director James Cameron Compares Oilsands to Rainforest Destruction. Dirty Oil Sands, 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 18 July 2012. .
[ 5 ]. “WHO BENEFITS? AN INVESTIGATION OF FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN THE TAR SANDS.” Forest Ethics. Ed. Nikki Skuce. Forest Ethics, 10 May 2012. Web. 18 July 2012. .
