Page - October 25, 2007
It seems preposterous to most Canadians that outrageous amounts of environmental and social damage is being caused by the tar sands, yet most of the oil produced does not benefit Canada. Seventy per cent of the oil from the tar sands is piped directly to the United States, which sees Alberta as a “secure” source, compared to oil which comes from more politically volatile areas of the world.
Seventy per cent of the energy produced by the tar sands is exported directly to the United States.
Having this "secure" source means that Americans are not
motivated to choose fuel-efficient vehicles, and not required to
change any of their transportation or consumption habits. But it
also means that Canada will be depleting its entire stock of a
non-renewable resource in one foul swoop. In addition to using
huge amounts of water and energy just to extract the tar sands,
once all the reserves in Alberta have been exhausted, there will be
no oil left for future generations to use.