{"id":3138,"date":"2021-05-17T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-17T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/?p=3138"},"modified":"2025-07-02T04:09:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T08:09:10","slug":"everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-tar-sands-and-how-they-impact-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/story\/3138\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-tar-sands-and-how-they-impact-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything you need to know about the tar sands and how they impact you"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I<\/strong><\/em>f you could defuse one of the world’s biggest carbon bombs, wouldn’t you?<\/em><\/b><\/p>\n\n

\"Suncor
Aerial view of Suncor Millennium tar sands mining operations north of Fort McMurray.
\u00a9 Jiri Rezac \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Each day, our window for saving the climate \u2014 and the billions of lives that depend on it \u2014 gets a little bit narrower. While people all around the world are taking action, oil companies are trying to light the fuse of one of the <\/span>world\u2019s biggest carbon bombs<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Deep in western Canada, on lands where Indigenous communities have lived since time immemorial, sit the Alberta tar sands. The tar sands are vast oil fields and mines in the Canadian province of Alberta.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Seen from the sky, the tar sands reach beyond the horizon and seem to go on forever, resembling a painful scar on the Earth of epic proportions. Nearby riverbeds are visible as water levels strain under industrial use. Chemical runoff pools collect in massive toxic lakes that stain the landscape. Lingering in the air above (and in the surrounding communities), there can be a sharp <\/span>smell<\/span><\/a> like burned tires, causing a <\/span>searing feeling<\/span><\/a> in the lungs.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Experiencing all this for the first time can be overwhelming and traumatic \u2014 even difficult to believe. It\u2019s not what comes to mind when people from around the world imagine Canada\u2019s crystal clear rivers and lakes, the evergreen forests teeming with life, or the breathtaking beauty of popular national parks little more than a stone\u2019s throw from this environmental nightmare.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

So what are the oil sands and how big are they?<\/b><\/h2>\n\n

The tar sands, sometimes called oil sands, are a massive site of oil extraction in Alberta. <\/span>They cover an area larger than England <\/span>and are <\/span>one of the biggest industrial projects<\/span><\/a> on the planet.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/www.facebook.com\/watch\/?v=10155986794008300\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n

What is tar sands oil and why is it so bad for the environment? <\/b><\/h2>\n\n

The type of oil in the tar sands is called \u201cbitumen\u201d. It is extremely heavy (like tar) and difficult to extract.<\/span> Getting it from deep in the ground to the surface can use up massive amounts of water \u2014 enough to rival <\/span>what a small city may use<\/span><\/a> on a daily basis. Even more water and energy is needed to refine it into anything resembling what goes into your gas tank. The amount of climate-polluting greenhouse gases emitted per barrel of tar sands oil can be <\/span>30% higher<\/span><\/a> (throughout its life cycle) than conventional oil.  <\/span><\/p>\n\n

What is the impact of the tar sands on climate change and the boreal forest?<\/b><\/h2>\n\n

Canada\u2019s oil and gas sector is the <\/span>largest and fastest rising<\/span><\/a> source of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada, accounting for 26% of the total. The tar sands are a key culprit. Between 1990 and 2018, tar sands production <\/span>increased by 456%<\/span><\/a>. <\/span>The industry\u2019s carbon footprint <\/span>is<\/span> greater than <\/span>New Zealand and Kenya<\/span><\/a> combined. <\/span><\/p>\n\n

Nature advocates <\/span>estimate<\/span><\/a> that the industrial development and wildfires in the tar sands region have cleared or degraded nearly two million acres of boreal forest since the turn of the millennium. This puts <\/span>vital habitat<\/span><\/a> for birds, caribou and other animals at risk. It\u2019s also a climate issue since the boreal forest is a <\/span>vital carbon sink<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

The world can\u2019t afford to expand the Alberta tar sands, not if we want to preserve this planet for future generations. Current generations <\/span>are already being impacted<\/span><\/a> by the biodiversity crisis and climate change and its effects on sea level rise, drinking water, disease and extreme weather events.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

How do the tar sands violate Indigenous rights, and how are communities fighting back?<\/b><\/h2>\n\n

Yes.<\/span> Throughout the years, the tar sands have encroached on Indigenous Peoples\u2019 traditional lands and contaminated the environment and wildlife these communities depend on for their culture and way of life. Tar sands chemicals have further been linked to <\/span>higher rates of cancer<\/span><\/a> in Indigenous communities and <\/span>dangerous air pollution<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

And the effects of the tar sands don\u2019t stay in Canada. Globally, Indigenous communities and the Global South are on the frontline of climate impacts. <\/span>In 2017, Indigenous leaders from the Pacific Islands came face-to-face with the tar sands, a culprit in the planetary warming driving rising sea levels, which in turn are having a devastating impact on their homes and families right now. <\/span>Learn more about their emotional journey below.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=63gxtOVfNNI&ab_channel=FUSION\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n

Indigenous Peoples are also leading the resistance against tar sands projects that violate their rights. Roughly 150 Nations have signed a <\/span>Treaty against Tar Sands Expansion<\/span><\/a>. Groups like <\/span>Indigenous Climate Action<\/span><\/a>, the <\/span>Braided Warriors<\/span><\/a>, the <\/span>Tiny House Warriors<\/span><\/a> and others are resisting pipelines like the Trans Mountain Expansion and forging Indigenous-led solutions.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\n<\/lite-youtube>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n

What are the key projects that would expand the tar sands?<\/b><\/h2>\n\n

The stakes are high in the tar sands \u2014 for the communities and for the world. But instead of slamming on the brakes on expanding operations, Canadian governments <\/span>are helping industry by<\/span> stepping on the gas.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Several major oil and gas pipelines, which would cross Indigenous lands without consent, have federal and provincial governments support. Among them are:  <\/span><\/p>\n\n