Ecological Nightmare

From: Tar Sands Showdown

$4.10

This chapter discusses the multiple forms of environmental damage caused by the massive development of the tar sands for crude exports to the US: (a) global warming: the emergence of the tar sands industry as Canada’s largest emitter of increasing greenhouse gases or carbon that traps the heat in the atmosphere; (b) water depletion: the depletion and contamination of the Athabasca and related river systems due to tar sands production plus the creation of huge toxic ponds; (c) boreal destruction: the strip mining of the boreal forest, the muskeg and the wetlands, the best natural storehouse for carbon emissions to be found on the planet.

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Contributors

Tony Clarke

TONY CLARKE is the founder and director of the Polaris Institute in Ottawa, an organization dedicated to developing tools and strategies for civic action on major public policy issues, including energy security, water rights, and free trade. He holds a doctorate from the University of Chicago, has written numerous books, and is the recipient of Sweden's Right Livelihood Award, the "alternative Nobel Prize." Among his most recent books is Blue Gold: The Fight to Stop the Corporate Theft of the World's Water with Maude Barlow.