Read the latest insights and analysis from the experts at Oil Change International.
For years there has been growing evidence that toxic chemicals from Alberta's vast tar sands tailings ponds were leaching into groundwater and the nearby Athabasca River. The tailing ponds now cover a huge area – some 176 square kilometres – and given their size it is hardly surprising that some seepage may be occurring.
This is getting embarrassing. Another month, another crude by rail accident in the US. Yesterday a 120-car train carrying tar sands oil derailed in western Pennsylvania.
As the debate on fracking heats up in the UK, politicians are keen to point out that the process is safe. The influential Conservative MP Peter Lilley appeared on TV the other night and arrogantly dismissed any concerns with fracking. “Any problems with the environment, safety and health can be satisfactorily managed”, he told the audience.
The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, yesterday dismissed critics of fracking as “irrational”, arguing that their opposition is based on a “religious” hostility to fossil fuels.
Another day and yet another crude oil train derails in North America, highlighting the growing risk of carrying crude by rail.
An investigation by the Associated Press has found that, in at least four major fracking states, there have been hundreds of complaints from local residents.
In the long and tortuous legal battle between indigenous communities in Ecuador against the oil giant Chevron, the plaintiffs scored a major victory yesterday in, of all places, Canada.
The Canadian press is reporting that the Albertan government is preparing to release new data “within weeks” about cancer rates in Fort Chipewyan, the First Nations community which is just under 300 kilometers north of Fort McMurray.
As the British government presses ahead with fracking, more evidence emerges from the US of serious air pollution issues, this time with the cancer-causing chemical, benzene.
The tar sands industry wants to transform northern Alberta into the largest man-made lake district on Earth, with dozens of toxic tailings ponds.
