What's So Bad About Tar Sands?

[yortsed snacilbuper]

#t=101s

[marble falls]

1. Why don't he Canadians build their own refineries.

[sharp_stick]

2. I've often wondered that myself

You'd think they would want to keep as much of the revenue as possible.

[PDJane]

3. The tar sands won't last long enough

to make building our own refineries worth while, and the US would be very, very, put out if we did that. One of the most important things about sleeping with the elephant is that you never make the elephant angry.

[postulater]

4. In addition to this there is the damage caused by the mining of the sand that is used to

extract the stuff.

The Karner Blue Butterfly range overlaps the prime frac sand deposits in Wisconsin and the mines are developing so fast that the DNR can't keep up with the permitting and impact evaluations.

http://www.wisconsinwatch.org/2012/01/31/frac-sand-miners-failing-to-check-for-rare-butterfly/

And Tim Pawlenty was just hired to the board of one of the companies that is mining in western Wisconsin.

http://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/state-and-regional/pawlenty-joins-board-of-frac-sand-company-working-near-tomah/article_64919c44-b4d2-11e1-9d71-001a4bcf887a.html

[Spitfire of ATJ]

5. Spills from tar sands oil doesn't float like regular crude

There was a spill of a million gallons of acidic tar sands oil in a river that goes through my old stomping grounds in Battle Creek, Michigan that demonstrated how this crap can't be separated from water by skimming or boom. It hangs in the water instead of floating. Fumes from benzine actually caused seizures with local residents and is likely going to cause cancers in years to come.

Check this presentation out: