Menu Close

Articles on Oil sands

Displaying all articles

A highway loops around a tailings pond at the Syncrude facility in Fort McMurray, Alta. The proximity of such toxic wastewater ponds to nature threatens its biodiversity. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

As Alberta’s oilsands continue leaking toxic wastewater, aquatic wildlife face new risks

As toxic water continues to spill from tailings ponds across mining developments, decades of scientific research provides evidence of how wildlife will be affected.
Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg greets Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the G7 leaders summit in La Malbaie, Que., in June 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

5 ways Norway leads and Canada lags on climate action

Canada and Norway face epic challenges in weaning themselves from petroleum dependence.
Pumpjacks pump crude oil near Halkirk, Alta., more than a decade ago. Oil prices have plunged into negative territory due to the glut created by the COVID-19 global economic shutdown. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Larry MacDougall

Oil crash explained: How are negative oil prices even possible?

Alberta oil is the collateral damage of the oil war between Russia and Saudi Arabia, with COVID-19 launching an additional attack. The province’s oil industry will struggle to recover.
Record-shattering heatwaves and exceptional wildfires have occurred throughout the northern hemisphere this summer. U.S. Department of Agriculture

Policies on petroleum and pipelines move us closer to a ‘Hothouse Canada’

The Earth is on the edge of being pushed over a planetary threshold that could lead to a “Hothouse Earth.” But if we take the risks seriously there is room for a more benign future.
A aerial view of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain marine terminal, in Burnaby, B.C., is shown on Tues., May 29, 2018. (Jonathan Hayward/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Canada’s Paris-pipeline paradox

Canada wants to move towards a green economy and meet its Paris Agreement targets, but it has also just taken ownership of a pipeline. How can the federal government deal with this paradox?
A aerial view of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain tank farm is pictured in Burnaby, B.C. The federal government is buying Trans Mountain and all of Kinder Morgan Canada’s core assets. Opposition to pipeline construction in Canada has transformed over the decades, shifting from being a local issue to one of global concerns. THE CANADIAN PRESS Jonathan Hayward

The complicated history of building pipelines in Canada

Canada has a long history of building energy pipelines against a backdrop of environmental uncertainty. Decades ago, the opposition came from local groups. Now it’s a global issue.
David Suzuki is an environmental activist, broadcaster and globally recognized geneticist. David Suzuki Foundation

David Suzuki backlash ignores his prize-worthy science

David Suzuki may be best known as an environmental activist and the face of CBC’s ‘The Nature of Things,’ but he’s also a globally recognized scientist.
Jim Carr, Canada’s minister of Natural Resources, delivers a statement on TransCanada’s decision to cancel the Energy East Pipeline project on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick)

Regulations alone didn’t sink the Energy East pipeline

With TransCanada’s decision to cancel the Energy East pipeline project Canada’s energy policies are under attack.
Efforts to combat climate change are making extracting oil from areas like Canada’s tar sands fields more expensive. Emily Beament/PA Wire via AP

Are fossil fuel companies telling investors enough about the risks of climate change?

The Trump administration may reverse a recent push to require oil companies to disclose more information about climate change risks to investors. Is that a good thing?
Efforts to combat climate change are making extracting oil from areas like Canada’s tar sands fields more expensive. Emily Beament/PA Wire via AP

Should oil companies like Exxon be forced to disclose climate change risks?

The SEC and others are pressing Exxon to disclose more climate change risks to investors. But new research suggests shareholders are already pricing in those costs on their own.
Increasing emissions from Canada’s oil and gas sector will make Canada’s post-2020 pledge very difficult to achieve. kris krüg/Flickr

Canada’s climate target is a smokescreen and full of loopholes

This month Canada revealed its post-2020 climate target as 30% below 2005 levels by 2030. But current policies make it unlikely Canada will achieve the target within the country.
The people are angry, but the politicians aren’t worried. Dave Weaver/Reuters

Keystone XL debate: how pipeline politics divide Nebraska

In Nebraska, the intensity of the Keystone XL debate is second only to that over the chance that the Nebraska Cornhuskers will win the Big Ten football championship. Raging for several years now, controversy…

Top contributors

More