6.5 Tar Sands

Question 1

What are Tar Sands

Answer 1

Very viscous oil that is mixture of clay, sand, water and bitumen

Question 2

Opencast Mining

Answer 2

Materials are crushed and mixed with water. Bitumen is separated before it can be used

Question 3

Strip-mining

Answer 3

Tar Sands are pump out

High pressure stream is injected underground to separate bitumen from sand

Question 4

Where in the World is Tar Sands Being Exploited Most

Answer 4

Canada

Worlds largest reserves (73% of known global stocks) with three major deposits in Alberta

Question 5

Tar Sands Benefits

Answer 5

Canada’s national gov promotes tar sands for energy security and economic development

Obviously new jobs

Question 6

Tar Sands Cost

Answer 6

Housing crisis as thousands of workers shipped in

Pollution of Athabasca River (in Alberta), atmospheric toxins and increase incidence of rare cancers and auto-immune disease

2013 8.5% Canada greenhouse gas emission came from tar sands operations, predicted increase 14% by 2030

Question 7

How are Tar Sands Extracted

Answer 7

Too thick to be pumped from ground, opencast or strip-mined instead