Environmental impacts of looking for more energy
- Created by: Amy Brown
- Created on: 04-06-14 11:10
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- Environmental impacts of looking for more energy
- Tar Sands, Canada
- Contains up to 2.5 trillion barrels of oil (more than Saudi Arabia's reserves)
- Oil sands are made of sand, water and a hydrocarbon tar called bitumen
- Since the rising oil prices and technological advances they have now become more feasible to extract
- Alberta's tar sands produce a million barrels of oil a day in 2003 and expected to reach 3.5 million a day by 2011.
- By 2030 they aim to produce at least 5 million a day and export the surplus
- Problems
- Oil in the shale is not easily seperated out, so immense amount of heat is needed usually through burning natural gas
- Process uses huge amounts of water e.g. every barrel of oil produced uses 4 barrels of water
- Issue of disposing of the shale once the oil has been removed
- Very expensive and only viable when oil costs over $30 a barrel
- Processes tar sands are a large source of greenhouse gas emissions
- 470km^2 of forest have been removed and lakes of toxic waste cover 130km^2
- Benefits
- Alternatives source of oil during times of political or access issues
- By 2030 the tar sands could meet 16% of North America's demand for oil -Energy Security
- Provide additional source of energy until more renewable sources can be found
- Mining companies are required to replant land disturbed by mining
- Oil is vital to Canada's economy (2007 = 20% of exports)
- Tar Sands, Canada
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