Preface: Tar Sands in Alberta

Description -- Tar Sands in Alberta is Canada's worst environmental disaster. It covers an area the size of england (As of April 2011, the total area has increased to 140,200 km squared, or 54,132 square miles) Currently, this is actually larger than the size of England (it's about the size of England and Wales combined).
Oil from the tar sands is one of the world's most carbon-intensive fuels
Two tonnes of tar sand produces a single barrel of oil.
The tar sands generate 40 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, more than every car in Canada combined.
The oil itself is bitumen which contains cancer-causing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
To reach the bitumen, the Boreal Forest is destroyed.
Because of the tar sands, Canada's greenhouse gas emissions have grown more since 1990 than those of any other G8 nation.
Important waterways like the Athabasca River are being contaminated by 11 million litres of toxic waste every day.
Because of the Canada oil sands, the air is polluted with dangerous toxins, poisoning communities with rare cancers and autoimmune diseases.
It destroys critical animal habitats and some of Canada's most pristine landscapes.
Unfortunately, the Alberta government has approved every proposed project.
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