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If you visit the area around the Athabasca River in Western Canada, you will find two contrasting landscapes. Alberta is not only the home of the Canadian Rockies, but also Canada’s oil sands mining. While these large reserves have been around for a significant amount…

Developing oil sands means cooking the planet NASA climate scientist James Hansen said that developing oil sands and other unconventional sources of oil would mean “game over for the planet”. After that, pro-oil sands politicians, industrialists and pundits became…

Ever wondered about how the Canadian oil sands are an environmental disaster? We’ve created a short infographic for you explaining how the Canadian oil sands and Alberta oil sands affect the environment and contribute massively to climate change and global…

Oil sands are a combination of sand, clay and water that contain a heavy crude oil variant called bitumen.1 But, this complex hydrocarbon is almost solid at room temperature and does not flow without extensive processing.2 Subsequently, there are two ways to extract the…

Amidst mounting evidence for their contribution to climate change, our global dependence on fossil fuels such as oil and gas remains steadfast. Oil sands mining operations – a common method of synthetic oil production – continue to operate in various countries across the…

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL) oil sands mining operation. Photo Credit: Ryan Jackson. Available at: https://calgaryherald.com/business/energy/what-you-need-to-know-about-restarting-alberta-oilsands-production Though some people say that there are many…

The composition of an oil sand deposit. (Source: Oil Sand Magazine) Available at: https://www.oilsandsmagazine.com/technical/properties Which of the following processes transforms oil-saturated sandstones into tar sands? There are several processes…