- Rainforest Action Network
- A Rainforest Action Network protest against the project in front of the Canadian Consulate in Chicago.
Courtesy of: EarthTalk®
E — The Environmental Magazine
Dear EarthTalk: What is “tar sands oil” and what is the controversy over possibly building a pipeline for it from Canada into the United States? — Bill Berkley, Omaha, NE
Tar sands oil (or “tar sands”) is slang for bituminous sand, a mixture of sand, clay, water and an extremely gooey form of petroleum known as bitumen, which resembles tar in appearance. Extracting commercially viable crude oil from tar sands is especially difficult because the thick and sticky mixture won’t flow unless it is heated or diluted with other hydrocarbons. Turning the extracted bitumen into liquid fuel requires large inputs of energy; the process also uses, pollutes and wastes large amounts of fresh water.
This article appears in May 19-25, 2011.