Tailings ponds a toxic legacy of Alberta's oilsands

[Integrity_Farmer]

Tar sands crude is a losing proposition.
Tar sands crude depletes our country on natural gas and fresh water melting the tar from the sand.
Tar sands crude is a environmental disaster with toxic taillings ponds right along the Athabasca River.
The tar sands are all under the boreal forest.
Sorry this article is from 2013 but I put it on here to show the problems Rachel Notley has been creating for the last four years. The people in Alberta know all about this. As the saying goes we are not here for a long time we are here for a good time.
Don't repeat this in Sask.

Fort McMurray, Home to 176 Square km of Tar Sands Tailings Ponds, Overwhelmed by Floods

https://www.desmog.ca/2013/06/11/fort-mcmurray-home-176-square-km-tar-sands-tailings-ponds-overwhelmed-floods

[tweety]

What does this have to do with ag commodities?

[fjlip]

To distract from insulting grain prices, 40 year old / bu prices with a fraction of the buying power.

[Integrity_Farmer]

"To distract from insulting grain prices, 40 year old / bu prices with a fraction of the buying power."

I agree with your comment.

It is said if you cannot understand the problem you cannot provide a solution. We had a solution in the Canadian Wheat board and the previous five years it was in operation paid farmers in the 2007-2008 crop year farmers received $12.84 a bushel for number 2 RS 15.5 protein. Protein premiums under the CWB of up to $3.84 a bushel in some years.

Why talk of this when people on this site cant identify the problem or provide a solution.

[farming101]

At the risk of derailing the thread,

Was that the year wheat futures were from $12 - $24 dollars for 13 weeks in a row and the Canadian dollar was at near par with the USD?

[grassfarmer]

What does this have to do with ag commodities?

As much as "Friday cocktails and travel tips" among others.

[mustardman]

This is an Ag Commodity forum ?? Who knew?? Lol

[blackpowder]

My personal experience being limited. I'm interested in how much hands on experience some on here have with the industry in question??????

It is hard for me to equate our industry with the heinous sins our race capable of.
So why the crusading???
A new Prohibition Era arrives????

Go work the patch or get stronger meds. While your at it wiggle your nose and scare up a few $B.

[BreadWinner]

I may be tempted to go light up the chemical jug pile or the grain bag pit!!! I would bet IF has his own little secrets in his farming closet.

[stonepicker]

I may be wrong. The tar sands have oil in them (which is toxic ), the oil co. washes the sand with hot water and takes the oil out of the sand, then they put the clean washed sand into the tailings pond? And the cleaned washed sand in the tailings pond is now more toxic than the original tar sands?

[vvalk]

At the risk of derailing the thread,

Was that the year wheat futures were from $12 - $24 dollars for 13 weeks in a row and the Canadian dollar was at near par with the USD?

Funny thing about guys like IF is that they actually don't really farm. Mostly hobby guys who wouldn't even know how much the open market at anytime would have paid. They have a few 3ton loads to sell but know better then the 20% of farmers who grow 90% of the grain. Love the expertise that they know better. Laughable

[ajl]

IF, oil is the only thing that separates Canuckistan from the third world. It is what provides, pension, (which I am sure is important to you) healthcare, and a first world lifestyle for most. As such, we have to deal with some tailings ponds like it or not. Article overstates the problem. There is nothing that we do in Canuckistan that has the impact that the energy industry does. Is your vision one where you get your pension while the younger people get buried under a mountain of government debt because there really is nothing else than the oil industry and you would be wise to tune out those who seek to destroy it with exaggeration and outright lies. Yes there are problems but that is the case with everything.

[vvalk]

IF, oil is the only thing that separates Canuckistan from the third world. It is what provides, pension, (which I am sure is important to you) healthcare, and a first world lifestyle for most. As such, we have to deal with some tailings ponds like it or not. Article overstates the problem. There is nothing that we do in Canuckistan that has the impact that the energy industry does. Is your vision one where you get your pension while the younger people get buried under a mountain of government debt because there really is nothing else than the oil industry and you would be wise to tune out those who seek to destroy it with exaggeration and outright lies. Yes there are problems but that is the case with everything.

IF why don't you show us some leadership and turn the pipeline off into your house. Better yet spend the $150k to put geothermal and solar in. Will still need some power somehow though. It's still won't work 100% of the time. Wait, how do you drill those 300 ft holes or trenches for geothermal. Need some big petro thristy equipment Or how are those solar panels made and what happens when they need to be replaced? Could go on and on and on. Amazing the hypocracy or even worse be like the easterners in Canada and use oil from Nigeria.

[Oliver88]

It will be interesting to how an anti-fossil fuels person such as IF farmer heats and powers his house, aeration fans, shop, vehicles and all farm machinery.

It will interesting to hear what his power sources are.

[Integrity_Farmer]

Some interesting points about energy balance geothermal, solar etc
I understand that you cannot gain energy with tar sands tar (this is not crude) Why the natural gas and fresh water for this extraction?

A detailed energy balance analysis sponsored by the Alberta Government for SAGD (stem assisted gravity drainage) suggests that its EROI (energy return on investment) is close to 1:1. That makes bitumen a source of energy as pathetic and tragic as corn ethanol. Given that natural gas has an EROI almost as high as conventional oil, many energy experts regard the use of natural gas for bitumen production as folly.

John Diefenbaker once set up the National Energy Board that required 30 years of proven reserves before EXPORTS of oil and gas were permitted. Diefenbaker had a Canada first policy that no longer exists in Canadian politics.

I have never advocated removal of energy from farming as there are so many other wasteful uses of energy in our country such as passenger cars, truck transportation and lack of proper insulation in homes Of course alternative energy with positive EROI such as hydro geothermal wind and solar depending on location.

Since Mr. Vanderwalk a board member of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers advocated for the elimination of the Crow Rate and the abandonment of the rail lines he has provided failed solutions for farmers and the country. Rail transportation is known to be 10 times more energy efficient as transport truck.

Having massive tail-lings ponds leaking into the Athabasca river may be acceptable to a few posters on here but it is not acceptable to a majority of informed Canadians. Tar sands crude is a disaster for the ecology of Albertan and it has no economic value to our country