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The Tar Sands Photo: David Dodge

The tar sands release three times as many greenhouse gases as conventional oil, consume massive amounts of water, and pollute essential habitat for birds and other wildlife.

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Stop the Tar Sands!

Canada’s tar sands are a grave danger to millions of birds and other wildlife.

The Petition Letter You'll be Sending:

Dear Prime Minister Harper,

Tar sands operations inside Canada’s Boreal Forest threaten to destroy or fragment vast lakes, rivers, forests and wetlands that provide nesting grounds for millions of birds.

Therefore, I urge the Government of Canada to declare a moratorium on any new tar sands development and to implement stricter environmental controls over existing operations. The environmental and human health costs are simply too high.

The tar sands are by far the fastest growing source of greenhouse gases in Canada, producing as much as three times the amount of greenhouse gases as conventional oil production. In addition, production and refining operations produce huge emissions of toxins, from nitrogen oxides that acidify hundreds of square kilometres, to cadmium and arsenic that cause cancer.

Recent mass bird death incidents show that even with preventive efforts in place, massive toxic settling ponds continue to pose a danger to birds. As waterfowl and shorebirds return from migration journeys thousands of kilometres long, they face death from swimming in or drinking from the ponds

Scientific research predicts that the tar sands could lead to the loss of more than 160 million birds over the next 30 to 50 years because of the elimination of habitat and deaths from water contamination or drowning in tailings ponds.

It is time to put the brakes on development of the world’s dirtiest form of oil, and to protect migratory bird populations in the Boreal Forest.

Thank you for considering my views.

Sign this Petition Now!

Birds and the Boreal Forest:

At 1.3 billion acres, the Canadian Boreal Forest is one of the largest intact forest and wetland ecosystems on earth. It is a major source of North America’s fresh water and home to the some of the planet’s largest populations of wolves, grizzly bears, and woodland caribou.

Every spring, billions of migratory birds flock to Canada’s Boreal Forest to breed. For many of these species it is their only nesting place in the world. Yet today, the Boreal Forest is coming under increasing pressure from logging, mining, and oil and gas operations.

Many of North America’s most rapidly declining birds are those that depend on the Boreal Forest for their survival.

What are the Tar Sands?

Oil Sands Region
The term “tar sands” refers to thick oil called bitumen that is mixed in with sand, clay, and water. Extracting and refining oil from tar requires massive amounts of energy and water. Tar sands oil produces two-and-a-half times as many greenhouse gases as conventional oil production, making it the world’s most harmful type of oil for the atmosphere. Tar sands projects are the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions growth in Canada.

Impacts of the Tar Sands on Birds:

Essential bird habitat is destroyed or fragmented by open pit mines, toxic tailings ponds, deep drilling installations, roads and pipeline networks.

Rusty BlackbirdA million cubic metres of water is diverted from the Athabasca River to tar sands operations each day. Most of the water ends up as waste in toxic ponds near the river’s banks, raising the risk of contamination.

Nearly a dozen massive tailings ponds, some several kilometers across, line both sides of the Athabasca River. Many are already leaking and creating their own tainted wetlands. The ponds, which contain a thick mix of water, oil, clay and chemical byproducts, rarely freeze. Fish, birds and other wildlife face death from swimming in or drinking from the ponds.

The tar sands are by far the fastest growing source of greenhouse gases in Canada, producing as much as three times the amount of greenhouse gases as conventional oil production. In addition, production and refining operations produce huge emissions of toxins, from nitrogen oxides that acidify hundreds of square kilometres, to cadmium and arsenic that cause cancer.

Sign the Petition to Stop the Tar Sands!

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