Jiri Rezac: Canada’s Tar Sands

Mining the world's dirtiest oil

“Alberta’s tar sand deposits lie under 141,000 kmĀ² of sparsely populated boreal forest and muskeg and contain about 1.7 trillion barrels of bitumen, comparable in magnitude to the world’s total proven reserves of conventional petroleum.

“Being Canada’s main economic driver, and a favourite source of ‘safe’ energy for its big neighbour down south, the tar sands are a hotly contested issue between the provincial and national government, environmental groups and the indigenous people of Canada who by and large are opposed to the breakneck speed of oil industry developments.”
– Jiri Rezac, July 2010