Re: SC15

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/060501/b050182.html

Alberta's heavy oil industry should pay for huge fresh-water use: report

.......The Pembina Institute report released Monday also calls for a moratorium on new oilsands mines until the Alberta government figures out how much fresh water the industry should be able to take in the face of climate change.

If the province and corporations fail to act, Alberta could run out of fresh drinking water long before it runs out of oil, said Pembina spokeswoman Mary Griffiths.

"We just can't carry on with the oilsands using fresh water, Griffiths said......

Corporations use water and steam to squeeze and melt synthetic crude out of the gooey black oilsands so it can be refined.

But once the water is used to extract the oil it becomes contaminated and is no longer fit for human consumption or agriculture. It is stored in toxic tailings ponds.

The thirst by the industry for fresh water is increasing.

Oilsands production surpassed one million barrels per day last year - a figure forecast to double within seven years.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers flatly rejects the report's call for corporations to pay a water fee or to mothball planned oilsands projects or expansions, said CAPP president Pierre Alvarez........

There won't be anything left for the CAPP to " reject " relatively soon, since climate change effects are drying up the water supplies ( rivers, streams, etc ) in the areas where the oil sands ( really tar sands ) are processed. But Bush said recently that the Canadian Oil Sands would help save the day, in regards to the US,s declining oil supplies. So rest assurred, he's already got a nifty plan to deal with this little problem too. Maybe he can get the water flowing, with a big $100 dollar rebate to all Canadians!