Tar sands

President to Meet with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper

September 15, 2009 -- Washington, D.C - As President Barack Obama prepares to meet with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on September 16, an international network of environmental groups is sending a strong message to the president that Canada's dirty tar sands oil threatens America's clean energy future.

Obama is under pressure from the Canadian government to accept dirty oil from Alberta's tar sands via a sprawling network of pipelines and refineries in the U.S. Producing oil from tar sands emits three to five times the global warming pollution as conventional oil, requires excessive amounts of energy and fresh water, and destroys huge swaths of boreal forest.    » read more »

Pipelines from Canada Threaten America's Water, Farmland and Communities

May 28, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. -- Farmers, Steelworkers, tribes, rural citizens and environmentalists are all warning that construction of three massive pipelines designed to carry dirty oil from the Alberta tar sands into the United States would threaten communities across the West and Midwest.

An additional pipeline would carry chemical thinners from the U.S. to Canada. Today, a coalition of groups sent letters to the Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration urging that the agency not approve safety plans for the pipelines.    » read more »

WASHINGTON (February 18, 2009)—As President Obama prepares for his first international trip to Ottawa, Canada, on Thursday, it’s expected that there will be a significant focus on energy and environmental issues.

In the United States, President Obama has emphasized the need to transform America to a clean energy economy. The stimulus package signed into law yesterday has record spending for renewable energy and energy efficiency. Mr. Obama has asked EPA to review the California waiver to regulate tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks. And he has been a long supporter of a low-carbon fuel standard, similar to the one in place in California.    » read more »

45,000 Americans and Canadians Lend Support to President Obama: We Must Get New Energy Economy Right

February 18, 2009 -- U.S./Canada- Today, an international network of environmental groups announced that there has been overwhelming response to a cross-border campaign urging President Barack Obama to keep moving forward on his new energy economy agenda and say "no" to the tar sands, the dirtiest, most energy-intensive source of oil on the planet.

More than 45,000 petitions were signed in the U.S. and Canada in just the last several days. On February 19, President Obama travels to Canada on his first presidential visit abroad, where he will face pressure from the Government of Canada to support production of Alberta tar sands oil.    » read more »

Washington (January 16, 2008) -- Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach is on a trade mission to Washington, D.C., today where he is expected to seek American support for, and investment in, one of the dirtiest sources of unconventional fuels – the Canadian tar sands. Tar sands oil production generates almost three times the global warming emissions as conventional oil production, due to the massive amounts of energy needed to extract, upgrade and refine the oil.    » read more »