Health and Environmental Effects of the Tar Sands
Across the United States, oil refineries are seeking permits to
expand their facilities to process heavy crude oil from the tar sands.
Processing tar sands oil will mean more asthma and respiratory diseases,
more cancer, and more cardiovascular problems. Many local communities
are opposing the expansions.
In Canada, the toxic burden on communities near the tar sands is
already enormous. In addition to direct human exposure, oil
contamination in the local watershed has led to arsenic in moose meat—a
dietary staple for First Nations peoples—up to 33 times acceptable
levels. Drinking water has also been contaminated.
The alternative is simple: we need to break our addiction to oil and
fossil fuels. We could be on the road to a new energy future if we
simply redirect the investment capital slated for the tar sands into
sustainable alternatives. Heightened investments in clean energy also
mean the creation of new green jobs. We need to stop investing in dirty
fossil fuels and start funding the future.
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