7.24 Resource Depletion and Environmental Issues

This photo shows smoke and steam plumes coming from the Syncrude upgrader plant north of Fort McMurray, Alberta. The Athabasca tar sand deposits lie under the sparsely populated boreal forest of northern Alberta. In 2012, they yielded about 1.8 million barrels of oil per day; projected future extractions will make Canada one of the largest oil-producing countries in the world. The financial impact of the tar sands is seen in increased employment for workers, spinoff benefits in terms of jobs across the province, increased tax revenues for the government, and great wealth for shareholders.

This photo is Fort Chipewyan, established as a trading post by the North West Company in 1788. The economic boom has made an environmental disaster for those who live along the Athabascan waterways because lakes and rivers are polluted and water and fish are contaminated. While the natural habitat that sustains the Aboriginal people's traditional way of life is gradually destroyed, they experience increasing rates of leukemia, lymphoma, and other diseases as well as the incidence of cancer 30% higher than the provincial average.