Canadians and Americans both are glued to their computers and TV sets this morning to see Barack Obama’s first official state visit.  The oilsands are an important component of the discussions that may take place today between Obama and Canadian leaders.  Prime Minister Stephen Harper happens to be from Alberta where oilsands oil production is a driving force in the Canadian economy.  The US gets 13% of its oil from the Albertan oilsands.  The process by which the oilsands are mined are environmentally problematic.

In an interview Tuesday with the Canadian national news service, CBC, Obama stated:  “What we know is that oil sands creates a big carbon footprint. So the dilemma that Canada faces, the United States faces, and China and the entire world faces is how do we obtain the energy that we need to grow our economies in a way that is not rapidly accelerating climate change.”

The environmental cost of extracting oil from the Albertan tar sands is three times as high as extracting a “regular” barrel of oil.  The oilsands operations were not even economically viable due to this costly extraction process until oil prices started holding steady at higher prices in the 1990′s.  Alberta’s forests and rivers are not just threatened by oilsands extraction, but are suffering right now.  What Harper is hoping is that the political cost of purchasing oil from the Middle East outweighs the environmental cost of extracting the oil.  Hopefully Obama’s visit will result in tighter environmental controls on the oilsands operations.

The following video is a comprehensive look at Albertan oilsand operations.

Tags: Alberta oilsands pollution, carbon footprint oilsands, Obama, obama canada visit, obama ottawa visit

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