Resources for Journalists: Our Growing Addiction to Dirty Oil from Canada’s Tar Sands

In the wake of the drilling disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, public support for more drilling is sinking and politicians are looking for alternatives to offshore oil.

The resources linked to below are designed to assist journalists in covering one dangerous energy alternative that oil industry giants like BP are promoting: Canada’s tar sands.

Tar sands oil, the world’s dirtiest, is already on track to surpass conventional crude as our nation’s top source of imported oil. A report released May 17 by the sustainable investment network Ceres warns that the tar sands industry bears environmental and financial risks that eclipse even those of Gulf drilling.

Now oil and gas company TransCanada is seeking a permit from the Obama administration to build a new pipeline through the U.S. that would double our dependence on this dirty and costly oil. A public comment period on the State Department’s draft analysis of the pipeline’s potential environmental impacts closes June 16. Then this fall President Obama will face a final decision: approve this project or steer our country toward cleaner, safer energy choices.

These resources will help you generate insightful coverage of the stakes of the Obama administration’s decision — for our energy future, climate stability and public health.

Click here to download a pdf packet containing a memo to journalists and four cited fact sheets.

Click on the links below to download individual resources:

• Memorandum: Why oil from Canada’s tar sands is another false solution to our nation’s energy needs
• Fact sheet: BP’s expanding investments in tar sands oil
• Fact sheet: An overview of the Keystone XL pipeline project
• Fact sheet: The pipeline’s potential impacts on natural resources and public health
• Fact sheet: Tar sands oil’s climate and health impacts
• An interview with Mike Mercredi, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nations
• A Friends of the Earth Europe report on the rapid expansion of tar sands extraction globally

Related media coverage of tar sands oil extraction and the Keystone XL pipeline decision:

• “Impact of oil spill will be profound,” editorial, Lincoln Journal Star, June 7, 2010
• “Canadian tar sands set to be top U.S. oil import,” Houston Chronicle, May 20, 2010
• “Reliance on Oil Sands Grows Despite Environmental Risks,” The New York Times, May 18, 2010
• “Oil sands production could carry risk for investors,” Los Angeles Times, May 17, 2010
• “Tar sands oil extraction spreading rapidly, report warns,” The Guardian, May 17, 2010

 You can find more resources on the Keystone XL pipeline here.