Photographer Louis Helbig has been photographing Canada’s oil sands mining (featured in a Freakonomics contest last week) for several years, with fascinating results.
This is a photo of an open pit mine:
All Photos: Louis Helbig
The overburden, “a layer of earth, sand and gravel up to 100 feet deep covering the bitumen” must be stripped before mining begins:
A tar pond, with a scarecrow. Birds often land on the tar ponds and are poisoned by the toxic water:
A bitumen slick:
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. You can also watch it on 
Thanks for the photos. I’m not sure what the point of the post is though. What is it?
By the way, I don’t think birds “often” are poisoned as described. There was one high-profile case fairly recently in which the equipment used to scare birds away malfunctioned and some ducks died, but it’s hardly the mass elimination of wildlife that you imply.
True, Charlie: the oil sands have nowhere near the bird fatality record of, say, the wind power industry, which is also big in Alberta.
Still, environmental issues surrounding water use, energy use and lack of oversight are real and significant.
Agree with Geoff that oil sands are not a huge bird killer.
But, I would also add that wind turbines are also not huge bird killers. Tall buildings kill many, many more birds than wind farms. So do house cats.
Finally, I am also curious what these photos have to do with ‘Freakonomics’.
This is here for the cost benefit analysis of a barrel of oil from the gulf and a barrel of oil from the oil sands (factoring direct costs and externalties)…right?
How dirty does the TarSands oil seem now with the Deep Water Horizon / Gulf oil spill fiasco? I find it interesting that there are now pictures of reclaimed land after the open pit mines are complete and filled in.
Lets bring this back from an environmental agenda to an economic one. My question is what is the environmental impact in monetary terms of Oil Sands vs. Off Shore drilling?
Lots of Albertans posting here.
“What is the impact in monetary terms of oil sands vs off shore drilling?” What are you asking, how much money does it take to undo the damage that we wreak on the environment? Find the cheapest and go with that?
How about we spend that money finding ways to reduce consumption of energy and then find ways of producing that energy other than from oil?
The tar sands are a national economic saviour and a national ecological disgrace. How greedy are we?
“What are you asking, how much money does it take to undo the damage that we wreak on the environment? Find the cheapest and go with that?”
Yes, that’s what I’m asking.
I saw this in Lord of the Rings!