Environmental Defence | Protecting the Environment and Human Health

Because of their sheer scale, all Canadians are affected by the Tar Sands, no matter where they live.

The Tar Sands are the fastest growing source of global warming pollution in Canada.

Yet, the federal government has no plan to curb emissions from the Tar Sands. In fact, it appears the Tar Sands could get special treatment under a national system to cap global warming pollution.

Global warming isn't the only environment problem made worse by the Tar Sands. Toxic waste ponds, air and water pollution, habitat and species destruction are all legacies of the enormous operations that take up an area the size of Florida in northern Alberta.

Environmental Defence has placed a number of ads and released several reports focused on the Tar Sands and their environmental and health consequences, including:

• Canada's Toxic Tar Sands: The Most Destructive Project on Earth - February 2008
• The Alberta Tar Sands: A Telephone Survey of Canadians - March 2008
• Tar Sands: Feeding U.S. Refinery Expansions with Dirty Fuel - June 2008
• Perceptions of Alberta's Oil Sands: An Opinion Survey in Quebec - October 2008
• 11 Million Litres A Day: The Tar Sands Leaking Legacy - December 2008
• Freedom From Dirty Oil: Ontario's Tar Sands Decision - January 2009
• Divided We Fall: The Tar Sands vs. The Rest of Canada - May 2009
• Cap and Trade Design Principles for Canada - July 2009
• Opinion Poll: Global Warming, cap-and-trade and the role of the Provinces - August 2009
• Just Visiting: Stephen Harper's Climate Insincerity - September 2009
• Public Opinion Poll: Quebec and the Alberta Oil Sands - February 2010
• "Avatar" ad in Hollywood's Variety Magazine - March 2010
• Total Oil's plan to develop a new tar sands strip mine: letter to the Alberta and Canadian governments. (.pdf file) August 2010