coal

Coal

What Are Fossil Fuels? Coal, crude oil, and natural gas are all considered fossil fuels because they were formed from the fossilized, buried remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago.

Air Quality Impacts: Along with greenhouse gases, other pollutants are released into the air during oil sands operations. These pollutants are harmful to the environment and human health, and include gases such as NOx and SOx.

Cons

• Enormous GHG emissions.
• Relatively low net energy return compared to other sources.
• Large amounts of water required: roughly 3:1.
• Water pollution.
• Destructive to major boreal forest.
• Widespread habitat destruction, both on land and water.
• Requires expensive and risky pipelines.

Environmental Impact James Hansen of NASA, a top climate scientist, has called tar sand production “game over” for the climate. There are conflicting reports though on the actual emissions. The EPA states that turning tar sands into oil produces 80 percent more greenhouse gases than developing other sources of oil.

Distribution of gross domestic product of Alberta, Canada in 2019, by industry

Alberta