Wind of Change

From Tar Sands Mining to Renewable Energy

Tammy Reque University of Utah

Wind of Change: From Tar Sands to Renewable Energy

While the eyes and attention are turned to Keystone XL pipeline, the first commercial tar sands mining company in the U.S wants to start operations this year in eastern Utah. Tar sands mining and refining are extremely aggressive to the environment and a dangerous threat to public health. Massive amounts of water and use of solvents are required for tar sands extraction and the process of extracting and refining pollutes the air significantly more than regular crude. These environmental damages would directly affect the lives of the millions of people who rely on the Colorado River for water and contribute to the decaying air quality of the Wasatch front, which is already the worst in the country. With petroleum being a major industry in Utah, the state has economically relied on refining and mining activities. The possibility of tar sands extraction for commercial purposes is the most recent step confirming this oil dependency. This essay will analyze the connection between Utahs current social, environmental and economic spheres and propose that there are tangible ways to keep growing economically and be sustainable at the same time. Tar sands are sedimentary rocks that contain bitumen, a heavy hydrocarbon that can be turned into usable oil fuel. Because the tar sands are solid, the extraction and refining are wearisome processes that require a lot of energy. About 3 gallons of water are needed to extract the equivalent of 1 gallon of oil and "it is expected that the mine will use 116 gallons of water per minute on a 24-hour basis, according to the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining. It is the most water-intensive method of oil extraction in the world.

Wind of Change: From Tar Sands to Renewable Energy

On October 24 2012, Utah officials gave U.S Oil Sands (USOS) permission to begin large-scale mining in 6,000 acres of land without obtaining a pollution permit or monitoring groundwater quality. As far as state public lands, 52,887 acres are currently leased out for tar sands. Tar sands are expected to occur on 141,020 acres of state trust lands. 830,000 acres in Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming of federal public lands could be mined for tar sands and oil shale. It is estimated that are 25 billion barrels of bitumen buried on state and federal land, according to the Utah Geological survey. The Canadian company with the misleading name U.S Oils already has all the permits to start mining in PR Springs and operations could begin early 2014. In the moment, they have a two-acre test pit but they hope to mine nearly 6,000 acres in the, until now, untouched wilderness. The site is in PR Spring, located on a remote part of the Colorado Plateau south of Vernal and north of Moab, once the home of the Ouray and Ute tribes. The test mine site is in the Tavaputs Plateau not far from Arches and Canyonlands National Parks in Utah. It is also by the Green River, where the water for this intense activity would be taken from. The Green River merges with the Colorado River, the most endangered river in the United State according to the American Rivers 2013 report. In December 2012, the Bureau of Reclamations Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study concluded that the current water demands are not being met which will lead to scarcity in the future considering the growing population. The tar sands development would only accelerate this process by overusing the water at the basin. There are about 30 million people who rely daily on the Colorado River for water. The Colorado is getting drier and 80% of

Wind of Change: From Tar Sands to Renewable Energy

its flow goes to agriculture. The farmlands irrigated by the Colorado account for 15% of our nations crops. Tar sands activity wouldnt simply take away water from agriculture and communities in the process but it could potentially contaminate the little water left. During the extraction, other chemical components of tar sands are released into the ground such as mercury, lead and arsenic. Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment affirm that oil shale beds often serve as the floor for aquifers. Heating the oil shale in place heats the aquifer, and that causes the groundwater to become contaminated with elements like arsenic and fluoride, creating a groundwater nightmare. For every barrel of oil extracted, there are 2 barrels of toxic waste produced. This devastating development has destroyed the northern Canadian wetlands and wildlife by contaminating the Athabasca River. Located on the western tip of Lake Athabasca, downstream from tar sands, Fort Chipewyans water contamination (high levels of arsenic, lead and other chemicals) has afflicted the population with very high rates of cancer, diabetes, renal failure and other deadly ills. Only this year in Canada, there were several complaints about oil leak. In July, Chief Adam of the Chipewyan First Nation reported a 100km long oil residue in the Athabasca River to the Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resources Development (ESRD). Biologists and ecologists from the University of Alberta also found that 13 toxic pollutants in the Athabasca River come from tar sands, which under the US Environmental Protection Agencys Clean Water Act are considered priority pollutants. The status quo is not solving for this issue because the U.S Oil Sands has the rights to start mining activity and they are not being held accountable of their actions against the

Wind of Change: From Tar Sands to Renewable Energy

environment. According to the Western Resource Advocates, they (U.S Oil Sands) promise lower-water use techniques, but refuse to open their books to allow the community to understand how these methods would work and what the resulting broad resource needs and impacts would be. A lot can be learned from Canada about what tar sands mining can do to the environment and public health. The oil sands industry in Canada accounts for 40 million tons of CO2 emissions per year. In Salt Lake City, that effect is already being felt, since Chevron already refines Alberta tar sands. Recently they were given permission to expand their refinery to accommodate the tar sands industry about to begin in Utah which will increase air pollution which plays significant part in global warming issues and become an even more dangerous threat to health. Although CO2 is naturally a part of the atmosphere, human activity alters its cycle especially through the combustion of fossil fuels. The more molecules of CO2 in the atmosphere, the more heat energy released from the earth will be trapped, resulting on higher temperatures across the globe. In this era of climate change, the flow of the Colorado River is expected to be reduced 10-30 percent in the next 40 years because most of the water in Utah comes from snowstorms. As temperatures rises, the less snow will fall, directly affecting an already deficient hydrological cycle. According to Utah Department of Air Quality (DAQ) the refineries as a group are the second largest industrial source of pollution after Rio Tinto/Kennecott in Salt Lake and Davies Counties and represent a serious safety risk. The Holly Refinery in North Salt Lake is responsible for processing 27,000 barrels per day of crude and expects to increase that number to

Wind of Change: From Tar Sands to Renewable Energy

65,000 if they are able to expand the refinery. The Utah Physicians for Healthy Environment affirms that refinery expansions will increase local diesel emissions of new trucks coming in and out of refineries carrying new crude oil. They also confirmed that long term exposure to even low levels of diesel exhaust raises the risk of dying from lung cancer about 50% for local residents and 300% for refinery workers. People in the Wasatch Front are dying two years early due to air pollution. Salt Lake City already has the worst air quality in the country and it pays the price everyday with the spread of respiratory diseases like asthma and bronchitis. In the United States, annual fossil fuels subsidies range from $10 billion to $52 billion annually. These government subsidies are sponsoring the industry that is responsible for wrecking the environment and depreciating public health. According to the National Academy of Sciences, burning fossil fuels results in spending about $120 billion per year on health-related costs. In 2013, Salt Lake County had 22 days in the winter that are considered red days, or when the pollution levels exceed air quality standards. On red days, people are encouraged to drive less, not to burn wood, while industries are also asked to minimize air pollutants release. The more vulnerable population like children, pregnant women and elderly are advised to stay at home. In January, a health emergency was declared in Utah comparing being outside having the same risks as smoking. Because of the geographic characteristics of the Salt Lake Valley, inversions are likely to occur, especially during winter time. Inversions happen when cold air becomes trapped at the earths surface under a warm air layer. This trapping is the result of accumulation of air pollutants in the atmosphere, mostly originated from burning fossil fuels. A study published in

Wind of Change: From Tar Sands to Renewable Energy

2012 concludes that winter inversions are directly associated with increased rates of Emergency Department visits for asthma. Besides having the worst air quality in the country, Utah is also the second most toxic state according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Dr. Brian Moench, president of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment explains various problems related to air pollution and also gives recommendations of what can be done to minimize this issue. He suggests increase in public transportation planning and highlights the need to stop refineries expansion and thinking of Utah as one big oil deposit (MCKITRICK, 2013). Doctors explain that the complications of breathing polluted air go beyond respiratory diseases. For example, in pregnant women, which in Utah the numbers are around 40,000 at any given time, the pollution can cause chromosome damage and affect her fetus while in the elderly it can increase heart diseases related incidents. Over a hundred Utah doctors called on Utah legislators this past winter for action. Unfortunately, refineries in Salt Lake already have the permit to expand in preparation for processing bitumen. Allowing the expansion to happen would only make this situation worse. The general community in Utah is becoming more aware of the environmental issues that the state is facing and the local authorities should listen to their appeal as well. Activist groups like Peaceful Uprising and Utah Tar Sands Resistance are engaged in doing outreach educational work in the community to let people know what is happening in their backyard. These outreach efforts have been successful in recruiting more people to the cause and inspiring in the population the need for change.

Wind of Change: From Tar Sands to Renewable Energy

This work is relevant because the kind of change needed goes beyond political and economic decisions. The argument of the tar sands industry is that theres a need for fossil fuels and to have the luxury of protecting the environment the change needs to come from the demand side, not the supply. People can make a difference by becoming less dependent on fossil fuels as energy source. In this plan, change means shifting from an oil dependent society to invest in renewable energy. According to the Utah Office of Energy Development, renewable energy is defined as energy that comes from infinite resources or resources that naturally regenerate over time. This is the most sustainable source of energy because its a byproduct of nature. Solar, wind, biomass, geothermal and hydroelectric resources are examples of renewable resources. Former Gov. Hunstman encouraged investment in renewable energy more in a competitive way in relation to other western states. He believed that Utah should be a leader in the field. For the current Gov. Herbert administration, energy is one of the four priorities of the state government. Among his objectives are advocating responsible energy resource development, promoting policies and practices for improved air quality and aggressively pursuing technology innovations in energy efficiency and development. This political attitude is important for the implementation of the plan. Even though one of the fastest growing sources of electricity in the world today is wind power, and the U.S has been increasing its wind power capacity . There are many benefits associated to investing in wind power such as creation of jobs, diversification of rural communities, protecting the environment and air pollution reduction, increased tax base and revitalization of Utahs rural economies.

Wind of Change: From Tar Sands to Renewable Energy

A study done by Cornell University states that for every $1 million invested in renewable and clean energy, 16.7 jobs are created, while $1 million invested in fossil fuels generates only 5.3 jobs. Wind power plants generate jobs for a variety of fields like surveyors, structural engineers, meteorologists, assembly workers, technicians and more. Wasatch Wind is the first commercial wind power plant in Utah. Founded by entrepreneur Tracy Livingston and engineer Christine Mikell, their plant was formed by nine turbines by the Spanish Fork Canyon in 2008. The 18.9 megawatt project was sufficient to power over 6,000 homes annually in the community. One of their biggest challenges was convincing policy makers and citizens that they didnt have to depend on fossil fuels but that renewable energy is economically viable. Besides job creation, wind farms can provide lease payments to local landowners and property taxes revenues that can be used to invest in education, fire protection and more. In Utah, about 95% of electricity is generated by coal. Wind power is also becoming more competitive in the market. In Colorado, during 6 months, it was actually cheaper for customers to get electricity from wind turbines than to buy it from gas or coal plants. A case study done in Tooele County by the U.S Department of Energy (DOE) affirms that because wind powers cost is derived primarily from construction costs of wind parks (with comparatively minimal operating costs), it is not subject to volatile fuel costs, and wind powers cost is stable and predictable. According to the same study, Utah wind sites map done by TrueWind Solutions for the DOE reported that Utah had wind resources to generate 5,000 MW of electricity capacity. It concluded that wind power is a good chance for cash crop for farmers, funding schools, and creation of construction and technical jobs.

Wind of Change: From Tar Sands to Renewable Energy

Its important to recognize opportunities to grow economically thinking the social and environmental impacts related to them. This dynamic relationship requires that we solve issues thinking in more than just the immediate outcome but also considering the long lasting consequences. Tar sands mining is among the greatest ecological disasters on the planet. What it has done to the Athabasca River and Alberta cannot be undone and the environmental consequences will continue to affect the area for a long time. In Utah, this process would be even more difficult and cruel because of the natural characteristics of tar sands in this geographic location. There is still time to stop this activity from starting, to avoid the public health implications and to preserve the wilderness we have left, along with its precious water features. There are many renewable energy options to be explored and invested on. Wind power can be the foundation of a sustainable future that will fulfill our energy demands without depleting the environment.

Wind of Change: From Tar Sands to Renewable Energy

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