With rising gas prices and an increasing reliance on nonrenewable resources, finding a reliable source for extracting and transporting oil has become an issue. In 2010, the Keystone Pipeline project was proposed and commissioned by TransCanada. Essentially, this is a pipeline that transports oil sands bitumen across the Canada-US border and into several different reserves in the States. An additional extension to the Keystone Pipeline, the Keystone XL Pipeline, has also been proposed. Several issues arise when considering the consequences of this new proposal, including the potential for oil spills and habitat damage.
Turning the key placed into the car, the machine suddenly grumbles, gasoline pumping throughout the system. It is understandable that the power needed to move from point A to B is generally provided by oil, but have you ever considered the importance of this substance to our country? Oil, is used by almost, if not every American daily. In fact, it is something that we as a nation can not live without. How we get this oil is just as important, and brings up heated debates about the options of transportation, one of which being the Keystone XL pipeline.
In Jimmy Carter’s foreword to Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Season of Life and Land, A Photographic Journey, he argues the reason why the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge should not be developed as an industrial site. The former U.S. President signed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which safeguards at least 100 million acres of parks, forests, and refuges in Alaska, as a monumental Legislation. To strengthen his argument, Carter uses evidence that supports his claims along with reasoning to connect the two, and uses pathos to appeal to the audience's’ emotion. Evidence and reasoning are used to support the claims that the Refuge should be kept a reserve.
He talks about the possible benefits of the drilling while showing how they do not compare to the downsides by saying “At best, the Arctic Refuge might provide 1 to 2 percent of the oil our country consumes each day. We can easily conserve more than that amount by driving more fuel-efficient vehicles. Instead of tearing open the heart of our greatest refuge, we should use our resources more wisely.” Carter explains that even though a small percentage of our daily use will be covered by drilling into the Arctic Refuge, there are much better ways to go about it that don’t involve destroying nature. More fuel-efficient vehicles are given as an example that could be seen as an alternative solution that doesn’t damage the wildlife.
The environmental argument is coming from a clash over the fact they are basically stripping the canadian boreal forest, the path of the pipeline extends across major aquifers, and pipelines tend to leak and destroy surrounding environments. In addition ccording to The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions State, “epartment’s draft SEIS found that oil from the Canadian oil sands is 17 percent more carbon-intensive than the average oil consumed in the United States... It is estimated that the U.S. greenhouse gas footprint would increase by 3 million to 21 million metric tons per year, or around 0.04 percent to 0.3 percent of the 2010 levels, if Keystone is built. Fortunately on November 6, 2015, President Barack Obama’s administration rejected the Keystone Pipeline XL after 7 years of dispute. As mentioned in the Wall Street Journal, Obama stated “the project would not have lowered gas prices, improved energy security or made a meaningful long-term contribution to the economy
“Gasland” is a documentary on natural gas and how its drilling affects people. It really lets you see what these natural gas companies are doing. The toxic fumes and chemicals are ruining people 's lives to the point where some of them are dying. “Gasland” makes you grateful for what you have and how clean it is. Think about having to get your water every day and it was 30-50 miles away.
It lies the biggest undeveloped pure gold deposit in Canada. This is why the Tectonic movement in the Canadian shield directly affects the economy.
To begin with, the enactment of the National Energy Program was not in and of itself a negative concept. The oil producing provinces in Western Canada saw the National Energy Program as a way to keep energy prices low in order to supply Eastern Canada with the energy they needed. “Producing provinces in the West saw the NEP as another strategy to keep energy prices depressed in order to benefit the energy-hungry provinces in the East” (National Energy Program (1980–1984) - Natural Gas - Alberta's Energy Heritage, n.d.). This shows that the National Energy Program didn’t negatively impact all parties involved, however, it did start some tensions between Eastern and Western Canada. Secondly, Eastern provinces in Canada felt they were being painted as the greedy ben in the National Energy Program.
Carter demonstrates his idea that the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge shouldn’t be ruin by the exploration of oil industry or any other for-profit runnings. As the president of the nation, Carter describes the scene as “a once-in-a-lifetime wildlife spectacle” when he saw the group of caribou running on the great lands in front of his eyes. To wit, less and less chances people have to see such a view personally in a wild environment if they are transformed into a factory or a industry. Moreover, as the author mentions in the fourth paragraph: “Such proposed developments would forever destroy…that depend on this northernmost terrestrial ecosystem.” The author well explains by his sentences that those animals are driven out of their original
In response to high oil prices in the late 1970s due to political and military turmoil in the oil producing Middle-east that was crippling the Canadian economy (Ontario and Quebec), Pierre Trudeau 's government implemented the policy in order to regulate oil prices and keep them low. The program had three main goals that included: “reducing Canada 's dependence on foreign oil, by encouraging greater self-sufficiency in domestic supplies; redistributing oil wealth via taxes and resource royalties, from Alberta towards the federal government and consumers; and gaining greater Canadian ownership of the oil industry.” (Bregha,2006). This hurt oil-producing provinces such as Alberta whose economy depends on oil. Because natural resources are a provincial jurisdiction, Alberta felt that the federal government was intruding on what is theirs and stealing their wealth.
Alaska is a place for pioneers, and no more so than today as the state faces this century’s biggest challenges—energy development and climate change. Just as they did 30 years ago when the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline System jump-started their oil economy, residents of the Last Frontier are surveying their options and reinventing themselves. Resource extraction still dominates the state, but citizens and politicians are now engaging in open discussions about how new mining, drilling, and pipeline projects will impact the environment. Damage from melting permafrost is proving that rising temperatures affect people and jobs as well as polar bears. Backpackers should pay attention to Alaska, and not only because its peaks and glaciers inspire those
Since he left office, there have been many proposals to open the Arctic Refuge coastal plain to oil drilling. They’ve all been denied because of the opposition by the American people, including the Gwich’in Athabascan Indians of Alaska and Canada, indigenous people whose culture has depended on the Porcupine caribou herd for thousands of years. The short-term economic gain is not worth destroying their homes. He said the Arctic Refuge may provide 1 to 2 percent of the oil our country consumes each day. We can easily conserve more than that amount by driving more fuel-efficient vehicles, we should just use our resources more wisely instead.
Controversy Surrounding the Keystone XL Pipeline To build or not to build, this choice will impact the relationship between the US and Canada and determine the level of dependence the US will have on countries that are not so friendly. “TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL Pipeline would transport oil sands crude from Canada and shale oil produced in North Dakota and Montana to a market hub in Nebraska for delivery to Gulf Coast refineries. The pipeline would consist of 875 miles of 36-inch pipe with the capacity to transport 830,000 barrels per day” (Parfomak, Pirog, Luther and Vann 4). The construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline would strengthen the United States economy, provide energy security and have minimal environmental impact. “The Keystone XL project would create $1.1 trillion in private capital investment at no
Introduction About Drilling Drilling is a cutting process in which a hole is originated or enlarged by mean of a multi-point, grooved, end cutting tool. As the drill is rotated and advanced into piece of work, material is removed in the form of chips that move along the grooved shank of the drill. One study shows that drilling accounts for 90% of all chips produced . There are various kinds of drilling like Spot Drilling, Center Drilling, Micro Drilling, Deep Hole Drilling and Gun Drilling.
Over the past number of years, the most common and well- known method used to drill wells was the Overbalance Drilling method (OVD). Overbalance Drilling is a technique where the bottom hole pressure of the wellbore is kept higher than the formation pressure while performing the drilling process. To maintain an overbalance atmosphere, the mud weight in the drilling fluid needs to be heavier and denser. It is designed to just be above the formation fluid pressure but lower compare to the formation fracture pressure (Akdeniz, 2012). However, everything has its cons.
