The facts about the world's dirtiest oil

Canada's Tar Sands are the new frontier of oil production

They allow us to quench, at least temporarily, our thirst for oil. But at what cost?

The development of the Tar Sands, characterized by high demand for energy, intensity of environmental impacts in the boreal forest and significant contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, is an unprecedented challenge. In this early stage of the 21st century, the Tar Sands are emerging as a focal point of discussion about the future of energy production and consumption.

Here are some facts about the largest fossil fuel project on earth Canada's Tar Sands:

• The Tar Sands is the world's dirtiest oil: Producing one barrel of Tar Sands oil generates three to five times the global warming emissions that the production of the same amount of conventional oil would;
• The Tar Sands is wasteful: Processing Tar Sands sludge requires enough natural gas in one day to heat three million homes;
• The Tar Sands is fueled by America's addiction to oil: 99% of Canadian oil exports go to the US, making Canada the biggest supplier of foreign oil to the US;
• The Tar Sands is destroying biodiversity: Threatened woodland caribou have declined by nearly 50% over the past 10 years in the Tar Sands region; 
• The Tar Sands is killing our birds: Certain bird species have already declined by as much as 80% in areas heavily affected by Tar Sands development;
• The Tar Sands is exhausting our fresh water: Every day three million barrels of drinking water are lost to the production of Tar Sands oil;
• The Tar Sands is toxic waste: The Tar Sands' toxic ponds grow by 1.8 billion litres each day, and are leaking dangerous chemicals into the nearby soil and water;
• The Tar Sands is getting worse: The Canadian government predicts that greenhouse gas emissions from the Tar Sands will more than triple in the next decade.
• The Tar Sands is growing: If expansion is not sharply curtailed, toxic Tar Sands developments will expand to an area the size of Florida.