Overall:
The effects of mining the Alberta Oil Sands are major, and quite frankly, sickening and horrible. The mining of the Alberta Oil Sands is contributing towards both national and international climate change which entails too many other consequences. Also, in addition to the various indigenous communities, towns, and cities that are being harmed from the mining of the Alberta Oil Sands, many other forests, lakes, and rivers will also be destroyed, or overrun with waste. Currently, the mining of the Alberta Oil Sands has put out multiple reservoirs of unneeded waste, which impacts the environment tremendously. Overall, the effects of this practice are horrible and should stop immediately. 

Climate Change Impact:
Despite the laws (Kyoto Protocol) put in place by the federal government about minimizing carbon emissions, the mining of the Alberta Oil Sands has not decreased. Instead, the oil industry has rapidly grown and has refused to meet the government standards. Therefore, the oil industry has undermined the efforts to reduce greenhouse gas pollution. The Alberta Oil Sands has been one of the main reasons that Canada's amount of greenhouse emissions has increased 25.3% (2012) since 1990. This increase has exceeded the United States of America's increase of 16.3% since 1990, leaving Canada the second fastest growing nation in all of the world (UN 2012).

Impacted Forests:
On top of the climate change aspect, the mining of the Alberta Oil Sands also affects many other areas in our environment, including many forests. The Alberta Oil Sands borders the south side of the Boreal Forest, which is "a complex ecosystem that comprises a unique mosaic of forest, wetlands and lakes" (The Tyee, Paragraph 5). This location can endanger us globally, as the Boreal Forest represents one quarter of the world's remaining intact forests, but this can change easily. The Boreal forest is also home to a wide variety of wildlife, including; bears, lynx, wolves, large population of birds and the largest population of boreal caribou that is left globally.

Currently, one of the Alberta Oil Sands development projects is to clear roughly 3,000 kilometer squared from the Boreal Forest. This land will then be used to harvest crude oil by strip mining near the surface. Other usages of this land can include; seismic lines, roads, pipelines, and drilling mines. " Studies suggest that this scale of industrial development could push the boreal ecosystem over its ecological tipping point, leading to irreversible ecological damage and loss of biodiversity." (The Tyee, Paragraph 6). Barely any of the land that has been ruined due to mining has been restored. The United Nations environmental program has flagged the Alberta Oil Sands as one of global "hotspots" of environmental degradation. Although, the Alberta Oil Sands has not only been flagged for the effect the mining has on the Boreal Forest, but it has also been flagged because of the impacts of the mining on the water systems.

Water Impact:
The Alberta Oil Sands is also near the Athabasca River, which is nearly 1,500 kilometers long. This river is very significant nationally, as it is one of the longest undammed rivers in Canada. It is the source of the Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park. It also passes directly through the Boreal Forest that will be cleared and strip mined in our mere future. This poses a threat to local fisheries, and many local aboriginals in remote communities. The Alberta Oil Sands mining operations removes two to four barrels of fresh water from the Athabasca River to produce every barrel of oil. All in all, the Alberta Oil Sands are permitted to withdraw 349 million cubic meters of water per year. If this continues, over many more decades, the Athabasca River could possibly dry out. The sustainability of fish in the Athabasca River is endangered from the many water withdrawals from the Alberta Oil Sands. After the water is used, it is to contaminated to be placed back in the river and is forced to be impounded. This process leaves vast reservoirs of waste behind.

Waste:
After all of the processes that the water from the Athabasca River goes through, it becomes so contaminated and has to be impounded. This water is either horribly polluted with salt and is disposed by being injected underground when mining bitumen, or placed in landfills/reservoirs. Other tailings such as some water, fine clay, sand, residual bitumen are stored in wastewater reservoirs, called "tailing ponds". These tailing ponds are so extensive that they cover fifty square kilometers of land and can be seen from space. Since these tailing ponds are so large, they pose a threat to groundwater and risk leaking to other freshwater surfaces.

STOP SUNCOR
The Alberta Oil Sands now has spread to being over 140,200 square kilometers worth of land that has been destroyed, strip mined, or drilled. All of this harm should be blamed on the companies mining the Alberta Oil Sands. A total of thirty-two companies are now taking place in mining the Alberta Oil Sands. At 10,935.35 million barrels of oil mined in 2017 alone, Suncor Energy is the leading mining company at the Alberta Oil Sands. Imagine if all of this harm ends, and the Alberta Oil Sands turns back into the forest it once was. All of this can happen if and change is possible. We need to demand that Suncor Energy set an example and end mining at the Alberta Oil Sands. Please sign this petition, and keep in mind that all of this harm can end, only if we stop now. Please share this petition and create change. #StopSuncor

Works Cited: 

• “List of Tar Sands Companies.” Rainforest Action Network, 28 Aug. 2017, www.ran.org/list-tar-sands-companies/
• “Oil Sands History and Milestones.” Canada's Oil Sands, www.canadasoilsands.ca/en/what-are-the-oil-sands/oil-sands-history-and-milestones
• “Why the Oil Sands Matter to Every Canadian.” The Globe and Mail, 17 July 2018, www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-magazine/why-the-oil-sands-matter-to-every-canadian/article21331322/
• Woynillowicz, Dan. “The Harm the Tar Sands Will Do.” The Tyee, The Tyee, 20 Sept. 2007, thetyee.ca/Views/2007/09/20/TarSands.