Black Gold - Black Death

The tremendous oil reserve contained in Canada's oil sands (tar sands) deposits. Fueled by the US's insatiable desire for gasoline, and its historical dependence on Canada, the current boom is only expected to escalate in profit-taking frenzy.

Although tar sands occur in more than 70 countries, the two largest are Canada and Venezuela. The majority in Canada is found in four different areas of Alberta: Athabasca, Wabasha, Cold Lake and Peace River. The sum of these regions covers an area of nearly 30,000 square miles. The reserve that is deemed to be technologically retrievable today is estimated at 280-300 billion barrels. This is larger than the Saudi Arabia oil reserves, which are estimated at 240 billion barrels. Total reserves for the province, including oil not recoverable using current technology, is estimated at 1,700- 2,500 billion barrels.

A barrel of oil sands crude can be refined to produce gasoline and diesel fuel. At Syncrude, which spent $15 million on restoration of former mining land last year, a 10-year-old reclamation project at a former mining site shows the beginnings of a viable ecosystem, with tree saplings, sedges, and wildflowers growing, but it will take years to know if it will truly be sustainable.

With the sands, Canada has the second largest reserves of crude in the world behind Saudi Arabia. Investors have pledged more than $70 billion to triple output to 3 million barrels a day by 2020. Riverbanks near Fort McMurray seep with what locals call "black gold," the tar-like amalgam that is bitumen. Demand for this oil has increased the city's population by nearly 75 percent in the last decade, to 60,000.