Joseph Abdul
3/18/2014
Democracy Now!: Week 8
As the center of attention is focused on the Keystone pipeline, the Utah plan to extract shale oil and tar sand oil is progressing. Utah sits on an astounding 10 billion barrels of oil that can be extracted from the sands. However, unlike conventional oil, tar sand causes severe land disturbance to obtain. Not to mention the inefficiency associated with it. The sands have to be melted and treated, a long process till the oil is liquefied. Permits have already been given to extract oil in some of the private and public lands. The rural population of Utah is actually in support of the idea because of the job opportunities involved. This can cause a major carbon production over the next few decades. It is exactly the opposite of what we should be doing to help the climate change issues. Compared to Alberta, Utah has more barrels of oil, but harder to liquefy, making it a last resort for oil due to economic unviability.
On a related topic, uranium-mining interest is posing a threat to the Navajo population of Arizona. A proposed plan is advocating for mining six miles away from the south entrance to the Grand Canyon. This can affect tourism in the region adversely. The region is familiar with these practices as 1000 abandoned mines from the mid 20th century are spread all over. Radioactive materials were not properly disposed of, causing many casualties to the poor population in the surrounding areas. Navajo activist see the abandoned mines as a slow genocide as the cause long-term diseases such as cancer. Today, few mines are still operating under the land reviews of the 1980’s, which if updated, wouldn’t be allowed to operate.
Links to Videos:
http://www.democracynow.org/2014/3/14/utahs_carbon_bomb_state_plots_massive
http://www.democracynow.org/2014/3/14/a_slow_genocide_of_the_people
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