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BP Refinery Toxics Waiver - BP Tar Sands Oil Production

December 13, 2007

JOE MILLER

There's a part of each of us that was blindly hoping that the "Beyond Petroleum" campaign of British Petroleum (BP) meant exactly what it suggested -- a commitment to move toward, develop, and invest in cleaner forms of energy. The other parts knew better.

In the past, BP's decision to NOT invest in producing crude oil from Canadian tar sands (aka oil sands) supported its "Beyond Petroleum" mantra, because such production creates 3 to 5 times more greenhouse gases per barrel of oil than conventional production. Producing oil from tar sands also requires and makes toxic vast quantities of water, consumes huge quantities of natural gas, undermines the rights of indigenous groups, impairs communities and quality of life, etc. (1-4).

  1. Tar Sands Watch
    http://www.tarsandswatch.org/
  2. Tar Sands - Special Issue of "The Dominion" Nov., 07 (thanks to Thomas Healy for this link)
    http://www.dominionpaper.ca/tarsands
  3. Worldwatch Institute: Oil-Addicted U.S. Finds New Dealer in Canadian Tar Sands Sept./Oct., 07
    http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5318
  4. Mitchell Anderson: It's the Tar Sands, Stupid 12/4/07
    http://thetyee.ca/Views/2007/12/04/TarSands/

BP's recently announced decision (5, 6) to invest heavily in producing oil from the tar sands beneath Canada's Alberta province puts the lie to its "Beyond Petroleum" claims, however, and reveals the company's exclusive focus to be short-term profit, regardless of the regional and global consequences of its actions. BP's actions are a massive assault to the residents and environment of Alberta, and a massive assault to the entire planet as a result of the dramatically increased levels of greenhouse gases that will be emitted, further accelerating the planetary threats created by global warming.

  1. Cahal Milmo: BP Set To Commit 'The Biggest Environmental Crime in History' 12/10/07
    http://environment.independent.co.uk/article3239364.ece
  2. Mike Hudema: BP's Project in Alberta: A License to Wreak Environmental Havoc 12/10/07
    http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article3239362.ece

Readers will remember that in mid-July of this year, the Indiana Department of Environmental Regulation (IDEM) -- despite years of efforts to reduce toxics going into Lake Michigan, and in violation of both the federal Clean Water Act and Indiana law -- awarded the BP oil refinery in Whiting, Indiana a permit to discharge 54 percent more ammonia and 35 percent more sludge into the lake each day. IDEM awarded the permit so that BP could embark on a 3.8 billion dollar expansion to refine heavier Canadian crude oil -- oil which we now know will be be extracted by BP with all the enormous regional and global costs described above from the tar sands in Alberta, Canada.

Fortunately for us, at least the Whiting refinery part of the saga may have a different ending. On July 15 the Chicago Tribune did a front page story on IDEM's decision (7-9), and the public and official outcry was so intense regionally and nationally (10) that on August 24, BP officials announced that while the company has "... a valid permit that meets all regulatory standards...," it "...will not make use of the higher discharge limits" (11).

  1. Michael Hawthorne: BP gets break on dumping in lake 7/15/07
    http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-pollute_15jul15,1,647384.story?coll=chi-news-hed
  2. Joe Miller: Four Really Bad Environmental-Health Regulatory Decisions; One Additional Major Reason to Farm Organically 7/20/07
    http://www.sjvgreens.org/current/enviroHealthNews.shtml
  3. Joe Miller: Dump Environmental Commissioner, Not Toxins 7/31/07
    http://www.sjvgreens.org/current/dumpEasterly.shtml
  4. NPR : BP Refinery Expansion Plan Sparks Opposition 8/14/07
    http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12774639
  5. CBS News: BP Backs Down, Company Says It Won't Increase Discharge Into Lake Michigan 8/24/07
    http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/04/eveningnews/main3134215.shtml

So like many of BP's other environmental claims (see Tom Brown's recent story, 12), the "Beyond Petroleum" campaign turns out to be just another attempt to deceive and mollify us, i.e., "greenwashing." And it's not just BP. Terry Macalister reports that "Shell, the oil company that recently trumpeted its commitment to a low carbon future by signing a pre-Bali conference communique, has quietly sold off most of its solar business."

  1. Tom Brown: Greenwash at BP Whiting refinery 12/2/07
    http://www.sjvgreens.org/current/greenWashAtWhiting.shtml
  2. Terry Macalister: Big Oil Lets Sun Set on Renewables 12/11/07
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/dec/11/oil.bp

It's all pathetic, short-sighted, and totally uncaring about present and future inhabitants of the planet.

####

Joseph Miller
Associate Professor of Psychology
Saint Mary's College
Box 51, Madeleva Hall
Notre Dame, IN 46556

St. Joe Valley Greens, South Bend, IN