Trouble Brewing in the Great Lakes

The Great Lakes, a non-renewable resource, contains roughly 20 percent of the global surface freshwater supply and is home to 10 percent of the U.S. population, 30 percent of Canada’s population and various species of flora and fauna, several of which are endangered or threatened.

But the industry, seemingly hard pressed to make North America the leading producer of oil and gas, is putting the integrity of the Great Lakes in danger with the development of Alberta’s toxic tar sands oil and intensive energy extraction methods such as hydraulic fracturing. From the western boreal forests of Alberta, the expansion of tar sands oil is increasing the need for more pipelines and refineries, which could have devastating impacts on the environment, irreplaceable wetlands and habitats, and the communities in the path of the industrialization. Growing interest in shale gas development in the region has made fracking and drilling a threat to the Great Lakes.