Inescapable Limits

Project Details...

ATHABASCA ---------------- Athabasca is an enormous expanse of boreal forest, wetland and river valleys in Northern Alberta, Canada. Beneath its surface lies two and a half trillion barrels of oil in the form of oil sands*; thought to be the largest accumulation of oil left on earth. Oil sands are very different from conventional oil; they are difficult to liberate from the earth, are more harmful to the environment, require vast amounts of energy, water and money to produce and are only profitable to exploit when market oil prices are high. These images focus on the boom in the oil sands industry and the devastating effect it is having on the fragile boreal forest and on the population of Northern Alberta. The oil sands represent the cross roads at which the world lies, where we can either invest more money in cleaner energy or choose to fund dirtier fuels than we use today. This work is part of a long-term series entitled 'Inescapable Limits'. *also known as tar sands