Tar Sands Development Adds Growing Concern on Water Use.

The cost of oil to survival may be more than the world can afford to pay.  When you read the following article, keep in mind that the US EPA and CDC have determined that children are more vulnerable to injury and sickness from environmental contaminants that adults.   Levels of pollutants that are considered "safe" by the US, Canada, and other countries are determined by the effects on a mature, health male worker.  As yet, no country has determined levels safe for children, pregnant women, or other vulnerable populations. 

But another serious issue is coming to the fore — the massive amounts of freshwater being used by the industry. In 2011, companies mining the tar sands siphoned approximately 370 million cubic meters of water from the Athabasca River alone, which was heated or converted into steam to separate the viscous oil, or bitumen, from sand formations. That quantity exceeds the amount of water that the city of Toronto, with a population 2.8 million people, uses annually.

With Tar Sands Development, Growing Concern on Water Use by Ed Struzik: Yale Environment 360