The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the...
Unconventional oil increases climate change
A report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) finds that exploitation of North America’s shale and tar-sand oil reserves could increase atmospheric carbon dioxide levels by up to 15% (Unconventional Oil, 2008). This calculation is not only based on the additional amount of carbon dioxide that using this fossil fuel will generate, but also the amount of carbon dioxide emitted during the extraction of oil and the amount of so-called ‘carbon sinks’, natural resources that absorb carbon dioxide, destroyed. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the greenhouse gas emissions from Canadian oil sands would be about 82% greater than average crude refined in the U.S. on a well-tank basis.(United States Environmental Protection Agency , 2010)