Oil Sands Exploration in Canada Causes Severe Greenhouse Gas Pollution

Research from the University of Waterloo shows that seismic exploration for oil sands in northern Canada has involved the digging of numerous trenches, resulting in the destruction of vast areas of northern peatlands. Peat is an important carbon sink; once damaged, it continuously releases methane, causing local greenhouse gas emissions to surge threefold. Pollutants generated by exploration flow into rivers, leading to the accumulation of heavy metals in fish and shrimp and posing a long-term threat of contamination to Indigenous communities’ drinking water. Environmental organizations are now calling for a suspension of oil and gas exploration approvals in the region.