Utah taken advantage of

Recently, people across the country protested the Keystone XL pipeline, which would import massive amounts of tar sands from Canada. In Utah, Earth Energy Resources is planning a tar sands mine in the Uintah Basin that will be highly detrimental for Utah. Tar sands are the worst kind of oil that exists on the planet. Byproducts include arsenic, cyanide, benzene, lead and mercury.

Fuel from the tar sands produces three times the pollution as conventional oil. It takes huge amounts of water and natural gas to produce an estimated 2,000 barrels per day — barely a dent in the 19.5 million barrels per day the United States consumes.

Utah has the capacity to invest in clean, innovative energies that will lead to job growth and reliable economic development but only if we stop allowing ourselves to be taken advantage of.

Deb Henry

Salt Lake City