BOREAL FOREST AND WETLAND | Athabasca Delta Northern Alberta | 2010 Located just 70 miles downstream from the Alberta Tar Sands, the Athabasca Delta is the world's largest freshwater delta. It lies at the convergence of North America’s four major flyways and is a critical stopover for migrating waterfowl and considered one of the most globally significant wetlands.

The Alberta Tar Sands, the world’s most environmentally damaging and toxic project, represent the world’s second largest oil reserves, and are America’s single largest source of oil. Since September 11th 2001, the resulting high cost and demand of oil, and the desire for "secure" - non midddle east oil - energy by the U.S. has promoted and made possible the creation of this massive development.

The neighboring Peace Athabasca Delta, the world’s largest freshwater delta, and the surrounding boreal forest, are being systematically destroyed to mine the tar that lies underneath. Plans are to increase production of the Tar Sands from 1.5 million barrels to five million barrels of oil per day within the next 20 years, industrializing an area the size of Florida in the process. The boreal forest is the world’s greatest carbon sink and tar sands oil produces almost twice as much carbon as tradition sources.