Fort McMurray - stock photo

The tailings pond at the Syncrude mine north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. Tailings ponds in the tar sands are unlined and leach toxic chemicals into the surrounding environment. In addition, thousands of birds a year are killed when they land on the oil covered waste water lakes. The tar sands are the largest industrial project on the planet, and the world's most environmentally destructive. The synthetic oil produced from them is 3 times more carbon intensive than conventional oil supplie