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-- a _kt75 | post    Oil sands (also named: tar sands or, more technically, bituminous sands ) are a kind of unconventional petroleum deposit, i.e. represent fossil energy deposits. From the ir structure oil sands form a loose sand or partially consolidated sandstone containing naturally occurring compositions of sand , clay , and water, saturated with a dense and extremely viscous form of petroleum technically referred to as bitumen (or colloquially tar due to its similar appearance, odour and colour) . Oil s ands have been exploited since Paleolithic times but the modern in dustrial (i.e. commercial) mining of this type of fossil fuel deposits has begun in the 1 920ies [ 1 ]. Since that time the mining has contin uously risen and has exper ienced a dramatic incr ease in the most recent years [ 2 ] , [ 3 ]. Acco rdingly, today the total production v olume of tar sands amounts to about 1.9 million barrel per day [ 4 ] and is estimated to conti nue to r i...

► -- a live d ebate hosted by _kt75 | for um Do you think sustainable development requires waiving of things you are used to have? Is it true that sustainable development necessitates (often quoted) severe measures to reduce environmental impacts? What would you (if so) abstain from to contribute to comprehensive sustainable development. Feel invited to participate in this new live debate, share your opinion, get your insight and join the debate via: ► http://lnkd.in/8_YJEZ hosted by http://kt75-mirror.blogspot.com --- Prominent _kt75 publications :  ► _kt75 | reflection - 03/2012: Need for Speed? An independent Controversy on Sustainable Mobility. (click here to get it) ► What prevents sustainable development (best)?... (click here to participate) - 50% believe that the human himself blocks sustainable development. What do you think ? ► Quarterly Notes on Sustainable Water Management - Q04/2012 (click here to get it)

-- a note from _kt75 Since the economic (i.e. profitable) breakthrough of 'sustainability' in the beginning of this century the number of standards, protocols, labels and certificates, that in principle shall provide some form of sustainability guarantee of a certain product and/or service (but typically fail to provide such), has literally exploded. Today, labels and certificates (based upon standards and protocols of any possible nature) are as common as commercial product brands and created in a number of cases some sort of symbiosis with real products and/or services. This rather critical and actually adverse development basically has its origin in the formation of brand-awareness since the late 1960ies and can result in an undesirable because manipulated form of product and/or service dependency (by e.g. consumers) and prevent from unbiased sustainable development (i.e. it can help to preserve conditions that are not progressive, e.g. rescues of ailing banks). The...