The reason for this report is to increase the reader's knowledge about the Alberta tar sands, which will allow them to create their own opinions on the situation. It is a very pertinent issue in politics and will have a very large effect on Canada's carbon emissions. Additionally, I wanted to further my understanding of the Alberta oil sands and learn about the side effects of the oil sands. How are oil sands different from other methods of supplying oil and energy, and which method is more energy efficient? Would building the Keystone XL pipeline in the United States be a smart way for the United States to engage in the oil sands? I wanted to answer these questions by knowing the real facts about the oil sands versus what oil companies tell consumers. The ability to evaluate the entire situation will allow both the reader and I to form our own opinions on the tar sands and whether extraction of oil from the tar sands should continue. Alberta's tar sands have the second largest oil reserves in the entire world. , inferior only to the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia. This vast supply of oil has created a great interest in the extraction and then production of different types of oil in Canada. The oil sands are believed to contain approximately 174.5 billion barrels of oil. The estimates are broad, but if true, Canada's oil industry would become its largest export and provide a major boost to the economy. The oil sands used to produce 53% of Canada's oil production, but by the end of this year it will be around 83%. This figure could increase to 99% if the oil sands were fully exploited. Oil extraction has already begun and covers approximately 602 square kilometers of land. The problem is… half the story… the Alberta tar sands oil project should be terminated immediately. It should be stopped until the government has a better understanding of the effects it has on surrounding areas, including wildlife and humans. Oil extraction is pushed due to the high possibility of the government getting capital from the project, which has led to negligence on the part of the government regarding the impacts. When people, animals and plants are dying at such a high rate, the Canadian government should not stand by and watch, it should act before the tar sands oil project becomes too big to stop. This project allowed me to answer the questions I had when I started writing the article and allowed me to formulate my own opinions on the topic. Hopefully, it interested the audience enough to make them research more about the topic and make their own decision.