Photo Essay on Canada's Filthy Tar Sands – This Is Why Keystone XL Must Be Stopped

onAug 23, 2011 @ 06:45 PDT

Robert van Waarden, an excellent photographer and friend of DeSmogBlog, has compiled this great visual essay on Canada’s filthy tar sands to show people just a few of the reasons why the disastrous Keystone XL pipeline must be rejected by the Obama administration.

Robert’s photos are accompanied by quotes from First Nations’ people whom he interviewed on a recent trip to the Alberta tar sands. First Nations communities living near the industrial tar sands development suffer the worst of the impacts, a fact often overlooked by the mainstream media.

View the tar sands photo essay below:

Thanks again to Robert for putting this photo essay together for DeSmogBlog. Based in Amsterdam, Robert van Waarden is a climate change photographer and travel photographer whose work has been published in National Geographic Traveler, Canadian Geographic and elsewhere internationally.

Also check out Robert’s previous visual essay on the impacts of tar sands development on indigenous culture in Canada.

By Brendan DeMelle

Brendan is Executive Director of DeSmog. He is also a freelance writer and researcher specializing in media, politics, climate change and energy. His work has appeared in Vanity Fair, The Huffington Post, Grist, The Washington Times and other outlets.

uk/Reform ‘Cosying Up to Authoritarian Petrostate’

ByAdam Barnett and Sam Bright

onJan 9, 2026 @ 03:08 PST

Key members of Nigel Farage’s pro-oil party have been forging financial ties to the UAE.

Series: Defending Democracy from Dirty Money

Series: Defending-UK-Democracy

uk/Nigel Farage Accepted £10,000 Gifts from Petrostate

BySam Bright

onJan 7, 2026 @ 03:00 PST

The leader of Reform, a pro-oil party, received lavish hospitality from Abu Dhabi.

Series: Defending Democracy from Dirty Money

Series: Defending-UK-Democracy

Analysis

How MAGA Changed the World in 2025, and What Comes Next

ByGeoff Dembicki

onDec 22, 2025 @ 03:30 PST

Across the U.S., UK, Europe, and Canada, Donald Trump and his allies worked tirelessly to supercharge climate denial, boost fossil fuels, and foment political chaos.