canadian, as well as other international energy companies, are increasingly tapping into unspoiled naturalhabitats harbouring enormous fresh water reserves. to get to the oil, they dig deep into the soil. billions of liters of water and solvents separate the oil from the earth. the process produces toxic waste and leaves landscapes barren. we've got a picture of what it looks like from the air. now we want to check out the process on the ground. we accompany workers on christina lake in the province of alberta on their way to the plant. cenovus is among the few companies which do not conceal their operations. the oil sands lie hundreds of meters beneath the soil. instead of surface mining, cenovus has come up with an alternative method of accessing the oil. >> we inject steam deep into the ground to soften the oil which is like frozen honey. that allows us to then pump then the oil to surface and allows us to produce a very large area underground with very little ground disturbance. >> the technique does not damage as much forest land. the company also tries to recycle most of the water. b