The New Athabasca Crime

The Athabaskans had a hell of a time with the newcomers. Now is the turn of the greater Athabasca region to suffer.

Here are two videos with the commentaries of their creators that tell us quite a bit about the Athabasca crime which is now in full swing.

Greenpeace is actively engaged on this issue. I am not in a position to fully evaluate the job done by Greenpeace. But I have my resevations abouts its efficacity.

Greenpeace has had a peculiar history. Started by some semi-retired Canadian business magnates it professes to be an n.g.o. that does not mix politics with its aims. Allow me to have my serious doubts about that. The whole case brings to mind those fellows that after building their own mansions in some beautiful forest they create a society for the protection of the forest from newcomers. In the case of Greenpeace the pulp and paper companies that provided its founders had already done their environmental damage to the Canadian forests and their waste had already polluted most of the Canadian rivers.

As to their claim that they are non-political let us not forget that assuming this position is tantamount to shielding those holding office that are responsible for the environmental crime.

1)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG2sJAn47QI

Clips from an interview with Celina Harpe, an elder in the Cree community of Fort Mackay, about 40km downstream from Suncor and Syncrude plants on the Athabasca River. She describes the increase in cancer, the lowering of the water levels on the river, and the disappearance of wildlife in the area.http://www.oilsandstruth.org/http://www.dominionpaper.ca/http://www.msguided.org/
Category: News & Politics
Tags:
tarsands environment cancer alberta oil cree suncor syncrude athabasca


2)On Tuesday, September 25th, shortly after the Premier of Alberta, Ed Stelmach, began his "Alberta: Canada's engine of growth" luncheon speech at the Sheraton Centre in downtown Toronto, a suited ecoSanity.org volunteer rose in protest with a cloth banner that read GET SANE in bold, black letters on white and repeated the following statement until he was willingly removed:"Mr Stelmach, right now, the people of the most impoverished nations are suffering and dying because of environmentally negligent ventures like the Alberta tar sands. Canadians and the world need a clean, sustainable energy economy, not a pillaging, murderous one. Stop sacrificing my generation. Renewable energy now. Deadly tar sands NEVER!"The tar sands are located under untouched boreal forest that covers nearly 1/4 of Alberta. Trees are cut down, the surface is strip-mined and the underlying mixture is heated with steam to make it flow.Oil from the tar sands produces 5 x more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional oil and is the fastest growing greenhouse gas emitter in Canada (Alberta emits 40% of our nation's total, but with only 10% of our population)Huge amounts of water and dirty energy are required to create the steam needed to extract the oilThe surrounding air and water is polluted with a variety of toxic chemicals70% of the crude oil is exported to the U.S.ECOSANITY.ORG'S DEMANDS OF PREMIER, ED STELMACH, AND THE GOV'T OF ALBERTA: We could propose things like: an immediate moratorium on new tar sands projects; cap air emissions from new upgraders; restrict water usage; level, then reverse, runaway development and initiate aggressive government regulation, but the reality is:"At present, the planet's atmosphere is on course to heat up to unsurvivable temperatures within the lifetimes of today's children" - Glenn MacIntosh, "Founder's Imperative", www.ecoSanity.org, http://ecosanity.org/us/foundersimperative Alberta tar sands development and humanity cannot co-exist because tar sands development KILLS.The planet won't wait for us to save it, ourselves or those we love.WE MUST ALL -- ACT -- NOW.
Category: News & Politics
Tags:
AlbertaTarSands EdStelmach PremierOfAlberta TheEmpireClubOfCanada StephenHarper Glenn MacIntosh ecoSanity.org
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