Oil Sands Truth: Shut Down the Tar Sands

Health

The Health implications in terms of these projects are vast, and not just the deadly explosions and industrial accidents that happen in production-—from reported increases in rare forms of cancer downstream from tar sands production to the pollution of fresh water leading to poisoned diets (fish, moose and plant toxicity)—-direct links are hard to establish but impossible to either rule out or ignore, especially where tarsand operations constitute overwhelmingly the greatest change to the environment in most corners of the continent effected directly by tarsand infrastructure.

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The tar sands and slavery

"The system of slavery is like holding a wolf by its ears: you don't like
it, but you don't dare let go."
- Thomas Jefferson

The oil sands and slavery

By Frederick Douglass*

It was once the case that slaves were the most valuable asset in America. As the horrors of slavery began to be documented and a concern that this was a horrible practice spread, the justifications for continued slavery sound eerily familiar to the justifications for the continuation and massive expansion of the oil sands.

An open letter to the Richardson Foundation re: investment in the Alberta Tar Sands

An open letter to James Richardson & Sons and the Richardson Foundation regarding investment in the Alberta Oil Sands and the damage being done to environment and health in the region and globally,

To the Richardson Family business and Foundation:

Upgrader fire ignites safety concerns

Upgrader fire ignites safety concerns
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 20, 2007 | 11:44 AM MT
CBC News

A third sour gas leak in two years at a Shell refinery northeast of Edmonton has some residents wondering how safe it is to live in the area known as Upgrader Alley.

A giant fireball erupted above Shell's Scotford upgrader near Fort Saskatchewan on Monday afternoon, sparked by a leak of the highly toxic and flammable gas. About 3,000 workers were sent home, but no one was injured in the incident.

Worker Rod Whitford said it wasn't a big scare.

"Changing your light bulbs may not be enough to save a single polar bear"

Changing your light bulbs may not be enough to save a single polar bear,
but there are things we can do collectively - and easily - that will
really make a measurable difference in the battle against global
warming. Mark Lynas has a three-part plan.

by Mark Lynas

New Statesman (November 08 2007)

We have about 100 months left. If global greenhouse gas emissions have
not begun to decline by the end of 2015, then our chances of restraining
climate change to within the two degrees "safety line" - the level of

Record year for Nunavut oil spills

November 16, 2007
Record year for Nunavut oil spills
Mishaps pour 225,000 litres of poisonous material in territory

CHRIS WINDEYER

One big oil mishap on Brevoort Island this past January was enough to make 2007 a record year for spills in Nunavut.

Nearly 225,000 litres of oil were spilled into Nunavut's environment last year, the highest total recorded for Nunavut since division. The figures are found in Ikummatiit, the Government of Nunavut's energy strategy, which was tabled in the Legislative Assembly late last month.

Impacts of tar sands under scrutiny

Impacts of tar sands under scrutiny
By Sara Constantineau
News Writer
McGill Daily

An independent publication is trying to shock the public into understanding the social, environmental, and economic impacts of the Alberta tar sands.

The Dominion, an independent news cooperative, has launched a special issue about the tar sands with presentations at universities across Canada. The lead editors of the issue were at Concordia on Thursday night presenting their research and exclusive footage.

Feds target medical whistleblower, Dr. O'Connor claims

Feds target medical whistleblower: doctor claims

Mike De Souza , CanWest News Service
Published: Monday, November 12, 2007

Dr. John O'Connor first suspected something was wrong a few years ago after discovering a rare form of cancer in a small northern Alberta community of 1,200 people.

He recognized the illness since it was the same one that had claimed the life of his father in Ireland more than 15 years earlier. He had never expected to see it again and was alarmed to find it in at least five different patients.

Challenge Corporate Power, Embrace True Democracy

Challenge Corporate Power, Embrace True Democracy
by Vandana Shiva
AlterNet (October 01 2007)

Editor's note: the following remarks were made this September at a
conference on "Confronting the Global Triple Crisis - Climate Change,
Peak Oil, Global Resource Depletion & Extinction", in Washington DC. For
more information, visit the International Forum on Globalization's website.

Before I came here I was very fortunate to join the group of scientists
and religious leaders who made a trip to the Arctic to witness the

For Many Women, Alberta's Boom a Bust

For Many Women, Alberta's Boom a Bust
Rising housing costs, lack of alternatives lead to precarious situations

by Maya Rolbin-Ghanie

The Dominion - http://www.dominionpaper.ca

Driven by the tar sands, Alberta's white-hot economy continues to make headlines. But the gendered repercussions of the province's boom are often neglected, understated, or altogether denied.

"Labour shortage temporarily met from abroad"

Warning: this article justifies the virtual slavery of the "temporary foreign worker" programs, placing business "needs" ahead of human rights, especially in Energy exploding Alberta. Defend migrant rights, shut down the tar sands. The tar sands TFW's are not allowed off the work camp site. Think about that.

--M

Labour shortage temporarily met from abroad
Norma Greenaway , CanWest News Service
Published: Sunday, November 11, 2007

OTTAWA -- Joe Marshall had reached the end of his rope.