Energy

Canadian Government has lost its moral compass on Climate Change

richard — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 10:46:43 -0800

(Le français suit)

MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
November 28 , 2011

Canadian Government has lost its Moral Compass on Climate Change

On the first day of UN climate change negotiations in Durban South African, an open statement demands Canada should at least not impede progress in Durban towards an ambitious, equitable and binding international agreement on climate change.

“Canada has a track record of acting more in the interests of big oil companies than Canadians at UN climate negotiations,” says Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians. “We are the only country to have come out of the Copenhagen UN climate negotiations to return home and weaken our emission reduction targets, allowing more climate change pollution,” adds Barlow.

Statement by Tony Clarke Presented at Ottawa Action, September 26, 2011

richard — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 06:54:29 -0700

Tar Sands Rally Statement --- Tony Clarke, Polaris Institute, September 26, 2011

Nous sommes rassemblés ici aujourd'hui, venus de partout au pays, pour manifester notre opposition à la machine que représente les sables bitumineux canadiens et le Keystone XL en utilisant la désobéissance civile. Acts of non-violent civil disobedience are, ultimately, matters of conscience for individuals and groups. While the police erect a fence, we in civil society draw a line in the sand, define what is right and wrong or what is morally acceptable and what is not morally acceptable, and then put our bodies on that line.

•Il est simplement inacceptable … to rip out huge swaths of the Boreal forest, deplete one of the most precious freshwater systems in the world, and contaminate the river and ground water that sustains life in the Athabasca region --- dead wrong! Inacceptable!

Tony Clarke's oped in the Toronto Star regarding the Ottawa Action

richard — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 06:49:44 -0700

The Tar Sands and Civil Disobedience

Tony Clarke, Toronto Star, Monday September 26 - On Monday I will be joining hundreds of fellow Canadians on Parliament Hill to demonstrate growing public opposition to the relentless expansion of the tarsands megaproject in northern Alberta. Some will participate in a protest rally while others will engage in acts of peaceful civil disobedience.

People from all walks of life and regions of Canada — environmental activists, indigenous peoples, youth activists, organized workers, impacted communities, social justice activists, faith communities and concerned citizens in general — will join ranks against what has become known worldwide as the most environmentally destructive project of its kind on the planet.

Ottawa Keystone pipeline expansion protest planned for Sept.26

richard — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 06:24:43 -0700

Michelle Lalonde, Montreal Gazette, September 9--So far, 150 Canadians are planning to risk arrest on Sept. 26 on Parliament Hill in what organizers are hoping will be the biggest civil disobedience action on the climate issue in Canada.

Inspired by the 1,253 peaceful demonstrators arrested recently at the White House during a two-week sit-in to protest against a proposed pipeline to bring Canadian oil to the U.S., Canadians are signing up for a similar protest of expansion of Canada’s oilsands operations.

“There comes a time when you need to take a stand,” says the invitation to the Ottawa sit-in, sent out two weeks ago by the Council of Canadians, Greenpeace Canada and the Indigenous Environmental Network.

Although it does not directly ask protesters to break the law, it notes “many will be risking arrest” to oppose oilsands expansion.

Tony Clarke's Call to Action-what are you doing on September 26th?

richard — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 10:47:58 -0700

As a veteran political activist, I've had the privilege of being involved over the past 40 years or so in many campaigns for social and economic justice, human rights and ecological sustainability. Every once in awhile there have been moments when I've had to decide whether or not to take extraordinary action to dramatize the need for urgent social change. In such moments, one is called to go beyond the conventional modes of action to speak the truth to those in power by exercising one's rights as a citizen to non-violent civil disobedience.

Ontario stands up to catastrophic global warming, will other provinces follow at premier’s meeting?

richard — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 10:31:51 -0700

For Immediate Release, July 20, 2011, (Ottawa) As premiers gather today at the annual Council of the Federation meeting, leading non-governmental groups from across the country are calling on provinces to clarify their support for the Kananaskis energy minister’s national energy plan. This plan included using a scenario for energy demand that would spur catastrophic levels of global warming as well as identifying the tar sands as a “sustainable” source of energy. Ontario refused to sign citing concerns about calling the tar sands sustainable and responsible and has called on the federal government to renew clean energy funding.

Oil giants chipped in $180,000 to help Canada's energy ministers have “unbiased” discussions about our energy future.

richard — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 10:16:39 -0700

by Graham Saul, Executive Director of Climate Action Network Canada.

Energy ministers from across Canada have just returned from an all-expenses-paid tour of the tar sands, given to them by the oil companies themselves. Now, they are sitting down to debate the future of energy policy in Canada at a meeting in Kananaskis, Alberta. This is the face of climate corruption in Canada.

Canada is at a crossroads, and it appears that our leadership has been seriously compromised. While much of the world is investing heavily in the clean, safe, and reliable energy of our future, the Canadian government, along with some provincial support, is insisting that Canada watch from the sidelines while we cling desperately to a resource that is responsible for creating the greatest challenge of our time. I am, of course, talking about fossil fuels and global climate change.

Corporate sponsorship for energy meeting slammed

richard — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 13:32:54 -0700

By Margo McDiarmid, CBC News

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2011/07/13/pol-energy-ministers-co...
A coalition of environment groups says the large corporate sponsorship at next week's meeting of energy ministers "sends the wrong message to Canadians."

Eleven energy companies and associations are spending $180,000 to sponsor the annual conference that will be held July 16 to 19 in Kananaskis, Alberta. The sponsorship is just under a third of the approximately $600,000 price tag for the conference.

Federal, provincial and territorial ministers and their deputy ministers are holding their annual meeting to discuss, among other issues, a national energy strategy. But environment groups say the sponsorship is a clear attempt by the petroleum industry to influence people who will be making crucial decisions about Canada's energy future.

Video Game Makes Tar Sands an Election Issue

richard — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 06:45:37 -0700

OTTAWA, March 29 /CNW/ - Today the Polaris Institute re-launched TarNation a popular political video game aimed at highlighting Stephen Harper and Michael Ignatieff's unwillingness to take action on the environmentally destructive tar sands. Players spray oil at Conservative and Liberal party leaders to get them out of the tar sands.

"Harper and Ignatieff need the most encouragement to help Canada shift away from dirty oil and towards a more sustainable green economy" Says Tony Clarke, Executive Director of the Polaris Institute.

Play game: www.tarnation.ca

For further information:
Contact: Richard Girard, 613 237-1717 105
Richard (at) polarisinstitute.org

New Polaris Institute report about the prospects for an electric car industry in Canada in the age of climate change

richard — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 06:20:45 -0800

February 10, 2011 - A new report is being released today by the Polaris Institute called, “Electric Car Report: What are the prospects for an electric car industry in Canada and is this a real or false solution for climate change.” The report contributes to the ongoing discussion about the greening of automobiles by highlighting how Canada could become a production centre for electric vehicles and raising important questions about the role of electric vehicles in mitigating climate change.

You can access the report here

For questions and inquiries please contact:

Richard Girard, 613 237-1717 ext 105 richard@polarisinstitute.org

Excerpt from the introduction: