October 30, 2015

Important climate and pipeline reporting

PopularResistance.org offers "Daily Movement News and Resources" -- vital information not covered by the mainstream media. For instance, see these stories.

Our Generation, Our Choice': Why I'm Marching On November 9th

By Sophia Zaia, www.commondreams.org, October 29th, 2015
“As young people, we have the right and the power to create the world we would like to see — a world which sustains life; a world which does not discriminate, commit violence, or value a life less based on race or class, nationality or immigrant status.”

Excerpt from this article: "Gradually I realized — our highways and suburbs were never meant to be compatible with a sustainable future. The system was designed to necessitate fossil fuel dependence. It is no coincidence that Exxon has been cowering under climate denialism for decades for the sake of rogue profit. Exxon’s thirty year long campaign to spread doubt about basic climate science has undermined efforts to prevent runaway climate change and has cost millions of lives. Those hit the hardest by climate disaster are communities of color, communities of low economic status, women, and the young people. Fossil fuel companies stand to gain the most by stifling the stories of those in the Global South whose resources they exploit, whose water and air they poison, and whose lives the media outlets might fail to mourn when they are swept away by every-intensifying natural disasters. It will take all of us, fighting together and demanding a just and sustainable transition, to turn the tides on environmental racism and the devaluing of black, brown and immigrant lives."

And more, also from the Oct. 30 PopularResistance.Org Daily Digest:

Tsleil-Waututh Nation Try To Stop Kinder Morgan Hearing

By Mychaylo Prystupa for National Observer - Under the banner, “Protect the Salish Sea," a North Vancouver Indigenous community announced the start of its lawsuit against the National Energy Board (NEB) in federal court on Tuesday. The lawsuit attempts to stop the widely-criticized hearing process for the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. Tsleil-Waututh Nation says the outgoing Harper government failed in its constitutional legal duty to adequately consult with their community when it began the NEB review of Kinder Morgan's proposed $5.4-billion Edmonton-to-Burnaby pipeline expansion more than a year ago. The band is now seeking a court order to stop the hearing. -more-

Canadian Indigenous Tribe Turndown $267K Per Person

By Rob Wile for Fusion - The Lax Kw’alaams Band, a Canadian first nations people living in a remote part of British Columbia, turned down an offer amounting to $267,000 per person to allow a natural gas pipeline and processing facility to be built on their lands. Malaysian energy giant Petronas and its partners had offered the 3,600-member band a total of $960 million to allow construction of its $30-billion-dollar Pacific NorthWest LNG terminal and Prince Rupert gas pipeline to proceed. The band wasn’t interested. “This is not a money issue: this is environmental and cultural,” the band said in a statement. Representatives of the band voted unanimously against the offer. -more-

Shell Scraps Alberta Tar Sands Project

By Staff of CTV News - CALGARY -- Royal Dutch Shell is scrapping its Carmon Creek oils ands project in northwestern Alberta, citing a lack of pipelines to coastal waters as one reason for the decision. The move comes after a review of the project's design and costs and where it stacks up against other projects Shell has in its portfolio. The European energy giant first announced it would build the 80,000-barrel-a-day, steam-driven operation near Peace River, Alta., in October 2013. But last March, the company said it would slow down the project while attempting to lower costs and improve its design. -more-

See also: Protests Are Putting A Serious Dent In Tar Sands Expansion
By Katie Valentine, www.thinkprogress.org
October 31st, 2015