[act-ma] FRI 9/9 Tar Sands protest report back

[Boston Climate Action Network (BostonCAN)]

BostonCAN and Jamaica Plain Forum Co-sponsor Tar Sands Civil
Disobedience Report Back



What: Tar Sands Action Report Back; slide show and panel discussion

Where: First Church Jamaica Plain Unitarian Universalist, parish hall,
6 Eliot St., Jamaica Plain, 02130

When: Friday, September 9, 2011, 7-8:30pm

Who: Boston-area residents who recently were arrested at the White
House in Washington, DC for protesting Tar Sands exploitation

Why: This Fall, President Obama will announce whether or not he will
permit a pipeline to be constructed from the Tar Sands of Alberta to
the oil refineries in Texas. The Tar Sands represents the second
largest fossil fuel deposits on the planet. Burning those deposits
would heat the atmosphere to such a degree as to jeopardize human
civilization.



FULL RELEASE TEXT



On Friday, September 9, 2011, Boston area residents will present a
slideshow and discuss their recent civil disobedience and arrests at
the White House in Washington, DC for protesting Tar Sands
exploitation. A panel will discuss why President Obama should reject a
permit for a proposed pipeline linking the Tar Sands of Alberta to the
oil refineries in Texas. They will also address the tactic of civil
disobedience within the climate justice movement and the Tar Sands in
the context of the upcoming presidential campaign.



The Tar Sands represents the second largest fossil fuel deposit on the
planet. Burning those deposits would heat the atmosphere to such a
degree as to jeopardize human civilization. Chief climate scientist at
NASA, Dr. James Hansen has said that major exploitation of the Tar
Sands would mean “game over” for the battle to preserve the climate
that has been stable throughout the evolution of humans. Already the
mining and refining industry in Alberta has produced sky-rocketing
increases in cancers among local residents. Indigenous representatives
played an important role in the Tar Sands civil disobedience in
Washington, DC.



Civil disobedience is a potentially powerful tool within democratic
societies. The climate justice movement is increasingly frustrated by
the lack of federal action to match the urgency and scale of change
needed to mitigate and adapt to climate change. President Obama on the
night of his inauguration promised that his administration would serve
as a turning point in climate action, yet he has failed to achieve
much meaningful policy in this regard. The pipeline decision is a
unique opportunity for the President to take meaningful action
independent of the stalemated Congress. Activists at the Tar Sands
Action urged participants to consider not donating to or volunteering
for the Obama re-election campaign unless the President rejects the
Tar Sands pipeline permit.



Confirmed panelists include journalist Ellen Cantarow, Unitarian
Universalist pastor Rev. Terry Burke, and Boston Climate Action
Network’s Coordinator Loie Hayes.



Event website:  http://jamaicaplainforum.org/



Photos of Boston residents and others at the Tar Sands Action can be viewed at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/109525965022915099634/TarSandsAction


--
Loie Hayes
Coordinator
Boston Climate Action Network
617-278-1885
c 857-544-6846
http://BostonCAN.org


--

~Loie Hayes
Coordinator
Boston Climate Action Network
857-544-6846
http://BostonCAN.org



-- 

~Loie Hayes
Coordinator
Boston Climate Action Network
857-544-6846
http://BostonCAN.org
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