The United States Joint Forces Command goes by the slogan âReady for today. Preparing for tomorrowâ. But the military planners are certainly getting worried about tomorrow. They argue that âFossil fuels will very likely remain the predominant energy source going forward,â but then warn that âa severe energy crunch is inevitable without a massive expansion … Read More
tar sands
BPâs full steam ahead on tar sands; and the rest of us be damned!
In the course of the past month, BP tripled the number of tar sands projects itâs developing, from one to three. While it rocked the tar sands industry back in December 2007, with its announcement of a joint venture with Husky that reversed its 1999 decision to avoid tar sands projects, the following two years … Read More
Go and Play Tar Nation!
For all you online gaming enthusiasts out there, it may not have the sophistication of Call of Duty or World of Warcraft, but if you had ever wanted to vent your frustration about the tar sands, this is the game for you. A new video game, Tar Nation, allows players to spray oil on Canadian … Read More
Dirty Oil Money Could Fund Clean Energy Or Water
For many people this would be a no-brainer â but the billions being poured into dirty oil in Canada’s tar sands could be spent on clean energy instead to help decarbonise western economies. Or it could be spent on clean water to help the poor live. In their new report, the Co-op and WWF say … Read More
Welcome to Canada’s AvaTAR Sands
For all you romantic film-buffs out there, this week-endâs Oscars is a fight between an ex-husband and wife partnership: James Cameronâs Avatar and Kathryn Bigelowâs The Hurt locker. Those rooting for Avatar include a collation of 50 Indigenous and environmental groups who yesterday ran a great advert in the celebrity magazine Variety. Called âCanada’s Avatar … Read More
RBC is causing an âenvironmental holocaustâ
Earlier in the week I blogged about how British banks were under fire for their investment in the tar sands. But they are not the only ones. There are also home-grown banks investing in the destruction of their own country. Yesterday, over 170 people rallied outside of the Royal Bank of Canadaâs (RBCâs) Annual General … Read More
âMorally Bankruptâ British Bank Funds Tar Sands
Tens of millions of people watched the glittering closing ceremony last night as the Winter Olympics drew to a close in Vancouver. To cap off the games, Canada was celebrating a record number of gold medals and a prized win over the Americans in ice hockey. It was a perfect ending to the Olympics and … Read More
Cheap Gas Fuels Tar Sands Expansion
One of the unseen consequences of the lower gas prices in North America is that it is actually making it cheaper to extract the tar sands. And that in turn is giving tar sands operators the confidence to expand production. So bizarrely cheap cleaner gas is fuelling the exploitation of the dirty tar sands. Â
Use your pension against the tar sands
The start of an unusual mobilisation of pension fund members has been kicked off by the British organisation FairPensions to hold BP and Shell to account for their investment in the dirty Canadian tar sands. The idea is simple: individuals can contact their pension funds, through an online action, to show support of environmental resolutions … Read More
Weâre All Going on a Summer Holiday … to the Tar Sands
As much of the Northern Hemisphere remains cold, or if you live in Washington DC blanketed in deep snow, thoughts of a warm Summer holiday spring to mind as something to look forward to. Where shall we go? Most people think of heading to the beach to soak up the sun and relax. Others head … Read More