BEAUTY AND THE BEAST - North America

Oil extraction from tar sands is the beast running amuck in northern Alberta, Canada and spreading southward to Texas, USA.


Tar Sands Action/ Josh Fox from JFOX on Vimeo.

Across the many years that I advocated for saving the forests of the US Pacific Northwest, I always reminded my audiences that in the past the North Americans were far more ruthless than Brazil is today in destroying their forests. Indeed, nothing has changed.

So this is a special plea to my North American friends:

While you help with the great struggles of Belo Monte and the Forest Code in Brazil and destructive development in Bolivia and Peru, please remember that everyone's first responsibility is at home. In North America, the battle to stop the Keystone XL pipeline has begun.

It Begins. 70 Arrested at White House on Day 1 of Tar Sands Action (UPDATED)

These are the first days in a two week-long campaign that is expected to draw thousands to non-violent civil disobedience and protest. The world is changing. There could even be a "North American Spring."

Interview: James Hansen on the Tar Sands Pipeline Protest

Maybe Alberta's planning could become as advanced as Acre's -- here is Bill McKibben's must-read comparison.