Rally in S'toon and Regina April 1

Try googling THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE PROJECT ON EARTH and then come out and rally April 1st in Saskatoon and Regina to let our government know that it is a major concern. Read my previous post for details on time and place. April 1st 4:30-6 at 315 22nd St (headquarters in s'toon for Sask Party). more info in previous post about regina time and location as well.

Come rally against the rape of our province!

In my opinion this is one of THE WORST environmental crimes of all time. It is something that concerns both Canadian and Americans, and the whole planet. Yes, Canada is the perpetrator. Alberta actually, is the province that is contributing to this massive destruction of our earth. BUT 70% of the oil from this project is being bought by Americans! So if you live in America, let your government know that you do not support the tar sands project in Canada! and if you live in Canada speak up, our environment is being raped and destroyed.

The whole tar sands thing is REALLY REALLY SCARY. ....and it is something that really outrages me.
((I know this entry is long. Even if you don't read the whole thing, please at least check out the bottom of the entry, as there is a rally going on in both Saskatoon and Regina April 1st!!! Info below: )


Check out this youtube video, part 1 of 2 (there's a link to part two there) .. a 6 minute CBC news story about what's going on. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ilv8enuRp9g

Here is an article from the facebook group "Sask Tar Sands Truth Project"
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=22555854712

This is a group for people concerned and opposed to unsafe and unsustainable oil sands development in Saskatchewan. Hopefully it will serve as an organizational hub for anti-tar sands actions and general consciousness-raising on the issue.

There are many reasons that the Saskatchewan people should be concerned about future oil extraction and refining in our province. One needs only to look to our neighbour to the west to see the destructive impacts of the tar sands industry:

Extreme environmental destruction:
-strip mining, meaning the elimination of all vegetation in the area. Thousands of kilometres of Boreal forest in Saskatchewan would disappear.
-pollution of our rivers with toxic chemicals such as arsenic, causing rare cancers.
-future development of nuclear power plants in Saskatchewan to power Alberta and Saskatchewan refineries.
-consumption of large quantities of Natural Gas, which is ironically a cleaner, more expensive non-renewable, in order to run refineries for dirty oil.
-the rendering of Canadian Kyoto targets unattainable, thus eliminating our role in the international community as an ally against climate change.
-the rapid consumption our freshwater sources, requiring 4 barrels of freshwater per barrel of oil. Saskatchewan has a lot of freshwater; we should protect this.
-huge tailing ponds of polluted water visible from space and growing.

Social decay:
-high rate of suicide among workers
-exploitation of imported foreign labour or "transitory workers"
-absolutely no job security
-climbing rate of drug addiction to substances such as cocaine and methamphetamines among labourers
-increasing rates of prostitution

Damaging Aboriginal Communities:
-environmental destruction of the territory of the people at Fort Chipewyan
-rare cancers caused by chemicals in fish from the Athabasca river
-projected sites for mining in Saskatchewan are in Nothern Saskatchewan, in the middle of small Aboriginal communities which could not survive this type of invasion.

Sovereignty:
-Over 70% of the oil extracted from Canadian tar sands is exported south to the United States via pipeline; 10-30% remains in Canada. Of this, almost none goes to Eastern Canada.
-Although we are the most important new source of oil in the world, Canada must rely on unstable providers of oil for our own consumption, including Iraq and Libya. Canada's energy security is compromised for that of America's, while we are left with the environmental disasters.

Join us to spread the truth about tar sands development. We are Not For Sale!

Contact InfoWebsite:
http://sasktarsandstruth.wordpress.com/




Also: there is a rally going on Tuesday April 1st for those of us concerned about this issue. More info here:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=12547668081&ref=mf

REGINA PEOPLE::


For anyone in Regina on Tuesday April 1st
Come Celebrate Fossil Fools Day!!!
It's an international day of Action!
11:30 - 1:30
Legislative Building
Come enjoy listening to a variety of speakers, as well as Free Food!!
Hope to see you there!

SASKATOON PEOPLE
::::
Event InfoName:
Fossil Fool's Day "Real Sask Party"
Tagline:
Anti-Tar Sands, Pro Fun, Free Food
Host:
Sask Tar Sands Truth Project
Type:
Causes - Rally
Time and PlaceDate:
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Time:
4:30pm - 6:00pm
Location:
Sask Party Headquarters
Street:
315 22nd Street East (downtown)
City/Town:
Saskatoon, SK


Please come out and be a part of this!! Please forward widely!*

We are Not For Sale!

Tuesday, April 1, 2008 marks the 5th Annual Fossil Fools Day, a global day of action that targets the unsustainability of fossil fuel use. Communities
across the world are rising to the challenge and organizing local actions and events to collectively say to governmental and corporate leaders - JUST
TRANSITION NOW!

In Saskatoon the *Sask Tar Sands Truth Project*, a collective of citizens concerned about Tar Sands development in Sask, is hosting a Fossil Fools Day
extravaganza!

Specifically, we are hosting a 'WE ARE NOT FOR SALE' Party at 315 22nd Street East (downtown) in front of the Sask Party headquarters.

There is going to be music, dancing, and free, delicous food will also be provided!
So please join us at 4:30pm and help us party it up!

At present, Tar Sands development in Sask is the most concerning environmental topic in our province. Decisions made by the gov't now
are going to continue to affect us well into the future. Let's let the Sask Party know that People and Ecosystems over more important than Profits...
This is our chance to stand together and voice our concerns.

The case of Frameworks Yorkton (Gene Denischuk) vs. Madison Blackstone (artist)

As a concerned art supporter, I have to write this entry. It's not the usually subject matter, but I feel it is important. What would you do if you worked hard and poured your heart into creating beautiful artwork .. artwork that people would pay upwards of a thousand dollars for an original, and then found out someone was selling your art on Ebay and making magnets out of it to sell at garage sales? This happened recently to an artist I know very well. The print shop that she trusted and did business with, without her knowledge made duplicates of her art, sold it on ebay, made mugs and magnets and keychains .. then had the audacity to write up fake bills to try to prove to the judge in court that she had ordered these. Fortunately, the judge saw through it, but $300 hardly compensates!! If any of you are artists, or know of artists, please pass this on to them. This is not simply about copyright infringement and a dishonest print shop. It is about respect.

The following is the court judgment between Frameworks Yorkton Ltd. (Gene Denischuk) and Madison Blackstone (artist).

http://www.lawsociety.sk.ca/judgments/2008/PC2008/2008skpc21.pdf


(if the above link doesn't work, go to http://www.lawsociety.sk.ca/WhatsNew/NewJudgmentsPC.htm and click on the February 13th judgement.)

How would YOU like to save the world?

Just a little interesting tidbit of information for you to munch on first. Well maybe more like CHOKE on because it's rather shocking: Captain Charles Moore has recently discovered 3 million tons of plastic and garbage, an area larger than the state of Texas in the ocean about 800 miles north of Hawaii. This 'eastern garbage patch' is growing very quickly, and animals are being killed by the thousands, ..found strangled by the plastic or found dead with plastic in their bellies. The reason it's all collected in one place is because of the ocean currents.. They've found drums of hazardous chemicals, volleyballs, plastic coat hangers, parts of electronics, tires, plastic, glass, bleach bottles, tangled net lines made of polypropylene. The worst part of it all, is that plastic is designed to defeat natural recycling. It takes centuries and centuries to break down.

Another problem is that plastic is photodegradable.. which means it doesn't break down completely, rather breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces of "microplastic". Sunlight makes plastic brittle and causes it to break,.. fish mistake these pieces of plastic or plankton and ingest it. the ocean is turning into plastic soup basically. And when we eat fish, we eat plastic! Yummy...
Scientists say that the amount of plastic in the ocean has increased three times over the last 10 years.

I'm going to put a challenge out there to all of you.. For the next month do not buy any plastic that isn't labelled with a "1" or a "2" inside the recycling arrows. Even if the bottle says it's recyclable, the truth is, only 3-5% of all plastics are recycled. Only #1 (polyethylene terephthalate ..used in soda bottles) and # 2 (high-density polyethylene, used in milk jugs) are commonly recyclable. The rest of the plastic you buy ends up in the landfill..or in the ocean.
This may mean you're not going to be able to buy your regular shampoo/conditioners.. or maybe you won't be able to buy some sort of packaged food that you like.. use your judgment. Dont buy shit you don't need, ESPECIALLY if it's plastic.

Do you want to be responsible for the picture above??



There's a really good video on Youtube to watch at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbOXUza9ZeE\

To sum it up::

Basically we're facing a MASS EXTINCTION.. an Environmental crisis. it's a critical moment in history people.. we 2 options. We either wake up or we Die. Most of us are concerned about it, but we behave as though it's not happening.

Our population has jumped from 2 billion to 6 billion people in one century. We share the planet with about 10 million other species. It is estimated that in THIS century that we're living in, about half of those species will be wiped out.. the crucial time period is thought to be in the next 35-50 years. How would you like to grow older and witness this happening.. KNOWING that you COULD have done something about it. Imagine having such regret..the guilt of 5 million species of life on your conscience? People who say "it's too late to make a difference" are selfish and lazy, simply put. Remember the little engine that could?...

Imagine the nightmare we will face if we don't try to do something about it. it's not just about saving the cheetahs or the frogs or the bees or other species that are in trouble. It's about saving our own human race. The idea that our intelligence has made us successful needs to be taken to a different level. Our success has made us greedy and lazy. We need to take our intelligence and save our own kind...by saving our Earth. That is the definition of success for me. To restore the balance and connection with nature. Billions of humans will die because we depend on a variety of ecosytems...and if those ecosystems are irreversibly wiped out because of our selfish wastefulness and laziness, it will cause profound consequences for human beings.


I know this entry is a little 'soap box' style.. but I'm not preaching religion at you. I'm trying to save our lives. All of our lives.

So I'm going to make a pact to all of you that for the next month I'm not going to buy any plastic that doesn't have a 1 or 2 in the recycling arrows. Would you accept the challenge and do the same?

"Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing, because he could do only a little." Edmund Burke

Ashes and Snow by Gregory Colbert

I would encourage anyone reading this post to watch the video that I posted a url for below. I know you probably all have a kazillion other things to do, ...but being that you're here, reading my blog, PLEASE take a few minutes out of your day and watch this. It's so amazingly beautifully breathtaking and inspiring,.... a much better use of your time than reading my online blog. I promise you that your heart will smile; and I truly hope that some part of this beautiful work of art will in some way inspire you and renew a passion and love for nature. So without further ado......


http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/15


P.S.
None of the images are computer generated or digitally collaged. If you want to skip the introduction, skip to 2 minutes and 10 seconds. This is beautiful.

Part of the Introdution.
"To the past 14 years I've been an apprentice to nature. Over the course of 34 expeditions, I've collaborated with over 45 species. They come together in the form of a 21st century bestiary called Ashes and snow that is now being exhibited at the nomadic museum in Santa Monica. It was previously shown in New York City and Venice Italy. This exhibition includes 3 films, and over 100 large scale photographs on Japanese paper. Like all bestiary's it is not designed to provide an intellectual understanding of nature. Ashes and Snow attempts to inspire an emotional understanding of nature, and our place within it. Over the next 10 years, this exhibition will travel to Asia, Europe, and the middle East. Now before I show you some excerpts of the film, I should clarify my use of the term 'bestiary' because the world has disappeared in Western culture. In most societies a bestiary expressed a poetic understanding of mans relationship to animals in their environment. The jaguars resonated with the Maya, the falcons with the Egyptians, the buffalo with the native americans...."

A happy video!

Most of the videos I post on my blogs about animal welfare are pretty sad. I got an email from the Humane Society of America (I honestly dont remember signing up for a mailing list for them, but whatever!) and they have this cool little slide show about some really cool stuff. It really is a happy, encouraging video :) So check it out.
http://multimedia.hsus.org/slideshows/yearend/2007/index.html?source=data.xml&d=1
..I'll be doing more blog posts once finals are done and everything.

Sad but true.

Instead of writing a blog today I'm going to post this link for you all to read...it says it all. ...and it's really, REALLY sad.

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=43247