The Kinder Morgan Pipeline Expansion for Tar Sands Oil
My name is Charles Coleman and I was trained by Al Gore in San Francisco to become a Climate Reality Leader.
I was arrested on Saturday, March 17 for protesting the expansion of the Tar Sands in Northern Canada and the construction of the Kinder Morgan pipeline. So far there have been over 180 arrests. My initial trial date is next Wednesday, May 18th. We were arrested for defying an injunction by Kinder Morgan that prevented people from coming closer than 5 meters to the Kinder Morgan operation
The Kinder Morgan project aims to bring diluted bitumen from the Tar Sands to the port of Vancouver to be shipped to the United States on huge tankers.
In view of the Climate Crisis that we are all facing, the insanity of this project boggles the imagination.
Consequences on our environment
The project will make it impossible for Canada to meet the Climate Targets it agreed to in the Paris Accord. It also creates a huge risk for the tourism industry in Vancouver, not to mention the catastrophic devastation of wildlife in the Salish Sea in the event of even a small oil spill.
Kinder Morgan is still trying to dredge the bitumen from the bottom of a river in Kalamazoo, where a pipeline released a small spill a couple of years ago. Did you know that bitumen begins to sink after about 20 minutes when it comes into contact with cold water? Once on the bottom, it obliterates the sea life and continues to leak out for an undetermined amount of time.
This project will tie Canada to an outmoded industry for years to come, and prevent us from investing in renewables, which are the future of energy production (and readily available in this country!)
It is true that Alberta will experience financial hardship in the process towards a carbon-free economy. But the longer Alberta waits to change its energy production, the greater the hardship will be. The consequences of climate change are already being affecting people all over the world.
This is a call to action
We have to come together to fight the Kinder Morgan Pipeline Expansion. As a country, as a society, we need to change and move forward.
Join me in the fight for a sustainable Canada. Help me shed light on what is happening in Northern Canada. Share this post with everyone you know. Let's spread the word so they can't ignore us.
Make sure you also sign this petition to support our fight against the pipeline: https://secure.canadians.org/page/22680/action/1
Charles Coleman
charles.coleman@shaw.ca
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