The tar sands are the fastest rising source of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada and their rapid development has devastated the air, water, forest and land in Northern Alberta.
Yet the Harper government is actively supporting the construction of a new tar sands pipeline that would cross 1,000 streams and rivers, many of which are key habitat for salmon and other species. It would pass through dozens of BC First Nations communities and the Great Bear Rainforest.
Once the pipeline has reached the coast, it would fill 200 supertankers per year. These tankers, each carrying more toxic crude than the Exxon Valdez, would pass through one of the trickiest marine routes in Canada.
Enbridge has a bad record on pipeline spills, averaging one a week between 1999-2008.
The Enbridge 'Northern Gateway' pipeline proposal is going through public hearings before the National Energy Board. Tell federal Minister of Natural Resources Joe Oliver to say no to the tar sands and to this pipeline.
Dear Minister Oliver:
I am writing to you today to express my opposition to the Enbridge Gateway pipeline and the expansion of the tar sands that it would enable.
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This pipeline would carry oil from the Alberta tar sands to a port at Kitimat, B.C. Enbridge is set to bring more than 200 oil tankers through rough waters and narrow passages of the globally renowned Great Bear Rainforest, where a world-class conservation model exists that your government supported.
As someone who cares about Canada's communities, its wild spaces and international reputation, I believe that this project takes us in the wrong direction. It will fuel climate change by increasing greenhouse gas emissions from the tar sands, already the fastest rising source of global warming-causing pollution. And the inevitable risk oil spills pose to First Nations, communities and the environment is simply too great when Canada, and the world, have better ways to meet our energy needs.
I am not alone in my support for an oil-free West Coast. Coastal First Nations and the majority of British Columbians, along with many communities, organizations and businesses do not want crude oil transported in our coastal waters.
In light of the devastation we saw in the Gulf of Mexico, your leadership is needed now more than ever. Please lead by respecting their wishes and saying no to the Enbridge Gateway pipeline.
