SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Direct Actions Across Canada Declare: 'Time to Move on' from Tar Sands
The #JobsJusticeClimate actions are serving as an important prelude to the Climate Summit of the Americas, happening in Toronto next week
Jul 04, 2015
Creative direct actions are taking place across Canada on Saturday, in a nationwide mobilization meant to demonstrate that Canadians "care about their communities, and that we are ready to stop digging, start building and move beyond the tar sands."
| #JobsJusticeClimate Tweets |
The 'We > Tar Sands' rallies and events are coming in advance of a major March for Jobs, Justice, and the Climate happening in Toronto on Sunday, and on the heels of a series of student-led sit-ins that swept the country on Friday.
Taken together, the actions represent "the first steps towards a new kind of climate movement," as eco-activist and anti-capitalist Naomi Klein put it.
The July 4th coast-to-coast mobilizations, which range from the creation of a giant human chain on the sea wall at Vancouver's Sunset Beach to a flotilla protest on the Ottawa River just outside Montreal to a free concert in Edmonton, the capital of tar sands-rich Alberta, are being supported by 350.org--which is providing live updates on the events here.
The #JobsJusticeClimate actions are serving as an important prelude to the Climate Summit of the Americas and Pan American Economic Summit in Toronto next week, as well as the international climate talks known as COP21, happening in Paris later this year.
"[T]he government and much of the mainstream media appear to be hell-bent on promoting (and subsidizing) rapid oilsands expansion and pipeline development with little concern for the consequences of pollution and global warming, and with little attention to the tremendous opportunities for healthy communities and a healthy economy from clean technology and renewable energy and efficiency," Canadian scientist and author David Suzuki wrote on Friday.
"We can and must change," he continued. "People all over the world taking part in marches know it. Religious leaders understand it. Global organizations such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Health Organization are talking about it. In Canada and elsewhere, municipal and provincial or state governments have been leading the way.
"As world leaders prepare for the global climate summit in Paris in December, it's time for them to join this growing, diverse groundswell of people who are showing the world the need and possibilities for a better way."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Creative direct actions are taking place across Canada on Saturday, in a nationwide mobilization meant to demonstrate that Canadians "care about their communities, and that we are ready to stop digging, start building and move beyond the tar sands."
| #JobsJusticeClimate Tweets |
The 'We > Tar Sands' rallies and events are coming in advance of a major March for Jobs, Justice, and the Climate happening in Toronto on Sunday, and on the heels of a series of student-led sit-ins that swept the country on Friday.
Taken together, the actions represent "the first steps towards a new kind of climate movement," as eco-activist and anti-capitalist Naomi Klein put it.
The July 4th coast-to-coast mobilizations, which range from the creation of a giant human chain on the sea wall at Vancouver's Sunset Beach to a flotilla protest on the Ottawa River just outside Montreal to a free concert in Edmonton, the capital of tar sands-rich Alberta, are being supported by 350.org--which is providing live updates on the events here.
The #JobsJusticeClimate actions are serving as an important prelude to the Climate Summit of the Americas and Pan American Economic Summit in Toronto next week, as well as the international climate talks known as COP21, happening in Paris later this year.
"[T]he government and much of the mainstream media appear to be hell-bent on promoting (and subsidizing) rapid oilsands expansion and pipeline development with little concern for the consequences of pollution and global warming, and with little attention to the tremendous opportunities for healthy communities and a healthy economy from clean technology and renewable energy and efficiency," Canadian scientist and author David Suzuki wrote on Friday.
"We can and must change," he continued. "People all over the world taking part in marches know it. Religious leaders understand it. Global organizations such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Health Organization are talking about it. In Canada and elsewhere, municipal and provincial or state governments have been leading the way.
"As world leaders prepare for the global climate summit in Paris in December, it's time for them to join this growing, diverse groundswell of people who are showing the world the need and possibilities for a better way."
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Creative direct actions are taking place across Canada on Saturday, in a nationwide mobilization meant to demonstrate that Canadians "care about their communities, and that we are ready to stop digging, start building and move beyond the tar sands."
| #JobsJusticeClimate Tweets |
The 'We > Tar Sands' rallies and events are coming in advance of a major March for Jobs, Justice, and the Climate happening in Toronto on Sunday, and on the heels of a series of student-led sit-ins that swept the country on Friday.
Taken together, the actions represent "the first steps towards a new kind of climate movement," as eco-activist and anti-capitalist Naomi Klein put it.
The July 4th coast-to-coast mobilizations, which range from the creation of a giant human chain on the sea wall at Vancouver's Sunset Beach to a flotilla protest on the Ottawa River just outside Montreal to a free concert in Edmonton, the capital of tar sands-rich Alberta, are being supported by 350.org--which is providing live updates on the events here.
The #JobsJusticeClimate actions are serving as an important prelude to the Climate Summit of the Americas and Pan American Economic Summit in Toronto next week, as well as the international climate talks known as COP21, happening in Paris later this year.
"[T]he government and much of the mainstream media appear to be hell-bent on promoting (and subsidizing) rapid oilsands expansion and pipeline development with little concern for the consequences of pollution and global warming, and with little attention to the tremendous opportunities for healthy communities and a healthy economy from clean technology and renewable energy and efficiency," Canadian scientist and author David Suzuki wrote on Friday.
"We can and must change," he continued. "People all over the world taking part in marches know it. Religious leaders understand it. Global organizations such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Health Organization are talking about it. In Canada and elsewhere, municipal and provincial or state governments have been leading the way.
"As world leaders prepare for the global climate summit in Paris in December, it's time for them to join this growing, diverse groundswell of people who are showing the world the need and possibilities for a better way."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.