This News is from yesterday.
National Congress of American Indians opposes Keystone XL tar sands pipeline
By NRDC guest blog by Danielle Droitsch
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Today, the nation’s oldest and largest national organization of American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), announced their opposition to the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. This important announcement adds to the growing chorus of voices across the United States opposed to this pipeline and clearly finds that an additional tar sands pipeline is not in the national interest.
The NCAI resolution firmly states how Keystone XL is not in the national interest:
...the United States is urged to reduce its reliance on the world’s dirtiest and most environmentally destructive form of oil – the ‘tar sands’ – that threatens Indian country in both Canada and the United States and the way of life of thousands of citizens of First Nations in Canada and American Indians in the U.S., and requests the U.S. government to take aggressive measures to work towards sustainable energy solutions that include clean alternative energy and improving energy efficiency…
The resolution also expresses solidarity with the Canadian First Nations who have been raising concerns about Keystone XL and tar sands development in the province of Alberta for years. The Chief of the Assembly of First Nations in Canada, representing over 630 First Nations communities and more than 700,000 First Nations spoke of concerns about the impact of tar sands development on affected communities:
"The health impacts of the oil sands are a real concern and have been raised in recent studies. In Canada, we are particularly disturbed by the high rate of cancer in the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and support the call for an independent health study to examine the people there to assess potential health damage from the oil sands." --Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, Assembly of First Nations.
I'm currently reading Tar Sands: Dirty Oil and the Future of a Continent, Revised and Updated Edition which I recommend to everyone interested in this topic.
It won the Rachel Carson Environmental Book Award.
Here are a couple of short excerpts:
The homeless in Fort McMurray are generally Cree or Dene. They once hunted moose and trapped beaver where the mines and upgraders now stand
Page 44
In the summer homeless Aboriginals and crack heads sleep under cars or in tents amid piles of garbage by the Syne a small channel of water near downtown.
Page 47
Please also read Aji's excellent diary on this subject: Stop Tar Sands: Scars Upon Sacred Land IV: "A Slow Industrial Genocide"
Its clear the Tar Sands has been a disaster for Canadian First Peoples living in the Fort McMurray region. We shouldn't spread those negative impacts to this country.
P.M. Steven Harper acting like Canada's George W. Bush on the Tar Sands
In addition to participating in our blogathon as blogger, reader, or commenter, you can sign up to join Bill McKibben in civil disobedience August 20-September 3 in front of the White House.
You can also sign a petition telling President Obama to stop the tar sands pipeline.