See http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/the-age-of-extreme-oil-this-used-to-be-a-forest/article2437730/.

See http://www.bristol247.com/2012/03/28/roger-james-global-justice-under-threat-from-legal-aid-plans-76114/.

See also briefing at http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/16447.

See http://www.no-tar-sands.org/2012/01/calling-all-foreign-radicals/.

See http://www.no-tar-sands.org/2012/01/huge-victory-obama-kills-keystone/.

Oliver’s comments came one day before federal regulatory hearings began on whether to approve Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline, which would deliver crude from Alberta’s oilsands to Kitimat, B.C., for shipment to Asia.

See http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/01/09/pol-joe-oliver-radical-groups.html.

At the same time, the UK government was being lobbied by Shell and BP, which both have major tar sands projects in Alberta, and opened a new consulate in the province to “support British commercial interests”.

See http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/nov/27/canada-oil-sands-uk-backing

On the eve of the 17th UNFCCC, the world’s climate summit, the UK Tar Sands Network will serve papers to Shell UK executives on behalf of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN). ACFN plans to sue Shell for failure to meet contractual agreements made between Shell and the First Nations regarding existing tar sands projects within ACFN traditional territory and Canada’s pristine Athabasca, a UNESCO heritage site. Chief Allan Adam along with the entire council of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) will rally outside Shell Canada corporate headquarters in downtown Calgary later today and hold a press conference.

After years of agreements with Shell Oil, the Athabasca Chipewyan people have decided to risk everything by challenging Shell’s practices and filing suit.  “We’re drawing the line, and taking a strong stand against Shell. ACFN wants no further developments until Shell is brought to justice and our broader concerns about the cumulative impacts in the region are addressed,” stated Chief Adam.

The agreements in question were meant to ensure Shell would provide a number of measures to lessen the impact of tar sands mines on ACFN. In addition to the lawsuit against Shell, ACFN also plans to oppose all future tar sands projects by Shell. “Tar sands have been widely recognized as the most destructive project on earth because of the serious impacts on treaty and aboriginal rights, ecological destruction and global green house gas emissions (GHG),” commented Suzanne Dhaliwal from the UK Tar Sands Network. “Shell is one of the largest players in the tar sands producing close to 20% of overall production and it needs to be held accountable for the mass destruction it is causing to communities and the environment.”

Shell Canada recently submitted proposals to expand its current tar sands operations which, if approved, would more then double their production. This would translate into further encroachment of open pit mines on ACFN traditional lands, and into the pristine wilderness of the Pierre River, a previously untouched area.

Chief Adam stated, “Shell has failed to meet past commitments and governments have done nothing to mitigate the issue. Current government monitoring is inadequate, and Shell cannot be trusted to monitor itself.” ACFN is rightfully concerned these projects will further impact the First Nation’s ability to exercise treaty rights in a meaningful way into the future. “We don’t want our community to become the next Niger Delta, where Shell’s unregulated actions have left communities devastated and resulted in the need for a 30-year clean-up estimated to cost $1 billion USD. The fate of our communities and our river is at stake and we are in the crosshairs of Shell’s plans to aggressively expand tar sands in our traditional territory. We ask the public to support ACFN’s efforts to stop Shell from permanently destroying our lands and community.”

An international coalition of Indigenous and environmental groups, including Keepers of the Athabasca, Greenpeace, Indigenous Environmental Network, Sierra Club Prairie, AWA, Pembina, Council of Canadians, International Indigenous Treaty Council, AFN Regional Office (NWT), Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, Dene Nation, Platform, London Mining Network, UK Tar Sands Network and People & Planet endorsed today’s action echoing the call on Shell Oil Canada and Shell Oil International to halt any further tar sand extraction in the Athabasca region until proper environmental safeguards are put into place in accordance with the treaties between Canada and First Nations government.

See http://www.no-tar-sands.org/get-the-shell-out-of-the-tar-sands/
***Photo Opportunity 11:00 am  Shell Centre, London SE1 7NA***
Eriel Deranger (Canada) – 001 780-903-6598
Suzanne Dhaliwal (UK)  – 07967758641

See http://www.no-tar-sands.org/2011/11/pipe-dreams-keystone-delayed-until-2013/.

See http://www.no-tar-sands.org/2011/11/uk-activists-surround-miniature-white-house-as-pipeline-protests-go-global/.

Protesters presented an alternative perspective to the one-sided lecture by asking difficult questions throughout.

See http://www.no-tar-sands.org/2011/10/canada-poses-as-%e2%80%9cfriendly-green-oil-giant%e2%80%9d-to-win-over-uk-universities/.

See also
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/10/20/uk-greens-oil-sands-idUKTRE79J65V20111020

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Minister+challenged+British+students+during+oilsands+tour/5581538/story.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

http://business.financialpost.com/2011/10/20/minister-challenged-by-u-k-students-during-oilsands-tour/

http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Minister+challenged+British+students+during+oilsands+tour/5581538/story.html

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Greens-hijack-Canadian-oil-sands-European-speech/articleshow/10432315.cms

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/Protesters+hijack+oilsands+talk/5584756/story.html

and Oil sands imports could be banned under EU directive, http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/oct/04/oil-sands-imports-eu-ban

See http://www.no-tar-sands.org/category/latestupdates/.

See http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/aug/03/shell-liability-oil-spills-nigeria?INTCMP=SRCH, and http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14391015.

British companies Shell and BP are involved in the Alberta tar sands ‘development’ and Royal Bank of Scotland is helping finance it.

See http://www.no-tar-sands.org/2011/07/shining-a-light-on-europes-role-in-the-tar-sands/.

Video: To the Last Drop

Residents of one Canadian town are engaged in a David and Goliath-style battle over the dirtiest oil project ever known.  The small town of Fort Chipewyan in northern Alberta is facing the consequences of being the first to witness the impact of the Tar Sands project, which may be the tipping point for oil development in Canada. The local community has experienced a spike in cancer cases and dire studies have revealed the true consequences of “dirty oil”. Gripped in a Faustian pact with the American energy consumer, the Canadian government is doing everything it can to protect the dirtiest oil project ever known.

See http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/witness/2011/06/20116227153978324.html.

Also known as the Sacred Headwaters, the region’s salmon and wildlife sustain indigenous and non-indigenous cultures and livelihoods, and it is a source of creation stories for Canada’s indigenous First Nations. Broad community opposition has resulted in a moratorium being imposed. Increasing political and public concern about the impacts of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, are considered likely to make it more difficult for social licence to be gained for this Shell project.

See http://forestethics.org/investors-beware-shells-fracking-in-the-sacred-headwaters-is-too-risky.

Last weekend, Royal Bank of Scotland faced its biggest protests in a long history of protests. Environmental groups and hundreds of climate protesters camped on the lawn at RBS’s Gogarburn headquarters, on the outskirts of Edinburgh. At the centre of the protest was a growing anger at the bank’s role in funding the world’s dirty oil and gas industries, at huge environmental cost. A report revealed by the Sunday Herald shows that RBS has provided nearly £13 billion worth of funding to the oil and gas industries since it was bailed out by the taxpayer two years ago.

See http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/transport-environment/how-rbs-funds-dirty-oil-1.1049758.

Oil sands toxins growing rapidly

Canada’s oil sands mining operations produce vast and fast-growing quantities of deadly substances, including mercury, heavy metals and arsenic, new data released by Environment Canada shows. The information on pollutants sheds new light on the environmental toll exacted by Canada’s bid to extract oil from bitumen, showing in stark relief how many nasty substances are being laid on the northern Alberta landscape in the process – and how quickly those are growing. In the past four years, the volume of arsenic and lead produced and deposited in tailings ponds by the country’s bitumen mines – run by Syncrude Canada Ltd., Suncor Energy Inc., Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC – has increased by 26 per cent. Quantities of some other substances have increased at even faster rates. The companies also released huge amounts of pollutants into the air last year, including 70,658 tonnes of volatile organic compounds, which can damage the function of human organs and nervous systems, and 111,661 tonnes of sulphur dioxide, a key contributor to acid rain.

See http://m.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/oil-sands-production-of-toxins-growing-rapidly/article1667306/?service=mobile