Canadian government wants special treatment for the world’s dirtiest oil. In first international trip, President Obama must stand strong on clean energy and sufficient climate policies.
By Earth’s Newsdesk, a project of Ecological Internet
CONTACT: Dr. Glen Barry, glenbarry@ecologicalinternet.org
(Seattle, WA) — On February 19, President Barack Obama travels to Canada on his first international trip as President, where he will face pressure from the Government of Canada to support production of Alberta’s filthy tar sands oil [search]. An international network of environmental groups has launched the “Obama2Canada” campaign[1] urging President Obama to stand strong on his new energy economy agenda and reject entreaties from Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to shelter the dirtiest oil on earth from global warming regulation.
“Tar sands oil is the dirtiest form of energy in the world. It has no place in President Obama’s plans for a clean energy economy,” said Sierra Club Dirty Fuels Campaign Coordinator Pat Gallagher. “Tar sands oil accelerates global warming. It destroys forests. It endangers public health. Instead of importing this expensive, dirty oil, we can invest in clean energy that will create millions of much-needed, sustainable jobs.”
Called oil sands by proponents, tar sands are the very dirtiest of fossil fuels. Producing oil from tar sands emits three times the global warming pollution as conventional oil, requires excessive amounts of energy and fresh water, and destroys huge swaths of ancient boreal forest. Given its massive carbon footprint, tar sands would almost certainly prove unviable under any reasonable climate change regulations. Along with ending the use of coal and old growth forest destruction, stopping tar sands is essential global climate policy required to maintain an operable atmosphere.
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Ecological Internet’s Earth Action Network has launched an independent affinity email protest campaign[2]. There global citizens can let the new President know how seriously they take climate change, urge him to reject tar sands, and support further immediate urgent action in pursuit of sufficient climate change policies.
“This may be our most important climate campaign ever. Tar sands development is the most ecologically destructive project in the world. When fully developed, tar sands will indefinitely continue North America’s addiction to climate destroying fossil fuels, ensuring abrupt and runaway climate change exceeds safe levels. There is virtually no chance of minimizing climate change and achieving global ecological sustainability should tar sands production continue or expand,” says Ecological Internet President Dr. Glen Barry.
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[1] Obama2Canada Contacts:
Kristina Johnson, Sierra Club (415) 977-5619
Jennifer Foulds, Environmental Defence Canada, (416) 323-9521 x 232
Lisa McCrummen, Obama2Canada: (206)321-9461
More information, including photos, B-roll video and other campaign materials are available on www.obama2canada.org
[2] TAKE ACTION:
Urge President Obama to Say No to Canada’s Filthy Tar Sands
http://www.climateark.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=obama_tar_sands
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Ecological Internet provides the world’s largest and most used climate and environment portals at http://www.climateark.org/ and http://www.ecoearth.info/ . Dr. Glen Barry is a leading global spokesperson on behalf of environmental sustainability policy. He frequently conducts interviews on the latest climate, forest and water policy developments and can be reached for comment at: glenbarry@ecologicalinternet.org
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