Flash Action Protest Against Tar Sands Fuel (12noon Sat 06/18 Cptl Hill Seattle)

[Christopher Schulz]

Flash Action Protest Against Tar Sands Fuel 12noon Sat 06/18 Cptl Hill Seattle

Hey all, this is going on tomorrow:

Details:
Saturday, June 18
12:00pm
Safeway, 15th and John, Capitol Hill (see map at bottom)

AIM: Quick creative action to open up part of the ForestEthics national campaign. Bring digital cameras (photo or video) if you have access, and we'll add to the media for events going on across the country. First part of the event may take 5-10 minutes: MEET at the small park across the street, just south by the bus stop; go in, unroll the banners, pass out flyers and tell people what's going on, and leave when asked. Come on time so we can move quickly!


WHAT: This is a short-notice flash action to attract attention to Dole and Chiquita bananas. Both major companies own trucking fleets that use fuel coming directly from extraction zones in a boreal forest that spans across northern Alberta, Canada. All trees are clear cut and the surface layer of earth is strip-mined to access a heavy crude oil called bitumen, which is then refined into low-grade fuel.

The process is one of the largest industrial engineering projects in the history of the world, is extremely inefficient and wasteful, creates toxic water reservoirs that kill wildlife and need to be maintained, has severely affected the health of nearby human populations (who are mainly native), and has led to the creation of a pipeline down into the United States that has already seen several spills. Some companies have been willing to negotiate with organizations that are pushing to responsibly avoid tar sands oil--neither Dole, Chiquita, nor Safeway have tried to listen.


NOTE: Representatives from the energy industry have tried to disrupt organizing at the national level. Now that the date is close, pass this on to those you know.

PHOTOS: http://dirtyoilsands.org/visuals

BACKGROUND:
ForestEthics: http://forestethics.org/
ForestEthics promotional video on the campaign: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yikj99t7J8M
Alberta Oil Sands interview (Democracy Now!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sldtd3BNt6E

Indigenous Environmental Network Tar Sands Campaign: http://www.ienearth.org/tarsands.html
Tar Sands Watch: http://www.tarsandswatch.org/
Dirty Oil Sands: http://dirtyoilsands.org/

Report: "The Tar Sands' Long Shadow," Published by the Climate Action Network Canada: http://www.ienearth.org/docs/can-tar-sands-long-shadow.pdf


MAP: http://onebusaway.org/where/standard/#m%28query%29q%2815th%20and%20john%20st%29qll%2847.6197,-122.3127%29_%281%29