I can't believe you are posting this on your liberal excursion threads an article promoting child abuse.
Thousands rally to protest Enbridge, climate change
Saying no is as black and white as the orcas the project threatens, say protesters
By Tiffany Crawford, Vancouver Sun November 16, 2013
Elena Godoy, 5, holds her sign at the Enbridge rally which attracted thousands Saturday afternoon at Science World.
Thousands of protesters gathered in Vancouver’s False Creek area on a chilly, windswept afternoon on Saturday to protest the Enbridge pipeline proposal.
The rally outside of Telus Science World and Main Street SkyTrain station was one of more than 130 events held around the country, as part of a national Defend Our Climate day of action, according to the environmental advocacy group Defend Our Climate.
The umbrella group organized the rallies across the country to oppose the Alberta oilsands and the pipelines that carry the region’s crude oil.
As Bob Dylan’s immortal song The Times They Are a-Changin’ boomed from speakers on the stage, Vancouver protester Anne-Marie St. Laurent explained a sign she had made using the colourful fish from a Dr. Seuss children’s book.
The satirical sign, which read: “One Fish, Two Fish, Oiled Fish, Dead Fish” is her way of telling the government that she is unhappy with the federal government’s position on expanding the oilsands.
“It’s a disaster. The government seems to be intent on going ahead, with no brakes on the process, in developing energy projects like the Enbridge pipeline, without any concerns for the environmental effects,” she said.
Sporting a shiny green fish hat, the Vancouver resident doubted the government would heed the message of Saturday’s rally, but was pleased to see such a huge turnout.
“The government seems to be impervious to what the public wants but I think it’s important to register dissent,” she said.
Hundreds of demonstrators held signs, some that read: “Oil is our heroin,” or “No economy on a dead planet,” while many others dressed in splashy costumes to get their point across.
Timothy Carson, a 20-year-old student in the global stewardship program at Capilano University, wore a full-body scaly rainbow fish suit. The suit came from a children’s play his parents produced a decade ago in Ontario about sustainability, and so he thought it apropos to wear to the event to voice his opposition to the Enbridge pipeline.
“It’s an eye-draw and you’ve got to have a bit of fun while doing it,” he said. “As a student and a Vancouverite I feel really passionate about this issue because it’s the wrong choice. We know it’s not economically viable and we know it’s not environmentally sustainable. There’s money power and then there’s people power and we need to do this to show them this is a bad idea for Canada.”
Speakers at the rally included First Nations leaders, politicians and environmentalists.
The rally also drew several artists, who set up installations at the event. One that was garnering a lot of attention was a giant hypodermic needle attached to a Chevy Suburban truck installation entitled Quick Fix, built by local artist Hugh Patterson.
He built the installation in February and set it up on the last day of the Enbridge pipeline hearings at Vancouver’s Wall Centre as a way to speak his mind about his own relationship with oil.
“I struggle with it. I see a lot of the things that I do in my life are carbon intensive yet I see the damage it is doing to the environment and the path that our government is taking and it’s really frustrating that there are so many really smart people proposing real solutions to the problems and they are not being listened to because there is a small group of people in power who are driving this energy economy.” he said.
Another artist Shannon Roszell was building an installation she called the Love Tree, with messages of “love, hope, despair, longing anger and frustration,” from people all over the world to the Alberta oilsands.
She began the project after attending a 14-kilometre “ healing walk” in July in Fort McMurray, Alta., with members of First Nations.
“These letters will be hung on the tree,” she said. “I have letters from Wales, England, Denmark and across Canada. It has been a really magical project.”
Youth activist Sam Harrison, a 17-year-old student at Vancouver’s Prince of Wales Secondary, says his generation of British Columbians are determined to stop the Enbridge pipeline.
“We see this as a major turning point for this province — this is a global crisis and the public in B.C. wants us to be part of the solution to climate change, not a big part of the problem.”
“Saying no to the Enbridge pipeline is as black and white as the orcas the project threatens. Today’s rally is sending a strong message to Christy Clark and Stephen Harper — it’s time to listen to the people and stop this reckless pipeline project once and for all,” said Ben West, a spokesman for of Forest Ethics, an environmental advocacy group.
vancouversun.com |
