PLANET IN PERIL

By Gerald Graham, 16 Nov 2011, TheTyee.ca 'Need for project' now trumps environment in fine print of pipeline documents. Details here. PLT: And people wonder why there is an Occupy movement!

Environmental Defence Dear Larry, The first cut is the deepest . Business as usual for the tar sands industry has come to an end. Today, we can all celebrate a huge victory. President Obama has agreed to delay the construction of TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline in order to further review its potential impacts, including climate change. This shows the importance of standing up for the clean energy future we want. Just 3 days ago, 12,000 Americans showed up at the White House to urge President Obama to stick by his pledge to reduce dependence on oil. Please take a minute to send a thank you note to President Obama.    Canada needs to pay attention to this message. There is no such thing as “business as usual” for the tar sands industry any longer. The longer Canada delays getting serious about reining in tar sands pollution and transitioning to a clean energy economy, the more of this type of controversy we should expect.   The delay announced today

New York Times - Oc 8'11 WASHINGTON — The State Department’s inspector general will conduct a special investigation of the handling of the pending decision on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline in response to reports of improper…. Details here.

October 26, 2011 By Kate Follot Planetsave  The Obama campaign recently hired Broderick Johnson, a former lobbyist for the Keystone XL pipeline, as a new senior advisor... .Details here. PLT: Corruption rules!

Tom Ford-Wpg. Free Press Oc17'11   What I find galling about Ottawa is that John Baird, the foreign affairs minister, struts around the globe, with his unique gold-embossed calling cards, repeating some dumb arguments about dirty oil. Details here.

Winnipeg Free Press - Oct 6'11 WASHINGTON - The U.S. State Department's final public hearing into TransCanada's proposed  Keystone XL pipeline is underway with hundreds of environmentalists in attendance. Details here.

By Ted Genoways OnEarth - Sept 30'11 At a heated hearing in the heart of cornhusker country, one cowboy poet gives local outrage an eloquent voice . Details here.

Tara Lohan - Alternet Se 29-'11 Dirty energy can't hide under the false cover of jobs anymore. Details here. Courtesy of the Globe & Maill

Ottawa - Council of Canadians. Details here.

By Brent Patterson , Council of Canadians - Se 15th, 2011 On Monday September 26, people from across Canada will be gathering on Parliament Hill in a large demonstration and non-violent civil disobedience action calling for an end to the destruction caused by the tar sands.

Nobel Women's Initiative Archbishop Tutu and the Dalai Lama call on President to build clean energy legacy. Details here. Courtesy; Climate Action News

Rafe Mair - The Common Sense Canadian I reflect. We are, I think, at the moment of truth. Either we stop these pipelines or the environmental movement becomes…. Details here. 350.org

Environmental engineers say pipeline operators TransCanada Corp have significantly underestimated the chances of a Keystone XL spill. Details here. guardian.co.uk PLT: Apparently we are to believe spills  like that of another company, into the Yellowstone R. recently,  simply won't happen quite as much with Keystone!  yeah, right!

The Canadian Press - Au 20'11                                                                     CBC photo WASHINGTON - 65 protesters were arrested Saturday as they participated in a peaceful protest outside the White House aimed at pressuring President Obama to block TransCanada's controversial Keystone XL pipeline. Details here.  ===== PLT: Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs, John Baird, left something out whilst peddling this filthy project in the 'States recently. He said it would be "good for the Canadian economy." What he failed to say is that it will also be rather good for the pocketbooks of Tory "bagmen" like Derek Burney, once Canada's Ambassador to the U.S., and Canadian Senator Pamela Wallin. Both have their snouts in the trough as officials of companies involved in the tar sands. These are facts the two would obviously rather not have the public know about.  Otherwise, the praises they sing in public in support of the pipeline

By Clare Demerse , Pembina Institute - Au 8 '11 Anyone who works on climate change policy in Canada, like I do, ends up talking about the oil sands on a daily basis. Details here.

RAINFOREST Action Network  If TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline is approved, close to 1 million barrels of thick tar sands crude will flow each day at high pressure from Canada through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and all the way to Texas, threatening countless communities and over 2000 waterways, including America's largest under ground water source—the Ogallala Aquifer. Tell President Obama to block the Keystone XL oil pipeline. TAKE ACTION HERE.

Guardian.co.UK  Aug 5 '11 Friends of the Earth Europe claims ministers have attempted to undermine European fuel legislation that would affect exports. Details here.

by Larry Powell   Below is a complaint I launched with the CBC Ombudsman, Kirk LaPoint (above).   It arose from an interview on the CBC Radio program, The House. (Read "PLT" Takes Former Ambassador to Task for Bullshit Comments on the Keystone XL Pipeline" ) l.p. ===== Kirk LaPoint, Ombudsman, CBC. Dear. Mr. LaPoint, Please consider this a formal complaint about a program aired on "The House" on Sat. July 23rd, 2011. In it, a former Canadian ambassador to the US, Derek Burney, strongly defended the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which is scheduled to carry tar sands oil from Alberta, to the Texas Gulf Coast. Burney accused environmentalists opposed to the project of being "emotional" and "violent," although he was never challenged to give examples of what he meant. It turns out,(according to Wikipedia) Mr. Burney is on the board of Trans Canada Pipelines, builders of the project. This, however, was never revealed during the inter