#NoEnbridge Pipeline Rally expected to draw thousands to Sunset Beach May 10

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      Organizers say they’ve planned for thousands to assemble at Sunset Beach tomorrow (May 10) to protest the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline.

      In a telephone interview, the Wilderness Committee’s Eoin Madden noted that the last gathering like this one, held in November 2013, attracted an estimated 5,000 people, overflowing the space near Science World that was allotted for the event.

      “Hence the reason for us to move on to Sunset Beach,” he added. “We’re hoping for thousands.”

      People are being asked to gather for the #NoEnbridge Pipeline Rally at 2 p.m. in Vancouver’s West End. It’s timed to coincide with similar protests across Canada.

      Ben West, tar-sands campaign director for ForestEthics Advocacy, described the event as the beginning of a final push to stop the Enbridge project.

      “This is the last rally before Stephen Harper makes what he thinks is a final decision on the Enbridge pipeline,” said. “We’re definitely down to the wire.”

      The Northern Gateway pipeline is proposed to carry 525,000 barrels of heavy-crude oil per day from the Athabasca oil sands in Alberta to a port at Kitimat, from where it will be shipped overseas.

      The federal government is scheduled to make a final decision on the pipeline in June. In December 2013, a review panel recommended that it be approved, subject to 209 conditions.

      West maintained that the majority of British Columbians oppose Northern Gateway. Last month, Kitimat residents—who stand to benefit the most among British Columbians—voted in a nonbinding plebiscite against the project.

      “The message that we’re trying to get out there is that Harper might think this is the final decision, but ultimately, we’re not going to let this thing go forward no matter what he decides,” West said. “Pipelines are not inevitable. There are better choices and ways that we can reduce our consumption of fossil fuels.”

      Speakers scheduled for the event include Madden and West, plus Vancouver-West End MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert, Vancouver city councillor Andrea Reimer, the Tsleil-Waututh Nation's Carleen Thomas, Burnaby Mayor Derrick Corrigan, Kids for Climate Action's Kate Hodgson, and quite a few others. (Subject to change.)

      Madden said people should expect a festive atmosphere with an “artistic feel”. In addition to speakers, there’s going to be creative activities for adults and children alike.

      He emphasized that the protest is going to be about more than opposition to a pipeline.

      “We’re saying that climate change is not for us, and that we can generate long-term sustainable jobs in a different way,” Madden said. “We’re going to generate a strong, stable B.C. But first we’ve got to kick out the folks that want to trash the place.”

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      Comments

      4 Comments

      Forest

      May 9, 2014 at 2:59pm

      Make that "Tens of Thousands". The People are Pissed.

      Lee L

      May 10, 2014 at 12:31am

      No pipeline? Where does CHina get its fuel?
      Nowhere!!! say the voices of Green.

      RUSSIA say the Chinese.

      ARCTIC SE#ABED say the Russians.

      O but you will feel so HOLY so.. nevermind.

      Innovate

      May 10, 2014 at 8:18am

      My agricultural engineering professor converted an electric tractor for his farm. It's proven itself to be a practical, cost effective workhorse and it doesn't smoke out his greenhouse. Meanwhile the rest of us are fighting over oil like a bunch of suckers.

      Last I heard it can take about 4500 watt-hours to refine a gallon of gasoline (http://youtu.be/BQpX-9OyEr4). My arithmetic says at 10 watt-hours per kilometer my electric bike could go 4500/10= 450km per gallon of gas without even burning the damn gas! Meanwhile the Chinese are utilizing millions of electric bikes and leaving us behind like a bunch of suckers.

      The US saw solar jobs jump 13% in 2012 (http://www.seia.org/news/us-solar-energy-jobs-increase-more-13-percent). The rest of the world is investing heavily in renewable energy and we're getting left behind like a bunch of suckers.

      So I pose the question: Do we want to contribute to a global ecopocalypse by stepping on the gas like a bunch of short sighted suckers; or do we want to support our domestic economy by developing the long term future of renewables and energy efficiency like responsible citizens?

      The choice is ours and we make it every time we bike to work.

      Lynn Wilbur

      May 11, 2014 at 9:02pm

      Despite all the denials, there is a very real problem of human caused global warming and climate change. It is encouraging to see people protest. This is a democratic right, priviledge, and responsibility when Governments reject their moral responsibilities to the Planet.