Shell outrage in Oxford, and James Hansen coming to town!
Dear friends, Yesterday, Oxford University announced a new partnership with Shell. That’s Shell, the largest producer in the tar sands. Shell, which wants to DOUBLE its tar sands extraction capacity despite opposition from the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and many others. Shell, whose business model is based on the exponential production of fossil fuels, hurtling us towards the point of no return from climate disaster… So we joined with many others for a day of opposition that included: a letter in the Guardian signed by 75 alumni, staff and students; a protest byaround 40 people outside the launch event attended by Secretary of State Ed Davey; a motion opposing the partnership that was passed by Oxford Students’ Union; and a […]
Read More…Jam-packed week of tar-stopping action!
Dear friends from around the world, Last week was a busy – and immensely satisfying – week for tar sands-stoppers in the UK. Thursday saw us in not one, but two actions! We started early in the morning with our many collaborators, to welcome US Secretary of State John Kerry as he arrived to the G8 foreign ministers’ meeting. You might think – “good ol’ British hospitality!”, but actually, the 60 people who gathered on a drizzly London morning were there to tell him that we want him to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline! We then headed to BP’s Annual General Meeting, where two of our campaigners were denied entry. This didn’t stop the many other campaigners who […]
Read More…A visit to the Cabinet Office
Hi friends, On Monday we paid a visit to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg’s office to hand in a petition with nearly 4,000 signatures, urging the government to support the inclusion of tar sands in the EU Fuel Quality Directive. We’d teamed up with a number of people from different groups, including Eleanor who had travelled all the way from Pembrokeshire, where her community is campaigning against refining company Valero’s plans to import https://www.no-tar-sands.org/files/category/latestupdates/newsletters/page/tar sands oil to wales. you can watch the film here. the pembrokeshire media also covered the issue. you’re going to be hearing a lot more about the fuel quality directive in the next few months. if you thought we’d already been through this before, you’d be […]
Read More…Canada’s man in Britain gets a frosty reception
Greetings from UK Tar Sands Network HQ, We can expect to see some aggressive lobbying by the Canadian government in the coming months, as the EU moves closer to cutting tar sands out of our fuel mix. So as well as our normal creative dissent we have been spending a lot of time plotting and scheming with our allies to create a strong EU-wide campaign, which will once and for all ‘Keep Tar Sands out of Europe.’ We’re delighted to have Philippa come on board to help build the coalition. Welcome to the team! We are so inspired by the flurry of community resistance and incredible creative activism that has happened in the last few weeks we wanted to share […]
Read More…It’s a momentous day in the fight against the tar sands
Good afternoon! Today in Washington DC, tens of thousands of people are taking part in the biggest climate rally in US history. They are asking President Obama to move #ForwardOnClimate and, specifically, to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. The President’s imminent decision will have momentous consequences. KXL is ‘a fuse to the largest carbon bomb on the planet.’ So today we’re asking you to show solidarity with our friends in the US and Canada who are working so hard to stop the KXL and other pipelines being built, by sharing this image on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can also add your voice to the campaign to keep tar sands oil out of Europe for good, by signing […]
Read More…Support the revolution taking place in Canada
Dear friends, Happy New Year! What a thrilling start to 2013… As you may have seen, there is an Indigenous-led revolution rocking Canada right now! The movement, known as ‘Idle No More’, has seen mass protests, road and rail blockades and uprisings across Canada in recent weeks, and continues to grow. This movement is calling on all people to join in a revolution which honours and fulfils Indigenous sovereignty, to work towards justice and protect Mother Earth. Inspirational Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence remains on hunger strike after more than a month, determined to keep fasting until she is able to meet with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Governor General David Johnston. She began her strike to highlight the ways in […]
Read More…Building Solidarity and Blockading Summits
Dear Tar-Stoppers, The Beaver Lake Cree Nation will be heading into court next Monday December 10th in a historic lawsuit to challenge tar sands development on their traditional territory. The grassroots community in Beaver Lake have have made a call out for solidarity actions on the day. Find out more about the case and a simple online action you can take part in and share online. If you haven’t already heard – last week we made a return to Canada House in Trafalgar Square to blockade the Canada Europe Summit with an ‘oil-orgy’ intervention. Take a look at some of the great images and a short film from the day here! In other news: On Saturday, tar stoppers built a […]
Read More…WARNING! Tar sands coming to the UK
Dear friends, This week we’ve been in Pembrokeshire launching a new report from UKTSN, Corporate Watch and Pembrokeshire Friends of the Earth, that illustrates the frightening possibility of increasing amounts of tar sands-derived fuel coming into the UK. The US company Valero recently purchased Pembroke Refinery in Wales and the company admits some of the oil it brings to the UK could be from the tar sands. Locals in Pembrokeshire are rightly outraged and have vowed to oppose the import https://www.no-tar-sands.org/files/category/latestupdates/newsletters/page/of this dirty fuel. in the next few weeks we have not one but two exciting actions coming up and we would just love to have you there. sunday 18th november the reclaim shakespeare company season finale in the british […]
Read More…Tar sands activists strangled in the streets!
Dear friends, Direct action against the tar sands has been taking place on both sides of the Atlantic this week! On Monday, we attended a high-level climate change conference in London which was sponsored by Shell and featured Peter Kent, Canada’s Environment Minister, as a keynote speaker. We were there to point out that, far from being climate leaders, Shell and Canada are working together to strangle action on climate change. Campaigners greeted delegates with flyers explaining our concerns, whilst sinister black-clad figures representing Shell and Canada stalked the street, occasionally violently ‘strangling’ activists who were speaking up for climate justice, an end to tar sands extraction, and the removal of Big Oil from politics. Meanwhile inside, the stage was […]
Read More…Shakespeare would have seen through BP’s greenwash
Dear friends, The Reclaim Shakespeare Company surpassed itself last Saturday, jumping on stage at Stratford-upon-Avon in its SEVENTH anti-BP-sponsorship performance intervention since launching in April. Watch the film, if only for BP’s magnificent yellow stockings, cross-gartered. The Independent then reported the action, not just in an article, but also in an editorial which claimed that the bard himself may well have approved of such protests! The action followed hot on the heels of some audacious pop-up performances at the British Museum’s BP-sponsored Shakespeare Live night. Go actorvists!! Shakespearean antics aside, there’s a lot going on in the global struggle to stop the tar sands at the moment. Some of the highlights include: utterly inspirational direct action in Texas by people […]
Read More…