After weeks and weeks of awaiting, the decision by the Supreme court of Japan on whether to allow the disclosure of evidence was made and it was not in our favour. The following press release was released from Japan by our team working closely on the T2 case……our thoughts are with Junichi and Toru, and the team…….

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Part 1 of a 2-Part Post, written by Bruce Cox, Executive Director of Greenpeace Canada. Read Part 2

Why in the world would a group of global citizens from Alberta to Berlin to Rio, drop everything and leave their comfy homes (and lives) to come to the tar sands and volunteer to put themselves on the line? Why would I do it?

This past weekend I returned from Canada’s own Mordor, the tar sands: a cold, dark, otherworldly place full of fire and brimstone – indeed, we dubbed the bridge spanning the massive Suncor Millennium site the “bridge to climate hell”.

Alongside over 20 other activists I took part in a peaceful non-violent direct action at Suncor’s major mine site and upgrading facility in the tar sands. This was the second of three recent actions at tar sands facilities resulting in nearly 40 people arrested to date.

Charged with “mischief” I spent 32 hours in jail at the Fort McMurray police station. Released on condition that I “behave” myself and stay out of the Wood Buffalo jurisdiction (the centre of tar sands destruction and an area about the size of southern Europe!) I am scheduled to appear in court in early November. Suffice to say, jail was not pleasant but it’s not supposed be.

So why would volunteers give up their warm beds and risk the elements, arrest and a police record? Why would Greenpeace want them to? And why do these peaceful acts of civil disobedience elicit such heated commentary on the web and in Tim Hortons?

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Our Director of Greenpeace in Quebec, Éric Darier, spoke to CKUT yesterday about the biotechnology conference happening in Montreal right now.  He warned Canadians to beware of the flood of greenwash coming out of the event, where industry is expected to continue to push biomass-based technologies, which as we’ve mentioned before are a very, very bad idea.  Eric says: “The biotech industry is seeking massive public and private investment for their untested technologies, whose health and environmental impacts have not been fully examined. Rather than be duped by yet another green mirage, governments should invest in real solutions to climate change and get serious about reducing CO2 emissions and commit to solutions that we know work — like energy saving.”

Listen to the entire CKUT interview (starts about 8 minutes from the beginning) Eric Darier Interview on CKUT

Read Éric’s blog on Greenpeace Canada - French

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