I previously wrote about Patricia Warwick, one of the “Fabulous 45” – so named because although they came to Washington expecting to face a $100 “post and forfeit” for defying the rules of the park in front of the White House, they discovered that those arrested the previous day were to be held for 3 days.  The 45 risked arrest anyway.

The actions against the Keystone XL pipeline (which would enable a vast expansion in the capacity for oil production from the tar sands) at the White House continued for another 12 days after Patricia’s arrest, with over 1200 arrests in total, including east Toronto residents Sharon Howarth, the Green Party of Canada candidate in Toronto-Danforth in the 2008 federal election and David Wilson, an oil industry retiree.  Tar Sands Action, which organized this demonstration, vows to continue working to oppose the pipeline

The action against the Keystone XL Pipeline is now moving to Canada, where activists are planning a sit-in on September 26. You can find out more and join here.

Update: Read Patricia’s first-hand report.

Toronto-Danforth resident and climate activist Patricia Warwick was just arrested in Washington D.C. while opposing the Keystone XL pipeline, which is to allow for the expansion of tar sands operations in Canada.  President Obama is to reject or approve the plan later this year.

The “mug shot” photo was taken by the group Tar Sands Action.  And here she is at the protest, in the red behind the sign, in a big sun hat:

Patricia’s arrest was covered in the Globe and Mail and Ottawa Citizen [new link], where she was quoted as saying,     Read more »

Well I got a letter published in the National Post, and to my horror, in my haste I made a mistake.     Read more »

The Calgary Herald recently reported here on the need for more energy to fuel expansion of tar sands extraction.

The tar sands require a lot of energy in extraction.  Most of it comes from natural gas.  And natural gas supplies are diminishing while the demands of the tar sands increase with expansion.  Nuclear power company Areva  sees great promise in these developments:

Speaking in Calgary, Areva CEO Armand Laferrere said continued oilsands development would consume virtually all of Canada’s current natural gas supply — some 92 per cent — by 2030.

“You need to diversify,” he said on the sidelines of the Canadian Energy Research Institute’s natural gas conference.     Read more »

I got this message a few days ago from the Friends of the Lubicon.  It’s a very eye-opening glimpse into the political games of tar sands oil.     Read more »