Fat Cat Canada’s Giant Litter Box

by Franke James

Prime Minister Stephen Harper
PMO’s Ottawa Office: (+1) (613) 992-4211
Toll-free: 1 (866) 599-4999
Calgary office: (+1) (403) 253-7990
Twitter: @PMharper
e-mail: pm@pm.gc.ca
fax: 613-941-6900

What Canadians Can Do

If you’re a Canadian reading this, here’s the action plan from CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK CANADA:

1. Take action to make sure your federal elected official:
   a) Signs the Kyoto Plus Pledge For Elected Officials
   b) Supports and implements the Climate Change Accountability Act

   The Climate Change Accountability Act is currently moving through Parliament. The bill asks Canada to commit to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 and define Canada’s approach to climate change moving into the climate treaty negotiations in Copenhagen.

   Contact Your Federal MP:
   You can find your Member of Parliament using your postal code

2. Educate your friends, colleagues and co-workers about the need to take action on climate change NOW!
3. Attend events in your area hosted by CAN member groups. Also check out The World Wants a Real Deal
   
4. Contact CAN members to find out more ways to get involved
5. Sign the petition at kyotoplus.ca

Visual Essay Credits:

“Fat Cat Canada’s Giant Litter Box” © 2009 Franke James

Photographs, illustrations and writing by Franke James, MFA, except as noted below in order of appearance:

Tailing Ponds illustration features: photo © 2005 The Pembina Institute, Dan Woynillowicz OilSandsWatch.org Pembina Institute

“Big as England” illustration features: Syncrude Oil Sands photo © 2006 David Dodge, Pembina Institute

Grand Vision illustration by Franke James features: Suncor upgrader complex adjacent to the Athabasca River © 2002 Chris Evans, Pembina Institute

“Sewer Sky” illustration features: Syncrude upgrader and complex with Hwy 63 and tailings ponds in the background. Photo © 2006 David Dodge, Pembina Institute

Scaling Parliament Buildings in Ottawa: December 7, 2009 ©Greenpeace Canada

“Fat Cat Litter Box” illustration features: Syncrude 2007 -12 Photo © 2007 David Dodge, CPAWS.

Background Research & Resources:

My thanks to the following people and organizations who helped with research reports and photographs for this essay: Andrew Nikiforuk, Gavin Dew at desmogblog, Greenpeace Canada and Pembina Institute.

Shared Values: Canadians & Sustainability national study by Hoggan & Associates, 2006-2009

Building on a comprehensive national study that began five years ago, this new 2009 survey examines the views of 4,368 Canadians as well as 1,000 of the country’s “thought leaders”senior-level individuals in business, academia, government, non-government organizations, and media. The study explores their beliefs and attitudes about sustainability, global warming and a wide range of social and environmental issues.

Reports

Dirty Oil: How the tar sands are fueling the global climate crisis by Andrew Nikiforuk for Greenpeace, September 2009

Health Canada Report: Harper Government Suppresses Climate Report Now Available Here

Does the Alberta Tar Sands Industry Pollute? The Scientific Evidence
Kevin P. Timoney, and Peter Lee
Cattle statistic: Page 10: “At the Mildred Lake Settling Basin (MLSB), 60-80% of the gas flux across the pond’s surface is due to methane; the pond produces the equivalent methane of 0.5 million cattle/day [11].”

Climate Leadership, Economic Prosperity: Final Report on an Economic Study of Greenhouse Gas Targets and Policies for Canada; The Pembina Institute, October 2009

Taking the Wheel PDF The Pembina Institute [www.oilsandswatch.org]

Survey of Albertans on Oil Sands PDF The Pembina Institute [http://www.oilsandswatch.org]

Carbon 2008 PDF Corporate Knights [www.corporateknights.ca]

11 Million Litres: the Tar Sands’ Leaking Legacy
CBC News – Millions of litres leak each day from oilsands tailings ponds: report by Environmental Defence

2012 Update: Oilsands tailings leaking into groundwater, Joe Oliver told in memo

In May 2013, Franke James published this essay, and seven others, in Banned on the Hill. Read more here and buy it below at Amazon.com.

Buy Banned on the Hill at Amazon.com

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