Activists from Rainforest Action Network and Forest Ethics gathered on June 19 to protest the Canadian-American Business Council’s forum on energy and environment in Washington DC. About thirty protesters held signs outside, while two dressed up as industry representatives and snuck into the meeting. During the keynote address, the protesters unfurled banners blasting the Canadian governments’ ongoing support for the Alberta Tar Sands project.

The tar sands have attracted widespread opposition for their contribution to global warming, contamination of the environment, and effects on local communities. The downstream First Nation community of Fort Chipewyan, for example, has suffered from sharply elevated rates of rare cancers since the Syncrude project began. The need for natural gas to process the sands into petroleum has also led to a boom in pipeline building.

greenpeace tar sands action 7-24-08