Tarsands Expansion: An Opportunity and a Threat?

On February 5th at 12:15 pm, the Centre for Sustainable Development will be hosting, in collaboration with Equiterre, a presentation by British Columbian speaker Tzeporah Berman titled Tarsands Expansion: An Opportunity and a Threat? 

Pipelines, Politics and Protests: How the push for new pipelines and tarsands expansion is creating unprecedented community engagement and a diverse climate movement across the country

Despite government and industry advertising campaigns that claim pipelines are getting safer and the Tarsands are getting 'greener', government reports and new scientific studies show increasing cumulative environmental and health impacts from the Tarsands.  New reports also show clearly that the rise in climate pollution from the Tarsands is the single reason that Canada will not meet our greenhouse gas reduction targets.  In addition, as more bitumen is produced and shipped by pipeline and rail across the country, more communities are facing toxic leaks and dangerous oilspills and accidents.  At the same time, new pipelines and rail expansion proposals that are necessary if the Tarsands are to expand are galvanizing communities and engaging thousands of ordinary citizens across the country.  Simultaneously, the dramatic rise in extreme weather and its devastating impacts is waking up the world to the impacts of climate change.  Is the push for pipelines creating a diverse, strong climate movement at exactly the right moment in history? 

Tzeporah Berman

Tzeporah Berman has been designing and winning environmental campaigns in Canada and internationally for 20 years.  She currently works as a strategic advisor for dozens of environmental organizations, First Nations and philanthropic advisors on clean energy, oilsands and pipelines.  She is the former co-director of Greenpeace International's Global Climate and Energy Program,  Executive Director and Co-founder of PowerUp Canada and Co-founder and Campaign Director of ForestEthics.  Tzeporah was one of the experts in Leonardo Di Caprio's environmental documentary 11th Hour,was one of six Canadian nominees for the Schwab Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award, has been profiled as one of 50 Visionaries Changing the World in Utne Reader and as "Canada's Queen of Green" in the cover story for Readers Digest. This year Tzeporah was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of British Columbia. Her first book, This Crazy Time: Living Our Environmental Challenge was recently published by Knopf Canada.

Thank you!

The Centre for Sustainable Development would like to thank Equiterre, the newspaper Métro, Novae, as well as Alcoa, its main partner in programming. The greenhouse gas emissions generated by the 2014 program participants will be offset thanks to a partnership with Planetair.