Forums on New Dangers of Extreme Energy: from Canada to Contra Costa
Tar sands strip mining in Alberta; oil train explosion in Lac-Mégantic; drought in California; train derailment over the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia.
The Sunflower Alliance is pleased to host a series of forums in northern Contra Costa County on the dangers of the fossil fuel industry’s turn to extreme energy in recent years. CoCoCo and Benicia are home to five refineries, specializing in the dirtiest and heaviest crude oils, and the industry has proposed five major projects to expand refineries and bring in crude oil by train.
In Pittsburg, Martinez, and Richmond, we will have panel discussions with experts and community activists, featuring a special guest from Lac-Mégantic, Canada, which suffered a devastating oil train explosion last July that killed 47 people. They’ll educate us on Big Oil’s plans and the local, regional, and global effects. Learn about the consequences for your community, and learn how communities are organizing to fight back and protect our health and safety! The forums will be held on the following dates:
Pittsburg: Monday, February 24th, 2014, from 7pm to 9pm at First Baptist at 204 Odessa Ave. Facebook event here.
Martinez: Wednesday, February 26th, 2014, from 6:30pm to 8:30pm at the Veterans Memorial Building at 930 Ward St. Facebook event here.
Richmond: Saturday, March 1st, 2014, from 12pm to 2pm at the Bobby Bowens Progressive Center at 1021 MacDonald Ave. Facebook event here.
See video recorded at the Richmond forum here.
Speakers
Each forum will have a slightly different set of panelists, tailored for the concerns of that area. However, every panel will feature:
Marilaine Savard is a spokesperson for a citizens’ group in the region of Lac-Mégantic, Québec. Originally living in a neighboring village, she moved to Lac-Mégantic in October to be more involved with the community, and co-founded a local committee to address local contamination and energy issues.
Antonia Juhasz is a leading oil and energy expert. She’s a policy analyst, journalist, and author of The Tyranny of Oil: The World’s Most Powerful Industry and What We Must do to Stop It and Black Tide: the Devastating Impact of the Gulf Oil Spill. She is an award-winning writer whose work has appeared in many publications. She founded the Energy Program at Global Exchange and directed it for two years. Look at the descriptions in the Facebook events for each location (see above) to find out about the other members of each panel – local activists and experts. We look forward to seeing you at one of the panel discussions!
Proposed Projects
Proposed oil infrastructure projects (source: CBE).
Partners
These forums are sponsored by the Sunflower Alliance and 350 Bay Area, in partnership with the Sierra Club, the Pittsburg Defense Council, the Pittsburg Ethics Council, Communities for a Better Environment, ForestEthics, the Good Neighbor Steering Committee, Benicians for a Safe and Healthy Community, and the Crockett-Rodeo-Hercules Working Group. Many thanks to the First Baptist Church of Pittsburg, the Richmond Progressive Alliance, and VFW Post 1351 for the use of their spaces!