listen to Talking Tar Sands with Andrew Nikiforuk, and follow along in the show notes of boilingfrogs’ latest podcast in the Green Town Times series on the rabble podcast network

(or, download it here)

Craik hosts author and activist on tour

Andrew Nikiforuk, author of the recently released book “Tar Sands: Dirty Oil and the Future of a Continent”, and former Saskatchewan Green Party leader, Sandra Finley, stopped in Craik on March 19, 2009.

They were travelling between stops on the “Great Tar Sands Debate Tour” with previous engagements in Prince Albert, North Battleford and Saskatoon. After Craik, they visit Regina, Moose Jaw and Swift Current, before Nikiforuk returns to his hometown of Calgary.

Some locals came out to the Eco-Centre to meet them over coffee. We learned about some of the disastrous economic and ecological effects that western Canadian tar sands production has caused. For example, our Canadian government over the years (Liberal or Conservative) has not saved one penny of this oil wealth for when the resource runs out, or for investment into green energy alternatives.

Instead, our provincial and federal governments would rather have us committed to bankrolling nuclear reactors with the sole purpose of further developing the tar sands – both here in Saskatchewan, and in Alberta.

Our own MLA, Lyle Stewart, told me personally that tar sands development in Saskatchewan would be green because nuclear power plants would be built to supply the energy needed to extract the oil from the deeply buried bitumen deposits. Nuclear power is not green in any sense of the word. Besides, they cost billions to build, maintain, and eventually decommission. And, if we do it, we’d be the only jurisdiction in the world stupid enough to use nuclear power to produce fossil fuels.

Another local connection we in Craik have with continued oil and gas development, tar sands included, are the pipelines which run through our RM 222. Apparently, the RM collects some dividends from the pipelines. Maybe this local level of government will have the wisdom to invest our share of the carbon wealth on green technologies. I think it’s a no-brainer, but what do you think?

If you’re curious to read Nikiforuk’s new book, it will soon be available at the Craik library as part of its extensive selection of resources donated through the Craik Sustainable Living Project. Check it out sometime. There’s not only a bevy of materials explaining the critical ecological mess we’re all in, but many books and videos that can show us all how to turn it around.

History in the Making: Craik and the Eco-Centre with Glenn Hymers of the CSLP 

Take an audio tour with Glenn Hymers, retired school teacher and member of the Craik Sustainable Living Project (CSLP). Glenn connects our historical past to the future of environmental sustainability in Craik, SK. The majority of this tour focusses on the Craik Eco-Centre which features innovative and energy efficient building design and integrated heating, cooling and renewable energy systems.

History in the Making is the latest Green Town Times podcast by boilingfrog.ca at the rabble podcast network

download the mp3 directly

(this article first appeared at ACTivist Magazine, and may also appear in both the print and online versions of Victoria Street Newz. Our thanks and gratitude to their publishers, Chris Davenport and Janine Bandcroft respectively.)

We remember being inspired by the Work Less Party, which seemed to originate on the west coast a number of years ago. A guiding principle that spoke to us was that working less is necessary to protect the environment. After all, most work is directly related to the degradation of the environment. Besides that, working more to accumulate more stuff doesn’t necessarily lead to happiness. Since were already living our lives with these guiding principles, why not take it further.

For the last 12 years or so we already had fairly simple lives in small city apartments. Neither of us worked at jobs that directly hurt the environment. We both tended to choose to work for the solutions or take jobs that are about making a positive difference. So to further lower our impact on the planet we decided to move to a small town and become more self sufficient meaning supply our own power, grow food, and that kind of stuff.

We wanted to do all the things that environmental/social activists try to encourage others to do. (more…)