In a just published paper, Andrew Weaver and Neil Swart emphasize the damage that coal (and unconventional gas) contribute to climate change (in addition to other environmental damage such as destruction of Boreal forest, mountain-top removal.)

They estimated the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from the Alberta tar sands. Here are some selected quotes from the  Commentary (emphasis mine):

Do our children (or grandchildren as the case may be) get a good education about climate change.

Is it part of the official curriculum in your school district? It may not be.

I propose to add a section to this web site to cover the topic.

Come back in few days.

All I can see is smouldering ruins and children crying and a few adults wandering around in a daze.

I went up to a young girl, about ten years old I guess.  "What happened?"

Between sobs, she told me her story.

"Daddy was making fish and chips for dinner. The phone rang and he answered it. He forgot about the hot fat on the stove and it caught fire. He ran to the stove and tried to put out the fire but the cupboard beside the stove was burning. He called 911.

Christopher Hume is one of my favourite columnists. In this article he talks of his pity for Peter Kent : "Watching Kent squirm and prevaricate, one almost feels sorry for the man. Those darting eyes and verbal discomfort, the defensiveness, make it clear he knows his position is indefensible. He understands that what he’s doing will reinforce Canada’s reputation as global laggard, and reaffirm this country as the world’s most brazen environmental scofflaw."

Today was the first day in which Canada has not been awarded a fossil award at the climate change negotiations in Durban, South Africa. This “prize”, given to countries who are blocking progress at the United Nations climate summit, is awarded daily by a coalition of 700 leading international NGOs

For more details see http://climateactionnetwork.ca/category/durban-climate-talks/

According to a recent newsletter from Bill McKibben:

"A series of newspaper accounts and email leaks have made it clear that the pipeline is as filthy politically as it is environmentally. In particular: the State Department environmental review was rigged.

According to the 2011 October Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development

This arrest began with a train trip from Toronto to Ottawa accompanied by my friend Anthony (founder of For Our Grandchildren). We arrived in Ottawa in the early afternoon and took a taxi to the University of Ottawa where training for the sit-in had already started.

When this government cancelled the long-form census I was outraged. With a degree in physics and a minor in mathematics, I know that a voluntary survey can never be accurate -- as most statisticians, social justice organizations and businesses have protested.

Dear family and friends,

Now that I have used up my 15 minutes of fame - from being arrested in Washington - it is time to get some more. I am planning to visit our nation's capital in a couple of weeks to protest our government's promotion of the Tar Sands and the Keystone pipeline.