no kxl

Robert Redford And I Occupy Vancouver

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Never let it be said that as a climate activist I’m not occasionally smitten by the desire to do a little Hollywood star-gazing. In the past, I’ve been known to scour the streets of Winnipeg for Brad Pitt when he was in filming in Old Market Square, or (going back even farther in my murky history) trying to catch a glimpse of Timothy Hutton (back when he was still a celebrity) when he was in Churchill for several weeks on location and I was working in the port town. I’ve never had any luck, and that hasn’t changed. I found out this morning that Robert Redford and Chris Cooper were seen filming near Occupy Vancouver. The Huffington Post reported:

Many passersby watching fire officials and city workers carry out safety adjustments at Occupy Vancouver on Tuesday got a in little stargazing, too, as Hollywood legend Robert Redford also made an appearance near the encampment.

I was at Occupy Vancouver while the fire officials and city workers walked through the site!  I even went around the corner and noticed the film crew at work, but having walked by a film crew the day before on Granville Street without seeing anyone interesting, I didn’t bother to go any further. It turns out some things in life are consistent, my luck in just missing celebrities being one of them!

Here’s another hero of mine, Bill McKibbon from 350.org, in a video put out by Tar Sands Action after the victory against the Keystone XL pipeline last week, a cause championed by Mr. Redford as well:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7e4Cfc-KRGA]

And here is Redford talking about why the Keystone XL pipeline is such a bad idea:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=E6AyQBChpO0]

*OMG – I just got on Twitter after I posted this and found out that BILL MCKIBBON was also at Occupy Vancouver last night – and so was I, for a few minutes but my husband has less time to Occupy while we’re visiting this city, so we left about 10 minutes after we got there.  I CAN”T BELIEVE IT!! That would have been so amazing, to hear him speak. But like I said, my luck is consistent if not good!*

#NOKXL! Score One For Our Children’s Future (For A Change)

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It’s official – break out the champagne!! The U.S. State Department just announced that it would delay making a decision on the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline until after it had undergone extensive further review, including a search for an alternate routing. Yes, this is the same decision that PM Harper called a “no-brainer”. Tar Sands Action just posted this reflection:

Take a moment today to walk outside and enjoy the beautiful, threatened earth that is a little safer a little longer thanks to you.

Savor it. Remember what it’s like to achieve unlikely wins. We’ll need this feeling when we embark on what’s next.

photo: Tar Sands Action

Read more at the New York Times, “U.S. Delays Decision on Pipeline Until After Election”

Tar Sands Action: Big News: We Won. You Won