International Stop the Tar Sands Day is Back!
FRANKLIN, TASMANIA (AUS) – The results from ISTSDay Vote 2012 are in and May 5th blew the other three possible dates completely out of the water. May 5th was the earliest date available to vote for so apparently people want International Stop the Tar Sands Day to happen this year ASAP. I will take this eagerness as a good sign.
Where do we go from here? Well, this is where I ask you one of my favourite question:
Who wants to help?
Many of you have been reading my blog since its creation two years ago when International Stop the Tar Sands Day was still called Tar Sands Demonstrations Europe Project and writing a post would take me an entire day (I have got a little bit better with that). You have followed our every move as the idea grew from trying to hold just five demonstrations in five European cities to fifty events taking place around the world a year later. Your support has been crucial these past two years. It gave me and others the confidence to keep doing what we are doing. It reminds us that we were not alone.
Now, I am asking for your help. I am not saying that your support has not helped us. If you read the paragraph above correctly you know that nothing could be further from the truth. I believe to stop something like the tar sands we are going to need A LOT of people both internationally and in Canada getting involved. We may even need similar numbers of people that took to the streets to end Apartheid in South Africa or brought down dictatorships in Eastern Europe in 1989. We will get there eventually I am certain of that. It is only a question of when we will get there. How quickly we will hit those types of numbers will depend on people like you and me - everyday regular people trying to do extraordinary things.
I am asking you to help us raise awareness about destructiveness of the tar sands and show people what they can do to stop the tar sands. The list of things you could do for International Stop the Tar Sands Day is endless. We need organizers, emailers, web designers, social media geeks, dancers, comedians, speakers, performers, artists, musicians, tech geniuses, builders, etc., etc. There are things you could do for ISTSDay that we are not even aware of! One thing I have learned these past two years is that everyone has something unique to contribute and each of us has his/her own unique role to play in making the world a better place.
If you do want to get involved in International Stop the Tar Sands Day just remember do what you can and do what you want! Creating, organizing and participating in something like ISTSDay can be both time consuming and a little addictive. We do not think it should take over your entire life though. Instead, it should just compliment all the other things you do in your life.
Personally, I cannot think of a better time to get involved with the tar sands movement in general. We are fresh off the good news of Keystone rejection in the US, and people in Canada are rallying in numbers not yet seen to stop the construction of the Northern Gateway Pipeline in BC. This is going to be an exciting year!
At the moment, our contact people are beginning to email groups, organizations, foundations and institutes in Canada, the US, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Australia and New Zealand and they could definitely use your help in spreading the word about ISTSDay and the tar sands. Below you will find the short list of regional contact people. Find the contact person for your country or region and let them know you want to help out. I guarantee it will be music to their ears/eyes!
Be Creative, Stay Positive, Have Fun – The Three Pillars of Raising Awareness
Derek
(photo courtesy of Renee Leahy. Thanks Mom!)
CONTACT LIST:
Ontario – Renee
Canada – Sonia
US – Stephanie
Europe & Africa – Derek
Latin America – Jorge
Australia & New Zealand – Cheree
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