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September 16, 2009

Greenpeace Protest Shuts Down Canadian Oil Sands Mine
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In Canada, activists with the environmental group Greenpeace have shut
down production at a large oil sands mine in northern Alberta. On
Tuesday, the activists locked themselves to a massive dump truck and
mining shovel, forcing owners to suspend operations. The oil giant Royal
Dutch Shell has majority ownership in the mine, while Chevron holds a
minor stake. Greenpeace says it took action to protest what it calls
“the climate crimes of tar sands development—rising energy intensity,
greenhouse gas emissions, and boreal forest destruction.” Tar sand oil
extraction is said to generate up to five times the greenhouse gas
pollution of conventional oil.



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