Greenpeace alters Total billboards in Edmonton to be more honest
The billboards in Canada-as well as the banners were hung in France-targeted Total's controversial tar sands investments. The originalTotal billboards feature trees reflected as an upgrader below them,bearing the words, "Commitment to the Environment." Greenpeace hasadded words to two billboards in Edmonton, one in each nationallanguage, and replaced the image of the upgrader with an oilyreflection of the trees.
The billboards now read, "Commitment toDestroy the Environment" in English, and in French, "On s'engage pourla Destruction de L'environment." Where Total's logo and name are, theword "Destruction" has been added.
Photos of the billboards in Edmonton and the action in France at gallery.greenpeace.ca
TotalS.A., Europe's third-largest oil company, proposes to invest nearly $10billion in tar sands projects over the next decade. Greenhouse gasemissions from Total's proposed mining project could be nearly twomillion tonnes a year, or 45 kg per barrel. That's nearly three timesthe average for North Sea production.
"Trying to convince theworld that upgraders are clean or that tar sands can be produced in agreen way is totally misleading and dishonest," said Greenpeace climateand energy campaigner Mike Hudema. "These new billboards reflect a muchmore accurate picture of the climate crimes that Total will generate inthe tar sands."
The Canadian code of advertising standardsdictates that all advertising must be truthful, fair and accurate.Total's billboards that state they are, "respecting the environmentthrough technological progress" are certainly none of those.
Thetext on the ads, which are running in Canada, China, the Middle Eastand Europe, goes on to explain how Total is developing the tar sands inan "environmentally responsible" way.
Yet just two years ago,Total's pilot InSitu project, Joslyn, went dramatically wrong when itsprouted a major leak that created a 300-metre crater in the BorealForest. Total had to shut down their entire $30-million project andabandon SAGD as a method of extraction and return to open-pit mining.
Yesterdayin France, 30 activists, including Eryn Wheatley, an activist fromGreenpeace Canada, hung two larger banners that read, "Total invests insustainable destruction" and "climate crime." While the activities wereongoing, activists in Edmonton completed the rebranding of thebillboards to bridge the campaign between the countries. The activistswere in place in France for 14 hours and came down at midnightyesterday without any arrests.