Hollywood activists shift attack to Northern Gateway pipeline
Hollywood activists shift attack to Northern Gateway pipeline Image Movie star Kevin Bacon has joined forces with Robert Redford and Leonardo Dicaprio to try and scuttle Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline.
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* Seinfeld's Elaine disses Keystone
* Dalai Lama joins Keystone pipeline opponents
* Pipe proposal inches forward
* First Nations reject Enbridge pipeline stake
The hypocrites are back.
Pampered Hollywood millionaires, rich from a lifetime of playing pretend, trying to do something real and relevant by jumping on the anti-oil bandwagon.
It’s trendy, it’s good publicity, and for the Hollywood elite who take part, Alberta’s oil is an easy target, because few will ever call you out for the total con-job you’re selling.
Whether it’s Leo DiCaprio gallivanting on a private jet or Robert Redford making a fat paycheque as a spokesman for fuel-burning United Airlines, such celebrities are two-faced charlatans.
They wallow in the very thing they oppose, preaching even as they sin — and unfortunately for Alberta, they’re also very effective, because in the modern world, fame is almost holy.
Hence, even as Redford welcomes 50,000 fuel-wasting guests to his annual Sundance film festival, and DiCaprio burns thousands of unnecessary litres using his private jet, they continue to complain about oil.
And people are listening — the recent delay of the Keystone XL oil pipeline being a prime example of celebrities using star power to generate negative headlines and influence politicians.
Now there’s a new target: Canada’s $5.5-billion Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline, needed to carry Alberta bitumen to B.C.’s west coast.
Regulatory hearings for the vital pipeline commence next Tuesday in Kitimaat Village, B.C. — and predictably, the celebrities are back, carrying another message of oilsands hate.
It worked once, and those holding the strings of the celebrities hope it will work again.
Having already lost the Keystone battle to setbacks, you’d expect Alberta would take the movie-star meddling seriously this time. But apparently not.
“We hope the evidence as presented speaks for itself and the decision is based on science, not emotion,” said Tim Markle, spokesman for Alberta’s Energy Department.
And with that, the defence rests.
Energy Minister Ted Morton was unavailable to discuss the potential propaganda crisis, despite $72 billion at risk if the Gateway project is rejected.
In any case, Markle says Alberta doesn’t target celebrities, even though the stars can influence vast numbers of citizens, who trust fame over science and economic reality.
“No, we don’t,” said Markle.
“Everyone is entitled to their opinion — we just wish everyone would get a balanced opinion.”
On the eve of debate, actor Kevin Bacon has added his name to the list of celebrities slamming Alberta, through a hysterical video suggesting the pipeline will wipe out B.C. white spirit bears.
Thus cuddly teddies join forces with famous actors. The anti-oil side has hit its stride.
Bacon — another private jet aficionado — joins Redford and DiCaprio as spokesman for U.S. environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council, which helped hobble the Keystone project.
When they’re not playing with fuel-burning toys or tending private vineyards — an eco-nightmare in itself — Redford and DiCaprio are “directors” of Natural Resources Defense Council.
The group’s international program director, Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, says the NRDC has turned to a Canada-only project because the Keystone delay means there is added pressure to allow the Gateway line.
“One reason we are so concerned about tarsands in the U.S., is we are the main market, and it’s our consumption that’s driving production,” said Casey-Lefkowitz.
“Our focus on tarsands and tarsands infrastructure is part of a global project focused on fossil fuels.”
So far, the campaign is working.
And no doubt the stars feel smug to have used their celebrity status to stymie Keystone, which was to have a carried Alberta bitumen to refineries in the U.S.
And so they’re at in again: Redford, DiCaprio and Bacon merely repeat what the propaganda writers script for them, using their acting skills to sound convincing.
Of course, they’re likely clueless, reading the words like parrots — but it’s possible they even believe the overblown, heart-wrenching tripe they put forth.
Decades of playing make-believe can skew reality — but really, it doesn’t matter if the stars acknowledge their own hypocrisy or not.
What does matter is the damage such famous faces can cause, when it comes to spreading a message which might cost Alberta dearly in terms of jobs and economic health.
* Change text size for the story
* Print this story
* Seinfeld's Elaine disses Keystone
* Dalai Lama joins Keystone pipeline opponents
* Pipe proposal inches forward
* First Nations reject Enbridge pipeline stake
The hypocrites are back.
Pampered Hollywood millionaires, rich from a lifetime of playing pretend, trying to do something real and relevant by jumping on the anti-oil bandwagon.
It’s trendy, it’s good publicity, and for the Hollywood elite who take part, Alberta’s oil is an easy target, because few will ever call you out for the total con-job you’re selling.
Whether it’s Leo DiCaprio gallivanting on a private jet or Robert Redford making a fat paycheque as a spokesman for fuel-burning United Airlines, such celebrities are two-faced charlatans.
They wallow in the very thing they oppose, preaching even as they sin — and unfortunately for Alberta, they’re also very effective, because in the modern world, fame is almost holy.
Hence, even as Redford welcomes 50,000 fuel-wasting guests to his annual Sundance film festival, and DiCaprio burns thousands of unnecessary litres using his private jet, they continue to complain about oil.
And people are listening — the recent delay of the Keystone XL oil pipeline being a prime example of celebrities using star power to generate negative headlines and influence politicians.
Now there’s a new target: Canada’s $5.5-billion Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline, needed to carry Alberta bitumen to B.C.’s west coast.
Regulatory hearings for the vital pipeline commence next Tuesday in Kitimaat Village, B.C. — and predictably, the celebrities are back, carrying another message of oilsands hate.
It worked once, and those holding the strings of the celebrities hope it will work again.
Having already lost the Keystone battle to setbacks, you’d expect Alberta would take the movie-star meddling seriously this time. But apparently not.
“We hope the evidence as presented speaks for itself and the decision is based on science, not emotion,” said Tim Markle, spokesman for Alberta’s Energy Department.
And with that, the defence rests.
Energy Minister Ted Morton was unavailable to discuss the potential propaganda crisis, despite $72 billion at risk if the Gateway project is rejected.
In any case, Markle says Alberta doesn’t target celebrities, even though the stars can influence vast numbers of citizens, who trust fame over science and economic reality.
“No, we don’t,” said Markle.
“Everyone is entitled to their opinion — we just wish everyone would get a balanced opinion.”
On the eve of debate, actor Kevin Bacon has added his name to the list of celebrities slamming Alberta, through a hysterical video suggesting the pipeline will wipe out B.C. white spirit bears.
Thus cuddly teddies join forces with famous actors. The anti-oil side has hit its stride.
Bacon — another private jet aficionado — joins Redford and DiCaprio as spokesman for U.S. environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council, which helped hobble the Keystone project.
When they’re not playing with fuel-burning toys or tending private vineyards — an eco-nightmare in itself — Redford and DiCaprio are “directors” of Natural Resources Defense Council.
The group’s international program director, Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, says the NRDC has turned to a Canada-only project because the Keystone delay means there is added pressure to allow the Gateway line.
“One reason we are so concerned about tarsands in the U.S., is we are the main market, and it’s our consumption that’s driving production,” said Casey-Lefkowitz.
“Our focus on tarsands and tarsands infrastructure is part of a global project focused on fossil fuels.”
So far, the campaign is working.
And no doubt the stars feel smug to have used their celebrity status to stymie Keystone, which was to have a carried Alberta bitumen to refineries in the U.S.
And so they’re at in again: Redford, DiCaprio and Bacon merely repeat what the propaganda writers script for them, using their acting skills to sound convincing.
Of course, they’re likely clueless, reading the words like parrots — but it’s possible they even believe the overblown, heart-wrenching tripe they put forth.
Decades of playing make-believe can skew reality — but really, it doesn’t matter if the stars acknowledge their own hypocrisy or not.
What does matter is the damage such famous faces can cause, when it comes to spreading a message which might cost Alberta dearly in terms of jobs and economic health.
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