Line in the Tar Sands: Struggles for Environmental Justice Paperback – October 15, 2014

This book threads together so many useful perspectives - primarily from Indigenous leaders, about both the climate crisis, and the movements that have successfully fought to defend the planet. The strongest chapter was from one of the editors, Joshua Kahn Russell, in his reflections on the initial years of the campaign against the Keystone XL Pipeline, as well as his intro, and interview with Harsha Walia. If you want perspectives from the frontline to defend people and the planet, with a comprehensive analysis of colonialism and capitalism, check out this anthology.

ZERO stars for this piece of propaganda. If you want to know what radical environmentalists feel about oil, then read this book. Otherwise, steer clear of this Maoist inspired drivel that isn't even written very well.

It is a typical Canadian Environmental Book as they either document a problem or whine about a problem. In this case they document and in the references, dates and page numbers are missing. ie Kyoto Accord no date and no page number. One is expected to be fully conversant. Canadian Publishers are afraid to support a book that illustrates where a person or a group of persons have bit the hand that feeds ( the government or its close friends- oil companies) . One might obtain No Right of Way by Peter Lewington, Iowa State Press,1991- he took the oil companies to task for making a mess of his farm fields with their pipelines. He was successful at the Supreme Court of Ontario, thus changing the way that oil pipeline companies do business.A Line in the Tars is just that - a line with limited action. It joins a long list of quasi Canadian Environmental Books- Poisons in Public, Chemical Nightmare, Frederick Street, Getting the Shaft, In Blind Faith. Readers might google " Berendsen V Ontario. Heighington v Ontario, Faessler v Smerchanski or Rokeby v Ontario. These are the unsung heroes of the Environmental Movement as they bit the hand that feeds.