Desmond Tutu calls oilsands 'filth,' urges cooperation on environment

Anglican archbishop Desmond Tutu hascalled Alberta's oilsands "filth" created by greed, and has urgedall sides to work together to protect the environment and aboriginalrights.

"The fact that this filth is being created now, when the linkbetween carbon emissions and global warming is so obvious, reflectsnegligence and greed," Tutu told more than 200 rapt attendees aconference on oilsands development and treaty rights in FortMcMurray.

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"The oilsands are emblematic of an era of high carbon andhigh-risk fuels that must end if we are committed to a saferclimate."

"Oilsands development not only devastates our shared climate, itis also stripping away the rights of First Nations and affectedcommunities to protect their children, land and water from beingpoisoned."

History of speaking out against oilsands development

Tutu has criticized the oilsands before.

The archbishop, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in thefight against apartheid, has taken strong stands on climate changeand against projects such as the Keystone XL pipeline. Tutu hassigned a petition against the project. In an opinioncolumn earlierthis year in the British newspaper the Guardian, the 82-year-oldcalled the Keystone proposal to move oilsands bitumen from Albertato the U.S. appalling.

He has also called for boycotts of events sponsored by the fossilfuel industry, for health warnings on oil company ads and fordivestment of oil industry investments held by universities andmunicipalities, similar to measures that werebrought against SouthAfrica's old apartheid regime.

Industry supporters have pointed out that the oilsands'contribution to the amount of heat-trapping carbon dioxide producedglobally in minuscule.

'The most important struggles in North America today.'

But Tutu argued that humanity must act together to end a threatthat is already affecting people around the globe.

"This is why I have stood in solidarity with communities acrossCanada and the United States that are opposing the proposed oilsands pipeline," he said. "The struggle of citizens against thepipelines puts them on the front lines of themost important struggles in North America today."

Despite his uncompromising rhetoric, Tutu urged people from allsides to work together. He pointed to the experience of his owncountry overcoming generations of racial intolerance asan exampleof how widely differing positions can bebrought together throughmutual good will.

"Magnanimity is not a river that flows in one direction only. Itis a bridge built of reasonableness and the acceptance of othersthat enables human beings to navigate barriers thatkeep us apart."

In a room tangy with the slight smell of sweetgrass, Tutu saidhumanity must learn to think of itself as one family.

"You can't be human all by yourself. You need other human beingsto be human."

Tutu's remarks, leavened by his trademark infectious laugh, endedwith the crowd on its feet while he chanted, "we areconnected."

Tutu has been brought to the oilsands capital by the AthabascaChipewyan First Nation and a Toronto law firm specializing in aboriginal law.