Quantcast
Powered by RebelMouse

TD Bank Divestment from Keystone XL a Hoax by Tar Sands Blockade

Lauren Berlekamp
Jun. 28, 2013 02:46PM EST Energy

Tar Sands Blockade

This morning, a fake press release was sent from an email address at yourtdbank.com, to a parody website designed to look like TD Bank's press page announcing the bank's divestment from Keystone XL and tar sands. The fake release cited President Obama's recent climate speech and a host of economic problems for the tar sands industry as reasons for TD Bank’s decision to sell its $1.6 billion stake in Keystone XL and live up to their motto to be “As Green As Our Logo.”

The media stunt was claimed by the Texas-based nonviolent direct action organization, Tar Sands Blockade, who over the last year has successfully caused major delays to the construction of the southern segment of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. The fake story was published by media sources such as International Business Times, before later realizing it was a hoax.

Today’s hoax was part of a sustained campaign to encourage financial institutions bankrolling Alberta’s tar sands industry to divest from toxic projects like Keystone XL and highlight TD Bank's blatant hypocrisy on environmental issues.

Yesterday, TD Bank touted their eco-consciousness by announcing a partnership with the Nature Conservancy to preserve 107 acres of Florida forests. The tar sands mega-project, which analysts say will only be economically viable if Keystone XL and other pipelines are built, would destroy or degrade 34 million acres of the world's largest, most pristine forest and the largest terrestrial carbon sink.

“Today's media stunt was intended to hold TD Bank accountable for bankrolling the most ecologically devastating project on planet Earth. If TD Bank wants to be 'as green as its logo,' then it must immediately divest from tar sands exploitation and Keystone XL, which will have devastating climate impacts,” said Ron Seifert, a Tar Sands Blockade spokesperson.

“TD Bank’s green-washing of its preservation of 107 acres in Florida while simultaneously investing in the destruction of a forest the size of the entire state of Florida is downright absurd and must be brought to light.”

Visit EcoWatch’s KEYSTONE XL and TAR SANDS pages for more related news on this topic.

tar sands blockade pipelines td bank ron seifert energy keystone xl florida nature conservancy united states tar sands texas

EcoWatch Daily Newsletter

air pollution

Wildfires in Western Canada Created Air Pollution Spikes as Far Away as New York City

Climate
The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite on the Suomi NPP satellite acquired this image of forest fire smoke hovering over North America on Aug. 15, 2018. NASA Earth Observatory

New York City isn't known for having the cleanest air, but researchers traced recent air pollution spikes there to two surprising sources — fires hundreds of miles away in Canada and the southeastern U.S.

Read More
air pollution wildfires public health childrens health cancer
big banks

Climate Crisis May Cause the Next Financial Crisis

Climate
If temperatures continue to rise, the world is at risk from global sea-level rise, which will flood many coastal cities as seen above in Bangladesh. NurPhoto / Contributor / Getty Images

The mounting climate emergency may spur the next global financial crisis and the world's central banks are woefully ill equipped to handle the consequences, according to a new book-length report by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), as S&P Global reported. Located in Basel, Switzerland, the BIS is an umbrella organization for the world's central banks.

Read More
climate crisis financial crisis climate emergency sea-level rise flooding droughts extreme weather big banks
Sponsored
conservation

These Prehistoric Fish Are Making a Slow Comeback in the Midwest

Animals
Two ice fishers with a truck cut a hole in the ice near an ice fishing hut on frozen Lake Winnebago.
Richard Hamilton Smith / Corbis NX / Getty Images

By Susan Cosier

Come February in Wisconsin, almost everything will be covered in ice and snow. In little shanties on frozen Lake Winnebago, a 30-by-13-mile lake in the eastern part of the state, fishers will keep watch over rectangular holes cut into the ice with a chainsaw. When they spot a fin passing below, they'll jab their spears down deep. The lucky ones will earn themselves a lake sturgeon, a species that has prowled the earth's waters for more than 150 million years.

Read More
lake sturgeon fish overfishing fishing pollution conservation
pollution

How California's Cap-And-Trade Program Offers Hope For Disadvantaged Communities

Popular
Fresno, California, seen above, is receiving $66 million for walking trails, sidewalks, bike lanes, and more. DenisTangneyJr / iStock / Getty Images

Grecia Elenes grew up in Fresno, California. She says some parts of the city have been neglected for decades. When she moved back after college she realized nothing has changed.

Read More
emissions pollution positive news transportation cap and trade
australia fires

3 U.S. Firefighters Die in Plane Crash While Battling Australia Fires

Climate
People are seen embracing at Numeralla Rural Fire Brigade near the scene of a water tanker plane crash on Jan. 23 in Cooma, Australia. Three American firefighters have have died after their C-130 water tanker plane crashed while battling a bushfire near Cooma in southern NSW this afternoon. Jenny Evans / Getty Images

Three U.S. firefighters gave their lives battling Australia's historic wildfires Thursday when their airborne water tanker crashed.

Read More
climate crisis australia wildfires extreme weather climate change australia fires air force