What We Learned From Neil Young's Honour The Treaties Tour And Anti-Oilsands Fight
14 Things We Learned From Neil Young's Anti-Oilsands Tour
The Huffington Post Alberta
Neil Young's Honour the Treaties tour has come to an end but not before it sparked some soul searching, and a lot of praise and rage.
Those who depend on the oilsands for their living, or those who believe Alberta's future, as well as Canada's, are closely tied to the fortunes of the bitumen being extracted from the northern Alberta sand, opposed the singer's message at every turn.
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Meanwhile, those who believe pollution and scarred landscapes are the legacy of the industry that's been allowed to run amok with Alberta's social, political and environmental well-being, adamantly defended the aging Canadian rock icon.
Very little new information was offered up by the two sides in the debate but through the shallow and spontaneous soul searching that followed the many impassioned - or enraged - tweets, Facebook post or news update that followed the week-long tour, there were some nuggets of wisdom we have been able harvest from this episode.
1. The majority of Albertans seem to support Neil Young's sentiment
When Greenpeace co-founder and, and its former leader, came out in support of the oilsands, Patrick Moore's comments certainly created some ripples among watchers but the impact of his endorsement was negligible. Whether speaking in favour or against the oilsands, environmentalists just don't have the pull that A-list celebrities do.
13. Neil Young has twice gotten the full attention of the oil industry and twice he's refused to give them a piece of his mind
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When Neil Young visited the oilsands last year, he was given the opportunity to meet with representatives from the industry but turned them down.
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And again...
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Neil Young was then invited to sit down with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers when he was in Calgary last week but again refused.
14. Celebs attract other celebs
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The day after Neil Young wrapped up his Honour the Treaties tour in Calgary, 23 celebrities - actors, musicians, authors and environmentalists - signed a letter of support for Young's fight.Among those who signed are actress Neve Campbell and Gord Downie from The Tragically Hip.
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