It’s one thing to describe the wetlands, rivers, lakes, forests or whales Energy East threatens. It’s quite another altogether to show you a photo of each of these, where you can see the pristine blue waters or the green shorelines or the belugas’ habitat that Energy East threatens.

And, it’s one thing to show you a map of Energy East’s 4,600 km proposed route. But it’s quite another for you to see portraits of people who live along the pipeline’s route and hear their concerns about the mega-pipeline.

At Environmental Defence, we know a picture is worth a thousand words. That’s why we’re presenting, Exposing Energy East: A photo exhibit of people and places at risk by TransCanada’s Energy East pipeline plan.

The photo exhibit will run Oct 31 to November 5 at Toronto’s The Richmond. The exhibit will feature images by two distinguished photographers, Garth Lenz and Robert van Waarden. Both have published work in esteemed outlets like National Geographic and been exhibited internationally, from London to New York.

And their images pack a punch. Imagine a wetland photographed from a helicopter or beluga whales playing in the St. Lawrence. Garth’s images turn the lens on exquisite landscapes Energy East puts at risk while Robert’s photos introduce us to people who live along the pipeline’s route.

The photographs are spectacular. In fact, BlogTO recently named the exhibit as a top 10 art show for fall 2014.

And, the photos underscore the devastating risks of TransCanada’s Energy East pipeline plan – the largest proposed pipeline in the world. Energy East would be even bigger than Keystone XL. If approved, it would carry up to 1.1. million barrels a day of tar sands oil through Canada. Nearly all of the oil would be exported unrefined.

Energy East would put hundreds of communities as well as rivers and lakes at risk of a tar sands oil spill. And it would tip us closer to dangerous climate change. It would carry tar sands oil – one of the highest carbon fuels on the planet. Energy East would enable global warming emissions equivalent to putting seven million cars on the road.

If you live in Toronto, we hope you can drop by Exposing Energy East. See for yourself the landscapes Energy East threatens and portraits of people who live along the pipeline’s proposed route. For more on the exhibit visit, exposingenergyeast.ca

And don’t forget to make your voice heard about Energy East. Live in Ontario? Sign this letter urging the Ontario Energy Board to say no to the Energy East pipeline. Live outside Ontario? Take action here.