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Media Release/Communiqué
For Immediate Release: February 13, 2008
Media Contact: Chris Hilliar (250)338-6165
Planetary Emergency –
Talk on Climate Change - Feb.16
COURTENAY-“If the planet’s health were being cared
for in the emergency ward of a hospital, at this point the
priest would be on standby. In short, global warming is not
being treated as an emergency, though it is the greatest threat
in human history.” This is a quote from the just-released
report from Australia – “Climate Code Red –
the case for a sustainability emergency”. They note that
the language around climate change is just now, starting to
change – shifting from talk of “crisis” to
talk of “emergency” as we start to see whole eco-systems
collapse.
But the writers are not without hope. They look to the historical
experience of World War II when the US economy was transformed
over a few years to address a common threat. In the five years
before the end of the war in 1945 unemployment in the US fell
from 14.6% to 1.9%, and the gross national product grew by
55%. It seems that a similar transformational effort is now
being demanded of our generation, only this time the stakes
are even higher – the entire life-support system of our
spaceship Earth is threatened.
James Hansen from NASA, one of the world’s foremost
climate scientists, is also not without hope – provided
we act quickly. He believes that cooling could be induced
by dramatically cutting the release of global warming agents.
This issue demands our attention if we want to leave our children
a liveable world.
Will the citizens of Canada have the wisdom and fortitude
to demand that our government recognize climate change as
an emergency and start to act? Come out to the Florence Filberg
Centre in Courtenay on Saturday February 16, at 7 pm to hear
Brian Gordon speak about solutions to climate change. Brian
was one of a handful of Canadians selected to attend training
in Nashville, Tennessee with Al Gore. In addition there will
be tables and brief presentations from organizations working
on local solutions including - Canadian Earth Institute, SPUD,
Building Green in a Changing Climate, and the hosts of the
event - BC Sustainable Energy Association. Call 338-6165 for
more information.
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For more information, contact:
Chris Hilliar, Chair, BCSEA Comox Valley Chapter
(250) 338-6165
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