In Copenhagen, Canadians want leadership from their
government.
Unfortunately, the Harper government has been one of the worst
laggard governments in the world on fighting climate change. It's
been an embarrassment.
The KYOTOplus is working to pressure Ottawa into showing
leadership.
Global warming is a man-made problem, caused by the uncontrolled
burning of fossil fuels. Urgent action is needed. Yet Canada's
federal government has failed to act.
Responsibility to act
World leaders, including Prime Minister Harper, have a
responsibility to our children to remove the threat of global
warming and catastrophic climate change.
Our children didn't cause the problem. They should not suffer
the consequences of our inaction. In Copenhagen, world leaders must
agree to measures that will protect our children from climate
chaos.
Global warming: the threat increases
Evidence of global warming mounts.
In Canada's Arctic, scientists have documented that in
2008, sea ice shrank by almost half for the second year in a row.
Ice has covered the Arctic Sea for at least a million years, but
the polar ice cap is now reportedly in a "death spiral."
The Arctic Sea will soon be ice-free in the summer.
Scientists suggest that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change underestimated the speed of climate change in the Arctic and
likely elsewhere.
Global warming: the effect on people
This is a crisis that affects us
all. Yet, the Harper government has suppressed a 2008
report on the health impacts of climate change. The 500-page
"Human Health in a Changing Climate" report states that
death and injury will increasingly result from:
- Extreme weather, including violent storms, floods,
drought, forest fires and heat waves
- Air pollution, including more ground-level ozone
and particulates (smog), wildfires, and pollen production, leading
to heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular disease.
- Water contamination increasing the risk of
infectious diseases such as encephalitis, spotted fever, Nile
Virus, Lyme disease and various types of pathogens including
Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, and
Giardia.
The jobs and communities of many
Canadians may disappear as our forests are destroyed.
Rising sea levels will eventually flood
coastal communities, making environmental refugees of millions.
Millions more will face shortages of food and drinking water.
World-wide famine may result.
Scientific agreement: stop global warming
Scientists agree to prevent catastrophic climate change we must
keep the average increase in global temperature from pre-industrial
levels as far as possible below 2 degrees centigrade
That means global greenhouse gas emissions must be
stabilized and begin to decline before 2015.
Canada, and all developed countries, must reduce
emissions at least 25 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020, and
80 per cent by 2050. Those are the targets of KYOTOplus.