Our United Church Creed calls us to “live with respect in Creation.”  As a species, we humans haven’t done a very good job of doing that.  We can make personal commitments to change our energy use, our mode of transportation etc, but we also need to let our elected ledaers know we are very serious about this and want Canada to be at the forefront of positive environmental change.  So, please come out from whereever you are in the Shuswap and join in the march and rally.  Here are the details, thanks to Ann Morris, co-chair of the local Kairos folks – an international, ecumenical justice group.

Global Climate March – Saturday, September 20, at 1 pm,starting at Maguire Lake Park, ending at the Ross Street Plaza. Bring signs, banners, or come early (12:30 pm) and make your sign.

Government leaders from across the globe will be meeting in New York City onSeptember 23 for a one-day United Nations climate summit. The Climate March will take place in thousands of communities before this meeting to send out a massive, united call for climate justice and a strong climate treaty.
There are choices that need to be made if dangerous climate change is to be avoided in the 21st century. The evidence is clear: sticking to business as usual will lead to temperature rises of three to five degrees above pre-industrial levels. This will potentially lead to catastrophic effects on water resources and agricultural productivity, and accelerated sea level rise.

Avoiding this scenario means capping the temperature rise at a maximum two degrees above pre-industrial levels, a goal set by the UN and accepted by climate scientists as the target needed to avoid dangerous climate change. Hitting the two-degree target would require global emissions of greenhouse gases to fall by 40-70%. The International Energy Agency states that in order to do this, two thirds of the world’s available fossil fuels must stay in the ground.

While the Prime Minister touts the job-creating potential of investing in the tar sands, the reality is that six to eight times as many jobs would be created by investing in renewable energy and conservation programs. Moreover, redirecting government subsidies away from fossil fuels, collecting adequate royalties on their extraction, and taxing activities that emit GHGs would fight climate change and finance green alternatives at the same time. To those who say we can’t afford to battle climate change, we must reply that we cannot afford not to. Sustaining life on Earth depends on it.

The Salmon Arm Climate March is being organized by a group of concerned citizens.