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Countdown to Copenhagen On Monday, September 21st, the world united to communicate one simple message to our leaders: WAKE UP!
In
2682 demonstrations in 135 countries, people came together to demand
urgent action as world leaders (aside from Prime Minister Harper - thestar.com) gathered at the United Nations Special Session on Climate Change in New York.
Check
out the stories and pictures below from around the country! Lets keep
this momentum going as we gear up for the next big day before
Copenhagen - October 24th!
*Watch the youtube video on what took place on September 21st, and check out
avaaz.org for more
information.
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The
Vancouver flash mob attracted national attention with a 2 minute piece
on The National news, the 6 O'clock CBC news and a Canadian Press wire
story. Check out the 2 minute clip on The National at: youtube.com; and for the abridged version of the Canadian Press story, go to: torontosun.com
In
the swing riding of North Vancouver things were also heating up. Check
out this 30 second video of a local group doing a KYOTOplus WakeUP call
at the constituency office of conservative MP Andrew Saxton. This is
exactly what we need more of, so please visit your MP office early and
often. See the video at youtube.com and read the story at bclocalnews.com.
  
  
  
Both
the UK Guardian and the Globe and Mail ranked the photo below of the
Vancouver demonstration as one of the best pictures of the week!
The
Ottawa demonstration on Parliament Hill organized by Sierra Youth
Coalition was also a huge success. It generated coverage in Metro
newspapers across the country under the heading: "Clock Ticking on
Climate Change", and was picked up by national radio and the national
news-show Newsworld!
 
In Toronto, the mid-day flash mob made the 6pm CTV and CityTV news. Check out the print CTV story at: toronto.ctv.ca
 
Here are
some pictures from 'Step It Up', Alberta's 10:00am action at Prime
Minister Harper's constituency office in Calgary, as well as an evening
event at 7:00pm overlooking the Calgary skyline.
  
  
  
The September 21st Toronto launch of the new climate change film the Age of Stupid was extremely successful! We'd like to thank all those who came out to support this amazing movie.
Our editorial board tour with Suresh Prabhu, former Indian Minister of the Environment, was a great success. Read this strong and concise editorial from theOttawa Citizen at ottawacitizen.com, as well as the Globe and Mail editorial at theglobeandmail.com!
We
believe that Canadian's only have half of the story; we understand the
need to reduce our emissions, however, the general public and
decision-makers have not yet fully understood that we also have a
responsibility to poorer countries. Mr. Prabhu gave us an opportunity
to start this important dialogue with some key opinion makers in the
country. Mr. Prabhu spoke with the editorial board of the Globe and
Mail and the Ottawa Citizen, and had interviews with CBC, 'The Agenda',
the Toronto Star and various key media outlets in the Indo-Canadian
community.
Our
leaders, the general public and the media must understand that without
meaningful support for developing countries, a deal in Copenhagen will
be much harder to reach!
This
editorial board was an important step forward for Canada as it focused
on the important issues of climate justice and equity. Thanks go to
Oxfam Canada and WWF Canada, among others, for their help making it
happen.
September 21st also marked the day of the United Nations General Assembly on Climate Change in New York, and many Canadians are asking: Where was Harper? Check out these Toronto Star articles on the United Nations General Assembly and Harper: Obama shines, Harper absent;Doughnuts over Diplomacy
Bill C-311: Act Now!
Help
ensure that Canada takes action to tackle the climate crisis. We're
asking everyone to contact the House Environment Committee. Ask Members
of Parliament to pass Bill C-311 (the Climate Change Accountability
Act) as soon as possible.
Passing Bill C-311 before
international climate talks in Copenhagen will send a clear message to
the world - we can stop dangerous climate change.
TAKE ACTION!
Send an online letter to all members of the Environment Committee. Canada must do its fair share to tackle the climate crisis.
Here are some more ways you can take action!
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October 24th International Day of Climate Change
Check out 350.org for details on the October 24th Day of Action!
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Power Shift Canada 2009 consists of training, strategy and action of youth to hold elected officials accountable for their part in solving the climate crisis, to register for Power Shift go to powershiftcanada.org. It is hosted by the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition and will take place October 23-26th; this will be the largest-ever gathering of young people on the
environment in the history of this country!
Fill the Hill
is happening in Ottawa, on Parliament Hill, October 24th. Become
part of a history-making mass mobilization to show our Parliament that,
"Yes they can" make wise and just decisions when it comes to climate
change! Click here for more information on Fill the Hill.
The Cambie Bridge in Vancouver will
be the location of one of the many actions on October 24th, read more on the Bridge to a Cool Planet event at 350.org.
Organizers of the October 24th day for climate action are
calling out to all Canadians for their help! They are creating a video collage of people holding up signs calling for meaningful action on climate
change, saying they will be at the event. Write "I will be at the day of action!", "Canada make us proud!",
or anything you can think of on your home made sign
and send in the picture of yourself. It is
important to emphasize the international nature of the event, so the more languages
the better! Send your pictures to Ben@climateactionbc.org.
Solomon Island
teenager and award winning public speaker, Christina Ora along with Rahul Bose,
Bollywood Star, former Indian Rugby Player and Oxfam Ambassador are coming to
Canada to let us know how important our voices are in the fight against climate
change.
Rahul and Christina are touring major swing
ridings around Toronto and Vancouver to speak to the public, key leaders and
the media about climate change impact on South Asia and island nations. Rahul
and Christina will also speak about Canadian Government's weak position on
climate change, and what we in Canada can do to take action and move Canada from
environmental laggard to environmental leader. To read more on the Climate Justice Tour, click here!
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Member Contributions
The UN Environment
Program released its Green New Deal Update September 24th, which tracks how much green
investment different nations are including in their stimulus spending.
Canada is close to the bottom: only 8% of our stimulus spending is classed as
green funding: that's half the average share, only $77 per person, and far less
than other countries such as the US, Australia, Germany, China and many other
countries.
Read the report at: unep.org
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Check out Pembina's Media Release on the G20 Summit Outcome at climate.pembina.org.
Oxfam is sending emergency relief teams to flooded areas of the Philippines, read the full report at oxfam.ca.
Dale Marshall of the David Suzuki Foundation has written a new blog post on the climate talks in Bangkok and PM Harper, take a look at: communities.canada.com!
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View archived editions of Climate Action News This Week
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LInks and images in this newsletter may not display and/or "click through". We have notified the company that provides newsletter services about this issue and are in the process of seeking a "fix" for this problem. This issue is limited to 2009 CAN Canada newsletters and does not affect other parts of the CAN Canada web site.
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| Get Involved |
Become a fan of our facebook page. Search Climate Action Network Canada from your homescreen and join!
Watch the KYOTOplus PSA.
Go to 350.org and join people around the world on the October 24th International Day of Climate Change.
Rahul Bose and Christina Ora will be touring parts of Canada in October - stay tuned and check out the Climate Justice Tour site!
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| About CAN Canada |
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Climate Action Network Canada (CAN Canada) - RŽseau action climat Canada (RAC Canada) is
a nation-wide coalition of 50 environmental, faith, development,
aboriginal, health, and youth organizations committed to making action
on climate change a reality.
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