Last week, a special report by the prestigious medical journal The Lancet included sobering news about how climate change is impacting our children’s health: “The life of every child born today will be profoundly affected by climate change. Without accelerated intervention, this new era will come to define the health of people at every stage of their lives.”
We look to our new MP Rob Morrison for help as increased heat waves, extreme storms, air pollution, wildfires, and insect carrying diseases disproportionately affect the young. The report also stressed how keeping global heating well below 2 degrees C will transform the health of that baby throughout his or her life.
The same week, an article supported by over 11,000 scientists from around the world warned that we are in a global climate emergency. Referring to 29 vital indicators as supporting evidence, they conclude that “major transformations in the ways our global society functions and interacts with natural ecosystems” are required to avoid “untold suffering.”
Many others are sounding the alarm about the climate crisis, including the World Bank, the insurance industry, the Canadian Medical Association, the International Monetary Fund, and faith leaders including the Pope.
Our children and our communities are at risk because of climate change — from tourism and forestry to our health and well being. On a positive note, new opportunities for innovation and job diversification arise when we implement climate solutions. For more on how climate change is affecting our area, check out this new tool from Columbia Basin Trust and Selkirk College: basinclimatesource.ca.
We at Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) look forward to working with our new Member of Parliament, Rob Morrison, on holding the Liberal government accountable to climate action — including meeting or exceeding science-based targets — so we can have a safer world for our children.
Judy O’Leary and Laura Sacks (CCL Nelson – West Kootenay)
Caroline Collier (CCL Creston)
Sue Cairns (CCL East Kootenay)
