Urge Senators to make the Climate Change Accountability Act a reality

Carbon Audit Update
GreenSaver conducted the second audit last week. All went well. Haresh Patel, our auditor, predicts we’ll receive at least $8,000 in government grant money for all the work we did. Haresh noted a few minor leeks in unusual places. I have a wee bit more caulking to do. In the meantime, Jane and I are waiting on Haresh’s report to find out how we did in improving our home’s energy efficiency.

Urge Senators to Pass Bill C-311, the Climate Change Accountability Act
This is something I’ve thrown myself into. I’ve put a lot of work into it, so you don’t have to.

Canada is close to passing the Climate Change Accountability Act, but it's under threat by Conservative Senators. Parliamentarians passed the Bill (C-311) in May. Now the Bill needs the support of 53 Senators. Of the 105 Senators, 52 are Conservative.

The situation is precarious. Years of hard work to get the Act to this point could prove meaningless if it does not get the support from all 53 opposition Senators: 49 Liberal Senators, two Progressive Conservatives and two Independents.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is calling on its members to lobby the Senate to oppose the Bill. Join me in a concerted citizen campaign in support of Bill C-311. The Bill resumes debate on September 28th.

What’s the Big Deal? – If passed into law, the Climate Change Accountability Act will set science based emissions reductions, require the government to produce five year target plans, establish independent reviews, and punish polluters who break regulations. It will also position Canada as a global leader in the transition to a low carbon economy.

I heard Dr. James Hansen, one of the world’s top climatologists, speak in Toronto on Wednesday. Dr. Hansen heads NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies. He’s been sounding the climate action clarion call for decades. Dr. Hansen reminded us that addressing climate change is a moral issue. The safe level of greenhouse gas parts per million (ppm) in the atmosphere is 350. In the past, natural global warming has taken place at a rate of .0001 ppm. Currently, we are experiencing an increase of an astonishing 2 ppm per year. According to Hansen, if we burn all the fossil fuel left on the planet, the greenhouse gases will constitute 1000 ppm in our atmosphere.

What to do - Please visit http://www.trunity.net/climateresponse/topics/view/53728/ for sample letters to Senators and their emails. Just cut and paste. Easy. If you have a bit more time and love strategy, cut and paste the sample letters to the CEOs of insurance companies and financial firms, who are Chamber of Commerce members. The letters ask them to lobby the Senate to support the Bill. I also include contact details. Please send these letters off and spread the word.

On September 28th Senator Neufeld will speak out against the Bill when the Senate resumes debate on it. Let's bombard the Senate with emails. Soon I will craft sample targeted emails to Liberal Senators, PC Senators and the Independents, and upload them onto the Climate Response campaign page.

Also – please join the Facebook page, Urge Senators to Support Bill C-311 - http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=152085321489110

Let's insure that the Climate Change Accountability Act becomes law. And when that's done, let's work to usher in a government that respects it.