A rally put on by Pedal for the Planet was held in front of MP Jim Prentice’s office this afternoon. Pedal for the Planet is biking across Canada to encourage the Canadian government to do its fair share in addressing the climate crisis.

The world is getting together from December 7 to 18 this year in Copenhagen to create a new climate treaty. Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions are 33% higher than the Kyoto Protocol targets of reducing greenhouse gas emission by 6% below 1990 levels.

Our emissions have climbed higher than any other G8 nation. Since 1990, Alberta’s emissions have grown the highest in Canada. The tar sands alone contribute one sixth of Canada’s entire greenhouse gas emissions, a number that is expect to increase. We are an embarrassment. On the other hand, Germany has decreased its emissions by 18 per cent and the UK by 15 per cent. It can be done.

Kyoto was just the beginning. We need to go way further. To prevent a climate crisis, we need to reduce our global emissions between 50 and 80 per cent by 2050. If these targets are not reached, many scientists say that weather will become more extreme and unpredictable and that the melting of the Arctic ice will raise global sea levels significantly.

Pedal for the Planet is trying to prevent such a scenario. They started bike tours on all 3 coasts of Canada on July 1. Riders from BC and the Yukon were here in Calgary to raise awareness. They are asking that Canada reduces its greenhouse gas emissions by 20% below 1990 levels by 2020.

Martina and Nadia Nowak who biked all the way from Victoria had a message. They said this was a moral issue. At a Pedal for the Planet event in Vancouver, David Suzuki said that the 50 poorest nations in the world contribute less than 1% of the world’s pollution. Yet 95% of the impact of climate change will be felt by these poor countries. He later went on to say that climate change is not on the agenda of Canadian politicians.

To keep motivated while biking up the Canadian Rockies,  the Nowak's imagined that Stephen Harper was at the top and they needed to get there. The Nowak's warmed up the crowd with a participatory aerobic sing-a-long that went like this (feel free to follow along with the aerobic movements):

“We got big lofty climate action goals. How are we going to get to them when Canada is way down here (by their toes)? We want to be way up here (hands up as high as you can). We need wind turbines (make a wind turbine motion). We need you to sign our petition. We need you to write on post cards. Where are they going? Stephen Harper.”

Later on Alex Doukas, a youth delegate going to the climate change talks in Copenhagen, spoke. “The reason I am here in front of Mr. Prentice’s office today is because I am a constituent here. I was at the United Nations Climate Negotiations last December where I had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Prentice. He talks a good game, but since the negotiations, he hasn’t done much in the way of action. At these negotiations, Canada was singled out as the worst country in terms of obstructing negotiations.”

“Canada recently was singled out by a former chief science advisor to Britain as one of the most obstructionist countries on climate change, along with Japan. WWF also recently published a report that said Canada is on the bottom of G8 nations in terms of action on climate change.”

“The message for Mr. Prentice and the Canadian government is that we don’t have any more time to lose. We’ve waited long enough for change and real action on climate change. And we are not going to stand for it any more”.

The Pedal for the Planet bikers had a letter to give to Jim Prentice, Minister of the Environment - to protect the environment and our future. The bikers then proceeded to deliver the letter in person to Jim Prentice. Though Prentice was not in the office, the bikers delivered the letter to his desk.

 
Jeh Custer of the Sierra Club led a chant in Prentice’s office that went like this: “Its hot in here. There’s too much carbon in the atmosphere. Take action and get some satisfaction”.  

How can you do this? Sign the petition (of note here in Alberta, Linda Duncan, the NDP MP from Edmonton-Strathcona, is the only MP in the province to sign this petition), write your MP a letter, and wish the Pedal for the Planet bikers well on their way to Ottawa.