By David F. Rooney
About 36 people gathered at at Grizzly Plaza on Saturday to protest against Canada’s apparent unwillingness at the Copenhagen Summit to make deep cuts to its greenhouse gas emissions.
The protestors, most of them members of the North Columbia Environmental Society, lit candles and sparklers and then formed the number 350, representing the 350 parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide that many scientists believe is the maximum amount of CO2 out atmosphere can sustain. The current ratio of CO2 in the atmosphere is about 390 ppm and many people concerned about what is happening to our global climate want world leaders to commit themselves to bringing the CO2 level down to 350 ppm.
The Conservative government says ti will cut carbon emissions by 20 per cent by 2020. That sounds pretty impressive, but it says those cuts will be based on emissions made since 2006. Many environmentalists want deeper cuts; in fact, many say the cuts should be based on the original 1990 date set by the Kyoto Protocol almost 20 tears ago.
In the Revelstoke Current video below you can watch the demo and hear Sara Newton and Nicki Nattress of the NCES explain its purpose.
