Transition Brockville              

This letter-to-the-editor was published in the Recorder and Times yesterday:

Climate change has emerged globally as the definitive economic, environmental, political and social issue of the 21st century. The conservative Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concludes that to avoid dangerous levels of climate change, developed countries must reduce their carbon emission by 25-40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020.

The climate crisis requires both individual lifestyle changes and effective government policies to spark widespread economic and social changes.

The October federal election has been called the Climate Crisis Election. Any citizens concerned about the future economics and health of Canada must make informed political choices with respect to this crisis.

To this end, we have forwarded our questions to all the candidates in the ridings of Leeds-Grenville, and of Lanark, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington and asked for their response.

- As our MP, will you commit to being a driving force in getting the Canadian government to commit to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by at least 25 per cent from 1990 levels by the year 2020?

- Conservation is the first and most important step in dealing with the climate crisis. Will you fight for a comprehensive national energy conservation program, and what specific initiatives would you include in it?

- What will you do to stimulate research and development of renewable energy technologies in Canada, and how would you see that benefiting this riding?

- Will you support the development of better train and commuter services to link rural communities to nearby major population centres? What specifically will you do to bring the opportunities of green technologies, of energy efficiency, of renewable energy, of remanufacturing jobs to our riding?

- What are you doing to make sure that your environmental platform doesn't get lost among shifting priorities after the election?

- In the last few years, what actions or lifestyle changes have you or your family taken to reduce their environmental footprint?

Ask your favourite candidate to respond to these and other environmental questions. The more we can raise these issues, the sooner we can take action.

Peter Au, president, Rideau Roundtable
On behalf of
Rideau Roundtable
EcoPerth
Friends of the Tay Watershed
Rideau Environmental Action League (REAL)