Following the election of a federal Conservative majority government, 53 of B.C.'s Faith Leaders stress the importance of provincial action on climate change.
May 9, 2011.
(Vancouver) Faith leaders from across the province have come together to stress the importance of caring for creation and fighting climate change. On May 9, an open letter was sent to Premier Clark and NDP leader Adrian Dix, urging them to work toward "mitigating the damage already done to the natural world," and to "provide citizens with a new vision of relationship with the earth."
"That there was almost no mention of climate change or environmental protection during the federal election campaign is deeply troubling," comments Susan Draper, KAIROS BC-Yukon Network Coordinator. "This failure to acknowledge or even recognize our intricate and dependent relationship with the earth has placed this province and our country at the crossroads. Because the federal government has not taken significant action on climate change and environmental protection, it is even more important that our Provincial government assumes more leadership on this critical issue. Concrete actions to reduce energy consumption as well as initiatives such as carbon taxes, the banning of fuel tankers from our coastal waters, and the Western Climate Initiative are important steps our provincial leaders can take to help us transition to a different way of living on this planet."
"These are issues that threatens the health, safety, and quality of life for future generations," says Rev. Ken Gray of the Church of the Advent, an Anglican church in Victoria and one of the letter's signatories. "In many cases, the desire for profit has led us to put short term human needs ahead of all other values and all other beings that share this planet with us. The consequences are obvious: the impacts of global warming caused by humanity's burning of fossil fuels are increasingly visible and threatening much of what we know and love about this beautiful province."
For further inquiries or additional contact information:
Susan Grace Draper
KAIROS BC-Yukon Network Coordinator
graceful@shaw.ca
250-370-0121
