Posted on 12/04/2005 12:52:47 AM PST by F14 Pilot
Thousands of demonstrators braved frigid temperatures on Saturday as they marched through downtown Montreal urging the United States and other countries to do more to curb global warming.
The protesters converged on a square outside the Montreal conference centre, where delegates from 189 countries are meeting at a UN conference on climate change from Nov. 28-Dec. 9. They're formerly implementing the Kyoto Protocol on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and trying to plan for its successor.
Police said about 7,000 people – some dressed as polar bears or sporting other elaborate costumes – took part in the rally.
It was one of more than 30 demonstrations being held in cities around the world Saturday to urge stronger government action against climate change. In perhaps the largest rally, about 10,000 people marched past British Prime Minister Tony Blair's home on Downing Street in London.
The participants in Montreal came from across Canada, the United States and elsewhere, and included representatives of major environmental organizations, including Greenpeace, the World Wildlife Fund's Climate Change Program and the Sierra Club.
A number of politicians also came out to show support, including Parti Québécois Leader André Boisclair, Quebec Environment Minister Thomas Mulcair, federal Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew, Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe and Green Party Leader Jim Harris.
'We will not wait for George W. Bush'
Kyoto – which came into effect on Feb. 16, 2005 – set legally binding targets for the greenhouse gas emissions from developed countries between 2008 and 2012.
The U.S. rejected Kyoto in 2001, making it one of the only major industrialized countries that didn't sign the protocol.
U.S. President George W. Bush has said he opposed it because he thought it would harm the American economy. He also objected to the fact that poorer countries producing proportionately large amounts of greenhouse gases, such as China, were excluded.
Washington has also repeatedly challenged widespread scientific predictions of the effects of global warming, such as catastrophic floods and droughts.
"We will move the world ahead. We will not wait for George W. Bush," Elizabeth May of the Sierra Club told the crowd of demonstrators. "Together we can save the climate. Together we will stop fossil fuels from destroying our future."
Continued U.S. resistance to caps on greenhouse gas emissions has been a key stumbling block as conference delegates try to prepare for the next round of talks about an environmental treaty that would replace Kyoto in 2012.
Delegates who back the Kyoto Protocol have also been trying to enlist the support of countries such as China, India and Brazil, which do not yet have specific targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions and fear such restrictions might hamper their rapidly developing economies.
I want climate change too....why can't the Middle Atlantic states have tropical weather all year long so I don't have to drive in snow? /sarcasm
What fools. Even if the US and Europe completely self-destroy our economies, the biggest polluters like China are not going to stop theirs and it wouldn't change a thing (assume global warming is real, which it isn't).
They should always hold these types of things on a really hot day. Doing it in the cold is just not very clever on their part.
It might be cold right now but in about 4 months I predict the appearance of a marked warming trend which will continue.
LOL! Should read:
"Everyone talks about the weather, but no one can do anything about it EXCEPT the United States."
You think they might be hoping that God will see how stupid they are and feel sorry for them and improve the weather?
That's hilarious! What convictions?
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