DIY camp to take action on Climate Chaos
climate camp | 07.12.2005 18:46 | Ecology | Free Spaces
A DIY camp this summer will see thousands of people from all over Britain come together to learn about and take action on climate change.
Judy Granton, one of the organisers believes "climate chaos is now the largest threat to the survival of our planet. We can't wait for governments or corporations
to stop climate change. There's been lots of talk and too little action. Radical cuts in economic growth and consumption are required and it just isn't in the
interest of big business and governments to tackle the root causes of climate change. It's up to all of us to take responsibility and massively reduce our energy
consumption now as well as changing the way we are producing energy."
One of the aims of the camp is to demonstrate and experiment with ways we can take action - and anyone with practical ideas and skills in low impact lifestyle and
alternative energy is being asked to get involved: "We will be bringing together all the campaigns, projects and people working on the different aspects of climate
change - from compost loo builders to anti-roads and airports campaigners, from proponents of veganism to activists protecting peat bogs - all are needed to make
this camp happen. We are inviting everyone to get involved in the organising and to come to a public meeting set for Saturday 14 January in the Manchester Environmental
Resource Centre (MERCi)". The meeting will run from 11 - 6pm and more information is available on the climate camp's website: www.climatecamp.org.uk (1)
Camnpaigners involved in organising the camp are drawn from a wide range of climate campaigns and have been inspired by the self-organised eco-village created in
protest against the G8 in Stirling July 2006. They aim to create a space that is organised and run by the participants, has a low impact on the environment, and
above all, inpspires people to take action in their own lives and in wider society.
The announcement of the camp coincides with UN climate talks in Montreal (2) and new scientific evidence that climate change is happening (3). Calls for drastic action
are supported by Britain's leading scientist Lord May of Oxford, the president of the Royal Society, who argues that climate change will be as devastating as weapons
of mass destruction (4).
Notes to the Editor:
(1) A public meeting for the Camp for Climate Action will be held at MERCi (Manchester Environmental Resource Centre), Bridge 5 Mill, 22 Beswick St, Ancoats,
Manchester M4 7HR. More information is available on our website www.climatecamp.org
(2) World leaders are attending climate talks in Montreal, Canada from 28 November to 9 December, focussing on what happens after 2012 when the current Kyoto Protocol
runs out. At present 36 countries are committed to reducing CO2 emissions by 5.2 percent below their 1990 levels by 2012. The US contributes 25% of the world's
greenhouse gas emissions but is not part of the Kyoto Protocol and is set to continue pumping out high levels of CO2.
(3) According to research by scientists at the National Oceanography Centre at the University of Southhampton published in the journal Nature the Gulf Stream has
slowed by 30% since 1992. This could well mean that we will face a new ice age in Britain because the Gulf Stream brings warm water to our coasts and keeps Britain
mild in winter. Climate models suggest that if this ground to a halt completely the average temperature in Britain could drop by 10 Degrees Celsius.
(4) Britain's top scientist Lord May, president of the Royal Society and former chief scientist for the Government said that climate change invites comparison with
weapons of mass destruction and requires immediate action in an address to the Royal Society on 29 November 2005.
climate camp
e-mail:
info _AT_ climatecamp.org.uk (replace _AT_ with @)
Homepage:
http://www.climatecamp.org.uk