I’m busy attending a “Climate Change As a Moral Issue” conference in Toronto today and tomorrow, followed by a 26-hour bus ride home from 1:00 a.m. Sunday morning to 3:00 a.m. Monday morning. The conference today was full of excellent discussions as well as information that will make it hard for me to sleep tonight. The roster of speakers – to name just a few – included IPCC Scientist Danny Harvey, from the Department of Geography at the University of Toronto and Alanna Mitchell, journalist and author of “Seasick”, which examines the alarming repercussions of ocean acidification from increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. And after 8 hours of “climate change as a moral issue”, I headed down to the University of Toronto where3 “Climate-Wise Women” were discussing their different – but equally devastating and disturbing – experiences of climate-change. Constance Okollet from Uganda shared stories of alternating droughts and floods, Ulamila Kurai Wragg from the Cook Islands talked about how the number of cyclones is increasing in both frequency and intensity, rivers are drying up, and fish are not as plentiful, and Sharon Hanshaw from Biloxi, Mississippi discussed having both her home and business, as well as the community she was connected to, disappear after Hurricane Katrina. I will post more about both conferences once I have more time, but in the meantime here’s a sample of the “Climate Change As a Moral Issue” from a similar conference in Calgary in October. Graham Saul, Executive Director of Climate Action Network Canada, discusses what will happen if we continue with “business as usual”:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEilS7ChqZw]