A rally held outside of City Hall Saturday made a loud and clear call for action on climate change.
UNBC Ecosystem Science Professor Dr. Art Fredeen attended the “People’s Climate March”, saying climate change is a serious issue in Prince George.
Given that city council has gone on record saying climate change is something they need to consider with the future of snow removal and road rehab, Fredeen says that the divide between economy and the environment doesn’t need to drive government’s decisions.
“You really can have a society that has a great environment and a great economy,” he says. “It’s just that we’re not currently going in that direction right now.”
Fredeen notes people are seeing the effects of climate change all around them, even in Prince George.
“You see a lot of people driving very large vehicles around town, they probably don’t need to be,” he says. “Not only is that bad for the global environment, it’s bad for the local environment, with our air-quality issues.”
Fredeen feels that even if resource extraction projects continue, he still thinks people would be more comfortable seeing money from those projects diverted back into renewable energies like solar and wind power, “Rather than just ending up in the pockets of a few,” he says.
“I think that we could even maybe swallow that bitter pill of all these greenhouse gases that are going to come from these fossil fuels if some of that profit was going to end up taking us to a sustainable place in the future.”
Fredeen says we would still have to put up with negative effects from climate change, but people could invest into renewable energies.
The “People’s March” on Prince George was held in conjunction with international marches around the world, such as popular rallies in Toronto and New York recently, organized by 350.org.