Vancouver Stop Coal pledge action with Bill McKibben Noon Saturday April 9

Hello all, this may be of interest to some in this group.   Cheers, Kevin

We've all heard the news: melting ice caps, extreme weather, drought, fires, climate refugees, conflict.... global warming is happening, and if we don't work hard to stop it now, the results will be catastrophic.  

It's time for our 2nd Stop Coal pledge action, in Vancouver, at noon on Saturday April 9th.  Coal exports are gearing up to be the next big carbon battle ground, and Vancouver is on the front lines.  If you are ready to commit to direct action to stop global warming, we want you to be there.  Bill McKibben from 350.org will be joining us.  He's an inspiring grassroots organizer, and intimately familiar with the effort to stop coal.

Join with us in committing to take action. Visit http://stopcoal.ca and take the direct action pledge to receive the details on Saturday's action.  Come out on the 9th, meet one of the movement's founders, make your pledge public, and connect with community members who care about this issue as much as you do. Together we can take real action to stop global warming.

Why direct action?

We are British Columbians who think it's time to get together in our communities to push for an end to the things that cause global warming.   We held an action at the legislature in Victoria, and now we're shifting focus to Vancouver.

If you are like us, you're frustrated by governments that do nothing, or, worse yet, say they care but then recklessly encourage things like oil and gas development, and coal mining and export.   We're hurtling down the wrong track and it seems like government has its foot on the gas.

If you are like us, you've donated money, written letters, attended rallies and signed petitions.  These are all important, but they are clearly not enough given the scale of the emergency we're facing.  The future of civilization is at risk, and  these kinds of responses seem pretty underwhelming.

We need a radical response if we are going to change direction on this, and it's going take people who care to step forward to make that change happen.  If you are one of those people, then join join with us in committing to take action.

Coal is our BC's biggest mining export and the dirtiest fossil fuel going.  When the coal that is dug up here is burned overseas it doubles our province's total global warming pollution.  So much for being a "Green Leader." 

Metro Vancouver is home to the biggest coal export facility on the continent.  Big coal companies face ever tougher restrictions on coal burning in North America,  and they are keen to export massive amounts of coal to Asia.  The only thing that stands in their way?  People who care enough to take action.

We stopped coal fired power plants here in BC, and we can stop the production and export of coal too. 

Our situation is urgent, but we think it's not too late -- if people who care enough get to work right away.  Do it for the kids, for your community, for your favourite hiking or kayaking place.   If we all do our part we can end the coal age and stop global warming.

Together we can make a difference

Jane, Kevin, Caitlyn, Cliff, Will, Peter, Matt
stop.coal.bc@gmail.com