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A Great Year
Posted by Tom W from Cardiff - Published on 20/01/2009 at 16:02
WORDS: Tom Williams (Sprout Editorial Group)
Wow! Reflecting on a great year?
You may think that I am reflecting at the wrong time, but there’s never a wrong time, and this is the first week for the NEW Climate Change Champions For Wales ? your young ambassadors on climate change for the country.
I’m reflecting, because I am envious of these new young people who are taking over from us.
So, who have we met?
We met First Minister Rhodri Morgan at our launch this time last year, and we’ve worked with Environment Minister, Jane Davidson all year through.
We’ve met MPs, MEPs, leading figures in the Carbon Trust, Energy Saving Trust, CBI, leading Welsh businessmen, leading scientists who participated in the Bali Conference, other climate change experts from Wales and David Noble ? one of Al Gore’s apprentices.
We met similar young representatives from the Netherlands and from across all the G8+5 countries, participated in a NASA-run video conference with school and college students from Lisbon, Chicago, and Alexandria in Egypt. Also participating were countries from all over the world.
We’ve met news presenters, radio interviewers, one of TV’s greenest stars, Dick Strawbridge - former army general and converted green veteran, BBC weather man Derek Brockway, the Cardiff Blues, the Ospreys, singers and songwriters, and we’ve spoken to the public all across Wales.
What do all these people have in common? They are all concerned about OUR CLIMATE. You should be too. What have you got to lose by acting? Now consider what you could lose, if, suppose, climate change is real. It’s not worth talking about!
What’s next?
The 2008 Champions are working with the 2009 Champions, to give them the experience to hit the ground running. I ran campaigns for a new Cub Scout badge on climate change last year. After hearing back from them, they said it has been put into the file of applications for new badge considerations, which occur this year.
So I will be teaming up with my local cub group, and one of the 2009 champions to get the badge some media coverage! I also ran a campaign for more Sunday Trains, which is supposedly being considered in the next Regional Transport Plan, which I will follow up this year.
This year is the 2009 Champions' year. Just like Obama has made his pledge to cut carbon emissions in the US, make it your pledge to cut your carbon footprint too. We’ll see who is better at keeping their word! We’ve been told, that once America recognises the threat, so will everyone else.
Will you follow suit? Do we want to have our major cities flooded and the polar ice caps to melt? Do we want to wish hurricanes on other people, and heatwaves, famine and starvation?
Just because the year is over, doesn’t mean the threat is over, so I will continue to act in any way I can. One thing I realised this year was just how easy it is to swap the car for the train, turn my computer off when it’s not needed, and buy only recycled products.
I haven’t lost out at all; I will, and hopefully we all will, benefit from it in the near future.
TheSprout's Environmental Directory is here.