A modest contingent of seasoned Climate activists were joined by curious- and perhaps now committed newcomers in Eganville last Saturday, as the Kitchissippi-Ottawa Valley Climate Matters group took part in National gatherings of those concerned over our deteriorating environment.
After about an hour of placard-waving surrounding the junction of Highways 60 and 41, the group retired to the serenity of the amphitheatre in Gerald Tracey Park to hear from a variety of speakers including one pragmatic Upper Tier radical.
Warden Peter Emon outlined initiatives Renfrew County has undertaken, or is planning on the local climate front.
Algonquin knowledge keeper Sherry Dion observed that, whether we accept it or not, Mother Nature is in the process of cleansing herself.
Host Ann Pohl invited a couple of Professional Engineers to share their perspectives, and Duncan Noble was quick to challenge Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent use of the term, “decarbonized oil” and other examples of “greenwashing.”
Cohort Paul Isaacs painted a dire picture of how things are sputtering as oil reaches the bottom of the barrel.
Organizers had touted activism as the alternative to despair over increasingly gloomy perspective- but Warden Peter Emon offered hope, in that invitations are finally going out to those who wish to be members on Renfrew County’s new Climate Advisory Committee.
Another thrust of the Climate Matters group’s Saturday activities saw members attend the “Draw the Line” Rally in Ottawa, who report that happenstance- and some well-designed T-Shirts scored them space on CTV Ottawa’s evening news.
By Rick Stow
