Seniors for Climate Action Now (SCAN!) organizes in Kawartha Lakes

By David Rapaport

Seniors in Kawartha Lakes are organizing to urge all levels of government to take immediate action to effectively address the climate emergency. There is now a local Kawartha Lakes chapter of Seniors for Climate Action Now! (SCAN!). SCAN! was formed just three years ago and has grown rapidly, with chapters in several cities across Ontario. It has organized webinars, petitions, and rallies, often in coalition with other environment and Indigenous groups, to raise awareness about the cause of the climate crisis and alternatives, and to pressure governments to take the bold action needed.

“This climate crisis is our generation’s legacy, but it doesn’t have to be our grandkids’ future. There are viable alternatives to fossil fuels,” says SCAN! Kawartha member Sherry Hillman. “That’s what motivates us.”

This summer we have all watched wildfires burn millions of hectares of forest across Canada, with cities and towns evacuated, families left homeless, creating dangerous air quality alerts for our largest cities hundreds of miles from the fires, and floods devastating homes and infrastructure in Atlantic Canada. And we have been alarmed by the inadequate response of our governments. While most do acknowledge that the cause is climate change caused by fossil fuel emissions, little is being done to stop it. Their focus is limited to emergency relief and emission targets in the distant future. Meanwhile oceans warm, polar ice caps melt and sea levels rise at alarming and unprecedented rates.

SCAN! member George Hewison paraphrased climate activist Greta Thunberg, saying, “Canada is burning – our governments must act like it.”

Rather than despair about the accelerating climate emergency, SCAN! Kawartha members are doing something about it. “We are joining the Global Day of Action on September 17, calling for an end to fossil fuels before it is too late,” announced Hillman.

The rally in Lindsay will start at Victoria Park at 2 p.m. and march to MPP Laurie Scott’s constituency office. Everyone – all ages – is invited to participate. For more information visit seniorsforclimateactionnow.org, or contact SCAN! Kawartha at .