Snow, unusually cold weather won't dampen global warming rallies

[Regis Philbin]

http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/in...600.xml&coll=6

Snow won't dampen global-warming rallies

Friday, April 13, 2007
By Ken Kolker The Grand Rapids Press

The weather forecast for Saturday's global warming rallies in Grand Rapids and Holland calls for snow and cold rain and temperatures in the 40s -- about 10 degrees below normal.

For some, this might make global warming a tough sell.

"I've thought of that," said Lisa Locke, associate director of the West Michigan Environmental Action Council, which is organizing the three Grand Rapids "Step it Up" rallies.

"I think that's an easy excuse, but if we're really reasonable about it, we're not talking about individual weather on individual days," Locke said. "We're talking about something much larger, on a global scale, which science has been tracking for decades."

WMEAC is organizing rallies at three locations in Grand Rapids, among more than 1,300 rallies that day around the country. The Web-organized event was the idea of environmental activist Bill McKibben.

A rally also is scheduled at Centennial Park in Holland.

The goal is to send a message to Congress, "to let them know the extent of the concern in their communities for this issue, and the fact that really strong, aggressive initiatives need to be taken to make a significant difference."

Environmentalists want Congress to cut carbon emissions by 80 percent in the U.S. by the year 2050.

Scientists and environmentalists warn that global warming could change the character of Michigan: lowering water levels and raising water temperatures, altering the kinds of crops that will grow and leading to new invasive species.

The changes could be avoided with reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, they say.