David Suzuki Foundation Olympic Message!

It was back in June that I received a letter from the David Suzuki Foundation written by David Suzuki with this Olympic message which I thought prudent to share now as the Olympic spirit sweeps our country coast to coast!

Here is the excerpt:

"Recently, we teamed up with Canada's top winter atheletes to turn back the clock on climate change. And as Canadians, winter is a huge part of our national identity.

I've talked to many Olympic atheletes who tell me that winter sporting events around the world are being cancelled because there isn't enough snow. In this way, winter sports are like the proverbial canary in a coal mine--early indicators of Global warming. We decided more people needed to hear this warning, and what they could do about it, so we profiled the Winter Olympics.

With the help of our donors, over 70 of Canada's top atheletes, and members across Canada, we convinced the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Winter Olympics to take responsibility for the Games' climate impact by making the event carbon neutral. The organizers are now aiming to offset almost all of the Games' carbon emissions with investments in green energy and projects that reduce greenhouse gases. Our next steps are to ensure that the carbon offsets are top quality, and that the organizers promote climate solutions to an expected audience of 3 billion people around the world.

The amazing thing about this commitment is that so many people made it happen together. Donors funded out climate change research, atheletes and DSF members signed our online petition, newspapers and TV stations picked up our story, and the Olympic organizers took notice!

It really proves that amazing things happen when groups of ordinary Canadians--and extraordinary athletes--take action together to tackle climate change. In 2010, we'll show the world that Canada wants to solve climate change, and send a strong message to the government that we want a sustainable future.

For more information on our other important programs, I invite you to visit http://www.davidsuzuki.org/ ."

{Excerpt from a letter written by David Suzuki in June 2009}