'Historic' Washington rally scheduled on climate change

Carol Forsloff ---More than a dozen years have passed since scientists underlined the importance of taking action on climate change and mentioned that within a few years of that time, it might be too late. Even so, activists are putting together a major rally referencing the need for the world's leaders to finally pay attention to what many intimate is the gathering storm of climate change.

In an email message this morning, a writer wrote of the freezing weather in Russia at  fifty degrees below zero, a level of temperature which has created significant problems for the people. An example used is the traffic lights in the city of Yakutsk aren't working anymore. At the same time, the world scientists report that worldwide the temperatures were the hottest on record. Weather patterns are extreme, as demonstrated by Russia's frigid temperatures, the heat in many parts of the United States in the summer of 2012, and the terrible storms, such as Hurricane Sandy, that left thousands homeless and caused devastation along the country's eastern seaboard.

A climate rally is anticipated to bring thousands of individuals to Washington on February 17 to generate pressure on the nation's leaders to support those activities designed to mitigate climate problems. One of those issues has to do with the tar sands project, with the pipeline from Canada that some tout as the solution for the energy crisis. The Sierra Club hopes to send a message to President Obama that the time to act is now, asking him to veto the tar sands project and another proposed ventures the organization maintains could create even more serious problems for the world's environment.

Researchers point out that scientists in the path used to believe that climate change took place slowly, which was the belief through much of the 20th century. However, circumstances in the past 20 years have created alarm in the scientific community, along with dire warnings. It was only 1995 when a strong consensus statement came from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, representing views of nearly all the world's climate scientists. And what these scientists reported was that climate change could take place even more rapidly than previously thought and that "surprises" were possible.

It is those "surprises" that worry activists and scientists, as the rally organizers point out it is important for ordinary citizens to ask world leaders to take action by making decisions that will reduce the negative impact on global climate.