To the Editor,

In August of 2018, Greta Thunberg started her solitary “school strike for climate” outside the Swedish parliament.
Her demands were that the Swedish government reduce carbon emissions in accordance with the Paris Agreement.
Her strong actions and words have inspired a global movement that demands that climate change be taken for the crisis that it is.
The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report puts the crisis in the starkest terms. The massive droughts, floods, fires and violent storms around the planet are definitively the result of human action.
In the 3 years since Greta started her strike, it has become apparent that no country is meeting the targets agreed to in Paris.
She has torn into global leaders’ response to the worsening climate crisis, accusing them of ‘role-playing’ and failing to take meaningful action, while levels of fossil fuel usage keep climbing. The theme for the Global ClimateStrike in May was #NoMoreEmptyPromises.
There is no time to lose. During the recent election campaign, dealing with climate change was not the prominent issue it must be.
The evidence is clear that habitat collapse is happening for most animal and plant species. Mass extinctions are occurring at many levels. 
Our house is clearly on fire. Any action you take is not for your grandchildren. That future is now. Real and deep change is needed to slow down the unfolding crisis. 
The theme of the Global Strike for Climate on September 24 is #UprootTheSystem. Join Concerned Citizens of Haliburton County and Environment Haliburton this Friday in Minden at noon.
If you believe that a massive shift is required in how humans interact with the environment and that business as usual cannot be the way to go.
We will meet at the bridge on the River Cone side. Current COVID regulations will apply.

Eric Lilius
Haliburton