Transition Bedford

We received this invitation from the Quaker Meeting House about an event you might be interested in on 20 November. Reply to this announcement if you intend to attend so those of us are going can connect. Thanks! –Lynn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Quaker Meeting House hirers and friends,

I would like to invite you to a public meeting organised by Bedford Quakers entitled “Climate Change, Copenhagen and Us”, at the Harpur Suite, Bedford on November 20th at 7.15 pm. Please see attachment with details of the event and the supporting organisations to date (TTBedford admin note: sorry, this attachment did not come with the email we received). We are delighted that Tony Juniper, a leading environmentalist, and Patrick Hall MP are our main speakers.

Please circulate notice of this meeting widely if possible.  If you would like to use our printed posters and/or fliers, reply to us ASAP and we can arrange a convenient collection point.

We would like to retain email addresses for communication purposes until a week after the Copenhagen Summit . If you prefer otherwise please tell us.

With your permission, we would also like to share your email address with the supporting organizations listed above who may wish to contact you regarding similar events. If you are happy for us to do so, please let us know.

Please reply to bedfordquakerevents@googlemail.com

Why is this important?
After 30+ years of uncertainty, reputable scientists and world leaders now agree that man-made Climate Change is a proven fact. The World Health Organisation claims that annually 150,000 people in the poorest countries die because of it. Increasingly lavish use of fossil fuel energy and heat is the cause. Man-made climate change can be prevented from getting worse, but it requires big reductions in greenhouse gas emissions world-wide in the next ten years, and even bigger changes before 2050. How is this to be done?

The UK government has led the way with a Climate Change Act which promises to cut UK emissions by 80 % by 2050. Other countries need to agree similar promises at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this December.  Sceptics argue that the speed of change in history is slow and the changes required are unlikely to be made before 2050. But hope replies, “Consider the many unforeseen changes that have successfully occurred in our lifetimes.”   Concerned people throughout the country, of all political parties and faiths, are beginning to rally to the challenge.  It is hoped that this public meeting will gather a wide range of groups together.

Many thanks.

Yours sincerely,

Heather Mitchell
Lettings Officer
Bedford Quaker Meeting
November 2nd 2009