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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, Ju ne 13 ,2 01 9 | 20 R 00 14 99 26 05 Come Travel with Us! Book online and Get Use Promo Code Flt10 and Get Use Promo Code $10OFF 12 Creanona Blvd., Stoney Creek L8E 5W5 Book your tour at www.frontlinetours.ca T.I.C.O. 500211561-855-943-4242 tour highlights: August 20- August 23 $749 pp/twin MACKINAC ISLAND TOUR/SOARING EAGLE 4 DAYS-3 NIGHTS • 2 nights at Kewadin Casino Hotel w/ breakfast • $15 food vouchers • 1-$10 Food Voucher • 2-$10 US Slot Free Play ($20/night with Player's Card) • A Dinner show featuring Gordon Lightfoot Tribute • Guided tour of Mackinac city with local guide • Water Ferry Cruise to Mackinac Island • Horse Drawn Carriage Tour of Island • Guided tour of the Famous Grand Hotel including Lunch • 1- night at Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort • $30 in free play & $40 Dining Card tour highlights: September 12 - 18 $1699 pp/twin TENNESSEE TOUR! NAShvILLE, GATLINbURG & PIGEON FORGE Featuring Gaylord Opryland Resort, Grand ole Opry, Nightly Shows &Featuring Gaylord Opryland Resort, Grand ole Opry, Nightly Shows &F Smoky Mountain and Moonshine tour! 7 DAYS - 6 NIGHTS • 6 Nights Accommodation • 2 Nights at each of the following hotels: Belterra Resort & Casino, Opryland Resert and Black Bear Inn & Suites • 12 Meals included - 6 breakfasts and 6 dinners • Dinner and show on the General Jackson Showboat • Nashville City Tour with Local Step-On Guide • Reserved Tickets for the Grand Ole Opry Live Show - Dinner before at local Nashville Restaurant • New Island Entertainment & Shopping Complex, Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Show, The new Dolly Parton Dinner Show • Smokey Mountain / Gatlinburg Tour with Local Step-On Guide • Moonshine Distillery Tour at Ole Smoky Moonshine Distillery • Smokey Mountain National Park & Visit to Bush's Beans new tour A local high school stu- dent has accumulated more than 1,200 signatures on a pe- tition, which calls on the Town of Oakville to declare aTown of Oakville to declare aT climate change emergency. Grade 11 Abbey Park High School Andrei Adam says he decided to publish the petition on May 8 be- cause the planet is facing a climate change catastrophe. "I'm one of those people who watches the news a lotwho watches the news a lotw and tries to stay connected," he said. "One thing that has real- ly been happening a lot, es- pecially in the past year, is we are seeing the various ef- fects of climate change ... Forfects of climate change ... Forf me this is frightening be- cause at the end of the day the effects of climate change are going to be felt more by my generation, not the peo- ple that are making the deci- sions now." Adam said he was in- spired by the UK Parliament declaring a climate change emergency on May 1, follow- ing demonstrations by youth activists and advocacy by 16- year-old Swedish studentyear-old Swedish studenty Greta Thunberg. He was further spurred to action when Burlington city council declared a cli- mate change emergency in early May. "In Oakville we pride ourselves as being the most livable town," said Adam. "Climate change threat- ens the livability of not just our town, but of our global community, so why isn't Oakville recognizing the ex- treme problem of climate change and doing more to limit our carbon emissions." Adam said he posted his petition on charge.org to see if there was support in the community for Oakville de- claring a climate change emergency. He posted the petition on Instagram and says on the first day it was shared 350 tofirst day it was shared 350 tof 400 times. "A lot of them were young people. I didn't know them. "They were just seeing this post and sharing it be- cause it was something they believed in and they recog- nized the urgency of it," said Adam. A week after the petition was posted Adam said it had been shared more than 1,000 times and received more than 900 signatures. As of late afternoon May 24, the petition had received more than 1,200 signatures. "Most of them are Oak- ville teens, university stu- dents and elementary stu- dents, but there have also been teachers and parents sharing it and even seniors sharing it," said Adam. "Obviously this is an is- sue that a lot of people feel is important." In the petition Adam notes that leading scientists have warned that humanity only has 11 years to take emergency action on climate change or face the gravest threats to the local and glob- al environment. He said these threats in- clude worsening risks of drought, floods, extreme heat and poverty for hun- dreds of millions of people. Oakville declaring a cli- mate change emergency, Ad- am said, would show the town takes climate change seriously and is trying to ad- dress it. In addition to the declara- tion, Adam is also calling for action from the town. He said the town needs to aim to reduce or offset its carbon dioxide emissions by about 45 per cent from 2010 levels by 2030 and be carbon neutral by 2050. Adam said this reduction would be in line with the most recent United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. Having an electric vehi- cle charger at every gas sta- tion in Oakville and phasing out plastic bags, plastic straws and single use dispos- able cups are all goals the town is capable of and should pursue, said Adam. Oakville Mayor Rob Bur- ton said a declaration of a cli- mate change emergency will be discussed during the June 24 council meeting.June 24 council meeting.J "Over the past decade, council has taken action to reduce the town's impact on the environment and to ad- dress the effects of climate change, such as our forests being attacked by emerald ash borer, flooding in our lo- cal parks and extreme weather events," said Bur- ton. "A call to action by youth on climate change supports council's vision for Oakville, and we look forward to get- ting the community involved in taking action to fight cli- mate change." Adam said he is amazed that some still do not see the importance of acting to com- bat climate change or con- tinue to believe it is not real. He received no shortage of online comments denying climate change and declar- ing his petition "left-wing propaganda." Adam noted there is sci- entific consensus, around 97 per cent, that climate change is real, and humans are causing it. "We can't let the people that refuse to accept the sci- ence hold us back from mak- ing a difference because we only have really 11 years to cut down our emissions and extreme amount," he said. "We can't wait for every- one to be on-board with it be- cause the consequences of inaction are too great." Visit our story online toVisit our story online toV view the petition link. NEWS PETITION LAUNCHED TO DECLARE CLIMATE CHANGE EMERGENCY Abbey Park High School Grade 11 student Andrei Adam has created an online petition calling on the Town of Oakville to follow Burlington's example and declare a climate change emergency. Nikki Wesley/Torstar DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com Start planning your dream vacation with hand-picked travel deals and inspiration just for Canadians Visit Start planning your dream vacation with hand-picked travel deals and inspiration just for Canadians Visit