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| Chiming in about climate Church takes involvement in global warming to new level with scientists at Svalbard gathering
The hope is sending a little heat from the Arctic now will keep people from feeling a lot of it later. A church bell chiming 12 times from Svalbard on Sunday launched what religious and science leaders called a historic event as other churches throughout Norway are participating in a bell relay seeking to draw attention to the impacts of climate change in the far north. The goal is to spur meaningful action from those participating in the Copenhagen climate summit that begins Dec. 7. The three-day gathering in Longyearbyen featured lectures, prayers, songs and other activities mixing factual and ethical aspects of global warming. The relay, which concludes in Oslo this Sunday, is the first time the church has allowed its bells to be used for a political purpose, said Leif Magne Helgesen, priest at Svalbard Church. "We stand here on behalf of life that is threatened," he said before ringing the bell Sunday. "Birds in the air, the fish in the sea, animals and plants on Earth. From the smallest microbe to the polar bear." "We are also here on behalf of the people – both in the north and south – who find that their lives are threatened by changes in climate that occur. We stand here on behalf of our own time and on behalf of generations to come – our children and grandchildren." A resolution signed by leaders at the gathering, to be presented to officials in Copenhagen, calls the Arctic "a barometer for the climate of the globe" and notes conditions are visibly changing. "Agriculture is dependent on the climate being predictable," the resolution states. "Different societies grow different species, depending on the climate at the site. The poorest among us are most vulnerable to changes. Therefore, solutions must reflect the global justice in a dimension that has so far not been present in international treaties. The changes have an ethical dimension to all of us." While the church was the setting for more casual and emotional appeals for action, the substance of the issue was the focus of a series of presentations Saturday at The University Centre In Svalbard. An overview of the impact of warming was presented by Norwegian Polar Institute Director Kim Holmén, who noted the Arctic is the only region where temperatures are expected to rise 6 degrees Celsius during the 21st century. He also noted the United States and Canada are responsible for a quarter of the world's emissions despite making up a tiny percentage of the population, a ratio reversed in underdeveloped areas such as Africa.
"Global environmental issues span many scientific generations and political generations," he said. "They span across nations and continents, they require broad social commitment beyond individual careers, national interests and the current generation." Ole Danbolt Mjøs, a physician who served as head Norwegian Nobel Committee from 2003 to 2008, read a message from a leader in Bangladesh lamenting "climate change has already become a question of survival." Inger Grene Alsos, an associate professor at UNIS, showed slides revealing the impact of 2 to 4 degrees of warming in Alaska between 1949 and 2001, with barren and ice-dotted landscapes giving way to lush greenery. She also noted warming temperatures allow plant species from other areas, often brought by visitors in their shoes, to thrive. An afternoon discussion brought all of the cooperating interests together as Bishop Per Oskar Kjølås, UNIS Director Gunnar Sand, and a teacher and two students from Longyearbyen School discussed their roles in combating and raising awareness of climate change. Viljar Hanssen, a 17-year-old student, said efforts must start on a personal level. "I should, for example, not let snowscooters run idle," he said. Also, "I could walk the 200 meters from school to the store and not use a snowscooter. It's not the world, but when you add up all the unnecessary pollution in the course of a year, both what I stand for and what the other young people and adults are contributing will be much." At 3:30 p.m. more than 100 people in a torchlight procession made their way through town to the bell at Skjæringa, a few hundred meters from the church. Geir Egil Larsen, a musician from the mainland, blew a shepherd's horn to literally sound the "cry from the Arctic," after which speeches by dignitaries and songs by the Polargospel children's choir alternated until the 4 p.m. ringing ceremony. The 12 chimes, according to church leaders, marked the critical "12th hour" deadline for reversing climate change.
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