Warm weather draws global warming demonstrators
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Americans worried about climate change staged a day of demonstrations to draw attention to global warming. More than 1,300 events were been organized nationwide under the banner "Step It Up 2007." Demonstrators want Congress to require an 80-percent cut in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.
In St. Paul, hundreds rallied on the Capitol lawn Saturday.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar told the group the threat of climate change is bringing people from all walks of life together to fight the problem.
"Minnesota's been out front on this and so has Arizona, California, New Jersey and a bunch of other states. Meanwhile the federal government has just been fighting and I think it's finally time to take action," she said.
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Congressman Keith Ellison is called on the federal government to use diplomacy to solve the problem.
"This is a way for us to say to the nations of the world: 'we gotta talk it out we can no longer afford to shoot it out.' We should look at this crisis as an opportunity," he said.
Activists are calling for an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emmissions by 2050.
At the Legislature, lawmakers are mulling the Global Warming Mitigation Act. It requires the Public Utilities Commission to consider greenhouse gas production in acquiring energy in Minnesota. As proposed, the bill would establish a state goal to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions to a level at least 15 percent below 2005 emission levels by 2015, to a level at least 30 percent below 2005 emission levels by 2025, and to a level at least 80 percent below 2005 emission levels by 2050.
