CBC News Posted: Jan 15, 2013 7:16 AM PT
A fifth grader from Vernon, B.C., wants her civic leaders to take action on climate change. On Monday, 10-year-old Neave Allen spoke before city council, offering a list of measures Vernon could do to reduce greenhouse emission and become a leader in green energy solutions. Neave told city council they should aim for a zero waste policy, enforce the no idling bylaw and encourage green roofing and solar panels. “I was glad that they were actually paying attention and that they actually had some questions about what they could do, because if they didn't have any questions I was afraid they weren't going to do something about,” she told CBC News. “So now I actually feel that they might do something." Neave says she doesn't want to grow up during a time of mass species extinction. "I just feel really frustrated,” she said. “People aren't doing what they are supposed to and it just makes me really mad, and that's what motivated me to come here and speak to everybody." Councillors promised to consider Neave’s suggestions. “If they don't do anything about it I'll probably come back and talk to them in a few months, saying, 'You're not doing anything,’” she said.