The group of young people on stage lean back, pop their collars and raise the roof as they chant.
"I said ooo, it's hot in here, there's too much carbon in the atmosphere," the members of the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition talk-sing at a Kyoto rally at Nathan Phillips Square. "Take action, take action and get some satisfaction."
It's no Nelly performance but the symbolism is as obvious as the lyrics. It's cool to demand action on global warming.
"It's becoming popular, right?" says Stephanie Thompson, 28, standing in the crowd. "It's a trendy thing to do, which it almost needed to become in order for change to happen."
The youth members, joined in the dance yesterday by a slightly out-of-sync Olivia Chow and Jack Layton of the NDP, were among hundreds who gathered under the warm afternoon sun to call for the government to combat climate change.
Five similar rallies took place across the country. Not a bad showing for what started as one man's idea about four months ago.
Brennan Louw, a musician who describes himself as a "concerned citizen," took the initiative of organizing the rally but he soon had the support of various environmental and labour groups across the country.
Rallies were organized in Halifax, London, Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge yesterday to coincide Toronto's.
"Canadians want strong action on climate change," said Louw, 29. "And we think the best way to do it is by honouring our obligations under the Kyoto protocol."
Canada ratified the protocol in 2002 but the minority Conservative government, since taking power in 2006, has taken a different approach.
There was no mention of Kyoto in their first budget or Clean Air Act passed in the fall.
The United Nations released a 21-page report last month that said human activity was "very likely" the cause of global warming and Al Gore's documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, won an Oscar.
Bill Terry, 56, said even without those recent events, he wouldn't have to look very far for a reason to come out to the rally.
"You can even feel it today. I mean we're pretty early in March and look how hot it is."
