The People's Climate March

This weekend I joined 310,000 people for the People's Climate March in New York City.  This march was organized around the UN Climate Change Summit and demanded governments around the world to take notice and take action.  This march was like a big brother to the one I did in Australia 8 years ago.  Too bad not much progress has been made since then...

Climate March in Canberra, AU (November, 2006)

The event was remarkably well organized and hundreds of buses and trains from around the country shuttled people in.  From South Boston, I was dropped off in the crowded streets of Central Park West with a friend from the lab, Alice.

When we got off the bus we were provided with signs that read "I am marching for (fill in the blank)".  It was too overwhelming to think of just one thing.

We also made climate ribbons, on which we wrote one thing we don't want to lose to climate change.  In a similar style to Buddhist prayer ribbons, we were instructed to attach the ribbons to the prayer tree at the end of the march.

Lining up

Even after the march had officially started, there were so many people that the back of the line had a 3 hour wait before it even began moving! 

We took a scenic detour through Central Park

The march was organized into broadly-defined groups.  A moment of silence for the victims of climate change was spent with the scientists.

The children of nerds played with methane molecules as they waited

Stilt walkers

In front of the American Museum of Natural History

The Tapir Specialist Group had a strong showing of all 3 people

Somehow Alice and I were adopted to help hold the giant banner.  It was so massive no one knew what it read (I think it said something like "FRACKING = CLIMATE CHAOS" but that was just a rumor).

The Social Justice group

One of the best aspects of the march was the diversity in support!  It wasn't just young hippies, although there were plenty of those ;o)

Even the anarchists showed their support, in their own special way.

The WWF and Sierra Club had a great showing.  The Mass Sierra Club even sponsored our bus from Boston and made free t-shirts for us :o)

Not sure who these older ladies were...

We got stuck in the bicycle section for a long time.

Bicycle-powered T-Rex

An Earth Vigil at the edge of Central Park

Many people were creative and dressed up in elaborate costumes.  It looked a lot like Salem on Halloween.

Heading down the Avenue of the Americas

The Vegans

 

The Indigenous People enveloped in Time Square

 

We saw this polar bear at the start of the march and now again at the end!

The march ended with a Block Party.  There were more people than were expected and marchers were actually turned away from the "party"!

Tying our climate ribbons, as instructed

Wrapping up the march at the massive block party!

I am so thankful for the amazing turnout and to be involved in such a meaningful, energizing experience.  Hopefully everyone, especially nonbelievers (regular people as well as heads of state) will take heart and take action.  The choir has already been preached to, now it is time for the rest of the world to listen!