Why We March: Stepping Forth for a Planet in Peril
from TomDispatch:
Why We March
Stepping Forth for a Planet in Peril
By Eddie Bautista, La Tonya Crisp-Sauray, and Bill McKibben
On Sunday, September 21st, a huge crowd will march through the middle of Manhattan. It will almost certainly be the largest rally about climate change in human history, and one of the largest political protests in many years in New York. More than 1,000 groups are coordinating the march -- environmental justice groups, faith groups, labor groups -- which means theres no one policy ask. Instead, its designed to serve as a loud and pointed reminder to our leaders, gathering that week at the United Nations to discuss global warming, that the next great movement of the planets citizens centers on our survival and their pathetic inaction.
As a few of the marchs organizers, though, we can give some sense of why we, at least, are marching, words we think represent many of those who will gather at Columbus Circle for the walk through midtown Manhattan.
We march because the world has left the Holocene behind: scientists tell us that weve already raised the planets temperature almost one degree Celsius, and are on track for four or five by centurys end. We march because Hurricane Sandy filled the New York City subway system with salt water, reminding us that even one of the most powerful cities in the world is already vulnerable to slowly rising ocean levels.
We march because we know that climate change affects everyone, but its impacts are not equally felt: those who have contributed the least to causing the crisis are hit hardest, here and around the world. Communities on the frontlines of global warming are already paying a heavy price, in some cases losing the very land on which they live. This isnt just about polar bears any more. .................(more)
The complete piece is at:
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175894/tomgram%3A_bautista%2C_crisp-sauray%2C_and_mckibben%2C_a_future_to_march_for/#more