History was made today. Today over 300,000 people marched on Wall Street today for
the sole purpose of showing what people’s opinions were about the current state
of affairs of climate change policy efforts on global, national, and even
localized levels. This was the largest of protests in over 150 countries which
calls for drastic economic and political changes to help slow the progress of
global warming. Protesters crowded the streets starting early in the morning
and made the march down to lower Manhattan making their voice well heard. They
had wide variances in issues and stances on the topic, though the main
consensus was that it was an important issue that requires immediate and
substantial action. Many say that it is the “most important issue for every
single person on this planet.” There is a large outcry that corporate interest
and first world economic development has been taken a stranglehold on climate
change implementation of policy.
The organizers of the march included UN Secretary General
Ban Ki-moon, former Vice President Al Gore, and various scientists, elected
officials, and even famous actor Leonardo DiCaprio. The rally itself was the single
largest ever regarding the topic and police say the ill-prepared for the
turnout, stating that they only expected around 200,000. No arrests were
reported though and many call the event a great success. There was some outcry
against the event, though it was mostly out-shadowed by the sure numbers of the
supporters.
This being a kickoff to Climate Week which is a week-long
occasion all based in New York City filled with meeting, info sessions, and . Some of these events are free to the public as long as you register online.
(Links below)
All of these gatherings is leading up to the 2014 UN Climate
Summit that will be bringing together all of the world’s leaders to the Big
Apple. They will be discussing what has been done, needs to be done, and what
will be done regarding global warming. Here some facts below to help show why
actions need to be made imminently.
-NOAA has reported that August 2014 was the warmest month on
record globally. (Records only date back to 1880)
-The Earth is losing over a trillion tons of sea ice every
year, this rate has been accelerating rapidly within the past 10 years and is expected to continue
-Sea Level Rise is becoming more and more of a considerable threat, globally they have risen 8 inches since 1880. Scientists now say that this rate of change is accelerating. Rise of 2-6 feet could be expected by 2100. This puts hundreds of millions of people for issues like floods, damage from storm surge, and salinization of their drinking water.
Here are some photos from the rallies around the world.
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| People begin to gather in NYC for the climate change rally |
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| A view of the sure mass of numbers walking down 6th Avenue |
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| Over 40,000 protesters gathered on the streets of London to voice their discontent |
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| People in Melbourne pose in formation to spell out "BEYOND COAL + GAS" |
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| Protests chant loudly and march in Rio de Janeiro |
For more information on Climate Week, http://www.climateweeknyc.org/
The list and date of events: http://www.climateweeknyc.org/events/
The list and date of events: http://www.climateweeknyc.org/events/
For more information on the UN Climate Summit: http://www.un.org/climatechange/summit/
For more information on how you can make a difference:
-Also write to your local House representative, Senator, or
Governor (or even President Obama) if you feel as though they can improve,
change or even support the way that they have dealt with climate change. Your
voice really does matter.
