View From The Hill

Global Warming Draws Activists to Washington, DC

03/20/07

On a bright day at the tail end of a winter marked by record warmth, hundreds of activists from 47 states gathered on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol to ask Congress to act now to slow global warming. The March 20th "Climate Crisis Action Day," sponsored by more than 45 organizations, was one of the largest global warming events ever held in the United States.

More than a thousand activists from dozens of cities within a six-hour radius of Washington, DC, had risen before dawn to board buses bound for the rally. Joined by scores of activists from the DC region, they heard pleas from Native Alaskans, students, radio personalities, and politicians, all calling for swift action from Congress to stem U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases.

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) calls on the crowd to help win Congressional support for actions to stem global warming.

The crowd responded with whistles and applause to the rallying cries of the speakers. Radio and television host Tony Dean snapped a photo of the boisterous crowd, saying he wanted to show folks in his home state of North Dakota "what Democracy looks like." Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), who, along with fellow speaker Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has co-sponsored the "Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act," said she is motivated by concerns for her grandchildren's future.

"I have a new grandchild on the way," Boxer said, standing against a backdrop that included a 20-foot-high inflatable globe. "Someday, I want her to be able to say, 'When we really needed a champion, my grandma was there'." Meanwhile, children in the crowd played catch with smaller inflatable globes, and activists dressed as polar bears made the rounds and posed for pictures with kids and adults alike. Other speakers included Senator John Kerry (D-MA), Representatives Michael Honda (D-CA) and Jay Inslee (D-WA), and Sturgis, MI, Mayor Robert Sisson, who serves as membership and development director for Republicans for Environmental Protection.

Throughout the rally, activists were encouraged to visit the offices of their home state senators and representatives to ask for support for legislation like the Sanders-Boxer bill, which would reduce global warming emissions by 80 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2050. That goal, which scientists say is necessary to avoid the worst effects of global warming, is also part of the "Safe Climate Act" in the House, reintroduced by Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) on the day of the rally.

Polar bears were on hand to remind activists of the threat to their Arctic habitat from global warming.

Because of the devastating impacts that global warming is already having in the Arctic, activists also called on Congress to support the Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Act, which would permanently protect the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Representative Ed Markey (D-MA), a cosponsor of the bill, noted that global warming is threatening key species in the refuge, particularly the polar bear, which has now been proposed for protection under the Endangered Species Act.

The rally was covered by affiliates of every major television network, several radio programs, and print reporters from across the nation.

Cat Lazaroff, Press Secretary for Policy and Legislation