e title="Forward on Climate logo" class="wwscontentsmaller">"Forward on Climate" logo by Sierra Club
The largest citizen march against climate change, more than
35,000 people, was held in Washington, DC, this afternoon. One-hundred fifty
busloads and 168 partner organizations contributed to the event, held to
protest against the hottest year in U.S. history and the largest hurricane,
among other natural disasters suffered in 2012 here and throughout the world--"the
worst ever," according to Bill McKibben, president and founder of 350.org.
Carbon standards must be specified for polluting industries by the EPA, for the
sake of the future of the planet and of all of us, even the "one percent."
NRDC trustee and president of Rebuild the Dream Van Jones
referred to the dire situation as "the biggest game humanity has ever played."
Wind power and solar energy were specified to be energy sources above the
ground, far preferable to those beneath it.
The main focus was the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, being built to convey tar sands from western Canada to New Orleans and ultimately to other ports throughout this country, at a huge environmental cost. "Tar sands are the dirtiest fuel in the history of the planet," said Van Jones, polluting the air twice as much as does conventional petrol. The refining process is far more complex and the quality of the fuel inferior.
"banner 2 17/13? by Marta Steele
Steel tunnels, already built by investors, are so poorly
constructed that tar sands leak through cracks into the earth and aquifers, and
thus to drinking water and natural water formations, with hideous consequences
for residents of the affected terrain. The purpose of the tunnels is to convey
the toxic substance for import once it is refined into diesel and other
products here, profiting a minute percentage of the population--say the one
percent, at the risk of the rest of the inhabitants of both the United States
and western Canada.
President Obama can outlaw further construction and
implementation of the project by executive order, since he could not get
legislation passed in Congress, given the partisan divided in the House of
Representatives, which is burdened by a
Republican majority that often votes as an extremely right-wing bloc.
One speaker after another implored the president, echoed by
chants and cheers from the huge audience, to honor the commitment he made in
his State of the Union speech this year. ("For the sake of our children and our
future, we must do more to combat climate change.") The project was referred to
as "the most fateful battle in U.S. history" and "the most important job humans
have been entrusted with."
"If you don't fight for what you want, you'll regret what you end up with," warned another speaker.
"Occupy banner" by Marta Steele
A surprising participant in the event was an investor, Tom
Steyer, who is also founder of the Center for the Next Generation. Steyer
informed his surprised listeners that the pipeline is not a good investment, not
"business as usual"; we simply can't afford forty more years of carbon energy.
"We must dare to say no and invent a cleaner, cheaper energy
future," he concluded.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), representing the federal
government but critical of its policies, said that his colleagues must wake up
to reality and stop calling climate change a hoax. We must help the president
to work toward these crucial environmental goals.
"We were made for this moment," he said. We must be able to
say to our posterity, "Yes, we did!" A chant of "Yes, we can!" followed from
the huge audience.
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