I went for a walk yesterday--with a lot of other people
More than 1000 of us walked into Burlington, Vermont yesterday on the final eight-mile leg of the nearly 50 mile walk for global warming action that began Thursday. Bernie Sanders called it the largest political demonstration in Vermont in recent memory (www.freynland.com); the line, led by author Bill McKibben, stretched more than half a mile through the state's biggest city.
And if you're wondering what impact such old-skool tactics might have, here's what happened at the rally at the march's close: All of Vermont's Congressional and Senatorial candidates signed on to a tough global warming pledge, essentially endorsing the Waxman bill that would begin to catch the U.S. up to European countries in tackling climate change. That is--forty mile per gallon cars, 85% carbon reduction by 2050, and 20% renewables by 2020.
The signers included not just Democratic congressional candidate Peter Welch and Independent Senatorial candidate Bernie, but also the rightwing Republican Senatorial hopeful Rich Tarrant, and the former adjutant of the Vermont National Guard, Martha Rainville, who is the Republican running against Welch. A few weeks ago Rainville wasn't even sure global warming was caused by people or by a "natural cycle;" somehow it was incredibly educational for her to see how many of her fellow Vermonters were willing to spend five days walking through the remnants of Hurricane Ernesto to make their point. But Bernie got some of the biggest applause of the day for pointing out it didn't make much difference how she felt personally, since she'd simply be one more GOP vote in a Congress determined to ignore the laws of physics.
McKibben--who wrote the first book on global warming, The End of Nature, in 1989--said at the rally's close that it was his most hopeful day in twenty years. "The people have made it clear that the minimum acceptable position for a Vermont candidate for federal office is to be incredibly aggressive about global warming. Anything less and you simply have no credibility."
One thousand people is about one out of every 600 Vermonters. We were teachers, farmers, war veterans, kids, snowboarders, members of the clergy. Everyone seemed relieved, finally,not only to be able to stand up and be counted, but to demand--and get--accountability from every member of the Vermont's prospective congressional delegation.
One state down, 49 to go. Put on your walking shoes and get a move(ment) on!