The
People's Climate March got some unusual support Friday. Twenty-six senators signed a letter praising the march's organizers and participants for their call to action on global warming this coming Sunday in New York City. Led by the Committee on Environment and Public Works chairwoman Barbara Boxer of California and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, all signers are Democrats except for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats. Signers also include 19 of the 24 members of the Senate Climate Action Task Force
established in January by Boxer and Whitehouse to make global warming a central focus in Congress.
Organizers of the march predict a large turnout—at least 100,000 people—for a peaceful protest against the relentless foot-dragging over policy changes on climate. If marchers appear in such numbers, it would be the largest protest in the city since opposition to the U.S. invasion of Iraq brought at least 200,000 to the streets there on March 22, 2003. The largest demonstration ever in the city was the 1982 anti-nuclear weapons march, when even notoriously low police estimates put the crowd at over a million.
The People's Climate March was designed to be a prod to those attending the latest climate summit, a week-long international conference that begins in New York Monday. The summit is titled "Catalyzing Action," but given the history of climate summitry so far, that would be better as the title of the march, part of whose message is for everyone to return home and organize.
The senators' letter of support is mildly worded, but it's still extraordinary to see a fourth of the Senate put their names to a document backing a protest march. Some excerpts:
We commend all the citizens, business leaders, unions, faith groups, social justice groups, environmental organizations and others from across the nation who have gathered in New York City for the People's Climate March this weekend. Although we cannot all be with you, we want you to know that your participation sends a strong signal to the U.S. Congress and leaders around the globe about the need for action to protect our communities and families from the impacts of climate change. [...]
Climate change deniers need to pull their heads out of the sand and stop obstructing efforts to address climate change. Poll after poll shows the American people want our leaders to protect their families and future generations from the effects of dangerous climate change and to support federal limits on carbon pollution.
The call for action from citizens like you is one of the reason why the Senate Climate Actions Task Force was formed. It's a way for us to use our bully pulpit to "Wake up Congress" about the serious threat posed by climate change and to push our leaders across the globe to do more to address this problem.
Thank you for participating in the People's Climate March and for making your voices heard on the need for action. Your vision and commitment is truly inspiring.
Kudos to Boxer and Whitehouse for their steady commitment to waking up a Congress that keeps hitting the snooze button on global warming. The task they have set themselves would be far easier if the 31 Democratic senators who are not on the Climate Action Task Force would sign up. And maybe even a few gutsy Republicans could be found willing to do what's best for the nation, and the planet, instead of playing ignoramuses or marionettes in the matter of climate change.
Please read below the fold for more on this story and the actual letter.
If one or both of your senators isn't part of the task force, think about ringing up their district office on Monday and asking why not. Here is the list of letter signers:
Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein of California, Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden of Oregon, Patrick Leahy and Bernard Sanders of Vermont, Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray of Washington, Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Elizabeth Warren and Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts, Robert Menendez and Cory Booker of New Jersey, Sheldon Whitehouse and Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz of Hawai'i, Benjamin L. Cardin of Maryland, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Chris Coons of Delaware, and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.
Here is full text of the letter the senators sent: