Carolyn’s note: I did publish this earlier on Feb. 26 in the previous Blog for Arizona site (but it disappeared into cyberspace when we switched to this new platform, so I’m re-posting.)
The Great March for Climate Action starts TODAY on March 1, 2014, in Los Angeles.
From http://climatemarch.org/:
“The goal of the Great March for Climate Action is to change the heart and mind of the American people, our elected leaders and people across the world to act now to address the climate crisis.
On March 1, 2014, hundreds of climate patriots will set out from Los Angeles, CA, walking 3,000 miles across America to Washington, DC, inspiring action to resolve the climate crisis. This will be one of the largest coast-to-coast marches in American history.
Marchers will be expected to adhere to a strict code of non-violence according to the principles employed by Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi. An addendum that explains this in greater detail will be provided before the march starts next year. Also, we will provide mandatory non-violence training at the start of the March.
The March seeks to build the broadest possible public consensus and is focused strictly on the climate crisis. Marchers will, of course, have their own personal stories and perspectives. However, it is important that we stick to the core message, in unison, with our words, signs and public presentations.
We plan to govern the March through a “city council” of marchers elected by marchers. At times, we will employ a “town meeting” style of governance involving the entire marcher community, with a simple majority vote to make a decision”.
Former Tucson Mayoral and Ward 3 candidate Mary DeCamp and her dog Birdie will be marching from Phoenix to Washington, D.C. for this Great March for Climate Action. To contribute to Mary’s efforts go to www.crowdrise.com/MaryDeCampPhoenix-DC. You can email her at mdecamp@q.com, and hopefully she will have email capability throughout this 8 month march. Her goal is to raise $4140 and she will join this march in Phoenix on April 8. She ran for the Ward 3 Council seat in 2009, and the Mayor’s seat in 2011, as a Green Party candidate. She has raised $360 to date.
Expected date of arrival of this march in D.C. is November 1, 2014, a bit chilly then. I hear the goal is to walk 15 miles a day from the starting point at Wilmington, California (in Los Angeles). About 235 marchers (from 36 states, 6 countries) have signed up so far, but you can join by going online for the application. Route map across U.S.A. available online as well.
Notables who are supporting this march: actor Ed Begley, Jr., U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), activist Jim Hightower, environmental activist Bill McKibben (www.350.org), Nobel Peace Prize winner/No. Irish activist Mairead Maguire.
Arizona city stops: Parker, Bouse, Salome, Aguila, Wickenburg, Circle City, Wittmann, Surprise, Sun Grand City, Sun City, Sun City West, Peoria, Glendale, Phoenix, Payson, Star Valley, Forest Lakes, Heber, Heber-Overgaard, Snowflake, Concho, St Johns. Check online as to the marchers’ progress so you can cheer them on when they march into and through Arizona.
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4/18/14 Note from Mary DeCamp: “I wanted to drop you a quick note now that I have access to a computer for a few hours, and update you on the Great March for Climate Action.
We’ve got about 40 people trekking across the country – a few are “spirit walkers” who are dedicated to walking each step of the way, but others are willing to trade off on driving some of the support vehicles. We have an eco-commode with 3 booths; it’s the most sanitary and eco-friendly outhouse ever. Waste is separated in solids and liquids and the cedar sawdust eliminates the odors that all too often plague outdoor toilets. We have a solar trailer that hauls along solar ovens and a solar generator. We have a gear truck to tote the tents and sleeping bags and camping stuff we need. We have a food truck to haul groceries and propane cookstands and utensils. We have a couple of Prius cars to serve as a “sag wagons” (stationed along trail to rescue anyone who is blistering or suffering and needs a ride to camp) or shuttles.
The scenery is gorgeous. Each day we fall more deeply in love with Mother Earth as we explore her nooks and crannies. We sleep on the ground, under the stars, listening to whispering pines and/or gurgling creeks. The side of the road is littered with all sorts of stuff that also catches attention as we trudge those 15 mile stretches.
We’ve taken to writing President Obama a letter every day. We’re hoping that if we consistently plight our case, he may be more willing to meet with us when we get to Washington, DC. Along the way we gather stories and cards and ideas and concerns to share with our elected officials when we get there.
At night we gather in circles to talk and share food and drink. Some nights, when conditions allow, we have a campfire and share the heat and light, just like our ancestors have always done. There are meetings, too, reminiscent of Occupy Tucson. And just as I did then, I typically crawl off to my sleeping bag with my dog Birdie instead of sitting up for the duration of the meeting.
A common theme of the last meeting was Marchers feeling they do not have enough time to themselves to enjoy the journey. I don’t have that complaint because I do not have a computer, a smart phone, a watch, or a camera. Those seem to eat up a lot of time, leaving little for quiet contemplation. I’ve felt disconnected from my friends and supporters, but very in touch with Birdie and quite serene.
Our path has taken us through Maricopa Pima Apache Reservation land, through the Tonto National Forest and the Sitgreaves National Forest. It is stunningly gorgeous. It makes me all the more aware of what hangs in the balance if we don’t get climate change front and center in everyone’s brain. We’ll lose this beautiful planet. And we are in the land of the deniers, based on some of the outreach encounters we’ve had.
This coming week includes Earth Day. I’m so glad we’ve shared space and time on our planet. I hope future generations will be as lucky as we’ve been to experience the natural beauty of our Mother Earth”.
Love & Peace,
Mary
Climate Crisis? Do you know what you never, ever see in the Global Warming debate? A graph of world ice volumes which starts at zero volume and goes back a hundred years. Just one glance would enable the typical person to understand that we haven’t begun to approach any statistically significant change.
When you are trying to deceive people, you have to avoid communicating with people in ways that they can understand
Who is supposed to be the worst victim of Climate Change, deaths and all that? Maricopa County. But, over the last 40 years, we’ve had our own global warming due to asphalt and concrete that far exceeds the impact of global warming expected in the next 100 years.
The impact? Maricopa county has experienced more prosperity than all but three other counties in the nation. And, none of the death trends predicted by these alarmist papers.
All the carbon change that you are panicing about will not amount to one part in one thousand in even fifty years. That’s an I convenient truth.
As I’ve said in recent posts, your religiosity crowds out your ability to reason. You’ve read propaganda put out by the right-wing, anti-science crowd, and you have “faith” they’re correct.
And your hypocrisy is unreal. You’re adamant that Krugman and Stiglitz are not qualified to comment on the same subject matter as Prescott and Roberson, in whom you have faith, yet you, a blog troll, feel you yourself are qualified to comment on the science of climate change and question the works of James Hansen and others.