The Ocean is Rising…and So Are We! People’s Climate March on 4/29

UPDATE, 4/27/17: Please note there is also a Climate March event happening in Maplewood, NJ! Details in list below.

For the third weekend in a row, thousands of people will gather at marches and rallies around the country, this time for the People’s Climate March, on Saturday, April 29th.  In addition to the main march in D.C., there are more than 250 sister marches planned in locations around the world!

April 29th is the president’s 100th day in office. March organizers chose this date in order to shine a spotlight on the current administration’s stance on climate change — and to demonstrate mass support for climate justice and “an economy that works for people and planet.” 

New Jerseyans have many options for participating in the People’s Climate March:

• Washington D.C. March.  Line up starting at 11am in front of the Capitol Building at 3rd and Jefferson SW. March begins at 12:30, heading up Pennsylvania Ave, where at approximately 2pm, the march route will completely encircle the White House. Speakers and music scheduled at the Washington Monument grounds from 3-5pm. Small backpacks and bags are allowed. Bring refillable water bottles and light snacks. You can search for a bus to DC here.
• Philly People’s Climate March. From 1-5 pm, beginning at City Hall (1401 JFK Blvd).
• Walk for Our World’s Green Future, Princeton, NJ. 9:30am at D & R Greenway Land Trust.
• New Jersey People’s Climate Movement Rally, Roselle, NJ. 10:30am-12:30pm at Warinanco Park.
• People’s Climate March Staten Island. 12-4pm at the Boardwalk, Midland Beach/South Beach.
• Caldwell Huddle Climate Change Event, Caldwell, NJ. 11am-3pm, Caldwell Town Green.
• Stroudsburg’s Climate Movement, Stroudsburg, PA. 11am at Bryant Park.
• Climate Rally Bergen and Beyond, Hackensack, NJ. 10-11:30am at the Bergen County Courthouse.
• People’s Climate March, Queens. 10am-2pm, 50-19 Broadway, Woodside, NY.
• Leonia People’s Climate March, Leonia, NJ.  9:30am at Leonia Middle School.
• People’s Climate March SOMA, Maplewood, NJ. 11am-2pm at Springfield Ave. betw. Yale and Oberlin Streets.

The People’s Climate March is being organized by the People’s Climate Movement, a project shared by a coalition of 50+ organizations including 350.org, American Federation of Teachers, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Center for Popular Democracy, Color of Change, Earthjustice, the League of Conservation Voters, the NAACP, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Our Revolution, SEIU, Sierra Club, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and many more. More than 500 other organizations around the country are sponsoring events and local marches.

Groups sponsoring nearby marches and events include: Philly With Standing Rock, Sustainable Princeton, Climate Change Activists of Union County, Sustainable Staten Island, the Caldwell Huddle, the Ethical Culture Sociey of Bergen County, GreenFaith, Queens Action Council, the Leonia Action Alliance, and many more!

If you cannot attend a climate march, there are still many actions you can take to increase the impact of the People’s Climate Movement. In fact, you can also take these actions even if you are planning to march on Saturday. Before, during and after the event, you can share invites, articles and photos for the march on social media, to help shape public opinion. But don’t stop there!

• Call your members of Congress or write a letter to the editor explaining why you stand in solidarity with the People’s Climate March.
• Tell your members of Congress to protect the EPA and other programs (such as the Global Climate Change Initiative, the Green Climate Fund, the Strategic Climate Fund, the Clean Technology Fund, NASA’s Office of Education, and the Energy Star Program) that the administration is threatening with budget cuts.
• Call your state legislators here in New Jersey and urge them to support S3059/A4701, a bill that would bring New Jersey back into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative,  and S1707/A2203, the Renewable Energy Transition Act. (UPDATE, 5/27/17: A4701 has now passed in the state Senate and Assembly! Thanks to everyone who made calls. Now the bill goes to the governor’s desk. Stay tuned for STAND CNJ call-to-action in the coming days!)
• Take part in the New Jersey March for Science’s first call-to-action, and tell your state legislators to implement a long-term state climate change plan as recommended by the NJ Climate Adaptation Alliance.

Everyone can participate in the People’s Climate Movement for climate and social justice, whether by marching or calling elected officials, on Saturday or the days surrounding the march. Please find time to pick up the phone for our planet!

And save the date for the next two nationwide marches:

• May Day Action (March for Immigrants and Workers/Day Without Immigrants), May 1st
• The Equality March for Unity and Pride, June 11th