The First State sent three busloads of concerned citizens to the September 21 massive and largely media-ignored Climate March in New York City. Reports claimed 400,000 marchers and I believe them, given the shoulder to shoulder shuffle we joyfully experienced on Sunday at Central Park Avenue.
Organized by Delaware’s Sierra Club and participated in also by The Audubon Society, Earth First and other environmental/social justice groups, the execution was flawless. Great leadership and even more fabulous herding of cats prevailed assuring no one got lost or left behind. Food on the bus and much solidarity was experienced by both the elders and the fantastic delegation of students and young people.
I’ve done a zillion protests and marches and organized a few as well. This was the best and most organized I’ve seen. The creativity of the costumes and demonstrations rivaled some of the best art shows I’ve attended. And the signs, many if not most home made were poignant and on message. There are a lot of gifted headline and copywriters out there among us great unwashed.
Too bad the copywriters in the lame media establishment were occupied by other priorities. CNN’s mobile web site called the massive gathering “several thousand” in their indifference to the most crucial issue humanity faces, including extinction. The network Sunday a.m. shows babbled on about comparatively lesser crises.
Locally, given that all pollution and warming is local, the larger issue is whether Delaware’s DNREC will step forward and provide the leadership necessary to deal with our very real issues of flooding and future inundation from the rising sea. It is gratifying that the Delaware has a citizen commission working on this issue for now about three years.
It is not so gratifying that the Delaware City Refinery is refining oil from tar sands crude. The Sierra Club is promoting citizen attendance at a hearing planned for Tuesday, Sept. 23, 6 pm. by the DNREC on Shoreline Stabilization. The hearing is taking place at the Kathleen H. Wilbur Elementary School multipurpose room, 4050 Wrangle Hill Rd., in Bear 19701. The Sierra Club needs support for the presentation there. No doubt they’ll point out the contradiction that the Refinery wants input on shoreline/sea rising issues caused by CO2 while they begin increasing CO2 production with their refining of the dirtiest crude known to humankind, tar sands crude.
The U.N. is paying attention with the deliberations on Climate there beginning this week. I’m sure they got our message from the streets of NYC and over 150 other countries. Will our largely deaf and dumb Congress get the message? Their in box should be pretty full by now.