Scientists Lead Huge Climate Change March in NYC

[Buster's Uncle]

Scientists Lead Huge Climate Change March in NYC
LiveScience.com
By Kelly Dickerson, Staff Writer  1 hour ago



Over 300,000 people marched the streets of New York yesterday (Sept. 21) in a demonstration aimed at ending global inaction on climate change.



NEW YORK — Lab-coat-clad and picket-sign-wielding scientists were on the frontlines of the People's Climate Change march yesterday (Sept. 21) along with hordes of students and others concerned about the planet's changing climate.

The march, organized to bring more public awareness to climate change effects and policies, was planned in anticipation of the UN Climate Summit that will meet at the United Nations headquarters in Manhattan tomorrow (Sept. 23). The march was divided into six different themed sections and scientists marched in the "The Debate Is Over" section. Many carried signs with slogans like "We are the 97 percent consensus," "Science is not a liberal conspiracy" and "Friends don't let friends deny reality."

Mike Greene, a professor of ecology at the University of Colorado, Denver, said it's important for science to inform the policy decisions made in the future, and the only way that will happen is if scientists take a more active role.

"It's time for nerdy scientists to show our knowledge, and stop being so passive," Greene said.

The scientists' main prop was a giant blackboard with the slogan "The 'Debate' Is Over!" that displayed a line graph of how much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased over time and how much global temperatures have increased over time. Today carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is around 400 parts per million, and is projected to surge to a new high this year.

Melissa Tier, a sociology student, said she was proud to see the turnout from the scientific community. "It's really exciting to see the unification of science and activism," Tier said. "That's pretty rare, but we need more of it."



A group of scientists joined the "The Debate Is Over" themed section of the climate change march.


Katie Holten, a New York-based artist who has worked on many environmental and science-influenced art projects, said climate change is the most important issue of our time. "Change is complicated, and there's not just one issue," Holten said. "But I think the bottom line is that we have to cut emissions now."

Alex Ahn, an undergraduate student studying marine science, said that scientists should speak out, because they have a unique perspective on climate change. "Climate systems are the major driver of marine ecosystems, so I've seen the changes firsthand," Ahn said.

He was impressed with the domestic concern for climate seen in this year's march compared with the march in Warsaw last year that focused more on international issues of climate change.

"It's great to see people here really taking responsibility for their own contribution," Ahn said. 

An estimated 300,000 people marched yesterday from Central Park West down to 34th Street and 11th Avenue. The People's Climate March has activities planned for the rest of the week, including a "Flood Wall Street" sit-in scheduled for today (Sept. 22) to protest the role big business plays in contributing to climate change. Organizers expect anywhere from a few hundred to 1,000 protesters to participate.


http://news.yahoo.com/scientists-lead-huge-climate-change-march-nyc-151846804.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Climate protesters to risk arrest during Wall Street sit-in
Reuters
By Sebastien Malo  1 hour ago



Demonstrators stage a sit-in on Broadway during a march protesting for action on climate change and Wall Street greed, Monday, Sept. 22, 2014, a day after a huge climate march in New York City. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)



NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hundreds of protesters marched through New York City's financial district on Monday to call attention to what organizers say is capitalism's contribution to climate change, snarling traffic and risking arrest as they sought to block Wall Street.

The Flood Wall Street demonstration comes on the heels of Sunday's international day of action that brought some 310,000 people to the streets of New York City in the largest single protest ever held over climate change.

Marchers gathered at a waterfront park before marching into the financial district, surprising New Yorkers and police by turning off Broadway and against traffic into smaller streets, against the flow of traffic.

Kai Sanburn, a 60-year-old nurse and mother of two from Los Angeles, said she had traveled to New York for Sunday's march but wanted to do more.

"Marching is wonderful but to really change things we really need to change things," Sanburn said. "The action here against Wall Street is really expressive of the feeling that corporations and capitalism no longer serve people."



Demonstrators in animal costumes walk in the "People's Climate March" in central London September 21, 2014. The London march was one many held worldwide, ahead of the forthcoming U.N. Emergency summit on climate change. (REUTERS/Luke MacGregor)


The demonstrators plan to block the steps of the New York Stock Exchange with a sit-in, where some 200 people have said they will risk arrest by the New York City Police Department during the action, according to Leah Hunt-Hendrix, a spokeswoman for the protesters.

The group has roots in the Occupy Wall Street movement that started in a downtown Manhattan park in 2011 to protest what it called unfair banking practices that serve the wealthiest 1 percent, leaving behind 99 percent of the world's population.

Flood Wall Street organizers said they hope Monday's action will draw a link between economic policies and the environment, accusing top financial institutions of "exploiting frontline communities, workers and natural resources" for financial gain.

The event is part of Climate Week, which seeks to draw attention to carbon emissions and their link to global warming, and it comes ahead of a Tuesday United Nations Climate Summit.

Some protesters said they had come out in support but hoped to avoid arrest.

"I'm not planning on participating in the sit-in. I do environmental work outside of the Occupy movement so I'm not able to risk that," said Dana Ruygrok, a 19-year-old environmental activist from Chicago. "Yesterday was awe-inspiring so I thought I want to come here and find out what it's all about."

(Writing by Victoria Cavaliere and Scott Malone; Editing by Fiona Ortiz, Sandra Maler, Susan Heavey and Cynthia Osterman)


http://news.yahoo.com/climate-protesters-pledge-risk-arrest-during-wall-street-090918851--sector.html

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New York climate march draws hundreds of thousands
Reuters
By Barbara Goldberg and Natasja Sheriff  September 21, 2014 8:22 PM



NEW YORK (Reuters) - An international day of action on climate change brought hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets of New York City on Sunday, easily exceeding organizers' hopes for the largest protest on the issue in history.

Organizers estimated that some 310,000 people, including United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, actor Leonardo DiCaprio and elected officials from the United States and abroad joined the People's Climate March, ahead of Tuesday's United Nations hosted summit in the city to discuss reducing carbon emissions that threaten the environment.

The New York rally, the largest single protest ever held on the topic of climate change, followed similar events in 166 countries including Britain, France, Afghanistan and Bulgaria.

"The march numbers are beating our wildest expectations," said Ricken Patel, executive director of activist group Avaaz, which organized the march. "In 2,500 marches from Paris to Bogota, we've blown past expected numbers. Climate change is not a green issue anymore, it's an everybody issue."

The march wound down at 6:30 p.m. ET (2230 GMT) and cleaning crews moved in as police reopened the street to traffic. A few handfuls of people remained on sidewalks, singing and chanting in the evening, but most participants were headed home.

A New York Police Department spokesman said there were no arrests or incidents during the demonstration. The police department does not provide crowd size estimates.

Organizers said another 270,000 people had participated in related events outside New York.

During the demonstration the crowd, including U.S. senators Bernard Sanders, an independent from Vermont and Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, marched along the city's Central Park, through midtown Manhattan to Times Square and stopped for a moment of silence at 12:58 p.m. (1658 GMT).

Ban, wearing a T-shirt that read "I'm for climate action" marched arm-in-arm with British primatologist Jane Goodall and French Ecology Minister Segolene Royal.

"This is the planet where our subsequent generations will live," Ban told reporters. "There is no 'Plan B,' because we do not have 'Planet B.'"

The march resounding with drums, horns and chants that had echoed off skyscrapers easily dwarfed the raucous 2009 demonstration on climate change in Copenhagen, which drew tens of thousands of people that resulted in the detention of 2,000 protesters.

The march comes days after the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that August 2014 was the warmest on record, some 1.35 degrees Fahrenheit (0.75 C) above the 20th century global average of 60.1 F (15.6 C).

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Sunday unveiled a new plan for the city to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent from 2005 levels by 2050.

All 3,000 major city-owned buildings would be retrofitted with energy saving heating, cooling and light systems by then, he said, though meeting the commitment will also require significant investments by private landlords.

DiCaprio marched towards the front of the group, with members of an Ecuadorean tribe who have fought a years-long legal battle with Chevron Corp over Amazon pollution.

"This is the most important issue of our time," DiCaprio said. "I'm incredibly proud to be here."

(Additional reporting by Louis Charbonneau at the United Nations and Kylie MacLellan in London; Editing by Scott Malone, Bill Trott, William Hardy, Marguerita Choy and Diane Craft)


http://news.yahoo.com/york-climate-march-draws-hundreds-thousands-002224813.html

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Climate protesters arrested in march on Wall Street
Reuters
By Sebastien Malo  1 hour ago



New York City police officers arrest a man taking part in the Flood Wall Street demonstration in Lower Manhattan, New York September 22, 2014. REUTERS/Adrees Latif



NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dozens of protesters were arrested on Monday during a demonstration in New York City to denounce what organizers say is Wall Street's contribution to climate change.

Hundreds of protesters had earlier in the day blocked streets near the stock exchange, in an action called Flood Wall Street.

It came on the heels of Sunday's international day of action that brought 310,000 people to the streets of New York City in what activists said was the largest protest ever held on climate change.

Sunday's turnout was about triple that of the previous biggest demonstration on climate change, a Copenhagen demonstration five years ago.

Shortly after the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange at 4 p.m., demonstrators tried to push back metal barricades the New York Police Department had used to keep them away, an effort that ended when police turned pepper spray on the crowd.



Police scuffle with protesters during the 'Flood Wall Street' demonstration in Lower Manhattan, New York on September 22, 2014. REUTERS/Adrees Latif


Police later broke up the gathering, ordering remaining protesters to disband. A core group of a few dozen activists staged a sit-in steps away from Wall Street, and police officers handcuffed and walked them away one-by-one, taking them to police vans parked nearby.

Earlier in the day, police had arrested three protesters.

An NYPD representative could not immediately provide an exact tally of how many protesters were arrested on Monday.

The protest group behind Monday's action has roots in the Occupy Wall Street movement that started in a downtown Manhattan park in 2011 to protest what it called unfair banking practices that serve the wealthiest 1 percent, leaving behind 99 percent of Americans.

Kai Sanburn, a 60-year-old nurse and mother of two from Los Angeles, said she had traveled to New York for Sunday's march and wanted to do more.

"Marching is wonderful but to really change things we really need to change things," Sanburn said on Monday. "The action here against Wall Street is really expressive of the feeling that corporations and capitalism no longer serve people."

Flood Wall Street organizers said they hope Monday's action will draw a link between economic policies and the environment, accusing top financial institutions of "exploiting frontline communities, workers and natural resources" for financial gain.

The event is part of Climate Week, which seeks to draw attention to carbon emissions and their link to global warming, and it comes ahead of a Tuesday United Nations Climate Summit.

(Writing by Victoria Cavaliere and Scott Malone; Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis and Sandra Maler)


http://news.yahoo.com/climate-protesters-arrested-march-wall-street-004036724--sector.html