Largest Climate Action in US History Planned- Could Al Gore Come on Board?
On March 2nd, 2009, over 1,000 activists are poised to take part in a mass sit-in in Washington DC at one of the nation’s most prominent coal plants. The action will coincide with PowerShift 2009, a demonstration and conference being put on by Energy Action Coalition, which is expected to draw over 10,000 people in an effort to make climate action a priority of the incoming administration.
The act of civil disobedience will take part at The Capital Coal Plant, which provides power to the Dictrict’s Capitol Complex and to Congress. The House of Representatives has resolved to get their power from cleaner sources, but the Senate continues to obtain their power from the coal plant.
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The action is happening in order to protest the Senate’s decision to keep using dirty energy, as well as to make a broad statement about our country’s dependence on carbon emitting power sources. It is being sponsored by some of the world’s largest direct action environmental groups, such as GreenPeace and the Rainforest Action Network.
This will be potentially historical because, on top of aiming for a huge number of demonstrators to peacefully break the law, the organizations seek to include people of all ages and demographics. According to It’s Getting Hot In Here, the aim is “to create an action framework that is accessible to all - from students, to elderly, to parents, to notable public figures and beyond.”
With support and major press coverage for environmental actions in the UK, Australia and at sea, and with direct action in the US and Europe making major headlines, what better time to finally make this country the climate change leader it should become?
And while it’s too early to get our hopes up too high, maybe we can get Al Gore to stay true to his word about supporting non-violent civil disobedience. Three months ago, Gore was quoted by Reuters as saying “I believe we have reached the stage where it is time for civil disobedience,” followed with, “I will sit down in front of the bulldozers with other protesters and take what comes to me.”
If you are sick of lists telling you that changing your light bulbs is the most eco-friendly action you can take, then join me and hopefully thousands of others on March 2nd as we show this country what environmental change is all about!
If you need more information or would like to help organize or sponsor this event, check out http://www.capitalclimateaction.org
Photo Credit: Akuppa on Flickr under Creative Commons license
[...] is likely to be the largest climate change-related civil disobedience act in US history is taking place in Washington DC on March 2nd. To RSVP for this historic event, visit the main website, or if you have a Facebook account, visit [...]
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How’s the sitting in that snowstorm ? Come back in 11 years when the solar cycle is at a peak instead of at a deep minimum and it won’t be so cold out there protesting climate change.