Marching In Support of Global Warming Solutions
Posted by Steve Welzer on 02/19/07New Jerseyans To March In Support of Global Warming Solutions
On February 2 the Summary Report of the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was released. Approved by more than 2,500 leading scientists, the comprehensive report concludes that there is more than a 90% chance that human activities have driven most of the observed warming in the last 60 years. With it come predictions of a dire future, including much higher temperatures, a rise in the global sea level, stronger storms, and economic losses worldwide.
In response to this report, New Jerseyans are rising to the challenge of global warming by organizing the New Jersey Climate March, set to be the largest mobilization of residents to advocate global warming solutions in New Jersey’s history. This large action, to be held on April 13-16, will strive to change the state of inaction in the United States, which did not ratify the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement binding industrialized nations to reducing global warming pollution below 1990 levels by the year 2012.
According to Carlos Rymer, co-leader of the march, “the New Jersey Climate March will seek to enlist state legislators as co-sponsors of the Global Warming Response Act through a four-day march that will feature rallies, demonstrations, and petition drives throughout the state.” The Global Warming Response Act, introduced both in the state Assembly and Senate, will require New Jersey to reduce its global warming pollution by 70% below current levels by the year 2050.
The New Jersey Climate March has a website (http://www.njclimatemarch.org) where U.S. residents can sign a petition to be delivered to legislators, including Governor Corzine. New Jersey residents can also sign up to organize actions in cities and campuses or join the march.
According to studies, New Jersey may lose up to 6% of its landbase due to sea level rise by the end of the century and its climate may be that of Georgia by 2070, complicating its economic viability. The New Jersey Climate March seeks to end the use of dirty fossil fuels and begin a clean energy revolution that will conserve the garden state’s climate.
CONTACT:
Carlos Rymer, 551-556-0189
New Jersey Climate March Team
PO Box 1132
Bloomfield, NJ 07003