Valley residents push awareness of climate change at Northampton rally
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NORTHAMPTON Adele Franks of Northampton spent a beautiful Sunday afternoon marching along Bridge Street to call attention to climate change.
"I'm committed to weaning us from fossil fuels," she said. "We'd like for this planet to exist in all its beauty and wonder for all those who come after us."
She was one of 40 people who marched from the Bridge Street School to the Coolidge Bridge Sunday. About half of them held up large letters that spelled out "Stop Climate Change."
Many carried hand-lettered cardboard signs held together with duct tape, with slogans such as "Move Beyond Fossil Fuels" and "Forward to Sustainability."
The march was one of more than 2,000 events in 175 countries this weekend seeking to reverse the rise in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which is widely believed to cause volatility in the world's climate patterns.
On Sept. 2, Franks was arrested for the first time in her life while participating in a demonstration in Washington, she said.
About 1,200 people were arrested over several weeks while urging President Obama to reject a pipeline that would carry oil from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada, to refineries on the Gulf Coast. The way this oil is extracted is inefficient and destroys Canadian forests, she said.
The Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas, a priest associate at Grace Episcopal Church in Amherst, carried an Earth flag during the march. On Saturday, she participated in a similar march in Boston, and with other faith leaders she went to the Canadian consulate to protest the development of the tar sands oil, she said.
She wore her clerical collar during Sunday's march.
"Every mainstream religion believes that the Earth was given to humankind to cherish and protect," said Bullitt-Jonas, a Northampton resident. "It's a moral and ethical issue because the poorest are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change but are the least responsible for causing it."
The marchers wore T-shirts with slogans such as "Give Bees a Chance" and "Grow Food Not Lawns." Several motorists honked their support as they drove by.
Maya Apfelbaum of Greenfield led the march from inside a 10-foot-tall puppet called "Sunny Green" that she said combines art and technology. The puppet's head was topped with pieces of solar panels and her eyes were flashlights with renewable batteries.
Marcher David Entin of Northampton said he installed solar panels on the roof of his residence this year, and his electric bills declined to zero. He's started composting and riding his bicycle more, he said.
"We need to tell our leaders, especially the tea party, that climate change is real and they need to deal with it," he said. "I'm concerned that the country seems to be going to the right."
Darcy DuMont of Amherst said she just spent a week trying to avoid doing anything that would have an impact on the environment. That meant using no gasoline, generating no trash, and buying goods without packaging, she said.
"I feel like this is the ultimate issue," she said. "We need to do something soon or we will pass a tipping point."
Doug Renick of Northampton said that this past summers extreme weather events, such as rain in New England and drought in Texas, may be attributable to climate change. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is up to 391 parts per million, while scientists say any level over 350 is unsafe, he said.
James Lowenthal of Northampton, a bicycling advocate, said that "the auto-based lifestyle is a major part of climate change."
The average American drives between 12,000 and 15,000 miles a year, generating between 6 million and 7.5 million tons of carbon dioxide, Lowenthal said. A third of car trips are three miles or less and would be more efficient and pleasant done by bicycle, he said.
Mark Gelotte, a Hatfield architect, was one of the marchers. He said that energy efficiency is a prime consideration in most of the homes he designs.
"It's important to take action, because the risks (of climate change) are too great to sit by and do nothing," he said.
Claudia Lefko of Northampton held a sign saying "War #1 Pollutor."
"We can ride our bikes and turn our lights off, but the more we wage war, the more the planet is dying," she said.
After the march, Hampshire College Professor Michael Klare of Northampton spoke to the group. He said he was hired 25 years ago to increase literacy about the nuclear arms race, and "energy literacy" is a comparable issue today.
This week, he read the terrifying news that world energy demand is expected to rise 53 percent by 2035, with much of the increase coming in China and India, mostly from fossil fuels like coal and natural gas.
"We have the herculean task to educate the public about our energy choices," he said.
