Forward On Climate: Change We Can Believe In On Climate Change?

While I have criticized Barack Obama in this blog for his less than stellar performance on global warming, it is important to remember that he is merely the man in the Oval Office. Congress, the courts, as well as the people of this country also bear the responsibility of moving things forward when it comes to the environment and global warming.

            Of all these actors, it is often the people who prove to be the most important agents and instigators of change. Suffragettes marched and demonstrated, and politicians agreed to enfranchise women with the vote. Without Martin Luther King and the March on Washington in 1963, there may not have been the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

            For this reason I cheer the Forward On Climate Rally planned for the 17^th of this month. Organized by 350.org, the Sierra Club, and the Hip Hop Caucus, the rally promises to gather thousands at the National Mall to urge the President and Congress to pass reasonable climate legislation. The Keystone Pipeline, which President Obama has the authority to authorize or reject, has been set in the crosshairs by the organizers of the rally. The pipeline both physically and symbolically embodies what is most wrong with our energy policy. Relying on the mining of Canadian tar sands, the Keystone oil will lay waste to a huge area of Alberta, as well as contribute an ever-greater amount of CO2 to the environment than more traditional oil drilling does.

            I will, unfortunately, be unable to attend the rally, but I hope that enough concerned citizens are able to make it to DC and let Washington know that we do not want a warmer world. I will make it to the rally being held in Balboa Park in San Diego. If you can't make it to the big rally in Washington, I encourage you to show up at your local rally.