The largest ever mobilisation of demonstrators for climate action saw 2 808 events in 166 countries with more than 675 000 global citizens taking to the streets ahead of the United Nations Climate Summit currently underway in New York City.
The Climate March in New York City on September 21 attracted more than 400 000 participants and was featured on the front page of The New York Times.
The team behind the website through which this massive demonstration was co-ordinated, www.avaaz.org, said, "The challenges of our time call us to be better, and together we've done that, growing and changing into a new and more effective kind of movement, a movement that is now both online, and offline. Huge gratitude to everyone who made it happen."
Plettenberg Bay marched on Saturday, September 20. Approximately 150 people added their voices to this cause. People wore green clothing and donned green hearts to show their support for sustainable environmental practices for the benefit of future generations.
Prior to the march, demonstrators gathered on the viewing platform overlooking picturesque Plett where they had the opportunity to take in the majesty of the natural environment they aim to protect. Natalie Buttress, activist and march co-convenor said, "We are showing up. We want the world to see we care. We are activating local change."
Jenny Lawrence, an avid environmentalist and longtime proponent of environmentally sustainable lifestyle choices, said, "Every tiny action we take counts. It doesn't matter which sphere of influence we act in."
Rhian Berning, eco-warrior and founder of Eco Atlas, an ethical directory aimed at empowering consumers to make better daily choices for people and planet, spoke about climate reality. Earlier this year, she attended training on this subject with Al Gore, a leader in the climate action movement.
Berning spoke of climate change as "the elephant in the room". She said, "You can't see it and you can't feel it but it is real and it is happening now." She explained that people worldwide are feeling the effects of climate change in the form of droughts, floods, fires and super storms.
Berning highlighted the need for a move towards clean, renewable energy resources. "Burning coal and oil is like burning the furniture in your own home to keep warm. Once you have burned all the furniture, then what?" she asked, "Every time you boil a kettle you are burning coal," she pointed out. "We are the first generation to feel the effects of climate change and the last generation that can do anything about it. We need to take our heads out of the sand and act. Now!" she said.
The signatures of those who attended the march were added to the global online petition submitted to the world leaders at the UN Climate Change Summit currently underway.
Berning also addressed the absurdity and short-sightedness of the current, unsustainable environmental practices in place in Bitou. "We truck out our waste and truck in our food at a huge cost to people and planet," she said.
A local petition was circulated amongst demonstrators. It demands the implementation of effective waste management (ie recycling education and initiatives); job creation through supporting local food-growing initiatives and organic farmers; clean and renewable energy sources such as solar geysers in all the communities in the greater Plettenberg Bay area; an environmental officer for Bitou; and a proper facility for the disposal of toxic chemicals.
The local petition has not yet been submitted to the authorities. It has garnered the support of an additional 150 concerned citizens since Saturday. The local petition has been placed at Central Library to allow those who wish to add their signatures to this cause to do so.
"We want to be heard so that our children will have the same access to clean air, clean water and so that they don't inherit a world where they have to fight for their food. We can turn this around but we have to act now," Berning concluded.
The march proceeded to the main road amidst heavy police presence. Drummers maintained a steady beat whilst participants chanted "Two, four, six, eight. Save the planet it's not too late," as the group walked from Signal Hill to the Main Road with their green hearts on their sleeves and their banners bearing slogans to promote a better world held high.
In the afterglow of the success of climate marches internationally, Berning shared the following wise words by Toko-pa Turner on the Eco Atlas page on social media platform, facebook: "In these times of devastating ecological and social collapse, there are those of us who feel an urgency to attend to the world 'before it’s too late.' But the great paradox is that this very tendency to rush anxiously ahead is what got us into trouble in the first place.
"In the Aboriginal way of dreaming, the past and future are embedded in the present. One’s embodiment is the ground into which all continuity flows, so the past can be just as influenced as the future by one’s way of going in the here and now.
"Let the way that you walk be slow. Let us listen to the pleas of our surrounding thirsts. Let us acknowledge the forgetting which drifted us onto this terrifying precipice. Let the grief of it all make its encounter through your remembering. And may beauty come alive then, under our feet."
Drummers maintained a steady beat and musicians added the melody whilst demonstrators chanted to draw attention to the global plight for clean energy. From left: Clyde Berning, Stuart Palmer, Mike Kantey and Chris Morningstar.
ARTICLE: CANDICE LUDICK, KNYSNA-PLETT HERALD JOURNALIST
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