The Great March for Climate Action

Organizers from Iowa are preparing to launch a nationwide campaign to draw attention to climate change.

By Dave Murphy

An overwhelming majority of climate scientists say the Earth is warming. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has studied peer-reviewed scientific research, reporting with 95 percent confidence that humans are the cause of this warming. The change in the Earth has led to extreme temperatures, more destructive storms and more and more damage resulting from an angry Mother Nature.

Despite these facts, both visual and scientific, the general feeling towards climate change seems to be apathy. Dealing with climate change is near the bottom of policy priorities for most Americans and has fallen slightly in recent years. Coverage of climate change among the U.S. media has largely stagnated on TV and fallen for major national newspapers. So despite the scientific community basically screaming that we need to act, society continues on unabated. Carbon levels continue to rise and more damage is done (look at the wildfires and drought in California for a recent example of what climate change has in store for us).

This is why the Great March for Climate Action was formed. Founded by former Iowa Representative Ed Fallon, the Climate March will walk 3,000 miles from Los Angeles to Washington, DC with the idea that we need to take action to combat the effects of climate change as well as try to wean people away off the environmentally damaging behaviors that have become so prevalent in society.

The Climate March will take its first step on March 1 with a large rally in Wilmington, Calif., near Los Angeles. Over the next eight months, people from all over the United States (currently 37 states) and even all over the globe (five total countries are currently represented) will walk across the continental United States. Along the way, the marchers will be showcasing ways to help reduce carbon use with solar and wind powered equipment and even composting portable toilets. There will also be education programs and much more to help people change how they consume and how they use resources.

The current marcher count is over 200 people, with Iowa having the largest representation. The March will also pass through Iowa in August. We would love to have more people from Iowa join us on the journey, even if it is for a day. If marching isn’t ideal, then more support is always welcome. If you’re interested in helping the March, please visit climatemarch.org or crowdrise.com/climatemarch to find ways to donate time, money or equipment.

Fixing the damage we have already done won’t just be because the government and big businesses have changed their current paths. It will also be up to the average citizen to chip in. Our hope is the Climate March will help spurn people into action.

Dave Murphy is the communications director at the Great March for Climate Action.