This past Sunday, 400,000 people marched through the streets of New York City, and what a true display of the variety of mankind it was! There were people of all types: vegans, college students, Marxists, socialists, old hippies, young hippies, businessmen, celebrities, politicians, average Joes and Janes and more. People from all walks of life gathered together in a massive crowd and marched - strangers marched side by side, so close that they could feel each other’s body heat, old friends met up and hugged and walked together in solidarity, children smiled as they “marched” in their strollers – and after a few hours, they all said goodbye, dispersed and returned back to their regular lives. Why did this happen? What brought this menagerie of human beings together? It was the common demand we all share: strong action on climate change from the world’s leading body, the United Nations.
(A picture of the march on Sunday)
The People’s Climate March, which occurred in New York City, was accompanied by 2,808 events in 166 other countries across the world. For reference, there are 195 countries in the world, meaning that 85% of the Earth’s countries stood up this weekend and demanded climate justice. The feeling is the same among all of us, we’ve sat by and by and watched nearly nothing happen to globally fight climate change for too long, and we’re getting agitated. But beyond that agitation, we’re finally coming together enough to unitedly let our elected representatives feel that agitation more than ever, and the People’s Climate March is a fantastic example of that.
Though, while I was at this historic climate march, I couldn’t help but ponder a question that kept popping up in my mind: For how many people at this event will this be the most significant environmental action they take? And no, I don’t ask myself that hoping that they will go out and get arrested in radical acts of civil disobedience, I simply mean – is this what many people think is enough? Is gathering together for a few hours and marching through the streets, one time, enough? Will that create the change we desire, and that we need? I personally don’t think so.
While I know there were many people there who dedicate their entire lives to this issue, and I am so immensely grateful for that, I could not help but wonder about all the others there, the ones who aren't paid climate activists/organizers/etc. How many of the people at this event would go back to their lives and lead a complacent life style, satisfied by what they had been a part of? Yes, they would sign an environmental petition here and there, and continue to vehemently recycle, but they would leave behind the yelling-sign carrying-crowd marching-passion in New York City, and that is a truly terrifying thought to me. That is not to say they should not be proud of being a part of this historic march, but if anyone, ANYONE, thinks that is all that is necessary to create change, then they are out of their mind! I was praying and hoping throughout the whole march, and the ride home, that this was the least environmentally beneficial thing that any of the 400,000 people in attendance would do. I was imagining all these people going home and staying active with their local environmental organizations, speaking to their elected officials, organizing community events and petitions, making difficult and sometimes inconvenient sustainable changes in their own lifestyles, and it made me smile. But, I worry – I worry that is not the case. I worry that a march like this gives people a false sense of security that we are doing enough to change the world, when we aren’t. After all, changing the world is quite a big task.
And that got me thinking too; who is this march really for? Yes, it is for our global leaders and it is meant to lobby them and encourage them to take strong climate action, but is it not also for us? Is it not a mobilizing effort to make people see that this issue has support, but that support needs to continue building? Is the march not about getting people to feel inspired and return home to use that inspiration? As wonderful as it is be to believe that everything will be fixed after this UN Climate Summit – that a global carbon tax will be implemented, and that global carbon emission reductions goals will be created – you’d be ignorant to think that way. We have so much work we need to continue to do, and the climate movement needs every single one of those 400,000 people, and more, to step up back home and to take action. So please do so, take that inspiration that the march was designed to instill within you and run with it!
I’m a student, and I was part of a group that contained roughly 85 other UMD students that went to the march, which represents just a small fraction of the 50,000 college students in attendance. I am so hopeful that these 85 students did not simply attend the march “for the experience,” but rather they attended as a way to find their way into the environmental community on campus. Or if they did attend for the experience, I hope they left having gained something more than just another memory to tack on their wall. Our struggling planet does not need more people who consider sustainability or environmentalism a hobby or a fun thing to support or observe, it needs more people who so direly feel the need to take action that they are literally left with no other choice. The Earth needs people who realize how much trouble it is in, and who cannot help but move to action. So, to those 85 UMD students and those hundreds of thousands of other people from every walk of life, I ask so pleadingly, that this not be the end of your efforts nor the climax, but simply the beginning. For me personally, I will push myself to work 10x harder to protect our planet than I did before this march.
(A picture of a number of the UMD students on their way to the march!)
We need people in this battle, and a battle it is, for more than just a few hours on a Sunday afternoon - we need people Every. Single. Day. So, if you’re reading this, please don’t take my tone or opinions as critical or cynical, please understand I say this not out of aggression or anger towards others, but out of love for our planet, and because my conscious begs me to. I say this because more people need to commit to being sustainability leaders in their everyday lives, and to filling everyday with the passion and ferociousness that was felt at the People’s Climate March. And I’m not ignorant; I know that you may not have the capacity to dedicate every moment of every day to fighting this issue; I realize that, and that’s certainly not what I’m asking for. People have lives to live, families to raise, dreams to pursue, and other huge issues to tackle. But, what I am asking for is that you look at your life and ask yourself, “Am I doing everything that I am capable of doing in my own life to support this issue?” Answer honestly, because the only person that needs to hear the answer is you.
Everyone is able to commit differently to fighting this issue, and if you really feel you are giving this battle 100% of what you are able to give, then I applaud you! If going to the People’s Climate March this Sunday was truthfully everything that you can give, and your life does not allow for anything more, than keep on doing what you’re doing because you’re doing great. But if you asked yourself that question and you answered thinking, “I guess I could do a bit more,” then please, act on that thought – the planet needs you to. With all of us putting forth 100% of what we're able to, that is when I think we'll be able to change the world.
Here is a list of 5 things that students at UMD can do to be more green:
Volunteer with an environmental nonprofit – the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and the Sierra Club MD Chapter are two fantastic organizations in Maryland, and they are always looking for volunteers.
Contact your elected representatives – here is a link where you can find out who represents you in MD, let them know how you feel about environmental issues.
Join a sustainability related campus club – here is a link to a variety of campus organizations working in different aspects of sustainability.
Declare a Sustainability Minor – this is a 15 credit minor that crosses over with many majors; check it out here!
Be the change you wish to see in the world – always set an example for those around you, and lead by example. You’d be surprised by how many people you can impact.
This post was written by the SGA Director of Sustainability, Ori Gutin. If you have any questions or comments, he can be reached at omgutin@gmail.com.