Savannah Mailloux

Staff Writer

Before the United Nations summit, New Yorkers and others across the United States rallied to oppose global warming in the People’s Climate March. The goal of the march was to push a reduction in carbon emissions. The parade was in conjunction with The United Nations Climate Summit that took place on September 23rd to encourage a climate control treaty that will hopefully be instilled by the year 2015. More than 300,000 people marched two miles through the city. Mark Ruffalo and Leonardo DeCaprio, famous actors, and Jane Goodall, a famous primatologist, participated in the effort to decrease carbon emissions. Mayor DeBlasio of New York, General Ban Ki Moon, and Al Gore also marched in the parade.

More cities, such as Melbourne and London, participated in their own climate marches as well. Approximately 2,000 other protests were taking place on various days. At the climate summit, countries are expected to explain how serious they are about solving climate change. Eventually, it will lead up to the climate meeting next year in Paris. The United States and China need to act fast considering they are the biggest producers of fossil fuels and carbon emissions. At a Major Economics Forum, Secretary of State John Kerry said, “We all know exactly what it takes to get the job done. The solution is energy policy … every one of our countries has the technology to do this. It’s about getting the political will to make the decisions.”

Many Americans are in support of new climate procedures. Victims of Hurricane Sandy and California wildfires were a part of the parade to seek justice. A poll from the LA Times claims “two-thirds of Americans say they support laws that would promote the use of renewable energy to wean the country from fossil fuels, and two-thirds also support setting limits on carbon-dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants.”

Overall, the climate march was successful for New Yorkers and others across the United States. With a record number of people, it set the standards for climate change. Supporters of the weaning of fossil fuels can look forward to the conference in Paris next year.