A call to arms (and legs)

Environmental group urges neighbors to join them at capitol climate march

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President Trump’s upcoming 100th day in office is something Jennifer Scarlott and Helen Krim want to ensure he will not forget.

They are some of the local residents taking part in the People’s Climate March on April 29 at 11 a.m., in Washington.

“The climate issue came forcefully to my attention during Hurricane Irene when a tornado went right past my house,” said Krim, a member of the social action committee at The Riverdale Temple who’s organizing the bus to Washington.

“Thankfully, the house was not damaged. But, a huge tree was uprooted and dropped on the path next to the house. And, three or four small trees were lost as well.

“A tornado in Riverdale? I thought this is climate change here, now.”
While the March likely will have little impact on Trump because of his current environmental policies, Krim hopes Congress understands how important the issue is to voters. Clean air, she added, is especially important for the Riverdale area because of the Bronx’s asthma rate — the highest of all five boroughs.

“I think because people tend to feel that because it’s fairly green and a little less densely populated in our corner up here, and we’re so close to the river and Westchester County, that everything’s groovy and there’s nothing to worry about,” said Scarlott, a founding member of the grassroots group Bronx Climate Justice North. “But, the insidious reality of climate change is that it’s not only sort of a Russian roulette game of, ‘Well, which community is going get hit by the next tornado, or the next mega-hurricane or the next wildfire?’ We’re all also very vulnerable as a system because climate change is attacking, like, food production and the quality of the air … and water.”

Economy and jobs
Climate change also is about the economy and jobs, Scarlott said, moving more toward renewable energy also is a way to create long-term and sustainable employment.


Bronx Climate Justice North is one of the march’s partner organizations and amongst many groups around the country whose members are mobilizing to make the trip to the nation’s capital.

The march, organized by the People’s Climate Movement, was planned more than a year ago when grassroots groups thought Hillary Clinton would be the 45th president. The idea was to push a President Clinton to take decisive action and enact policies to protect the environment. Under the Trump administration, the strategy has shifted, Scarlott said, to remind Congress, state officials and residents that action needs to take place now on this issue.

Marti Michael, former executive director of The Riverdale Y, said she’s always been interested in protecting the environment. During her tenure at the Y, she even brought the organization’s farmers market to community.
“We have made great progress, but we seem to be going backwards with the cuts to the EPA,” Michael said. “It’s essential that the pressure be kept on and that the issues remain in the forefront.”

Getting the word out
Although she doesn’t live in area, Michael is tapping into her Riverdale contacts and even using her relationship with Hazon — a nonprofit geared toward creating sustainable Jewish communities — to get the word out.

While the main bus will leave and return on April 29, Hazon has organized a second bus for those observing Shabbat which leaves Friday and returns Sunday, Michael said.

For those leaving and returning on April 29, there is a bus that leaves from the Riverdale Temple at 4545 Independence Ave., Krim said.

In Washington, marchers will gather in front of the Capitol building at Third Street and Jefferson Drive Southwest, move up Pennsylvania Avenue, and there surround the White House.

There will be sister climate marches around the country in solidarity with the one in Washington.

A Pew Research Center report from 2016 showed 74 percent of American adults believed the country “should do whatever it takes” to protect the environment, compared to 23 percent who felt the United States had “gone too far” in its efforts to protect the environment.

Additionally, 55 percent cited the environment as a top issue President Trump and Congress should address this year, behind terrorism and the economy.
The first Climate March took place in September 2014, where 400,000 people marched through New York City on the eve of the United Nation’s Climate Summit. They were urging world leaders to take action, according to the group’s website.

“It’s important to me that those in power both politically and economically understand that the people are passionate about this,” Michael said. “That the people are not letting this go.”

People's Climate March, Helen Krim, Marti Michael, Jennifer Scarlott, Climate March, Lisa Herndon

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