Neither of us had participated in a demonstration before, but I gave Bill McKibben's audiobook Oil & Honey: The Education of an Unlikely Activist to Scott as a Christmas present last year and we got really into his story and his efforts with 350.org. When we learned that this march was happening right near my apartment on Central Park West, we had to check it out.
We jumped in around 84th Street, right where the big Ben & Jerry's ice cream cone happened to be.
We were excited to see Jerry Greenfield himself there. We didn't introduce ourselves but here he is in the background of this selfie.
and there he is with a backpack on.
There were so many people from around the country and the world advocating different types of environmental causes. A cause with one of the most visible presences (at least in our section) was the prevention of the Keystone XL pipeline, which is largely lead by McKibben. Organizations like Tar Sands Blockade were out in full force.
The march didn't start moving for what seemed like hours because the crowd was so big.
Even other species joined.
The most moving part was the moment of silence, followed by the powerful roar/cheer of hundreds of thousands of people that made it's way up the streets and reverberated through the city. Here's a pic I took during the moment of silence:
Here's someone's YouTube video of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9mJSGKii8Y
Overall, really cool experience. I'm grateful I got to be part of this and would definitely participate again.
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