For the second year in a row, a group of local climate organizations will gather for a march in downtown Rochester in conjunction with a global day of action.
Kicking off at Washington Square Park, the Sept. 27 march will stop occasionally for speeches from participating organizations, which include the Climate Solutions Accelerator, Third Act Rochester, Sunrise Rochester, Rochester Youth Climate Leaders, and Citizens Climate Lobby, as well as several local government leaders. It will conclude at the park with a climate fair.
The march intends to spur action and educate participants on the interconnectedness of modern-day challenges while also recruiting individuals to proactively engage with an issue.
“It’s great to find a fit that works for you, because we’re all working at different levels. Whether it’s (college) students on campus trying to influence what happens at that institution, or students at their high school trying to influence action there,” says Brady Fergusson, director of public engagement at the Climate Solutions Accelerator. “Or maybe it’s a municipal government like the city of Rochester or the town of Brighton or the village of Fairport. It could be Monroe County or New York State or the entire U.S.
“There are so many different levels we have to work at and so many different issues since most, if not all, have connections with each other,” he adds.
Fergusson cites the issue of violence as an example, saying the frequency of shootings tends to increase alongside rising temperatures, something which is exacerbated by climate change. The march leaders think that the wide variety of organizations, each with its own focus and approach, will help to appeal to a wide range of people.
For instance, at this march, Metro Justice will talk about its Rochester for Energy Democracy campaign, which aims to create a public utility in place of the Rochester Gas and Electric Corp., while Third Act’s focus is on pressuring banks and insurance companies to stop investing in fossil fuels.
Participating in a cause also fights back against the hopelessness that some people feel when faced with the enormity of climate change. As Fergusson puts it, “Action is the antidote for despair.”
“Naming that feeling, recognizing that there are other people who have it, I’d like to think that could be motivation for people to do something instead of sitting around and feeling bad,” he says. “Take that feeling and let it be motivation to take action and get involved.”
Fergusson has found this phenomena to be especially true for young people who regularly deal with “climate anxiety.”
“Those fears for the future are even stronger among younger people who have a longer future ahead of them. When they take a look around, they wonder, what’s going to happen to our world?” he says.
“It’s about climate justice, because the younger you are, the longer you are going to feel those negative impacts of climate change and harsher impacts as we continue into the future if we don’t turn things around,” Fergusson continues. “And the younger you are, the less you contributed to this problem, so there’s injustice if you look at it that way too.”
For that reason, it was important to the march organizers to have an intergenerational organizing committee. They believe showing support from all age groups is significant in demonstrating how the issue affects all types of people and all will be present at the march.
“We recognize that climate change can’t be solved by any one city or any one country,” says Fergusson. “It’s going to take many people doing the same thing we’re doing here with this march.”
Jacob Schermerhorn is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer and data journalist. The Beacon welcomes comments and letters from readers who adhere to our comment policy including use of their full, real name. Submissions to the Letters page should be sent to [email protected].
Man made climate change movement is full of misinformation and disinformation. It continues to ignore the role of the sun, the benefits of carbon dioxide, the natural heat which comes from the inner core of earth, the natural melting of earth covering glaciers which occurred over 10,000 years ago, etc. Unfortunately, the media continues to dupe the public of the role of man on this issue. It’s an old Soviet Union propaganda tactic.
Climate change requires an organized approach, a common sense approach. Believe it or not it doesn’t begin with the EV. It begins when any city focuses on sidewalks and bicycle paths. How much money was allocated to build charging stations? How many did we get? Correct, very very few. You have to create a community that allows for walking and cycling and then you can graduate to the bigger and better. The government is not the answer. They have never accomplished anything as promised and on time, never. The community has to step up and contact their representatives and educate them on the subject. Bicycle paths are not painted on the road, that’s suicide. Bicycle paths need their own infrastructure. their own lane and so do pedestrians. Check out The Netherlands. Bicycle paths adjacent to every main and minor road. Their own traffic lights in addition to the auto traffic lights. You BUILD a “climate changing” community. Just cutting this and cutting that is not going to get you there.