Walk Against Warming was great!
Photo ©2007 Dave Sag and used with permission
Carbon Planet people in Adelaide, Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney attended this year’s Walk Against warming last Sunday and it was great fun. In Canberra, where I was, some 9000 people, three times as many as last year, congregated at the fountain in City Walk and listened to a few well chosen words from a variety of speakers. Then we all ambled slowly around the block, enjoying the sunshine. In Adelaide the crowd was smaller but more vocal by all accounts and my friends in Brisbane tell me the rain kept people away so they only got a few thousand there. Our people in Melbourne claim there were around 50,000 which doesn’t quite gell with the official figures and in Sydney our people say there were 80,000 or so which also doesn’t match the official tally. But hey who’s counting? All in all well over one hundred thousand people marched in 50 cities and towns across Australia and the organisers must feel like it was a job well done. I for one had a great time and then walked about 8k home, beating a sudden downpour by minutes.
What impressed me was the makeup of the crowd. It wasn’t your usual rent-a-crowd, weirdo-beardo types at all but families, young people, old people, people who possibly had never been on a protest march before. The police had nothing much to do as it was overwhelmingly peaceful. As to whether those in Government paid any attention; well that’s a different issue. I remember the marches against the Iraq war, where millions marched, and no-one listened to them.
We’ll all be dead if we wait for the Government to take really, effective action on climate change. You, me, all of us need to make changes in our own lives. For me the most powerful thing about Walk Against Warming is that it reminds us that we can actually get out there and walk. Some 50% of all car trips in Australia are under 5K. As the Live News website quoted me the other day in their coverage Australians walk against warming;
The national day of action is to show people want political parties to seriously tackle climate change and global warming.
Dave Sag from Carbon Planet says they will be encouraging marchers to think about personal responsibility, not just the government’s.
“50 per cent of all car journeys in Australia are under five kilometres. That’s just crazy. Any one with two legs can work five kilometres.”
“In fact, the National Heart Foundation recommends people walk seven or eight kilometres, just to maintain a reasonable level of health.”
So next time you are tempted to drive to the shops, try walking. — DS
Technorati Tags: Australia, Canberra, Carbon Planet, climate change, GetUp, global warming, politics, protest, Walk Against Warming
