Check out this informational post that the New England Nordic Ski Association posted for their members.  When we heard about the action, it sounded like an incredible opportunity, but an unlikely chance that many people would be able to find snow.  Today, New England finds itself in the midst of a six to twelve inch snowstorm!  So, NENSA, get excited about your actions this weekend - looks like you've got a last chance to get out on those skis and support what you love.

New England has suffered through a number of dismal winters in recent years. Now, NENSA is stepping up their efforts to to raise awareness of global warming. Those of us not in New England could use NENSA's program as a model in our own regions.

NENSA - Global Warming Action - Step it Up and Find Snow on April 14!

Here's a chance to take action and raise awareness of global warming. Saturday, April 14 is Step It Up Day ( www.stepitup2007.org ). Thousands of people around the country are organizing actions, and all of these actions taken together will be the largest demonstration yet in the U.S. of concern about global warming.

NENSA skiers are invited to join a New England-wide action on April 14. We challenge you to gather friends and fellow ski club members, find the nearest snow, and, if possible, ski on it!

Worried the snow may all be melted by then? Roll up a huge snowball while you still can, put it in a shady spot, and cover it with a tarp! On April 14, you can roll it out, flatten it, and get out your rock skis for a photo! We'll also post info on www.nensa.net about where there really still is snow on April 14, for those willing to travel to ski. If snow just isn't in the picture, pick another activity - biking, hiking, whatever. It's the participation that counts!

If you'd like to participate, simply register your local action at http://events.stepitup2007.org/signup . On April 14, take a picture to document your April ski and follow directions to upload your photo to the StepItUp2007 website, then let us know so we can provide a link from NENSA's website.

You can also check out other actions in your area and get tapped into local networks of concerned citizens at http://events.stepitup2007.org . 

Here in Portland, OR, Step it Up has really taken off: an all day conference sponsored by the mountaineering club, climbers taking the message up Mt Hood, a major downtown rally, a three day march to the state capital of Salem—and a polar bear plunge! What happens on the day after?  

Until now, internet politics has involved letter writing campaigns, and coordinated house parties and movie screenings. But the climate movement is now creating, via the internet, a real social movement—and that means physical mobilization: marches, demonstrations, rallies. If the defining moment of the Civil Rights Movement was the March on Washington, then the defining moment of the Clean Energy Movement might turn out to be, in 2008, 50 simultaneous marches on 50 state capitals. Step It Up is an early, huge step in a rapidly growing movement: thousands of students will be converging on DC in the fall, and Focus the Nation is coordinating a national teach-in set for next January 31st.  Focus the Nation is not just for colleges, high schools, and other educational institutions. Faith groups, civic organizations and businesses are signing up to hold their own educational events.  

Here is a plea to every Step it Up group: after the dust has cleared, and the excitement of the day passes, visit Focus the Nation.org, and commit the same faith or neighborhood organization that sponsored your Step It Up initiative to host a Focus the Nation event. Already, over 400 colleges, universities, places of worship, high schools, middle schools, civic organizations and businesses are on board. With Step it Up’s help, we can triple that to 1500 in a month, and with 10 months of lead time, build a series of events that can engage millions of Americans in a serious, sustained, national discussion of clean energy solutions to global warming, and build a unified national voice for action.

As if we didn't need a greater sense of urgency, last month, Dr. James Hansen, the top US government climate scientist, said this about global warming: "I believe that a business as usual scenario will guarantee future disintegration of the West Antarctic and parts of Greenland". That means business as usual guarantees a global sea level rise of 20-40 feet. We need to change that future.

We are racing against time. The scientific community is telling us clearly that we have only a short window to alter the course of history. But Americans are good at revolutions.

The decisions we make, or fail to make, in the next few years will reshape the maps of the continents, impact the lives of billions of people, and might be the difference between life or death for half of creation.  

Seen the truth? Stay committed. Get involved with Focus the Nation-- and whatever comes next.

Kitty Welch of Fort Atkinson, WI describes her Step It Up action on this upcoming Saturday.  The event is the kickoff for a four week version of the group's own 'Atkinson Diet' based on shedding carbon pounds of the community's waste-line.  It's incredibly exciting for us as organizers to see examples of April 14th actions using the Step It Up day to jump into community organizing around global warming.  Good luck Kitty and all in Fort Atkinson!

Fort Atkinson's Step it Up madness began Monday with silkscreening t-shirts (purchased at a local Goodwill) and banners through the not-fair though freely-offered labor of volunteers Cynthia Holt, Eric Stein and Jeremy Pinc.
 
The Step It Up event itself is relatively simple- a gathering along our picturesque flooded-in-parts riverwalk, which is within view of our Main Street's bridge, and a parade via sidewalk and bike path to a nearby park for a picnic and attendant fun.
 
It is also the kick-off event for our local campaign in response to global warming- the Atkinson diet, which has a green-built home at www.theatkinsondiet.com.  Our citizens' group, Heart of the City, is asking the city and its residents to join us in going on a low-carbon diet to reduce energy usage.
 
On the site we have set forth a 4-week diet plan to follow, with extra tips for those who are already carbon trim, and we are urging residents (and interested non-residents) to sign up and become part of a community effort.  Our goal is to create a community conversation, and, in the long run, a community ethic, about energy conservation.  By making it a community effort, we hope to help people view the changes they make in response to the issues of global warming and environmental degradation not as sacrifices, but as beneficial steps toward building community, creating a better world, and making us healthier physically and mentally. We are urging people to share their stories with us as they make changes, and we will post them on our website.
 
There has been outreach to the surrounding communities through local people involved in the Natural Step study circles. The Natural Step movement, which began in Sweden, uses a science-based systems framework to help organizations, individuals, and communities take steps toward sustainability.
 
We are looking forward to a solid turnout of solid citizens.
Kitty Welch, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin

Today's action spotlight highlights Shanda Holm, organizer of an action in Leavenworth, Washington.

Welcome to Bavaria, or rather the Cascade Mountain version of Bavaria. We are proud to be stepping it up from the red side of Washington State, and are creatively asking Doc Hastings, Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray to Step It Up too. On April 14th we wanted to offer something for everyone in a community that is still working on embracing climate change as a human issue. So our event will start with a walk through downtown and end with a community gathering at a local city park.

See below for a video about Step It Up Leavenworth produced by Paul Steinbroner and the good folks at Veracity Productions:

What is the outcome of this impromptu survey? I am inspired by my community, know more of my neighbors, and think that maybe, just maybe, Leavenworth will be one of the first communities to make the leap into confronting and addressing our city's carbon footprint. Can you imagine it… a town that depends on 1.5 million visitors a year (Leavenworth.org) and relies on 1000 jobs at a ski area 35 miles away (stevenspass.com) having a zero carboneconomy?  I can.

The parade is a fun, but directed, action that will be photographed. The community gathering is a way of inviting all of our neighbors out of their homes and into a forum that is positively directed at generating hope, ideas and solutions. Our walk (with a theme of nature’s species) will directly ask Congress to cut carbon emissions 80% by 2050. The walk will be followed by a valley-wide, festive event designed around the idea “Where do we go from here?”

Paul Steinbroner (energyrush.tv) and Charley Voorhis (Voortex Productions) are putting together a video theater that will play a collection of video clips Paul compiled for this event and/or his future film.  The video theater provides a venue for our community to gather, be inspired by, and discusses what other people and communities are doing to reduce their carbon footprint. The video clips are available for downloading here.

They are for any and all communities to use.

As we gallop towards April 14, we know everyone has been busy calling the newspapers, radio, and tv stations in your area. Please don't forget to also call the nearest bureau of the Associated Press.

The AP is very important—they're how small and medium-sized newspapers and broadcasters keep track of the news. They're good reporters and writers, but extremely busy, so it's crucial to get in contact with them now, and then again on Friday.  Someone will answer the phone at the local bureau, and when they do you need to do two things:

1)      Tell them, concisely, about the cool action you have planned for April 14, and mention that it's one of several in the area. (Every organizer should be doing this—they'll start to get the sense that something big is afoot). Give them details and a contact number, and then write down their name so you can call them Friday with a reminder

2)      Tell them that your action is part of a huge nationwide event—"the biggest grassroots environmental protest since Earth Day 1970"—and say you're very eager to see pictures from some of the other 1,300 rallies around America in your local paper Sunday morning. Ask them to send word up the line to the national office that this is going to be a big deal.

Those two things will make a large difference! 

And, if you decide to e-mail the AP (or most any other newspaper) be sure to include your press release as text within the e-mail, not as an attachment to the e-mail. 

MoveOn.org, the mightiest force in the wide world of cyber-advocacy, has been kind enough to e-mail their members.  All 3.2 Million of them.

So, to all new Step It Up visitors, you are cordially invited to join us this Saturday for a little get together in your local community.  Chances are, your local organizers could use a hand in pulling together some last minute details.  So pitch in--when you find the Step It Up action you want to go to on April 14th, click "E-Mail the Host" on that action's individual event page, and ask what you can do to help. We're all happy to have you aboard.

We just wanted to see if you were paying attention. That statement is actually true, in one way (and maybe two . . .), because The Nation's blog recently featured us. Peter Rothberg wrote an excellent post describing many aspects of the climate movement, including the work of many of our friends and allies.

Here's an action spotlight from Boise, ID organizer Greg Otero.  He and the rest of the Boise crew took some time away from organizing the final details of their action to write us a solid blogpost.  Thanks to Greg and the team, and good luck on Saturday!

Boise Steps It Up with Concert for Climate Action

With a great turnout of some incredible volunteers and a fantastic outpouring of financial support from local businesses, we have organized a "Concert for Climate Action,” and it looks like it’s going to be a huge success!

We have reserved the Gene Harris Band Shell at a downtown park right near our beloved Greenbelt which runs along the Boise River.  We are encouraging attendees to bring a picnic and walk, bike, bus or carpool to the event.  Boise’s Mayor (a signatory of the Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement) will be speaking at the event, along with one of our State Legislators and others.  Five local bands have volunteered to play for free, and we have many green businesses exhibiting as well, showing their products and services that help to cut carbon emissions.  One solar company will even have a solar powered car for visitors to enjoy.

We have raised close to $5,000 from the community to help us pay for the event.  And we are really happy and proud that our local CBS station agreed to sponsor us and is using our event to launch their two-year commitment to focus on climate change in their news broadcasting!  They have been running promotional spots about the Concert often and at very good times, and as a result, we are anticipating a very sizable crowd!

The outpouring of citizens to help with this event has been staggering.  People want to know what they can do as individuals to have a voice and do something about global warming.  These are not your typical "tree-hugging" volunteers - well, not all of them anyway.  They are young mothers, high school students, business men and woman, and elderly people.  Idaho may be considered a "Red" state, but this has become less political and more of a moral issue than anything else.  There’s so much more to say, but I gotta get back to planning this thing!   Good luck all!

After finishing up our Step It Up conference call just a couple of hours ago, we came back to our house to watch the Colbert Report.  It's a nice way to relax after a busy day. He starts off the show talking about "eco-fascists." This typical Colbert-ian language arouses our interest. His first guest is "No-Impact Man," recently featured in the New York Times for his commitment to living without having a damaging impact to the environment. Immediately after No-Impact Man describes his goal, he leans toward Colbert, and offers this plug:

No-Impact Man: "On Saturday, Stephen, you can join with thousands of Americans and take part in stepitup2007.org, a national day of action on climate change."

Stephen Colbert: "Well, I can tell you that I won't."

Despite Colbert's reluctance to participate, we were speechless. Minutes later, we spoke to our web guru, who told us our website had never had more traffic.

Thank you, No-Impact Man, Stephen Colbert, and all the viewers of Comedy Central! Phew!

Bill McKibben has been reporting on The Grist for the past 14 weeks about the progress and stages of Step It Up.  Here's the last piece before the big day...

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the U.N. group charged with monitoring the science of global warming, laid out the stakes last Friday -- laid them out as clearly as anyone is ever going to.

On one side, there's an energy transformation -- the conversion of the world's fuel economy from coal and gas and oil to something else. It involves decades of work on conservation and then on innovation. There are changes in habit and economy and way of life and attitude.

And on the other side, if we don't get going fast on all those tasks, there's malaria and flooding and drought and sea-level rise. There's the extinction of species -- of whole ecosystems. There's a planet tossed into such chaotic instability that it's hard to know what will emerge.

In other words, we can choose between change and Change.

That choosing starts, for Americans, this coming Saturday, April 14.

Continue reading Bill's piece on Grist... 

The number of national legislators committed to speaking at April 14 rallies has grown an awful lot just in the last two days--it's astonishing how many big political names are already on board, and we'll have a few more big names to add in the days ahead so keep your eyes peeled.

If you click here, you'll see the whole list so far--and one thing to note, for any political junkies out there, is how many of them are freshman Senators and Representatives. (Elections matter!) As you're doing your last round of calls to your own senators and representatives asking them to come to yur actions, make sure to let their assistants know how many of their DC colleagues are joining this day of action. Be polite, but don't worry about offending these guys--remember, they work for you! 

And if you get any national legislators to commit to attending a rally, be sure to let us know.  Thanks!
 

A quick word from our friends in Concord, who are using simple imagery to get their point across.

In Concord, NH, Project Laundry List has teamed up with a couple of other StepItUp07 events and combined our efforts into a picnic, walk, and rally. The rally, which will take place in front of the New Hampshire State House, will have a clothesline as a backdrop for the speakers. Speakers will include Doris Granny D Haddock; Sen. Harold Janeway; Rep. Suzanne Harvey (recipient of Governor's Excellence in Energy Efficiency Award); a proclamation from US Rep. Paul Hodes; David Lamarre-Vincent, NH Council of Churches; Nancy Hirshberg, Stonyfield Farm; representatives from Grappone Automotive Group and Sierra Club & Cool Cities Program; Richard Minard, NH Audubon; and Melissa Bernardin, Priorities NH. There will be live music and yogurt and ice cream.

Having grown up in a frugal Yankee household where the clothesline was always in use, where my mother soaked un-cancelled stamps off envelopes, saved bacon grease in a can on the stove, and made sure we turned lights out when we left a room, Project Laundry List was not that much of a leap for me. Project Laundry List uses words, images, and advocacy to educate people about how simple lifestyle modifications, including air-drying one's clothes, reduce our dependence on environmentally and culturally costly energy sources.

Project Laundry List began over eleven years ago, in 1995, when I was a junior at Middlebury College. It was a year before I would drive to the Adirondacks to interview Bill McKibben for my thesis and a few months after Helen Caldicott, MD, gave a speech telling us we could shut down the nuclear industry if we just hung out our clothes and made other simple lifestyle changes. We are lucky to have had both of these people involved for so many years.

In 1995, I and many others around the Northeast in particular, but also David Brower of Sierra Club-fame and others, were in an absolute tizzy about the damming of rivers in Northern Quebec. I remain disturbed that people think of large-scale hydro as sustainable, even though it produces methane by flooding vast vegetated areas and it disturbs, in the case of James Bay, the nesting grounds of migratory birds and the traditional hunting grounds of indigenous tribes. Project Laundry List aimed to take a positive approach to change and challenge people to think about personal energy use.

National Hanging Out Day has been occurring almost as long as Project Laundry List has existed. It is always April 19th and we encourage communities to hang clotheslines out with sheets and T-shirts emblazoned with energy-saving messages: "STOP THE PLANTS, HANG YOUR PANTS." This year, National Hanging Out Day comes just five days after the StepItUp07 activities. I hope you will get involved. Please visit our website at http://www.laundrylist.org  and learn about the personal ways that you can help this nation meet meaningful carbon reduction goals.

You may also want to read the recent article "Hanging Out" in The Globe & Mail. Our newsletter, also called Hanging Out, is being ramped up again. A "Right to Dry" bill was introduced in Vermont in 1998 and the language is included again in this year's energy efficiency bill. Right now only Florida preserves solar rights for clotheslines. Fort Lauderdale even went so far as to declare National Hanging Out Day a holiday one year through mayoral proclamation. What will you do to make sure that you and your neighbors are not prohibited from hanging out your clothes?

Here is a dispatch from Oneonta Step It Up organizer, Ed Lentz...

Oneonta, NY, is a small, rural community in upstate NY that is embracing Step It Up 2007 in a big way! Step It Up encourages groups to join together in America’s most iconic places and what’s more iconic than Small Town, USA? The whole town is getting involved including schools, colleges, and artists, and Mayor John Nader has issued a strong proclamation indicating his support.

A group of volunteers is organizing a series of events as part of Step It Up Oneonta.

The events begin with a showing of “Who Killed the Electric Car” on the evening of April 13 at a downtown movie theater to be followed by a discussion and reception.  

Saturday begins with an educational fair that will run from 10:00 to 3:30.  The fair will feature displays and exhibits from local environmental groups, schools, and vendors.  Live music will be provided by local musicians: Jeanne O'Dea & Sandy Peever, Marvin Taub, Kathy Shimberg & Katie McKay, and Just Throw Money.

At 1:00, what some would describe as the main event takes off.  It's a bicycle parade for enthusiasts of all ages, with prizes for the best-decorated bikes.  Prior to the parade itself, a local arts group, the Upper Catskill Community Council of the Arts (UCCCA), is sponsoring a bicycle decorating workshop.

Following the parade, Mayor Nader will kick off a public rally with a reading of his proclamation declaring April 14 Step It Up Oneonta Day and urging all citizens to take action to reduce carbon emissions.  The rally will continue with a citizen speak-out featuring community leaders, environmentalists, and schoolchildren.

Then, at 3:30, there will be a public conference on climate change and sustainable living entitled " Climate Responsibility: Developing an Action Plan for Oneonta.  After an opening address by Mayor Nader, panel presentations will be given by Dr. Donna Vogler, Associate Professor of Biology at SUNY Oneonta, Dr. Karl Seeley, Assistant Professor of Economics at Hartwick College, and Gene Marner, an expert on peak oil and sustainable living.  An pbjective of this conference is to engage community residents in a dialogue about what we can do here in Oneonta to reduce carbon emissions.

Oneonta's Main Street Windows project, spearheaded by activist Cynthia Marsh, will also feature artistic projects relating to climate change. Throughout April, the Windows Project will feature art by local artists and school children.

Finally, the day will end with a showing of "Just Around The Corner" at the Oneonta Teen Center.  “Just Around the Corner” is an educational documentary about Global Warming and Peak Oil for and with teenagers made by Emmy Award winning filmmaker John Miglietta.  John will be at the movie showing as will several of the persons featured in the documentary.

Step It Up Oneonta is co-sponsored by the Coalition for Democracy of Central New York, The Otsego County Conservation Association, the Office of the Mayor of Oneonta, the Oneonta Environmental Board, GO Local, Pragmeta Networks, UCCCA, and Volcano Editions.  Among the numerous volunteers who are making this happen are: Karen Anderson, Colleen Blacklock, Mark Davies, Tom Horvath, Dave Hutchison, Ed Lentz, Karl Seeley, Cynthia Marsh and Ian Austin.

Here's a great blog post from our friend Thomas Hand from Native Energy. Native Energy is donating carbon offsets for Step It Up headquarters and our final celebration. Organizers--you too can offset your events by clicking here. Thanks, NE!

As I take a break from carbon footprint calculations for the StepItUp event in D.C., I can't help but think about the possibilities and great plans our Congress might have waiting for us on the 14th.  It's almost like waiting for Christmas!  I can barely contain myself!  I'm personally hoping for a zero carbon economy promise on the 14th, but I'd settle for a goal to cut carbon emissions 80% by 2050.  Actually that's what we want: 80% by 2050!  It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?  

In all seriousness, we are truly excited about the many events across the country planned for the 14th.  Over the last few months we've been invited to so many more events than we could possibly attend; a wonderful sign of the changing times.  For more than 6 years now we've been working with leading environmentally and socially responsible organizations and individuals to help them take real, effective action, to offset their carbon footprints by helping new distributed renewable energy projects get built -- new Native American, farmer-owned, and community based renewable energy projects that create social, economic, and environmental benefits.  In the last 6 years you've helped us build more than 20 new projects, from wind turbines in remote Native Alaskan villages, to American Indian reservations, to family farm manure-to-energy projects in Pennsylvania, to the largest solar PV system in NH.  All of these projects were made possible because of committed individuals, businesses and organizations who want to help solve the climate crisis.  People like you!

We know as you do that we can't stop the climate crisis without serious, thoughtful, bold leadership from Congress, so kudos to everyone planning, attending and supporting a StepitUp action on the 14th.  We have all been working very hard for years to bring new renewable energy to life, now its time for Congress to do its part.  Step It Up Congress! 80% by 2050!!

(P.S. Congress I'll still take the zero carbon economy if you have one of those lying around Washington)
 

Thomas Hand
Charlotte, VT
 

The organizers in the Boston area are gearing up for exciting action on the 14th.  Check out this piece by Robin Hauk, which appeared in a prominent Boston-area blog Misstropolis ...

If you thought April 14 was going to be just another Saturday at the dog park, spin class, and a toddler b-day party or two, you have another thing coming.

April 14 is the day you get a chance to step up your commitment to the earth, set a heroic example for your children (or nieces and nephews or neighborhood gang), and rally for environmental action with millions of others across America – from underwater on the endangered coral reefs off Key West, to atop the melting glaciers on Mt. Rainier, to the levees in New Orleans.

Step It Up 2007 is a swelling national movement to raise awareness about climate change and global warning by encouraging “actions” in as many places as possible, all on April 14. The brain-child of writer Bill McKibben, Step It Up 07 has become the biggest environmental movement since the original Earth Day in 1970. 

Continue reading this article on Misstropolis. 

Jennifer McCharen of the Step It Up organizing team in Jacksonville, FL shares with us some of the plans for their exciting and creative action down at Alltel Stadium...

Jacksonville is taking part in Step It Up 2007 in a big way. Saturday morning at 10 the regional office of the National Wildlife Federation is holding a press conference under a suspended power boat at Alltel Stadium. The stadium itself is right at sea level, and will be vulnerable to any rise caused by global warming. Even if those impacts are several decades away, it will be a powerful visual illustration.

In the afternoon the Jacksonville Carbon Neutral Initiative (JCNI) is hosting a public dialogue on climate change at Riverside Presbyterian Church with local experts, including Dr. Stephen Mulkey from the University of Florida, and Jeff Martin from Jacksonville University. The goal is to kick start the conversation about climate change in Jacksonville, and push the community towards action. Right now most people don't know the facts or who to trust. They certainly don't know what they can do to help. JCNI wants to change that.

Following the panelists' presentations and the public dialogue, there will be a reception and concert in Riverside Park across the street which will go on into the evening hours.

Check out next week's issue of Folio Weekly, due out April 10th.  They're running a cover story on Jacksonville's response to global warming, and that involves heavy coverage of JCNI and Step It Up 2007.  I think there will even be a picture of me in it (yikes!).

Jennifer McCharen is a photographer in Jacksonville.  Her photography deals
with the built environment, land-use, and our unconscious relation to it as drivers and consumers. She is also involved with JCNI and organizing the movement to fight global warming.

In celebration of this historic moment in global warming activism and awareness, our friends and allies at Toxic Comedy Pictures and Working Films compiled a special activist preview of the hot documentary Everything’s Cool – fresh from its 2007 Sundance Film Festival premiere – for Step It Up organizers and volunteers. The film follows the struggle of dedicated and passionate global warming messengers, including our beloved Bill McKibben, with footage of the historic five-day march through Vermont that inspired him and our comrades to launch Step It Up.

This limited release “activist DVD” of selected scenes and featured characters also includes the Weather Channel’s Dr. Heidi Cullen, whistleblower Rick Piltz – and very cool coverage from Sundance, including news casts and behind-the-scenes footage of the 1000 school kids’ aerial message that kicked off Step It Up – see our media page.

Everything’s Cool will premiere in the Southeast next weekend, April 13, at the Full Frame Film Festival in Durham, North Carolina. After the screening, Step It Up organizers will be inviting the audience to participate in the Raleigh event on the state capital grounds. The filmmakers and Working Films will also present on a panel with "The Inconvenient Truth: Reaching Out on Global Warming" on Sunday, April 15 at noon. They will be ready to share the latest update and news from all your events at this high profile event, covered by national and regional news:

“… Everything's Cool can be downright euphoric in its sense of ordinary people doing their part for the planet.” - Scott Foundas, Variety

"If "An Inconvenient Truth" can be considered one bookend, then "Everything's Cool" can definitely stand as the other. .”- Ashland Daily
                        
Order your copy of the ACTIVIST SELECTED SCENES FROM EVERYTHING'S COOL now! Wondering what to do AFTER your Step It Up event? Work with this award winning film and keep the momentum going – it ain’t getting any cooler. 

Here's a wonderful blog post by Franz Ingelfinger about an action in Ipswich, MA. It ran in the Boston Globe North on April 5.

A Life Well Blessed

This picture, taken roughly 90 years ago, is of my ancestors.  My grandmother, Sarah Shurcliff Ingelfinger, is at the bow.  She would have turned 100 this fall.  Today, the scene along the Castle Neck River behind Crane Beach looks much as it did those many years ago. But over the next 90 years, the span of a life well blessed, our sea level is predicted to rise by over 20 feet as a result of global warming.1  

Now picture this landscape in the year 2100 – open ocean.  Imagine other iconic Ipswich landscapes: the boardwalks at Crane Beach – under water; Argilla Road, Jeffreys Neck, Pavilion Beach – all inundated; downtown Ipswich – the sea; Conomo Point, Essex – Atlantis.  In my lifetime I have witnessed the virtual disappearance of the horseshoe crab from the shores of Crane Beach; my children stand to see those very shores disappear entirely.  This is the gloom and doom scenario.  However, it does not have to be our vision for the future.  It is not mine.  By taking immediate and drastic measures to slash our emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses, we can help to avert many of the predicted changes to sea level, climate, and the environment.  The debate is over.  It is time to act.

April 14th is the first national day of climate awareness, organized by Step It Up.  Step It Up was hatched by acclaimed author Bill McKibben, who brought together a team of eight talented Middlebury College graduates to inspire community members across America to join together on April 14th for the environment. Over 1,000 demonstrations are planned across the country—including nearly 100 in Massachusetts alone-- calling for Congress to enact immediate legislation to cut carbon emissions by 80% by the year 2050.  On the North Shore, The Trustees of Reservations are opening the gates to Crane Beach to provide a compelling venue.  I invite you to join your friends, neighbors and other concerned citizens on that Saturday from 1-3 PM to demand that Congress step up to the challenge of global climate change.   Together we can take a stand on the sand and send a clear message to Congress.

I look at my grandmother in that bow and wonder what she would do if it were her generation faced with this challenge.  The fate of creation and civilization hinges on the actions we take within the next few years; the ramifications will play out over a single lifetime.  I believe that my grandmother’s generation would have risen to the challenge.  Do not leave our grandchildren to question why we did not.  Step It Up!       

Franz Ingelfinger

Ipswich, MA

Chances are, there are going to be some folks who attend Step It Up actions  who are still a little confused as to what this is all about—how the grand puzzle of global warming fits together.  It’s not always easy  to understand how  personal choices, atmospheric science, and Congress are all connected.

To help clear the air, we’ve teamed up with the fine folks at Topics Education and created some pretty one-page documents that you can print and hand out at a local action.  Check them out below!

We’ve also got a whole batch of other printable materials that may be useful for you—click here to check them out! 

Printable Posters  

  Climate Change in Congress    Reduce Your Impact                       

  What Is Global Warming?

Since week one of Step It Up, we've been urging organizers to invite their members of Congress to their rallies. People all across the country are responding in force! Take a look at these states and the array of Senators and Congresspersons attending events. And heck--if your rally isn't represented on this list, please contact us!

Arizona
Tuscon: U.S. Rep Raul Grijalva (AZ-07), U.S. Rep Gabrielle Giffords (AZ-08)

Colorado
Boulder: Rep. Claire Levy (CO-13)
Denver/Englewood: Rep. Diana DeGette (CO-01)

California
Sacramento: Jerry McNerney (CA-11)

Indiana
Bloomington -- Congressman Baron Hill (IN-09)

Kansas
Topeka: Nancy Boyda, (KS-02)

Kentucky
Louisville: Rep. John Yarmuth (KY-03)

Maine
Wiscasset: Tom Allen (ME-01)

Massachussetts
Pittsfield: John Olver (MA-01)
Lexington and Boston: Ed Markey (MA-07)

Minnesota
St. Paul:  Senator Amy Klobuchar and Congressman Keith Ellison (MN-05)

Montana
Stevensville: Senator John Tester (D-MT)

New Hampshire
Hanover: Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT)

New York
Mamaroneck: Nita Lowey (NY-18)
Bedford Hills, Warwick, and Bear Mountain: John Hall (NY - 19)

Ohio
Akron: Betty Sutton (OH-13)

Pennsylvania
Langorne and Philadelphia: Patrick Murphy (PA-08)

Rhode Island
Newport: Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)

Vermont
Montpelier, Burlington, Norwich: Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) 

Washington
Seattle: Jay Inslee (WA-01)