海角大神

March to End Fossil Fuels: 75,000 protestors descend on NYC

As many as 75,000 people in New York City have begun a week of demonstrations seeking to end the use of fossil fuels and demand policy change. The march marked the beginning of New York鈥檚 Climate Week, where world leaders are gathering for a U.N. summit.

First Look

Yelling that the future and their lives depend on ending fossil fuels, tens of thousands of protesters on Sunday kicked off a week where leaders will try once again to curb climate change primarily caused by coal, oil, and natural gas.

But protesters say it鈥檚 not going to be enough. And they aimed their wrath directly at United States President Joe Biden, urging him to stop approving new oil and gas projects, phase out current ones, and declare a climate emergency with larger executive powers.

鈥淲e hold the power of the people, the power you need to win this election,鈥� said 17-year-old Emma Buretta of Brooklyn of the youth protest group Fridays for Future. 鈥淚f you want to win in 2024, if you do not want the blood of my generation to be on your hands, end fossil fuels.鈥�

The March to End Fossil Fuels featured such politicians as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and actors Susan Sarandon, Ethan Hawke, Edward Norton, Kyra Sedgewick, and Kevin Bacon. But the real action on Broadway was where protesters crowded the street, pleading for a better but not-so-hot future. It was the opening salvo to New York鈥檚 Climate Week, where world leaders in business, politics, and the arts gather to try to save the planet, highlighted by a new special United Nations summit Wednesday.

Many of the leaders of countries that cause the most heat-trapping carbon pollution will not be in attendance. And they won鈥檛 speak at the summit organized by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a way that only countries that promise new concrete action are invited to speak.

Organizers estimated 75,000 people marched Sunday.

鈥淲e have people all across the world in the streets, showing up, demanding a cessation of what is killing us,鈥� Ms. Ocasio-Cortez told a cheering crowd. 鈥淲e have to send a message that some of us are going to be living on this planet 30, 40, 50 years from now. And we will not take no for an answer.鈥�

This protest was far more focused on fossil fuels and the industry than previous marches. Sunday鈥檚 rally attracted a large chunk, 15%, of first-time protesters and was overwhelmingly female, said American University sociologist Dana Fisher, who studies environmental movements and was surveying march participants.

Of the people Ms. Fisher talked to, 86% had experienced extreme heat recently, 21% floods, and 18% severe drought, she said. They mostly reported feeling sad and angry. Earth has just gone through the hottest summer on record.

Among the marchers was 8-year-old Athena Wilson from Boca Raton, Florida. She and her mother Maleah, flew from Florida for Sunday鈥檚 protest.

鈥淏ecause we care about our planet,鈥� Athena said. 鈥淚 really want the Earth to feel better.鈥�

People in the South, especially where the oil industry is, and the global south, 鈥渉ave not felt heard,鈥� said Alexandria Gordon, originally from Houston. 鈥淚t is frustrating.鈥�

Protest organizers emphasized how let down they felt that Mr. Biden, who many of them supported in 2020, has overseen increased drilling for oil and fossil fuels.

鈥淧resident Biden, our lives depend on your actions today,鈥� said Louisiana environmental activist Sharon Lavigne. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 stop fossil fuels our blood is on your hands.鈥�

Nearly one-third of the world鈥檚 planned drilling for oil and gas between now and 2050 is by U.S. interests, environmental activists calculate. Over the past 100 years, the United States has put more heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than any other country, though China now emits more carbon pollution on an annual basis.

鈥淵ou need to phase out fossil fuels to survive our planet,鈥� said Jean Su, a march organizer and energy justice director for the Center for Biological Diversity.

Marchers and speakers spoke of increasing urgency and fear of the future. The actress known as V, formerly Eve Ensler, premiered the anthem 鈥淧anic鈥� from her new climate-change-oriented musical scheduled for next year. The chorus goes: 鈥淲e want you to panic. We want you to act. You stole our future and we want it back.鈥�

Signs included 鈥渆ven Santa knows coal is bad鈥� and 鈥渇ossil fuels are killing us鈥� and 鈥淚 want a fossil free future鈥� and 鈥渒eep it in the ground.鈥�

That鈥檚 because leaders don鈥檛 want to acknowledge 鈥渢he elephant in the room,鈥� said Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate. 鈥淭he elephant is that fossil fuels are responsible for the crisis. We can鈥檛 eat coal. We can鈥檛 drink oil, and we can鈥檛 have any new fossil fuel investments.鈥�

But oil and gas industry officials said their products are vital to the economy.

鈥淲e share the urgency of confronting climate change together without delay; yet doing so by eliminating America鈥檚 energy options is the wrong approach and would leave American families and businesses beholden to unstable foreign regions for higher cost and far less reliable energy,鈥� said American Petroleum Institute Senior Vice President Megan Bloomgren.

Activists weren鈥檛 having any of that.

鈥淭he fossil fuel industry is choosing to rule and conquer and take and take and take without limit,鈥� Rabbi Stephanie Kolin of Congregation Beth Elohim of Brooklyn said. 鈥淎nd so waters are rising and the skies are turning orange [from wildfire smoke] and the heat is taking lives. But you Mr. President can choose the other path, to be a protector of this Earth.鈥�

This story was reported by The Associated Press