Here is the story of my recent trip to DC for the Forward on Climate Rally. It was my first trip to DC and this blog covers not just the rally, but my experiences as a traveler as well. Scroll down past the text to see lots of photos and a short video at the end.
Well I had never been to DC before and when I found out months ago that this rally and march were planned, I decided THIS was the time for me to go. I have long been a political activist and an environmentalist, but since I have had kids I have not gotten out in the streets very often. But the fact that I have kids makes it even more important that for THIS particular issue, I do what I can. It turned out to be the PERFECT way to see DC, with 40,000 or so like minded folk, taking part in our democracy in a way that should make every American proud of the fact we can get out and express our opinions in a collective and public way.
Many asked what the rally was about and unfortunately a rally and march is only as affective as the media makes it. Turns out papers like the New York times gave it minor coverage deep in the business section and it was not discussed on any of the Sunday political talk shows. Friends back home had not even heard about it on the news. Obama golfing with Tiger Woods that day was more important news. But I digress.
The rally was aimed at the President and focused on holding him to his words that he will take action on the issue of climate change. The most immediate issue is the Keystone XL pipeline. Like Van Jones said - this will be the most important decision of his presidency and his credibility is on the line. 20 years from now, people are going to remember this decision. Why is this one decision so important? Well when I returned home from DC I read a news article that provides one piece of the answer.
It was just another article citing scientists who are saying that the climate is actually changing way faster than they had ever expected. The new evidence of this is based on measurements of the volume of sea ice in the arctic which they say is one/fifth what it was in 1980 and that we can soon expect an ice free Arctic in summer.
So the scientific consensus is clear that the climate is changing due in large part to our burning of fossil fuels. It is also clear that we need to get ourselves to stop burning fossil fuels and we need to do it as fast as we can to avoid the worst case climate scenarios. To put the urgency into terms everyone can relate to (because who really is going to notice the loss of some ice and polar bears in their every day lives?), think about eating. Do you like to eat? I don't mean do you enjoy eating delicious food. I mean do you enjoy having food available for you to eat? Well farming requires a STABLE and PREDICTABLE climate, which is what we are losing because of our addiction to burning fossil fuels. Just think about how a freeze or a drought or a flood or a storm can wipe out a whole season's crops for an entire region. Well climate change means climate chaos or climate destabilization and it is not going to be easy to farm in an unstable climate. Of course there are a myriad of other reasons why any of us may be greatly impacted by climate change and one must not forget that the poor countries who did little to cause this problem will be hit the hardest as they are already farming marginal lands, living in low lying areas, living in areas prone to extreme weather already, and their governments don't have the resources to help mitigate disasters.
OK, back to Keystone XL. At a time when all of humanity needs to rapidly get off fossil fuels and invest in clean and renewable energies - wind, solar, tidal, geothermal, etc the Keystone XL pipeline would be a giant investment in the DIRTIEST (most amount of CO2 produced) form of fossil fuel there is. These tar sands are TERRIBLE for the environment, are expensive and will not be economically competitive with solar and wind within the decade, if not sooner, and are a CARBON BOMB. They hold two times more carbon than all of the carbon we have put in the atmosphere since the beginning of human history. Burn the tar sands and it is game over. We will, in our lifetime, experience dramatic climate change and we will be, no exaggerating, be threatening the entire life support system for future generations.
Now it can seem unproductive to make such bold statements as people have a hard time imaging we can really effect the Earth in such a profound way. And life on Earth has survived for billions of years. This is true and it will continue to survive for billions more, I don't doubt that. But human civilization has only been around for 10,000 or so years and it was able to arise due to the fact we had a stable climate, allowing us to build big cities and to farm on a large enough scale to feed the people in those cities. We also rely on fresh water to keep us alive, and oxygen from plants to breath, both resources climate change can threaten.
OK, so that is why I went to DC. Now lets talk about the trip.
It was really enjoyable to be traveling again. I met so many interesting people and really had a wonderful time being a visitor to a new place. And I made the most of the short time I had there. I was also true to myself and decided to follow my motto - there is plenty of time for sleep when you're dead. You can definitely say I put the 'party' into 'politics'.
A little research ahead of time and I figured out some of my favorite DJs (Fort Knox Five), who are from DC, were playing Sat night. My plane landed at 7pm or so. I took a bus to the Metro and then a taxi to my hostel. I arrived at the hostel around 9:30. I was on a mission to get in and get on my way to go dance. The hostel was full of people and I quickly made myself part of the crew with a bottle of tequila and some limes. I could not get anyone to rally so I cruised solo. Downstairs I grabbed a pizza before I left. I was in a hurry so I balked a little at the 15 minutes I was gonna have to wait for the pizza, but I hadn't eaten for most of the day. Knowing it was best that I eat I resigned to the delay and ordered a medium pizza with sausage and artichokes.
It was a good review lesson for a rusty traveler. I ended up having a great conversation with the pizza guy. He was Persian and his name was Freedoon (not sure of the spelling). We hit it off talking about Persian history. He told me in Persia they have the name Daniel and that he is a messenger. I asked him what the message he brought was and he laughed - who knows? We have thousands of messengers", he said. Well it seemed fitting anyway, since I would be joining thousands of messengers the following day at the White House.
The dance party was fun. To guarantee myself rock star treatment I wore my gold sequins hat. Some cool things are appreciated by a particular culture of people, but this is one of those things that everyone loves. And I gotta say - DC LOVED the hat. So much that fools tried to steel it. I think in 10 or so years of wearing it around the Bay area I had one person try to steal it. In DC it happened numerous times. Almost always the same way. Drunk girl asks to wear it. Then she thinks if she just walks off I will forget all about her and the hat will be hers. Only one girl actually through it across the dance floor. The crowd was 50% friendly and 50% lame. Too many guys were overly aggressive towards the women and too many of the women were overly hostile and defensive as a result. But I had enough fun to stay till the party ended and the buses stopped running. At 4 in the morning when I could not get a taxi and I was freezing my ass off even in my full length fur coat I had to laugh at myself and the situation I was in. I was saved my a late night Jerk Chicken place filled with dread locked Jamaicans and guy who called himself the 'Fat Man'. After I took the food to go, a black SUV pulled up and said 'get in'. He was a renegade taxi and both of us justified his illegal business by the fact that I could not get a legitimate taxi in 45 minutes of trying. I shared my Jerk Chicken with him and he was like "Damn! I did not know the jerk chicken was THAT good, where was that place?" I guess the sign that said 'best jerk chicken in DC' did not lie. My favorite part, however, was the cabbage, beans, and rice.
Noisy hostel had me up a few hours after I went to bed. A few of us from the hostel shared a taxi to the rally. The hostel had a good mix of young travelers from France, Germany, Hong Kong, Poland, Australia, Brazil, and old activists from Mexico, Boston, LA, and ???
The rally and march were really fantastic. What a cool way to see DC! We started with the rally in the Mall with the Washington Monument looming overhead. The speeches were really right on. There was Van Jones (one of my all time favorite people), Michael Brune - the head of the Sierra Club - who is also great, Bill McKibben who started 350.org, Rev Lennox Yearwood of the Hip Hop Caucus, a number of indigenous leaders from Canada and the US, an actress, a tuned in politician, and some more. On the Huffington Post website I know you can watch the entire rally - the first 45 minutes or so are the speeches. You can also catch some highlights on Democracy Now which, of course, gave the rally some good coverage.
Then the whole crowd walked up past the White House and back to the Mall. Turns out Obama was golfing with some oil executives while we were outside his house demanding an end to our addiction to fossil fuels. Classic. Obama was golfing with Tiger Woods while we were marching to save the tigers and the woods (along with everything else).
I will let the pictures tell the story of the creativity and positive vibe of the people at the rally. Before I left my class on Friday I had quickly made a sign for the rally. With no concern for visual aesthetics, I made a sign that said " Green Energy and Green Jobs for All" on one side and "No More Fossil Fools" on the other. I brought tape and a broken yard stick from my classroom for a quick sign assembly once I arrived in DC. I also wanted to wear something that would make people smile. I have a white furry creature outfit that is pretty great but no one ever knows what it is and with it being white I figured people would think I was trying to be a polar bear, although it looks NOTHING like a polar bear. (it was original a giant stuffed white gorilla). When I saw how cold it was gonna be (highs in the mid-thirties and lots of wind) I knew I just had to be warm. I brought my warmest coat - a full length faux fur coat with a giant hood. Regardless of the fashion statement I was the envy of everyone I saw (most of them were cold). I also wore a standby costume that can be warn with anything - I wore my hard had, a safety vest, and I bought my stop sign. Rather than the stop sign saying 'slow' on the back, it says 'dance'. It is a great prop at dance parties so why not bring it to a rally.
Of course people like the stop/dance sign and there were a number of dance jams where I got to put it to full use. One crew had a sound system on a wagon and they would stop at different points and set up a DJ system. A dance party would ensue. The first time I was dancing with them I looked up to see a good friend and inspirational eco-visionary, Shana. Cool to bump into a friend in DC. Danced and chatted with her a few times throughout the day. She told me of a dance party that night was well, planting the seed for what would become another epic night out in DC.
The march ended back at the Mall and on the stage where the speakers had been they had a DJ. The Mall was a big dance party. It was VERY cool to be dancing with a bunch of environmental and social activists on the Washington Mall. I looked around at all the beautiful people getting down and then looked up at the Washington Monument towering above us. The cloudy sky provided a dramatic backdrop to the entire scene. I thought to myself - there is no way I could have had a better moment in DC. A moment not many people have actually savored.
Sound permit ended, I made my way back to the hostel, thinking I might sleep and then go out or just sleep and not go out. The evening flew by in conversation with folks at the hostel. Finally, around 10:30 I decided you only live once and I might as well get out and see more of DC. The place that Shana had mentioned was also the only place friend from DC had recommended. To save time I caught a cab and had the best conversation with the taxi driver. He and I hit it off politically and when he dropped me off you looked at me and shook my hand and declared 'you are a GOOD American!" At least the taxi drivers thinks so.
The Eighteenth Street Lounge on Sunday nights ended up being the shit! It was an older crowd (people my age), very diverse, super friendly, I did not meet one person who was not cool, and people were there with one goal - to dance! Not wasting a good thing, I wore my gold hat and had a golden night. Danced with all sorts of incredible dancers. After dancing with one group for a while I ended up talking to a woman who actually new my friend back home who had recommended this club. Either a great coincidence or he must be a regular there.
On the street after buses stopped running a second night in a row. The taxi was too easy to get this time so I had it drop me off in China Town since I had not eaten in a while. Back at the hostel for a few hours sleep then it was up and off on one tourist mission before I had to head to the airport. The word at the hostel was that the Library of Congress had its reading room open to the public, which only happens twice a year. What the chances I will ever be in DC again when this is the case, so it turned out to be the perfect sight for me to take in. A pleasant walk from the hostel through what I was guessing were fairly typical DC neighborhoods, and I was there. It turned out to be INCREDIBLE! The inside of the library is on par as far as extravagant detail with the great cathedrals of Europe. What made this even better for me, was that while the art in a cathedral is geared toward religion, all the art and details in the Library of Congress is surrounding the theme of knowledge and civilization.
Themes included art, science, family, education, poetry, etc. There were all sorts of quotes from books, statues representing the trades, etc. The building was incredibly built with beautiful marble and decorated with intricate tile work and paintings.
And of course in it were books - lots of them. It is the largest library in the world. Most of the books are actually off in a-joining buildings, the library itself takes up more than a city block I believe. I was actually only able to wander around in it for an hour before having to head home so I did not get to see in detail any of the exhibits that were there. The reading room itself was an incredible cathedral of knowledge and I explain a little more about it in the photos below.
Back the hostel, a combo of bus and metro and plane and I was back in the Bay Area.
I must send a special thanks to all the people who chipped in money to get me to DC. When I had the idea I knew I did not have the funds to pull the trip off and then I heard on the radio a story about a website called 'Gofundme.com'. I decided to try it out and sent out a request to my friends and family and low and behold I was able to get my trip funded by all you generous folk. So thanks again. It was too cold for me to write your names on my t-shirt as I had planned (well I could have but no one would have seen it) but I knew I was there representing more than just myself. Which of course was true for the other 40,000 people there. Collectively we were representing all life on Earth and it is our hope that humans will change their behavior in time to prevent changes in our climate that will negatively effect a large portion of those living creatures who call Earth their home.
The United States Declaration of Independence says we all have the unalienable rights of "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Well Climate Chaos threatens all of these things for many people. So it is our duty to stop the Keystone XL pipeline and move our nation (and the world) towards a future without fossil fuels.
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| One of my all time favorite people - Van Jones - tellin' it like it is! |
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| Native American Chief from British Columbia, REALLY tellin' like it is. |
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| Act locally, think Globally |
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| Filling the streets on the way to the White House |
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| I must admit I have no idea what this guys sign means. |
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| Another random sign but at least I get the reference, if not the point exactly. It is nice seeing the Harry Potter generation in the streets protesting... |
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| These students got their university to divest from the fossil fuel industry. |
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| Cool way to see the White House for the first time. |
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| I guess if 'retro' is in fashion for everything else, why not a retro political protest slogan. |
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| Another dramatic reminder of where we were... |
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| You never know who, or what, you might see coming out for a march in DC. |
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| Sums it up pretty well. |
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| I know I took a lot of photos of American flags, somehow being in the Nation's Capital on a day I was proud to be an American made them all seem extra photogenic. |
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| Tax and dividend - the most common sense political action to take. But I suppose 'common sense political action' is the text book definition of oxymoron. |
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| No matter how anyone thinks I look in this full length faux fur coat, I was the envy of everyone in DC that weekend - it was cold, but I was hot! |
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| putting the 'party' in 'politics' |
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| It turned out the library of Congress had the reading room open to the public so this turned out to be my one tourist destination for this visit, and I was very pleased I had gone. |
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| The painting on the ceiling of the reading room included the 12 countries or epochs thought to have contributed most to modern society: • Egypt represents Written Records. • Judea represents Religion. • Greece represents Philosophy. • Rome represents Administration. • Islam represents Physics. • The Middle Ages represent Modern Languages. • Italy represents the Fine Arts. • Germany represents the Art of Printing. • Spain represents Discovery. • England represents Literature. • France represents Emancipation. • America represents Science. |
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| The ornate detail in the Library of Congress is on par with that of the classic buildings and cathedrals in Europe. What made this especially interesting was how it was themed around knowledge and culture rather than religion. |
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| Each of the marble pillars in the reading room represented a feature of civilized life: Religion, Commerce, History, Art, Philosophy, Poetry, Law and Science. |
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| This part of the ceiling was actually made of tiny tiles. |
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| Intricate marble tile work on the floors. |
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| Walking around DC was cool. You would turn a corner and look up to read what was in a building and it would be some important part of our government that you hear or read about all the time. Here was the Security and Exchange Commission. |
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| It was also fun walking through the neighborhoods and getting a feel for the DC architecture and city vibe. |
