The last two days have been simply incredible.
I began my day on Thursday by painting a banner for the California contingent at the Peoples Climate March, at MayDay artspace in Brooklyn. While there, I ran into Col. Anne Wright and Medea Benjamin, I got interviewed by WNYC radio, and I had the privilege of buying the artspace manager a falafel lunch.
Entrance to MayDay Artspace in Bushwick, Brooklyn: ground zero for Peoples Climate art!
Hand-drawn sticky-note map of the planned 'zones' inside the Peoples Climate March, at MayDay Artspace
From there, I went to a Peoples Climate March volunteer training, hosted by the NYC Transit Workers Union.
Hundreds of volunteers get trained for the Peoples Climate March at NYC's Transit Workers Union hall in Brooklyn
Phone banking for the Peoples Climate March at PCM headquarters, with Linda Hutchins-Knowles
On Friday, I did some phone banking at the Peoples March headquarters near Grand Central Station, with my new friend Linda Hutchins-Knowles. And on the way to pick up my protest signs at Kinko's, we ran into former US Congressman Dennis Kucinich!
The Hon. Dennis Kucinich - with Linda Hutchins-Knowles, yours truly, and an unidentified Kucinich fan on Madison Ave.
That evening, Linda took me to a party for Moms Clean Air Force, hosted at a phenomenal upper west side apartment, where I got to meet people like EDF's Eric Pooley and IPL president Rev. Sally Bingham, as well as some amazing climate-active parents from all over the country.
Party for Moms Clean Air Force, on the upper west side of Manhattan
John Friedrich from Climate Parents was there - and he invited me and Linda to join him for the tail end of a 350NYC event afterwards. My favorite speaker there was Sean Sweeney, Director of the Cornell Global Labor Institute, who explained how labor unions have been forced to deal with the oil and gas industry - and then declared that those days are over, calling for President Obama to do nothing less than issue an executive order seizing the assets of Big Oil to prevent them from destroying our planet. (This modest proposal received cheers and a standing ovation.)
On the way home, while passing out flyers to the march on the subway, I met Johanna Wald, of the NRDC, who assured me she'd be at the march in the morning. A perfect way to end the day!
At the Moms Clean Air Force party with Linda Hutchins-Knowles and Lisa Hoyos of Climate Parents
Kathy Dervin and friends from 350 Bay Area, on the roof of MayDay Artspace