Monday, September 18, 2023

Presidential Candidate Marianne Williamson Joins NYC’s March to End Fossil Fuels


Earlier today Democracy Now! reported the following.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters around the globe took to the streets over the weekend calling for an end to the burning of fossil fuels. Climate actions took place in the Philippines, India, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sweden, Germany, the United States and across dozens of other countries and cities worldwide.

Here in New York, an estimated 75,000 protesters joined a massive march Sunday following days of peaceful actions targeting banks and other institutions involved with the fossil fuel industry.

The tens of thousands of people who filled the streets of midtown Manhattan sent a clear message to the world and leaders coming to the city for the U.N. General Assembly this week: End fossil fuels.

As part of more than 200 actions around the world leading up to the first-ever United Nations Climate Ambition Summit this Wednesday, more than 700 grassroots groups together called on President Joe Biden to declare a climate emergency, stop all federal approvals for new fossil fuel projects, phase out production of fossil fuels on federal public lands, and build a new clean energy future.

Speakers at the massive march’s rally included New York Democratic Congressmember Jamaal Bowman, environmental justice activist Susan Lavigne, former Irish President Mary Robinson, actor Susan Sarandon and climate scientist Peter Kalmus.

“Every little bit of fossil fuel we burn makes the planet a little hotter,” warned Kalmus, while Bowman and Robinson condemned fossil fuel investment as “subsidizing” the planet’s “own self-destruction.”

Added Kalmus, “This is a task of cosmic importance. . . . We are on the brink of losing absolutely everything.”




As far as I know, progressive Democrat Marianne Williamson was the only 2024 presidential candidate to participate in yesterday’s March to End Fossil Fuels in New York City.

That’s both telling and significant, don’t you think? But then again, when you read Marianne’s Climate Action Policy and listen to her speak about this crucially important issue, the only conclusion that can be reached is that she is the presidential candidate most serious about taking action on climate change.

And yet as always, it’s crickets from the mainstream media in terms of coverage of this and of Marianne’s campaign in general.

Well, as I learned during my time 20 years ago with the Minneapolis-based Counter Propaganda Coalition*, often times you have to be the media you want to see in the world. Hence my frequent writing on and coverage of Marianne and her presidential campaign here at The Wild Reed.

With this in mind and heat, I share today not only some wonderful some images of Marianne and supporters at the March to End Fossils Fuels, but also the message Marianne sent to her supporters, myself included, just prior to her participation in Sunday’s march.

_________________________


Dear Michael,

Today I’m marching with lots of our East Coast volunteers to participate in the March to End Fossil Fuels Parade in New York City.

I’m old enough to have experienced what it means when an idea becomes a movement, which over time then becomes a power that simply will not be stopped. And ending fossil fuels is at such a point today. A critical mass of people at last seem to understand that when it comes to fossil fuels the era of extraction must end, so a new era of green energy can begin.

To make this transition, it will not be enough to simply invest in green energy. It’s not enough to go clean if you’re still investing in dirty. We must begin right now to ramp down fossil fuel extraction, not ramp it up the way both Presidents Trump and Biden have done.

It’s time for a World War II level mass mobilization for a just transition from a dirty economy to a clean economy, and as President I will preside over that.

“But wait a minute, Marianne,” one gentleman said to me one day. “I make over 6 figures at my job working for Big Oil. Are you telling me to go install solar panels for $15 an hour?”

“No Sir, I’m not,” I told him. That’s where the word “just” comes in to the concept of a just transition. Many thousands of people who work at least indirectly for fossil fuel companies have the technological, research and manufacturing careers sorely needed in a green economy. I will work tirelessly with the fossil fuel companies – as long as they will work with me – to partner in the single greatest industrial transition in modern American history. In doing so, we will create jobs, we will create profits, and we will create a safer and more livable planet.

In the meantime, I will immediately upon taking office declare a Climate Emergency. Why? First of all, because there is one. But more importantly, because as your President I will not be pussy footing around. During my administration, the U.S. government will refuse to bow down to any oil producer, foreign or domestic. We’re not staying stuck, and we’re not going backwards. We’re going a create a Green Century for ourselves and our children.

Every time I give a talk on the campaign trail, I ask people to raise their hand if they are a young person or have heard a young person say the following: that under normal circumstances they would be thinking about having a child but that given the state of the environment today they don’t think it would be a responsible thing to do.

Never does less than 1/3 of the room raise their hands – and at one talk recently a majority did!

That’s it. We’re going to listen to our young people. They want a better life, and they deserve it.

I hope you will work as hard as we are – as a donor, a volunteer, a friend of the campaign – to amplify this message so we can get it done.








I close this post with Marianne Williamson’s July 12 “firelight chat” with climate scientist Peter Kalmus. As you’ll see, the focus of their conversation is the “looming threat of increased global warming.”

Kalmus, the author of Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution, was a speaker at yesterday’s March to End Fossil Fuels in New York City.

NOTE: Video takes about 30 seconds to start after pressing play.





Related Off-site Links:
Tens of Thousands Join March to End Fossil Fuels in New York City to Demand Climate Action from Biden – Jake Johnson (Common Dreams, September 17, 2023).
“A Watershed Moment”: California Sues Big Oil Over Decades of Climate Destruction – Jake Johnson (Common Dreams, September 16, 2023).
Six Out of Nine Planetary Boundaries Already Crossed, Study Warns – Julia Conley (Common Dreams, September 14, 2023).
What Climate Democracy Looks Like – Alexander Zaitchik (TruthDig, August 29, 2023).
It’s Time for a Huge Change in America – Marianne Williamson (Union Leader, September 17, 2023).
Who Is 2024 Presidential Candidate Marianne Williamson? – Catherine Garcia (The Week, August 22, 2023).
Marianna Williamson Slams Cable News for Ignoring RFK Jr, Her Challenge to BidenRising (August 27, 2023).
Marianne Williamson Wants to Debate Joe Biden So Democrats Can See Options for President – Addison Lathers (Des Moines Register, August 12, 2023).
Marianne Williamson Polling at 10% Among DemocratsOn Balance (August 12, 2023).
Marianne Williamson on Winning Over Undecided Democrats – Liz Jassin (News Nation, August 11, 2023).
Why Marianne Williamson Is Running for President Again in 2024 – Lee DeVito (Detroit Metro Times, July 10, 2023).
All Politics Are Spiritual: An Interview with Marianne Williamson – Alexander Zaitchik (TruthDig, June 28, 2023).
Marianne Williamson: United States Needs a Fundamental “Economic U-turn”Sky News (June 17, 2023).
Debate Us, Mr. President – Marianne Williamson (Newsweek, May 31, 2023).
For Marianne Williamson, the Bernie Sanders Lane Looks Wide Open – Mini Racker (TIME, May 25, 2023).
Marianne Williamson Wants to Introduce a New Politics to DC – Maximillian Alvarez (The Real News Network, May 18, 2023).
How Marianne Williamson and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Compare to Biden on 6 Key Issues – Andrew Stanton (Newsweek, May 15, 2023).
Marianne Williamson: From Third Way to Third Eye – Chris Lehmann (The Nation, May 15, 2023).
Marianne Williamson: Democrats Need a “Genuine Economic Alternative” to Beat the GOP in 2024 – David Sirota (Jacobin, May 5, 2023).
Marianne Williamson on Her 2024 Presidential Bid – C-SPAN (May 4, 2023).
Marianne Williamson Is Serious About Running a Progressive Campaign for President – Liza Featherstone (Jacobin, April 27, 2023).
The Case for Marianne Williamson – Zach Courtney (The Minnesota Daily, April 20, 2023).
Marianne Williamson, Fusing Bernie Sanders and (Early) Jordan Peterson, Is Taking Over TikTok – Ryan Grim (The Intercept, April 14, 2023).
Meet Eris, the Goddess Behind the Force That Is Marianne Williamson – Rayner Jae Liu (Medium, April 8, 2023).
Marianne Williamson Says Democrats Need to Fix “Unjust” Economy to Win – Andrew Stanton (Newsweek, March 12, 2023).



See also: Marianne 2024 Official Site | About | Issues | News | Events | Blog | Donate


For The Wild Reed’s coverage of Marianne Williamson’s 2024 presidential campaign, see the following chronologically-ordered posts:
Marianne 2024
Marianne Williamson Launches 2024 Presidential Campaign
Progressive Perspectives on Marianne Williamson’s Presidential Run
More Progressive Perspectives on Marianne Williamson’s Presidential Run
Ben Burgis: Quote of the Day – March 10, 2023
Despite the Undemocratic Antics of the DNC, Marianne Williamson Plans on “Winning the Nomination”
The Biblical Roots of “From Each According to Ability; To Each According to Need”
Marianne Williamson on The Next Revolution with Steve Hilton – 05/30/23
Marianne Williamson’s Economic Bill of Rights
Three Progressive Voices on the War in Ukraine
Marianne Williamson: Quote of the Day – June 27, 2023
Marianne Williamson on The Issue Is with Elex Michaelson – 07/20/23
Voters, Not the DNC, Should Choose the Nominee
Marianne Williamson in New Hampshire
Marianne Williamson: “Repairing Our Hearts Is Essential to Repairing Our Country”
Marianne Williamson on Trump’s Day in Court
Marianne Williamson on News Nation – 08/25/23

See also:
Marianne Williamson: “We Must Challenge the Entire System”
Marianne Williamson on the Current Condition of the U.S.
An Essential Read Ahead of the Midterms
Marianne Williamson’s Politics of Love: The Rich Roll Interview
Celebrating Tuesday’s Progressive Wins in the Midst of the Ongoing “War for the Future of the Democratic Party”
Now Here’s a Voice I’d Like to Hear Regularly on the Sunday Morning Talk Shows
A Deeper Perspective on What’s Really Attacking American Democracy
Bernire Sanders: Quote of the Day – July 7, 2023
George Monbiot: Quote of the Day – July 21, 2022
Bernie Sanders: Quote of the Day – July 1, 2021
The Stakes Have Shifted
The Link Between Destruction of Biodiversity and Emerging Infectious Diseases
As the World Burns, Calls for a “Green New Deal”
Marianne Williamson: Quote of the Day – August 29, 2017
The People’s Climate Solidarity March – Minneapolis, 4/29/17

* I co-founded the Counter Propaganda Coalition (CPC) in the wake of the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s controversial coverage of the October 26, 2002 peace rally in St. Paul. The CPC used direct action to (i) hold corporate media accountable, (ii) educate about “media literacy” so as to inspire public questioning, and (iii) popularize and expand independent media.


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