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Bear Mountain Event Will Raise Awareness of the Climate Crisis
To the Editor:
On April 14 on the Bear Mountain Bridge, something extraordinary is going to happen. Hundreds of citizens - ranging from infants to seniors - will join hands and make a human chain across the Bear Mountain Bridge. This isn't a stunt for the Guinness Book of World Records. It's not a political rally. It's a community coming together to raise awareness of something that affects all of us, regardless of age, ethnicity, nationality or political party. That something is the climate crisis.
Our human chain across the Hudson is one of over one thousand events happening on April 14 as part of Step It Up!, a nationwide effort to call on our government to enact laws that will cut carbon emissions by 80 percent by the year 2050. There is unprecedented agreement by an overwhelming majority of the scientific community that our way of life is in serious danger.
But scientists also agree that if we act quickly and decisively, we have the power to avert much of the disaster and positively affect our future. We need our government to recognize that this is not a political issue. The earth's eco-system doesn't care about your party affiliation. If the crisis continues unchecked, Republicans and Democrats alike will suffer the scorching temperatures, the flooding, the drought, the extinction of vital species, and the host of other threats that we all face.
We need our government to recognize that adopting green measures invariably saves money, too. For instance, the new Compact Fluorescent light bulbs I'm installing in my house will last a whopping nine years and cut my electricity bills by a quarter or more. Caring for the earth actually makes great financial sense. And everyone knows that reducing our dependence on oil - foreign or otherwise - will reduce our need to do business with any government in the Middle East - which I think all Americans can agree would be a good thing.
We need our government to change the way it does business with the earth. I invite you to be part of making our elected officials aware of that need for change.
The festivities start at Bear Mountain State Park on Saturday, April 14 at 10am. Hear some great local musicians, hear from our new congressman John Hall and other leaders, then walk from the State Park, through the Zoo, to the Bridge and join hands with your fellow residents across our beautiful Hudson River to tell our leaders that you care about our planet, and that they should, too.
For the latest information and to register for the event so you can be kept informed, go to
www.stepitup2007.org
and click on "join an action." See you on the bridge!
John Plummer
Cold Spring
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