As excited motorists, bicyclists, and people on foot passed by, local citizens and I held up a banner telling the president that his “‘all of the above energy’ policy won’t stop climate change.” Even the air tingled with excitement, as the crowd’s cheers echoed from the pavillion and the ever-present security forces barely hid their anticipation. After getting politely removed to a nearby location on Market, I knew that the moment I was waiting for, when we would show the President our message for more clean energy, was near.
At around 3 PM, there was a hushed, anticipated silence and just seconds later police motorcycles appeared right in front of us. Holding the banner with a volunteer, I knew that in just a minute the president would drive right by. With cries of, “He’s here!” the crowd cheered as President Obama’s motorcade roared by. As the president’s vehicle came and went, I smiled in approval, knowing that the president had just seen our banner calling for wind and solar.
We came to make sure climate change was a visible issue, and the day’s mission was accomplished. Indeed, after the speech, Obama for America’s Virginia team sent out the tweet: “POTUS: Ignoring inequalities don’t make them go away. Denying climate change won’t make it stop.”
Yesterday’s action at the Charlottesville rally was for a simple, logical reason. As increasingly severe weather batters our country, the president has yet to take concrete steps to protect our climate. Construction on the Keystone XL pipeline’s southern leg has begun, the Marcellus Shale continues to be fracked, and carbon is still being emitted from far too many coal-fired plants. Simply put, we need the president to take real action on the climate. Climate change will not wait for the eventual result of endless political deliberations. Without action, corporations like Dominion Power will continue to spew carbon into the atmosphere from their dirty fossil fuels.
Mr. President, we need action now. Say “no” to the Keystone XL Pipeline and bring clean energy to our communities before it’s too late. That’s the change we need.
The successful Charlottesville action was part of CCAN’s Election Climate Response Team – sign up today to be a part of similar actions at future candidate events!
