Wellfleetians March on Behalf of Planet

The sun was not shining this morning at 8 a.m. when a handful of hardy Wellfleetians met on Uncle Tim's Bridge to march around Cannon Hill but that did not dampen their enthusiasm. The gathering was part of a world-wide effort to draw attention to the problem of global warming and climate change. How inspiring to be part of such a movement! A dozen Wellfleetians marched. I have only one question: where were the rest of you?

Here's the deal. We need to reduce our use of fossil fuels. Instead, our government is looking to extract dirty oil from the tar sands in Canada. What really frightens me is the idea that the Gulf Stream may slow down. We must send a message to our legislators that global warming exists, no matter what the idiot-deniers claim, and that this is no time to be dragging feet. We need to take action now.

America has always been at the forefront of innovation. Our leaders should support renewable energy. We must make a clean break from our dependence on Big Oil. How about a challenge to scientists to come up with new solutions, organized at MIT for example? These ideas are mine alone, but no doubt fellow marchers had similar thoughts as they walked along.

In any case, what we can all start doing right this minute is to take baby steps, one at a time. Stop accepting plastic bags at the supermarket, as suggested by the Wellfleet Recycling Commission, whose chair, Lydia Vivante was present this morning. Use public transportation whenever possible. Carpool. Improve the insulation of your house and turn the thermostat way down at night in winter. Turn off lights when you leave a room. Ask your friends and family to do the same.

Femke Rosenbaum had made a new GREEN POWER banner for today's protest, which was led by Harriet Korim, right. As you may remember, Harriet was arrested in front of the White House last month, on her birthday no less, taking a stance against the tar sands pipeline.

I flipped my last pancake this morning at 8:30 and jumped in my car. What's wrong with this sentence? Gee, I should have walked down.

Many of the participants did come on foot. McNeeley Myers, left, one of the stars in WHAT's current production Body Awareness, rode her bike. After the march, Harriet caught the Flex bus to Provincetown and planned to take the Boston ferry in order to participate in 350 events there this afternoon.

"Moving Planet is a day to put our demands for climate action into motion—marching, biking, skating — calling for the world to go beyond fossil fuels. At over 2000 events in 175+ countries, we're letting leaders know that a movement is rising to move our planet forward to a clean energy future."

Did you do anything today to support 350.org's Moving Planet?