This past weekend, a number of People’s Climate Marches took place in cities around the united states. The People’s Climate March, organized by the Sierra Club, drew over 200,000 people to the streets of Washington D.C. alone.

The Climate March in D.C., which took place on Saturday April 29th, began at the Capital and ended at the Washington Monument, passing by landmarks such as the American History Museum and the White House. The march coincided with Donald Trump’s one hundredth day in office as protesters braved 90 degree heat as well as the visible presence of armed security.

The march started at 12:30 and ended around 3:00. One of the most profound moments was at 2:00, when marchers performed a collective action by sitting down wherever they were and beating their chests in unison to sound like a collective heartbeat.

In wake of recent events, such as the EPA removing its information about climate change by the direction of new EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, the march could not be more relevant.  

“I think that measuring with precision human activity on the climate is something very challenging to do, and there’s tremendous disagreement about the degree of impact,” Pruitt said to the press. “So, no, I would not agree that it’s a primary contributor to the global warming that we see.” Although many have avidly argued against this point, staff members of the EPA have addressed the change as “trying to reflect the approach of a new leadership.”

Fiona Grove, Nathan Limric, Nicholas Dundorf, and Oyster River alums Abby Colby and Griffin Sinclair-Wingate were just some of the people who participated in the march. “I marched because I think climate change has been made into a partisan issue,” Grove said  “it should be a topic that unites us as we combat and prepare for it.” Many other people who participated in the action shared this sentiment. Limric added, “I marched because no one truly believes climate change isn’t happening, they’re just covering it up, and I don’t like the heat.”

With signs sporting slogans such as “Respect our mother,” “If the environment was a bank it would’ve been saved by now,” and “You can’t drink oil,” it’s clear that the People’s Climate March is one of many steps a large part of the American public is taking to combat policies that have recently been instituted by the new administration.

Written by Lily Mangan