Tens of thousands of people lined the streets of New York City to demand President Joe Biden end the use of fossil fuels in the United States and warned there was no future on a “dead planet.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made headlines at the March to End Fossil Fuels on Sunday when she joined protesters calling for a halt to federal approvals of new oil and gas project, phase out fossil fuel drilling on public lands and declare a federal climate emergency.
New York Democrat Ocasio-Cortez called climate action “an electoral and popular force that cannot be ignored. It is the biggest issue of our time,” earning loud applause from the large crowd.
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The marchers’ demands were joined by more than 500 organizations, 400 scientists and celebrities including Mark Ruffalo, Kevin Bacon and Jameela Jamil support. As of Sunday, it was unclear exactly how many people had attended the event, but multiple media outlets reported that “tens of thousands” attended marches and rallies.
The New York protest was one of more than 600 events in the “global fight to end fossil fuels,” according to the End Fossil Fuels website. The website said more than 500,000 people took part in demonstrations demanding world leaders stop using fossil fuels, including actions in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and Antarctica.
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Actor Kevin Bacon joins thousands of activists, indigenous groups, students and others taking to the streets of New York City to participate in the March to End Fossil Fuels protest in New York City on September 17, 2023 Activity.
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Sunday’s march comes ahead of a climate ambition summit hosted by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York. Guterres will unveil a new standard at Wednesday’s meeting that will require countries to phase out fossil fuels and commit to no new oil, gas and coal. The White House previously said Biden did not plan to attend.
Weekly newspaper Representatives for Biden were contacted for comment via email on Sunday.
The march comes amid a summer marked by many extreme weather events that experts say are exacerbated by climate change, including record-breaking heat waves around the world, deadly wildfires in Maui and catastrophic flooding in Libya.
Speaking to marchers at the rally, Peter Kalmes, a climate scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, painted a dire picture of humanity’s future and warned of mass extinction.
“I have two kids in high school,” he said. “I’m scared for their future. I’m scared for my future. Things are burning, there’s flooding. The smoke is getting worse. The heat wave is getting worse.”
Kalmes earned loud cheers from the crowd as he took aim at President Joe Biden.
“Every bit of fossil fuel we burn makes the planet hotter and makes everything worse,” he told marchers. “We’re clearly in a climate emergency. Why doesn’t President Biden declare this? I feel so angry, it’s crazy.”
The NASA scientist said there was “no way around this” and urged US lawmakers to “turn the tables” and move away from fossil fuels.
“This is the only planet with life in the universe we know and we are on the brink of the sixth mass extinction,” Kalmes warned. “We are on the brink of losing everything. There is no politics on a dead planet. .There is no economy on a dead planet. There is no democracy on a dead planet.”
Several protesters and Weekly newspaper Sunday said they also worry about the future of the planet and humanity.
Lisa Marshall, director of advocacy and organizing at New York Clean Power (NYCP), said she wants to do her part to ensure the earth remains “habitable” for her children.
“I’m a mom of three,” she said. “I’m here on a beautiful day, not because I want to, but because my children are counting on me to do whatever I can to protect the climate for them.”
Marshall, who has joined thousands calling on Biden to phase out fossil fuels, said Americans need “leadership to do their part.”
“I think the main goal today is to convey to President Biden the urgency of stopping approval of new fossil fuel extraction, and it has to stop from the top,” she told Weekly newspaper. “Individual action is fine, but we cannot escape the climate crisis. We need to meet our commitments to the Paris Agreement. We do not need to approve any more fossil fuel extraction projects.”
Thomas Hirasun, a climate activist from Ithaca, tells us Weekly newspaper Lawmakers need to act before it’s too late.
“The significance of the march is the urgency of this matter,” he said. “We have to do something now.”
