The Green Parent

This past Saturday marked another historic Step It Up 2007 event with hundreds of demonstrations going on across the country to raise awareness about climate change and the steps needed to reverse it. Across the nation, tens of thousands of Green Parents and Eco Kids of all ages gathered to learn more about climate change, how we can halt it, and what we can and should expect our elected officials to do about it. Click here to see a list of elected officials who attended a Step It Up event.

All of the afternoon’s speakers were phenomenal.. Van Jones, in particular, gave an incredible speech, as he spoke about the “green pathway out of poverty,” through which we should focus on the development of green collar jobs for those who are in most need of work. Here’s an excerpt:

“In this society, we believe that we have throwaway stuff, throwaway resources, and throwaway materials. We also believe that we have throwaway children and throwaway neighborhoods. If we are going to truly make a difference, we can’t just stop throwing away resources, we have to stop throwing away people.”

Today, (Monday, Nov 5th) leaders from each of the weekend’s events will be taking their case to Congress, meeting with their elected officials to discuss Step It Up’s plan to increase the number of green jobs in the U.S. and decrease the level of carbon emission by 80 % by 2050. So, if you missed an event but still want to be part of history, pick up your phone and call your Congressperson (Click here to find phone numbers) and let them know you are concerned about climate change.

Special thanks to my polar bear models…Alexis Bayden-Mayer and Arundhati Baden-Mayer Eidinger