Below you will find another email sent out by Mary DeCamp on September 13 from the Climate March. Mary and the Climate March are in need of funds. You can go to www.climatemarch.org and click on Donate to find ways to help. Or go to Mary’s Crowdrise page at https://www.crowdrise.com/MaryDeCampPhoenix-DC
Last night I spent the night at the Good Shepherd Montessori School in South Bend, IN. The night before was spent in the Guild Room of Trinity Episcopal Church in Michigan City – I almost got to sleep in the old Bishop’s quarters, but when the newly-installed reverend/tenant discovered we had to get up and leave at 4:00 am or earlier, she dis-invited me. Sigh. So close.
…With the limited access to internet, it’s been really hard to keep in touch with everyone in Tucson who is near and dear to me. So a little help from you, my friend, would be much appreciated. You have the emails and contacts and Facebook and such to spread the message along those invisible threads of our social web.
The Climate March has been great. We’ve visited all sorts of communities and homes, picking up ideas about more sustainable lifestyles and gathering information about regional ecological degradation. Crossing the country this way allows us to see so much. We’ve stayed in pristine national parks where there were few signs of humans: no billboards, power lines, trash, buildings, or artificial elements other than the road in many spots. We’ve also walked past industrialized areas like the BP Shell facility where no living thing (other than a lone sickly evergreen valiantly tried to grow) could be seen.
The big confined animal feeding operations (CAFO’s) in Nebraska and Iowa were a surprise to many Marchers – they’d never really thought about the source of our meat-driven diets. I believe a couple of folks on the march converted to vegetarian during that leg of the journey. We have about half omnivores and half vegetarians or vegans. Most of our meals rely mostly on veggies and fruits and grains, but we don’t go entirely meatless. Really, it is incredible the quality of food that can be prepared for a big group out of the back of a U-Haul truck. Much of the meat we do eat is given to us by local supporters who raise it themselves in more humane conditions.
We’re gathering really good ideas about sustainable projects that others have undertaken. In Lincoln, NE, for example, we visited a hamlet within the city where an entire block had converted their lawns into food-producing gardens and fruit arbors. The initiator of the urban farm realized 30 years ago that if our transportation system was compromised, the food in the grocery stores would not last more than 3 days. He decided to do his part to try to re-localize the food supply and, in the process, he improved his health, got to know his neighbors better, eats tastier food, and no longer waters/seeds/weeds/cuts the inedible grass that was there before. Just brilliant for that area and weather conditions!
Many of the communities have bike-share programs where the first hour’s rent on the bicycle is cheap and each following hour is more expensive. It encourages people to use the bikes for short commutes and keeps the bikes from disappearing for long periods. This system allows people to be pedestrians for part of their commute and bicyclists for part of the trip. We saw this same system for cars, too. Not everyone has to own his or her own vehicle. It saves on storage, maintenance, insurance, and worry. Another great idea.
We’ve seen food rescue crews that coordinate the distribution of food from groceries that has passed its “sell by” date or produce that might be too unsightly for sales, but is still edible. The food crew works hand-in-hand with a gardening crew, so the spoiled food can be composted and nourish home-grown produce. Or it can be used as animal feed for the goats (milk, soap, meat), chickens (eggs, meat, insect catchers), or pigs.
The day-to-day demands of the walk are sometimes daunting. If we are facing a 20+ mile day, we arise at 4:00 am or earlier to allow time to get to the next camp. We often have to cook on a propane cookstove. We need to pack up everything we own before we start walking. The weather conditions can be downright awful. The bugs in the midwest were extremely bothersome. The traffic can be threatening when the shoulders where we walk disappear in some of the stretches. There have been plenty of blisters and sprains and aches and pains. The meetings are incessant as we try to coordinate ideas and actions and logistics.
But somehow it all gets done. We get up, day after day, and walk another 15 miles, on average. We speak to schools and we interact with local folks. Our mayor exchanges keys to the city with mayors along the way. We rally and chant and sing. We teach and learn. We laugh and we realize just how lucky we are to be living at a time when our big beautiful planet is still able to nourish and sustain us and we hope it will be so far into the future.
The Climate March asks participants to raise $20 a day to offset expenses like fuel, food, insurance, camping permits, etc. If you would like to donate to support our local activists Mary DeCamp and John Jorgensen, you can visit the website www.climatemarch.org and use the “donate” button and indicate you would like your contribution to support them. Or mail a check to GMCA, 1620 Pleasant St., #249, Des Moines, IA 50314 and write the name(s) on the memo line.
Next Sunday, 9/21/14, in New York City, the longest climate march in history (www.climatemarch.org) meets the biggest climate march (http://peoplesclimate.org/march). If you care, but can’t be there, consider how you might support the growing movement to chart a happier, healthier, more sustainable path for yourself and for future generations.