[By Tom Atlee]
John Abbe and Tom Atlee (from left to right)
I just returned from a ten day trip – including 4 days on Greyhound
busses – to walk with the Great March for Climate Action
http://climatemarch.org as it passed through Denver on its journey from
Los Angeles to Washington DC (March 1-Nov 1). (The trip was gifted to me
by my beloved partner Dulcy Lee.) The march – a mobile tent community of
about 30 impressively dedicated activists including Walnutter John Abbe
– is having a notable impact on the local communities through which it
passes. I managed to walk 4-8 miles per sweltering day, while these
folks – ranging from teenagers to elders – routinely do 15 miles or
more, sharing low-footprint resources like portable composting toilets,
solar cookers, good meals, and a few cars and trucks for support. A
couple of marchers carry all their possessions on their back and/or in a
push-cart.
I was challenged by the intensity of life in this intimate group who
co-create their physical, communal and personal lives newly each day. So
I am happy to return to my usual work and life. But I find myself
feeling already oddly nostalgic for their grounded, profoundly
purposeful lifestyle and their inexorable and inexplicable good cheer.
Also the warmth, gratitude, and gifts from people we passed produced
welcome surges of hope and humanity. For example, on my last very hot
march day, women in a cafe gave us free ice for our water bottles and a
Latina mother and her son brought an unexpected pan of ice cold sliced
watermelon to our camp site in the early evening. The whole experience
was truly remarkable.
If you are anywhere near the climate march route
http://climatemarch.org/why-
day or a week or recommend it to friends who live along the way. Or send
them money. Or check out their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/557492267622088/.