March for Climate Awareness

Start: Saturday, April 29, 2017• 9:45 AM

End: Saturday, April 29, 2017•12:00 PM

On April 29, 2017, there will be a major march in Washington, DC, sponsored by a partnership of more than 50 groups concerned about the effects of climate change, while also focusing on the creation of good, sustainable jobs that do not cause damage to the environment.

The effects of climate change on our beautiful Northern Neck will affect all who live here, regardless our respective political affiliations. For those who would rather demonstrate their support for the environment closer to home, a one-mile long “March for Climate Awareness” is taking place on Saturday, April 29 in Kilmarnock, Lancaster County.

A year ago, the USGS issued a press release that said in part: “Much of the coast from Maine to Virginia is more likely to change than to simply drown in response to rising seas during the next 70 years or so…in ways that will reshape coastal landscapes….70 percent of the Northeast Atlantic Coast is made up of ecosystems that have the capacity to change over the next several decades in response to rising seas.”

There are other dire effects from climate change. For example, a graphic from the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health in March 2017 showed that, in Virginia, impacts on people include illnesses caused by extreme temperatures, outdoor air quality, extreme flooding, hurricanes, storms and/or drought, mosquito and tick-borne infections, water-related infection, and mental health and well-being.

The March for Climate Awareness will begin at the Peeble’s parking lot (Main street) at 9:45 AM, and will continue to Grace Episcopal Church, but if you wish, you may join it at the midpoint at the Lancaster Public Library. Parking will be available at the parking lot outside Peeble’s (463 N.Main St.), at the Lancaster Community Library (16 Town Centre Dr.), and also at Grace Episcopal Church (303 S. Main St.) if public parking on Waverly is full. Please carpool, if possible. This is to be a family-friendly march; children and dogs on leashes are welcome.

Those who are mobility impaired or elderly can assemble at Grace Church to be part of this
event.

For more information, please see https://www.facebook.com/events/1654355044860084/ or
email Bette Gruben bettegruben@gmail.com.