Vermont Walk to Protest Global Warming

There's a big effort over Labor Day weekend to do something here in Vermont about climate change.

Hundreds of people will be participating this Thursday, Aug 31, 2006-Monday, Sept. 4, in the largest- ever demonstration in America about climate change and global warming. The event is a five-day walkout over 50 miles, from high in the mountains of Ripton, VT -- beginning at the poet Robert Frost's writing cabin -- and ending in Burlington at a rally featuring US Sen. Jim Jeffords and state and national candidates.

Here's more about the walk: www.fromtheroadlesstraveled.org. If you are so inclined, please consider making a donation through that Web site. The Vermont Natural Resources Council, a supportive nonprofit organization, is handling the bookkeeping, so your donation may be tax-deductible as well as a good thing to do for the planet.

The first night of this event, the five-day walkers will be camping in the meadow at our new house [ http://middleburyvt.blogspot.com/2006/06/greg-karens-new-place.html . Karen is organizing both dinner and breakfast for those people, with the help of many volunteers here in Middlebury. Local food for the walkers is being donated by grain farmers, cheese growers and maple syrup makers, along with the Middlebury Friends (Quakers) Meeting.

There's been a huge upwelling of volunteers and community support. I know many of us are pessimistic about being able to do anything about climate change. I'm hopeful that events like this one will kick off a strong movement in America to change government policy -- and make it a top priority to reverse climate change before it's literally too late for the planet.

You can find a little more about the event at:

http://www.sevendaysvt.com/columns/local-matters-news/2006/project-hot-seat-targets-states-congressional-candidates.html .

Press release is below. Stay cool.

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Contact: Rebecca Sobel e-mail - rebecca.sobel@sfo.greenpeace.org tel. 802-658-3773 ext 498; cell – 267-402-0724

More info: www.fromtheroadlesstraveled.org

VERMONT PROTESTERS SAY YES
TO BLISTERS – BUT ‘NO’ TO BLISTERING HEAT

Five-Day March to Demand Action on Global Warming
August 31 – September 4

Before and during Labor Day weekend, hundreds of Vermonters will participate in a five-day walk to demand that state and federal officials develop solutions to global warming.

The event may be the biggest protest ever in America to address climate change and global warming.

The trek involves a coalition of entrepreneurs, businesses, farmers, scholars, maple sugarmakers and concerned citizens from across the political spectrum. Walkers will march from the poet Robert Frost's cabin in Ripton, Vt., to the state's biggest city, Burlington,
"Concern about global warming is not confined to environmentalists,” said event organizer and writer Bill McKibben, a recognized authority on climate change and author of “The End of Nature,” the first popular book on global warming. “This march will include hunters, fishermen, and farmers; hikers, bikers and birdwatchers. We’ll be walking side by side throughout Labor Day weekend, sending a clear loud message that the time for action is now.”

The five day event – called "The Road Less Traveled: Vermonters
Walking Toward A Clean Energy Future" – will be marked by a daily journey on foot across west-central Vermont. The kick-off event on Thursday, Aug. 31 is at Robert Frost’s old writing cabin in Ripton. Daily events along the route will feature talks, music, and "town meeting" style open forums. The walk will culminate in a Labor Day "Meeting on the Green" with U.S. Sen. Jim Jeffords and state and federal political candidates, at City Hall Park in Burlington."This is a hopeful event, one that will promote more dialogue andsolutions-oriented action on behalf of Vermont and the planet," says walk co-organizer Rebecca Sobel of Project Hot Seat Vermont (www.vermonthotseat.org). "We invite everyone who cares about climate change to participate in some way."

To participate in the walk, or to make a donation, visit http://www.fromtheroadlesstraveled.org .