Carbondale residents on Friday came out for a sign-making party at the Carbondale Unitarian Fellowship Church in preparation for the People’s Climate March.

The march will commence with a rally from 12:30 to 1 p.m. on April 29 and a post-march festival at 2 p.m will feature music by local group Meridian 90 and others. There will be a finger-food potluck lunch and various speakers, among them the Illinois politician and civil rights attorney Rich Whitney.

The march is sponsored by the Gaia House, Shawnee Group of Sierra Club, Illinois Initiative, Carbondale Unitarian Fellowship and SIU SENSE. It is part of a global event corresponding with 350 other sister marches.

Advertisement

Organizers say the demonstration is meant to address the issue of climate change by creating awareness on a local level.

“Global warming is changing our environment in negative ways,” said Astrid Norman, one of its organizers. “It’s a major problem that we have, yet our current politics is undercutting the EPA.”

Alexander Greg, 4, accompanied his grandmother Mary Fox, took part in the fun by making a board with a bright yellow sun and a lone standing tree.

“It’s so scary right now; it seems like we might not have a future to leave for the generations to come,” Fox said, pointing to her grandson who was intently working on his poster. “The environment can’t handle this. If it doesn’t stop, we will face the future consequences.”

Some remarked that the lack of visible effects of climate change has led many to be complacent.

Norman encouraged people to “think globally” by being concerned with how these adverse effects of climate change are “affecting the entire eco-system.”

Staff writer Francois Gatimu can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @frankDE28.

Advertisement*

To stay up to date with all your southern Illinois news, follow the Daily Egyptian on Facebook and Twitter.

Correction: An earlier version of this report indicated the march will take place on April 22. The march is scheduled to take place on April 29. We regret the error. 

Advertisement