Florida Rallies for Paris Climate Agreement
On Nov. 28 and 29, Floridians joined people from all around the world, in more than 200 countries, to rally in support of the Paris talks to fight climate change. The talks ended in an agreement last week, which Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune called "a turning point for humanity."
In the Tampa Bay area, hundreds of climate activists joined rallies in St. Petersburg and across the bay in Tampa.
At the Tampa Rally, Andrew Rock, from the Tampa Bay Climate Action Network, asked that elected officials stop the partisanship and work together to solve the world's biggest crisis.
Sierra Club's Tampa Bay Group Chair Kent Bailey said sea level rise is already affecting his boating experience on Tampa Bay. Dr. Lynn Ringenberg, Florida president of the Physicians for Social Responsibility, urged Florida leaders to create a strong Clean Power Plan to cut our carbon.
In Miami, activists led by 350 South Florida marched over to the French Consulate on Brickell Avenue and presented a letter of support of the COP21 talks to Deputy Consul Karine Aumont.
Sierra Club's Jonathan Ullman was quoted by WLRN saying he hoped that COP21 will lead to meaningful action. "We'd like to see a strong agreement...We'd like to see there be a set of commitments to reduce carbon, to achieve the levels scientists say are necessary to avoid a climate catastrophe."
Media:
WFLA's coverage of the Tampa Rally
WLRN's coverage of the Miami Rally
Video from the Nov. 28 march in St. Petersburg from green thing on Vimeo.