Climate change activists rally for bipartisan solutions

“There is nothing more important than voting for the climate.”

Jeanne Rossini Weir State coordinator, Citizens’ Climate Lobby

Classic rock ‘n’ roll lyrics and “go vote” chants fill intersections across Phoenix as a band of activists take to street corners on weekends to advocate for the election of government officials who support climate change solutions.

“There is nothing more important than voting for the climate,” said Jeanne Rossini Weir, the state coordinator for Citizens’ Climate Lobby. “Being in Arizona, we are on the front lines of climate change because we are feeling it more every year. We have to do something.”

Temperatures over the last few months have broken records, making summer 2020 the hottest in Phoenix history.

The vigil was organized by the local chapters of The Climate Reality Project and Citizens’ Climate Lobby and has open invitations to other environmental advocacy groups.

For two hours on the last two Saturdays, activists have traversed the intersections of 24th Street and Camelback Road, and Tatum and Shea boulevards. This Saturday from 10am to noon, organizers plan to have another vigil on 24th Street and Baseline Road.

“I’m doing this for my kids. They’re both adults but the chances of them being able to enjoy the kind of life that I’ve had is almost nothing if something doesn’t happen quickly,” said Mark Weathers, the head of the Phoenix chapters of both the Climate Reality Project and Citizens’ Climate Lobby. “The best way to get something to happen is to vote. We want all these drivers to be aware that they need to vote.”

Weathers plans to help organize vigils at different locations around Phoenix every weekend leading up to the Saturday before Election Day.

“We need courageous citizens to elect courageous leaders who will enact policies that will make actual change,” said Patti Sills-Trausch, who attended the vigil with a sign that read “vote for the planet, vote now.”

Even as temperatures reached 100 degrees on both sweltering Saturday mornings, the activists were out waving and calling out to drivers as iconic tunes from The Beatles, like “Come Together,” played on a speaker in the background.

“This is a non-partisan thing. We can all be for the climate, which is a very patriotic thing to fight for,” said Weir, who was wearing red, white and blue, and holding a sign with the Earth emblazoned on the U.S. flag.

Within the first hour of the vigil on Saturday, Weir says her enthusiastic waving had elicited over 30 honks and several thumbs up. While most drivers showed support or apathy, there were a few obscene gestures, mainly middle fingers, behind the flashing windows.

“It’s really a lot of fun when you get a honk and it’s just as much fun when you get a dissenter because I get to just wave at them,” Weir said. “We can reach so many people on a person-to-person basis, which is really effective. Especially right now because of COVID. We can be safely influencing people from a safe distance.”

Anton L. Delgado is an environmental reporter for The Arizona Republic/ AZCentral. Follow his reporting on Twitter at @antonldelgado and tell him about stories at anton.delgado@ arizonarepublic.com.

Environmental coverage in The Republic and on azcentral.com is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow The Republic environmental reporting team at environment.azcentral.com and @azcenvironment on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.