Nearly 200 people huddled around three politicians at Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston yesterday, rallying to draw attention to the problem of global warming.
The group waved signs, chanted slogans such as "Quit coal, cut carbon, green jobs now," and posed for pictures in the unusual setting.
The blustery, wet weather pushed the activists indoors. But it didn't dampen the gathering, one of five "Step It Up" campaign events planned statewide to draw attention to what organizers called "the intense concern of ordinary Americans and the leadership vacuum in Washington" on the issue of climate change.
"The public is starting to shift on this issue," said Lilah Glick, global warming coordinator for Clean Water Action, one of the rally's cosponsors. "Now it's about trying to shift the leadership."
Participants called for Congress to act to create 5 million "green" jobs, reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050, and ban coal plant construction.
Global warming is an issue that affects the economy and national security, said US Representative John Tierney, who urged the crowd to "keep it nonpartisan."
"You don't have to pick a party. Pick a candidate who can get it done," the Democrat said.
Tierney is coauthor of The Green Jobs Act of 2007, which was incorporated into an energy bill over the summer. The legislation would make $125 million a year available across the country to train workers for jobs in the clean-energy sector. He was joined at the rally by state Representative Frank Smizik, a Brookline Democrat who chairs the Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture, and state Senator Marc Pacheco, a Taunton Democrat who was honored recently by environmental activists for his work fighting global warming.
Kevin and Deborah Block-Schwenk , residents of the city's Allston-Brighton section, said it was the second such rally they had attended this year.
"Sadly . . . we don't respond to a crisis until it hits us right between the eyes," Kevin Block-Schwenk said. "I expect, ironically, as things get progressively worse, we'll get more people at events like this." Glick said she was pleased with the turnout given the weather. Had the weather been good, two to three times as many people might have attended, she said.
In Concord, Senator John Kerry spoke yesterday to participants at the Energy Revolution Rally in Minute Man National Historic Park. In Montpelier, scores of people gathered at the State House to urge Governor Jim Douglas to provide leadership to help Vermonters reduce their carbon dioxide emissions. Other rallies were held nationwide, activists said.
(Correction: Because of a reporting error, a story in Sunday's City & Region section on global warming incorrectly said the rally at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston was one of five "Step It Up" campaign events. There were more than 40 such events across the state.)
