We Like to Move It, Move It -- San Francisco Bay Area Rallies for Solutions to the Climate Crisis
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By Rachele Huennekens
Sierra Club
Saturday, September 24 was the day that the San Francisco Bay Area put the “move” in the climate justice movement.
The massive parade down Market Street and rally at Civic Center were part of Moving Planet, a global day of action demanding solutions to climate change. The SF mobilization was organized by the Sierra Club, 350.org, California NOW and a broad coalition of 50 Bay Area sustainability, peace, environmental and social justice, conservation, faith, women's, bicycle, clean tech, and community groups, and was by far the largest climate justice demonstration to take place in the Bay Area in recent years.
The day started with dozens of bike rides, community clean-ups and other Moving Planet kick-off events taking place in Richmond, Oakland, Berkeley, Walnut Creek, Redwood City, Marin, and across the SF Bay Area.
At noon, the San Francisco parade began at Justin Herman Plaza, and more than 1,000 Bay Area residents of all ages and backgrounds marched, biked, and paraded with floats, puppets and costumes down Market Street, chanting "hey hey, ho ho, fossil fuels have got to go!" At Powell Street, a 75-member contingent of the Sierra Club’s leaders and delegates from our 64 Chapters nationwide and in Puerto Rico, joined the parade in matching t-shirts.
Arriving at Civic Center Plaza, the crowd gathered in front of a stage to hear rousing speeches from the top leaders of our movement for climate justice. Enviro rockstar Bill McKibben, founder of the international climate campaign350.org, was a huge hit with the crowd, declaring, “the planet has been stuck for too long with governments doing nothing about the biggest problem we've ever faced. This is the day when people will get the earth moving, rolling towards the solutions we need.”
Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune also riled up the rally crowd, saying, “we need to push for the transition from dirty fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy. Moving beyond oil and coal can create healthy communities, less traffic, more jobs and open spaces for exploration and enjoyment with our families and friends.”
In addition to raising the alarm over global climate change, participants in Bay Area 
Moving Planet demanded local solutions. A bilingual petition in English and Spanish circulated at the Moving Planet parade and rally demanded that Bay Area leaders implement a visionary “Sustainable Communities Strategy” that will reduce fossil fuel dependence, clean regional air, and establish healthy local communities. The petition asked decision makers to prioritize investments in reliable, rapid, and affordable public transit; affordable, inclusive housing; walkable, bike-friendly communities; and protection of parks, natural spaces and agricultural lands.
Environmental justice pioneer Carl Anthony gave a fabulous speech at the rally, drawing the connections between economic inequality, racism, and environmental degradation. Anthony said, “climate justice requires elimination of unfair and unequal burdens created by the fossil fuel economy. We must stop sprawl, invest in public transportation, and build affordable housing in communities that have jobs.”
Bay Area news outlet including KPFA, KQED, the San Francisco Chronicle, KRON 4 TV were on-hand to capture the speeches, and 350.org coordinated an aerial shot of the huge crowd.
The diversity of Bay Area Moving Planet was made possible by an awesome collaboration with women's rights, antiwar and peace activists who organized the Peace Day SF celebration that joined with Moving Planet. Peace Day SF organizers Mona Lisa Wallace and Sandra Hanns said, “this Moving Planet rally was not just a protest of climate change and war -- today celebrated peace and the natural world, fostered community, inspired local activism and taught sustainability skills.”
California National Organization for Women President Patty Bellasalma said, "the empowerment of women is central to building peace and ensuring just solutions to the world’s inequalities.”
“We must connect the dots between ending war and the climate crisis,” said Rae Abileah, national organizer for CODEPINK Women for Peace. “The U.S. military is the single largest consumer of oil and the world’s larger polluter, and taxpayer dollars that fund the military could instead be spent on green jobs programs or equipping homes with renewable energy. It's time for the peace and environmental communities to work together for sustainable solutions.”
Amen to that! As member of the much-maligned “Millennial generation” who will be drastically impacted by climate change over our lifetimes, I was inspired to be a part of 
Bay Area Moving Planet. With more collaboration, organization, and peaceful direct action like this, I believe that humankind will implement solutions to slow climate change and protect people and our planet from further destruction. Like the dancers shaking their booties to the conscious hip-hop music of Ashel at the rally, all we have to do is MOVE!
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Rachele Huennekens is Grassroots Media Coordinator for the Sierra Club.
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Will any of these saviors of the planet support meaningful CEQA reform to make it easier to build infill housing, multi family housing, transit oriented housing...or will they do what they always do and blow up any real effort to get people out of cars by allowing more development near job centers.
In Hot Flat and Crowded, Thomas Friedman accuses the environmental movement of having a green party instead of a green revolution. IN revolutions there are casualties and tough decisions have to be made. Right now all the Sierra CLub and their fellow travellers are doing is having a big smug self congratulatory party and thinking they are making a difference by yelling abuse at Exxon Mobil. That might feel good but it won't make a difference.
I'll believe you're ready for the revolution when you agree to meaningful CEQA reform that will fastrack high speed rail, housing densification, and desert solar arrays.
CEQA reform may be one important climate solution for California, but there are lots of other important solutions. Didn't you read the post? The coalition of 50+ groups organizing Bay Area Moving Planet chose to focus on the implementation of SB375 as one of hte most important local solutions... we created a petition to pressure MTC Commissioners and others to spend the $220 billion that will be allocated to the SF Bay Area on a visionary “Sustainable Communities Strategy” that will reduce fossil fuel dependence, clean regional air, and establish healthy local communities. The petition asked decision makers to prioritize investments in reliable, rapid, and affordable public transit; affordable, inclusive housing; walkable, bike-friendly communities; and protection of parks, natural spaces and agricultural lands.
Instead of labeling other activists as "smug" and "self-congratulatory," why don't you sign the petition to make a difference on SB375: http://sanfranciscobay.sierraclub.org/moving-planet-action.htm? And pass along any petitions or ways to make a difference on CEQA reform...
CEQA reform may be one important climate solution for California, but there are lots of other important solutions. Didn't you read the post? The coalition of 50+ groups organizing Bay Area Moving Planet chose to focus on the implementation of SB375 as one of hte most important local solutions... we created a petition to pressure MTC Commissioners and others to spend the $220 billion that will be allocated to the SF Bay Area on a visionary “Sustainable Communities Strategy” that will reduce fossil fuel dependence, clean regional air, and establish healthy local communities. The petition asked decision makers to prioritize investments in reliable, rapid, and affordable public transit; affordable, inclusive housing; walkable, bike-friendly communities; and protection of parks, natural spaces and agricultural lands.
Instead of labeling other activists as "smug" and "self-congratulatory," why don't you sign the petition to make a difference on SB375: http://sanfranciscobay.sierraclub.org/moving-planet-action.htm? And pass along any petitions or ways to make a difference on CEQA reform...
SB 375 is meaningless without CEQA reform. And I'll sign nothing that the Sierra Club is behind until they get behind REAL CEQA reform.
To reform CEQA it needs to be blown up and start over. It was written in 1970 before we knew what global warming was and the harm that CO2 caused. CEQA was designed to protect land on a project by project basis which makes regional planning, trnsit planning, global warming planning, impossible to do.
As long as CEQA lawsuits make development cheaper in rural areas than urban areas, economics will always trump good intentions and good planning. The development will go where the money is.
I absolutely agree that California is very environmental friendly. So much so, that my wife and I moved our business from California to Texas. I insure you that moving my business lowered out carbon footprint in California.