Mam'k Joins Nationwide Rally Against Global Warming: Apr 14

Nita Lowey to Speak at Harbor Island “Save Our Shoreline” Event

by Joan R. Simon

(April 5, 2007) Music, kites and kayakers will all be part of a rally against global warming on Saturday, April 14th from 1 to 3 pm at Harbor Island in Mamaroneck. It is one of more than 1200 similar events being organized by Step It Up, a national group which is urging Congress to cut carbon dioxide emissions 80% by 2050. Congresswoman Nita Lowey will be speaking along with Assemblyman George Latimer, Mamaroneck Village Trustee Tom Murphy, and Town of Mamaroneck Councilwoman Nancy Seligson.

Singer/environmentalist Elza will perform at Mamaroneck's Step It Up rally.

The event has been dubbed “Save Our Shoreline”, explained organizer Catherine Hiller, “because of the catastrophic impact global warming could have on this community’s valuable resource, its waterfront.” A diverse group of Larchmont, Mamaroneck and Rye residents will gather on the beach in Mamaroneck as part of “the largest-ever nationwide day of citizen action focusing on global warming.”

The Kayakers Alliance Of Larchmont and Mamaroneck (KALM) plans to form a “kayak brigade” in the harbor waters, waving windsocks, spinners and streamers to dramatize the need to protect the shoreline. David Hellerstein, the founder of KALM, stressed that all kayakers are welcome.

The Rye Neck High School Band “Hugs for Strangers” and singer/environmentalist Elza will provide musical entertainment for the rally. Kite-making demonstrations will be led by the Rye Neck High School “Reef” Club (“Rescuing Earth’s Environmental Future”) and Brownie Troop 1847 from Mamaroneck Avenue School will bring handmade posters to display.

Participants at each of the 1263 events (so far) in 50 states across the country will be photographed displaying the same message: “Step It Up, Congress! Cut Carbon 80% by 2050!” These photographs will be sent to Washington, D.C., to show Congress that their constituents are demanding bold action.

“If global warming continues unchecked, my house on a hilltop overlooking Mamaroneck Harbor will become a waterfront property,” said Ms. Hiller, whose son, Jonathan Warnow, a 2002 Mamaroneck High School graduate, is one of the key organizers of the nationwide campaign. “The consequences of unchecked global warming are so devastating that we all should be working for immediate steps right now to curb carbon emissions. This is an issue that spans generations and party affiliations: it affects us all.''

Supporters of the nationwide Step It Up! campaign include Campus Climate Challenge, the Earth Day Network, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Green Seniors, Mother Earth News, the National Council of Churches, the National Research Defense Council, the National Wildlife Foundation, Physicians for Social Responsibility, the Sierra Club and Working Assets, among others.