Yesterday, my 10-year old daughter, Emma, and I went to New York City to participate in the People’s Climate Change March.  It was a long day, waking at 5:00 AM, traveling by bus, marching around NYC for almost seven hours, and then arriving home by bus at 11:30 PM.  However, it was a deeply moving and meaningful experience for me to share with my eldest daughter.  Estimates of the number of participants are as high as 400 thousand, and I am glad that we are counted among them.

One of the major take-aways from the experience is the diversity of the protesters.  There was so much cultural, racial, gender, linguistic, national, age, economic, and ability diversity to behold.  In particular, I took note of the number of people who use wheelchairs and with mobility challenges peppered within the throngs of protesters.  The press does not often discuss the connection between disability and climate change, but I think it is an important consideration for public policy.  Some of the most vulnerable people in New Orleans during Katrina were people with disabilities who were cut off from medicine, electricity, health care, clean water, and personal care assistants.  Here at UMass we are speaking with students with disabilities about emergency preparedness as tornadoes and other extreme weather pose increasing threats in the Pioneer Valley.  Of course, the campus is taking precautions to be ready to respond and help during a crisis, but each individual needs to take measures to prepare for their own unique requirements.  If we all do our part, we can weather great storms with the least amount of discomfort and threat possible.