Thousands of people across the US have marched in rain, snow and sweltering heat to demand action on climate change mass protests that coincided with president Donald Trump’s 100th day in office and took aim at his agenda for rolling back environmental protections.
A sea of protesters taking part in the People’s Climate March swarmed in front of the White House to demand Trump rethink plans to reverse the climate change policies.
Organisers said about 300 sister marches or rallies were being held around the country, including in Seattle, Boston and San Francisco.
A wet spring snow fell in Denver, where several hundred activists posed in the shape of a giant thermometer for a photograph and a dozen people rode stationary bikes to power the loudspeakers. In Chicago, a rain-soaked crowd of thousands headed from the city’s federal plaza to Trump Tower.
In Washington, as temperatures rose above 90F, tens of thousands of people marched from the grounds of the US Capitol and passed the White House en route to the Washington Monument for a rally.
Participants on Saturday said they object to Trump’s rollback of restrictions on mining, oil drilling and greenhouse gas emissions at coal-fired power plants, among other things.
Many of the protesters carried signs with slogans such as “The seas are rising and so are we” and “Don’t be a fossil fool.” As the procession passed the Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue, marchers booed and chanted “shame.“
While a good-natured mood prevailed and there were no signs of violence, many demonstrators said they were angered by the prospect of Trump carrying through on his vow to roll back protections put in place by his predecessor Barack Obama.
“We’re going to rise up and let them know that we’re sick and tired of seeing our children die of asthma,” said Reverend Leo Woodberry of Florence, South Carolina, who spoke during a press conference before the march. “We’re sick and tired of seeing people with cancer because of coal ash ponds. We’re sick and tired of seeing sea-level rise.”
Elsewhere, more than 2,000 people gathered at the Maine State House in Augusta. Speakers included a lobsterman, a solar company owner and members of the Penobscot Nation tribe.
“I’ve seen firsthand the impacts of climate change to not only the Gulf of Maine, but also to our evolving fisheries, and to the coastal communities that depend upon them,” said lobsterman Richard Nelson of Friendship, Maine.
People in the crowd spoke about the importance of addressing climate change to industries such as renewable energy, forestry, farming and seafood.
Trump’s administration is considering withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, which more than 190 countries including the United States signed in hopes of curbing global warming. Trump has also proposed deep cuts for the Environmental Protection Agency and the elimination of many environmental regulations.
In his campaign, Trump called climate change a hoax. Last month he kept a promise to the coal industry by undoing climate-change rules put in place by Obama.
The US protests took place on the same day as similar demonstrations in Britain, Europe and Australia.