This Saturday 5/5/12, people across Maryland and the world will take action to “connect the dots” between climate change, extreme weather and other climate impacts that are already affecting our lives. Organized by 350.org, Climate Impacts Day is shaping up to be another powerful demonstration of the grassroots determination to spur global action on this most urgent of global crises.
Here in Maryland we got off to an early start with our efforts to connect the dots when I traveled to Annapolis this week to chat with hardcore, Annapolis-based sailor Matt Rutherford.
Matt, pictured above, recently made news by setting a record for single-handedly circumnavigating the Americas in his sailboat. His route took him through the fabled Northwest Passage – a feat which was unthinkable before the record ice melt of recent years. He documented his surreal experience in photos like the one that he holds up in this picture featuring a lone iceberg floating on open arctic waters. In another shot taken on board his sail boat in the Annapolis Harbor, he holds a “climate dot” reading “Melting Arctic = Annapolis Floods”. In 2003 the Annapolis Harbor and surrounding commercial area were inundated by Hurricane Isabel’s storm surge. According to scientists, thanks to sea-level rise, that surge was a foot higher than a similar storm’s surge 70 years earlier.
Matt plans to return to the arctic within the next year or so accompanied by a scientific researcher to film a documentary about the impacts that climate change is having on the arctic.
Elsewhere across Maryland, activists are gearing up for a very memorable day of action with events scheduled to take place in locations from the far western mountains to the Eastern Shore. Check out the list of events that CCAN and partners are organizing below.
To commemorate the day of action and provide an interesting visual representation of Maryland climate-change impacts and sources we’ve also designed a special “Maryland Climate Impacts” map as pictured here and which you can download with citations by clicking here.
Maryland Climate Impacts Day Events:
BALTIMORE: “Cyclovia and Climate Change”
Photo with cyclists (and anyone!) in respiratory masks to connect the dots between climate change, fossil fuels and more frequent “code red” air quality days. This event will also feature a “Connect the Dots” info table, where you can share video testimony about your experiences with our changing climate.
MONTGOMERGY COUNTY: “Maryland Coal Dependence and Maryland Climate Impacts”
Join us for a discussion circle about Maryland’s changing climate and a “connect the dots” photo outside of the Dickerson Coal Plant – the county’s biggest source of climate pollution.
DORCHESTER COUNTY: “Rising Seas are Drowning Blackwater Wildlife Refuge”
Bring your kayak or canoe to be part of a photo showing how much marshland (one acre per DAY) is lost to rising seas. Landlubbers also welcome for an onshore climate dot photo.
GARRETT COUNTY: “Weird Weather and Worried Winemakers”
Take a vineyard tour to find out how weird weather is already threatening Maryland agriculture, and be a part of a photo with a climate dot made of grapevine clippings!
HOWARD COUNTY: “Connect the Dots with the Climate Change Initiative of Howard Co. and Transition Howard” Be part of a photo with a huge climate dot, participate in a solar array unveiling, and watch a film about clean energy transition movement efforts worldwide.
Photo and Map Credits: Keith Harrington
