(Cross-posted at The Obama OC Grassroots Blog : ) – promoted by atdleft)

OK, so just found out about what happened at the Day of Climate Action in Huntington Beach yesterday. Well, the marchers weren’t the only ones in HB to talk about climate change. Obama OC Grassroots also made its presence known at the pier yesterday as local grassroots activists registered new voters, talked about the many challenges facing us regarding climate change, and how Barack Obama is ready to lead on finding real solutions.

Follow me after the flip to find out more about what happened after the rally…
And, of course, for more pictures! ; )

As the rally was getting started at Pier Plaza, the Obama Grassroots team was setting up a table. And as soon as the march began, Team Obama stayed at the pier to register voters and answer any questions about Barack Obama, the grassroots campaign in Orange County, and what he plans to do about climate change should he be elected as our 44th President. Even though the gloomy clouds were beginning to roll in from the Pacific, it was all smiles for Team Obama!

We had a couple of people come up to the table to fill out voter registration forms. Whether or not they had made their decision yet on Obama, we wanted to give them a chance to engage in the democratic process. Now we had plenty more people come up to the table to ask us about where Obama stands on the issues. They wanted to know about how Obama plans to tackle climate change, meet America’s future energy needs, clean up all the corruption in government, and end the Iraq War. We answered all their questions as best as we could, and most were quite surprised to learn about all that Obama has done on these issues. It never ceases to amaze me how people come to like and respect Obama once they learn about all that he’s actually done on all these issues.

We were all pleasantly surprised to hear from local progressives who are as wowed about Obama and all is accomplishments as we were. Of course, we were also surprised to hear from previously apathetic folks who are suddenly excited about politics and the state of the nation again because of Barack Obama and his message of hope, action, and change. And yes, we were heart-warmed to see local environmentalists smile in delight once we showed them that Obama is not just providing rhetoric about climate change, our energy future, and the state of our planet…
He’s actually doing something about it now!

Perhaps this is what I like most about our Obama OC Grassroots team, and about Senator Barack Obama. It’s not about empty rhetoric, but it is about real action. It’s not about wishful thinking, but it is about real hope for real change. : )

(OK, fixed! And oh yes, this is cross-posted at Ditch Crazy Dana, West OC’s refuge from the insanity and absurdity that is Dana Rohrabacher. : ) – promoted by atdleft)

Dana Rohrabacher may not believe that climate change is for real, but his constituents certainly do. Dozens upon dozens of people took time out of their busy weekend to show up at the Huntington Beach Pier yesterday to make a statement. They wanted to make the statement that Orange County does care about the climate, and both individuals and local governments need to take action to stop the coming climate catastrophe.

So how well did the message get out yesterday? Let me tell you all about it after the flip…

Yesterday, local activists from the Orange County Interfaith Coalition for the Environment and Democracy for America-Orange County headed down to the HB Pier to get everyone at the beach to pay attention to what’s happening with our climate. And they wanted to get Congress to pay attention to all this local demand for action, and to actually take action and agree to an eighty percent cut in carbon emissions by 2050. And they wanted local elected officials to pay attention, and to begin taking action in local government to reduce Orange County’s carbon footprint. And yes, they wanted to get everyone else in the community to pay attention, and to begin taking action at home and at work to reduce every one’s individual carbon footprint. So who was paying attention, other than me and all the other eco-conscious citizens who gathered at the pier?

Well, Gil Coerper was certainly paying attention yesterday. But then again, why wouldn’t he? The conveners presented the HB Mayor with an award for him and his fellow city councilmembers for their recent decision to sign on to the US Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement. “Surf City” is now the fifth OC city to do so, joining Laguna Beach, Aliso Viejo, Irvine, and Santa Ana on that distinguished list of cities taking action to stop the coming climate catastrophe.

So why isn’t more action being taken? That’s what we all had to ask. There are twenty-nine other cities in Orange County that haven’t yet signed onto the Climate Protection Agreement. There are members of Congress here who still refuse to recognize that there’s even a problem with our changing climate, including one from Huntington Beach who dismisses all of this as “dinosaur flatulence“. And yes, there are still many thousands of people in OC who still don’t understand just how serious this climate catastrophe is. That’s what motivated so many people to come to Downtown HB yesterday to get more people to be aware of what’s happening, and to begin taking real action.

Let’s hope that all of us in OC get the message soon. : )