A contingent of Bloomfield residents traveled to Washington, D.C., on Saturday, April 29, and marched on the White House out of concern for global warming. Pictured above, from left, is Ginger Scholer, of Nutley, followed by Bloomfield residents Rachel Linares; Catherine Sarmiento; Jane Califf; Michael Palmieri; and Donald Winship.
BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The People’s Climate March attracted tens of thousands of people to Washington, D.C., on Saturday, April 29, and Bloomfield was part of the event.
According to Jane Califf, a township resident who marched, a bus carrying 50 people, from the intersection of Watchung Avenue and Broad Street to the capital, had about 20 passengers from Bloomfield. The local contingent helped to circle the White House on President Donald Trump’s 100th day in office. According to published reports, Trump was in the White House.
Califf said 48 of the passengers, on the ride down, got up to explain why they were protesting. Some said they had never taken part in a movement but had to express their concerns for the country. In telephone interviews earlier this week, some of those Bloomfield riders said why they marched. Donald Winship was one.
“I’ve been an underwater photographer for a few years and I am interested in coral reefs,” Winship said. “Coral bleaching is becoming a serious issue. It’s when the organisms in the coral, because of increasing water temperature, die off. If the temperature stays high enough, long enough, the coral reef will stop living and growing.”
Winship said that the death of a coral reef would adversely affect the creatures that rely on its habitat.
“Almost all the earth’s ecosystems are susceptible to climate change,” he said. “A significant portion of the earth’s ecosystem is underwater.”
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a part of the Department of Commerce, coral bleaching is when coral expels the algae living in it and turns completely white. Environmental stresses such as increased water temperature will cause the algae to be expelled.
As an individual, Winship said he would continue to document coral reefs.
“To a certain extent, we can become political activists,” he said. “I’m not the person to be in the forefront but I’m willing to pitch in.”
Mike Palmieri, a member of the Bloomfield Planning Board, said one thing that attracted him to the march was getting his girlfriend and another friend involved. But he has been concerned with climate for some time.
“One of the big things that people don’t mention is parts per million,” he said. “You take air and divide it into a million parts. Some parts will be nitrogen, some carbon dioxide, some other things.”
Carbon dioxide is produced and released into the atmosphere by both natural and manmade agents. The burning of fossil fuels produces carbon dioxide.
Palmieri said, historically, carbon dioxide has fluctuated at around 350 parts per million.
“That’s a healthy level,” he said. “But in the course of the last 200 years, we’ve shot up drastically. Today we are at 407 of carbon dioxide per million. Scientists say we’ve broken the envelope of normalcy. We’re on a trajectory and at the end of this century, if we continue to emit the CO2 that we’re doing, we’ll be at 450 to 500 parts per million. That is unheard of. That will come with an average increase in temperature of 6.5 degrees Fahrenheit.”
Palmieri said he will work for the environment on a local level. “Congress seems to be at a stalemate,” he said. “I’m talking with the Bloomfield Board of Education and with officials at the municipal level. It’s nothing formal from the Planning Board. It’s mostly single meetings with officials.”
He said Bloomfield residents should contact the BOE and the township council to find out if they have looked into using solar energy.
“Pressure public officials for solar,” he said. “It’s good to keep your eye out on the global situation but start locally. You’ll get the most movement.”
Catherine Sarmiento said with the lack of political agreement, she thought her concerns for the environment should be heard.
“I have an 8-year-old daughter,” she said. “I want her to have a beautiful, green planet like we did.”
Sarmiento, who works as a community health worker for a non-profit organization, said that people have the attitude of what you don’t know won’t hurt you.
“I work with a lot of people to find sources of which they are unaware,” she said. “For myself, I think it’s important to talk about the environment. My family is unaware of the situation. Sharing the information is important.”
Califf, a member of the Bloomfield Green Party, said she was worried about civilization on the planet.
“Millions of people are at risk,” she said. “There’s either no rain or too much rain.”
The temperature on the day of the march, she said, was 92 degrees.
“It was one of the hottest days on record,” she said. “It was weather that doesn’t relate to our history. And there were tornadoes last week in the Midwest that destroyed homes and killed nine people. Extreme weather events are becoming more common. In New Jersey, we’re very vulnerable since we’re a costal state.”
In D.C., Califf said the White House was surrounded by 200,000 marchers.
“That’s not a small thing,” she said. “It wasn’t just about fossil fuels. It was about decent jobs and fair treatment of immigrants. It’s all connected.”
But her main concern was moving away from fossil fuels to solar energy. As a member of the Bloomfield Green Party, she is involved with a Green Party of Essex County project called Essex Greens Renewable Energy Campaign.
“You take action by getting your town to install solar panels,” Califf said. “Go back to your community and see what can be done. There are gas leaks and oil spills. You don’t have that with solar energy.”
Other Bloomfield marchers, according to Califf, included Mary Shaughnessy, Susan Hebert, Florence Rollino, and Califf’s husband, Ted Glick.
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