Watch Flea, Michael Stipe, Patti Smith Praise People’s Climate March
In a new video compilation, Flea, Michael Stipe and Patti Smith praised the thousands of protestors who participated in the People’s Climate March in Washington D.C. on April 29th.
With a tone of wonderment, Flea effused about the physical beauty of the natural world. “The majestic mountains that I hike in; the deep, clear rivers that I swim in; the deserts that I trip out in; the ocean which I surf and swim in, which throws me around like a little rag doll … without that I am nothing,” he said. “Without that we are nothing.”
Smith surveyed the “sacred” Earth as “our heritage” and thanked the protestors for protecting it. “And then tomorrow we continue, and the next day and the next and the next day, we continue,” she said. “Thank you. People have the power.”
In his brief message, Stipe noted, “I’ll see you out in the streets.”
The video, organized by climate justice organization Pathway to Paris, features over 50 contributors from around the world, also including guitarist Lenny Kaye, garage rock artist King Tuff and Pathyway co-founders Jesse Paris Smith and Rebecca Foon. In addition to the D.C. event, hundreds of sister marches were staged across the U.S. and the world.
The People’s Climate March, which coincided with Donald Trump’s 100th day in office, protested the president’s fossil fuel policies. “Since inauguration, we’ve seen what people power can achieve: Trumpcare? Withdrawn. Muslim ban? Blocked,” the organization writes on its website. “Now Trump’s entire fossil fuel agenda is next.”