♪ >> this is democracy now!. coverage of the people's climate march in washington dc. amy: i am amy goodman. we standing between the capital and the washington monument. thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, maybe 100,000, who knows? may be more people will be converging here in washington on

what is expected to be one of the hottest days on record. --is also the hundreds day 100th day of the trump presidency and people are concerned. people are here talking about climate justice. last night at a forum at howard university was a discussion about climate justice and climate racism. climate disruption is the topic everywhere. we are standing in front of the --ous kent along where a news conference is happening, of the leaders who will be marching today. there are thousands. i wanted to start by going to 350.org.of good morning. you standing between the capital and the washington monument.

your thoughts on this day and why so many are gathered. >> it is an important day. it is the 100th day of the trump administration. we have seen nothing but bad news for people in the planet. that is why so many will come. amy: who came up with this? >> that is what is wonderful. it is truly a coming together of labor, health groups, environmentalists, community groups, over 900 organizations are making this happen. we are here to show, to change everything him that we need everyone. that is why you will see numerous people on the streets today. amy: talk about the schedule of the day. >> people are starting to gather right now. we will assemble and different gents.tions -- conten we will march through the capital and surrounding white house. we will sit down there.

we will have a moment of silence. , andent of noise exultation of why we are here to resist. then we will go back to our communities and fight. we know that what is happening in washington is not good for anyone. we connection to build that we need at the local level and that is what people will do. in: people are not only washington, how many protests and rallies do you expect throughout the country and world? >> last i heard, over 300 around to the u.s. in terms of sister marches. this morning i saw photos in sweden and the netherlands, philippines, people are marching for clean energy. it is really, truly global. all of these demonstrations have been. this resistance is not just about the white house, it is about the fossil fuel industry taking over government around the world. people are not taking this quietly. amy: you talked about the fossil fuel contingent, what the main?

-- what do you mean? >> that is people all across the country will be marching together. that is just like there is a base contingent. amy: there is someone taking a picture secretly. i want him to take responsibility. ok. bill mckibben, you had just -- have just photobombed the interview. why are you here today? bill: this is a big day. is going to be an interesting one. washington, d.c. will hit the heat record for the date. it is supposed to be 92 degrees. like planets, people are not well adapted to heat, especially this yeaea-- early i in the season. people have to be very careful. people who are watching, coming we to march, water, hats -- worry about warming up because too muchch heat is a a bad tngn. day, thahat is true.

amy: lest anyone think this is a group of friends, everyone knows each other, that is clear it is not the case. people are coming from every community. ,ou just talked about water sharon, who led the water ceremony this morning, can you talk about how you started this historic day in washington dc? the way thatarted indigenous people begin everything, prayer, song, and petitions for the water. in this proper water vessel we have water from the potomac and people brought water from the east coast, west coast, the middle of the country as well as --er from south america and we prayed for this water this morning. we will carry it with us during the march. amy: where is this from? sharon: all across the united states as well as south america

and everybody brought a little bit of water. what we do is we speak to the spirit of the water. we are going to carry the water with us. when we take it with us to the potomac river, these waters will converge. they will say, there are still people who love you, who respect him -- you, and thank you. that is what we did this morning. same --and offered our we showed, we are here to bring that ritual aspects to this work. indigenous communities are on the front lines. amy: where are you from originally? sharon: i am from minnesota. amy: where do you live now? sharon: st. paul. amy: bill, you are talking about the heat. 350.org, tell us about where you

got the name and the significance of the number changing. bill: this goes well with what sharon was saying, one of the things happening is a kind of wisdomnce of the oldest traditions on the planet and the newest wisdom traditions on the planet. they are saying the same things now. 350 parts per million is the most carbon we can safely have in the atmosphere. we went past 410 parts per million earlier this week the first time in 5 million years on the planet. -- what that is telling us is the same thing that sharon and the elders have been saying for a long time, things are out of control. we need to back off and figure out how to live in some kind of attunement with the planet. we are not as evidenced by the fact that ice caps are melting. we think it will be hot here

today, and pakistan this week there are taking their records. when hundred 22 degrees in the big cities there -- 122 degrees in the big cities there. as we are marching we need to try to figure out what it would feel like to be 30 degrees hotter. that is what is happening on the earth. that is why things -- it is crucial people that -- that people march. people are on capitol hill watching bernie and senator merkley introduced the bill for 100% renewable energy. that is why it is so important a pressure from students is forcing places like harvard to start selling their fossil fuel investments. we need to push on every front alall of the time. amy: what happened at harvard? bill: the guy who runs harvard's energy investments let it slip they had stopped making g new investments in fossil fuel. they sent out a press release saying, we have not changed our policy at all.

clearly, they have done what students and faculty and alumni have been telling them to for a long time. they wised up. it was a good week in that sense. good week on many fronts. today is a huge celebration of the fact that most of the world is -- has woken up to the question. we need to make sure the people who run the world get woken up. amy: you said that senator sanders and merkel have introduced 100% renewable. what the main? -- what do you mean? bill: it would for the first time commit the u.s. to going 100% renewable. it is not going to pass the current congress anytime soon, nor would donald trump the interested. it is now the standard by which any democratic or progressive petition would be judged. no more half measures, no more, let's build a few solar panels and frack wells, now it is time

to say, 100%, let't's do it. amy: what does it mean for them to introduce they are not in the majority? bill: there is no possibility of it passing of congress. it means that if the line in the sand now around which we will rally. that is how it works. a lot ofway that people finally got around to saying, look, gay marriage is aligned -- a line in the sand -- we want it, we dedemand it. the political world began to fall in line. that is what is going to happen going forward. amy: you talk about student activism. 350.org started at middlebury college. this was your professor? >> more or less. a whole group of student organizers around the country were part of the growing climate movement. all of the people here volunteering, they are the generation of young people taking the issue on.

their divesting campuses. they are calling for clean energy. some will run for office one day. amy: i don't know if people see environmentalism as a trajectory young people could have in their lives. talk about your job. >> i was a student at middle barry, we had a dynamic group that met every sunday night and talked about the ways the campus could be a climate leader. eventually it started to do some of the things we wanted. we realized if this could happen on a slot -- small campus, through organizing, maybe we could do it with other people everywhere, eventually running world. i didn't think -- eventually around the world. i didn't think this would happen from those meetings, but the truth is, it has galvanized a movement in a way i didn't imagine. that is why so many of us have dedicated their lives to it. amy: you are now the head of 3 -- 350.org. what does that mean?

that wecus on the idea don't have enough time to waste on climate change and we need the biggest movement possible. acceleratingg on the transition to 100% renewable energy. we know that certain countries, like this one, like brazil, south africa, much of europe, there are movements rising and surging to try to make this happen. there are 79 new coal plants being proposed in brazil. there are hundreds of towns trying to frack in france. the industry is on the march. they are global and we are, that is what we work on. are some ofal words many thanks to democracy now, no one has covered the climate issue over more years than you. many thanks for being in a world that desperately needs to know about us. many thanks for being the people who are telling them, over and over. amy: thank you so much. we will keep on walking.

everyone is an expert in their own community. they want to talk about why they have come to the nation's capital. we are standing right in front of the capital. there are several people here that -- something here that have come to washington to make their views clear. can you talk about -- tell me your name. rachel: my name is rachel havens, i am from woodstock, new york. i work sort of blending youth and women's leadership, bringing prayer and climate action and medicine together. addresseen working to the fossil fuel infrastructure buildout in new york, which is tremendous. we have thousands of volunteers in the communities. amy: what are bomb trains? oil goingat is crude

for expert -- export. it goes through our communities. companyge -- a major dealing in crude oil transport and storage has just consumed spectra energy. frackre planting a major gas pipeline going across the northeast from pennsylvania through new jersey, new york, connecticut, massachusetts, rhode island, headed for export. in our communities we have several native communities that are in jeopardy as well as the millions of people surrounding the nuclear power plant that is 30 miles north of new york city. that is called indian point. amy: for the radio listeners, you just had air quotes for that. explain. rachel: when you begin to name these massive fossil fuel

projects after the people of the land where you are cutting through their territories and through the ground, these are very offensive titles. right now in new york we are working to address the pilgrim pipeline, the algonquin pipeline , the dominion pipeline, and the constitution pipeline. for some people it goes over their heads, but for us, it does not. we understand that message. we are being called by the use to step up -- youth to step up. standing rock was started by the young people. they are holding firm. they have gone home to support what is happening in their communities. they are asking for their tradition, culture, songs, music -- they don't want to just take the elder's word for what we think we know is right.

they want their traditions so they can sharpen the blades of these tools and use them in a way that actually will work for them. this is their future. this is there now. amy: can you introduce us? mrs. b chief of the -- this is a chief of the tribe that many people don't know exists in the new york, connecticut area. he also is -- this is about our children. it is not just the native communities. the young people who are taking action right now and moving into the climate solution movement, they want us to not pass the baton, but hold it with them. we cannot drop it. with the young, vibrant, unifying chiefs in communities like this, ready to talk to everyone, we're going to go somewhere. amy: what is your name? collect my name means hawk

storm. i am the chief of my people. i am a millennial chief. it was my great grandfather, king philip, my uncle, great-grandfather, have given me the privilege and honor to be able to speak for my people. amy: can you talk about your feathers? >> yes. two eagle feathers. the other is the bald eagle feather. i carried to hock feathers -- two hawk feathers and a turkey feather. these feathersed that represent my treaty with the people.ation of we are all one. savel have to unite to what we have for our children.

amy: talk about why you're here? >> i am here for our children some the next seven generations. for all of the future in the future of earth mother. earth mother is going to win, we might not. with all that is going on and all of our colonized ways of thinking and with the brutal extraction from the earth mother, without asking for that she cannot give for taking away the future of our children. it is very vital that we move away from the extractive, destructive nature and the ways that we are going right now and move towardsds clean energy anda more sustainable future. amy: talk about the struggles in your community? >> we have the oldest reservation in the country, established in 1736. amy: where? >> it is between the hudson and

housatonic. -- it is a river that flows in both directions. i guess in english terms of would be between connecticut and new york on the border. we don't recognize these borders. amy: the struggles you are waging around the earth. wase have, as with rachel -- as rachel was talking about we have a algonquin and the spectra going through the land. we also have a dam that flooded out the graveyard and has destroyed the waters to the point where we had been living on eel. we cannot even have a sustainable food source. we cannot eat from the rivers anymore. we cannot grow food on our land of a prep school and a septic sanitation station they are dumping sanitation into the

land and fields. amy: speaking of land struggles, i wanted to ask about the land we are on. can you introduce yourself. thank you so much for sharing your story. can you introduce us to where we are right now. >> yes. i would like to say, good morning, and thank you for the opportunity to have a side of voice. my name is gabrielle. of the indigenous people of the land that is right here in washington dc. the potomac river is an indigenous base. the anacostia river is made for the people who were here. this means where the waters blend. it is -- has been a place of convergence. people go to the fall line down to the mouth of the chesapeake bay. contacted by

europeans from the 15 80's come up to the present. our people came down to about four or five families that were pushed further down south, around southern maryland. that is the way and you are on. this is a 10,000 year old plus history. we have also been able to always welcome people. we have been very affected by themovements going from 1920's, where native people started to rise up and converge into washington dc, through the 1960's and 1970's, to the present and also have hemispheric presence. we have been receiving people standing with them, bringing them to their meetings. all of the agencies globally and nationally. we are the hosts. this is the land, where you are. it has memory, presence, power. it goes beyond the other power

structure. amy: what does it mean to you that so many people have gathered to defend the earth right here in washington dc. so many native and non-native? >> it is a return of consciousness and action. it is one that was barely surviving. there was the faintest threat of it for many years. what it means is there is hope. i have absolute confidence because it is a youth led movement. there is always somebody that hangs on until the energy rises back up. the water is rising and so are we. amy: thanks so much. liveis democracy now!'s coverage of the people's climate march. we are in washington dc, between the congress, the capital and the washington monument. we are joined right now by -- jessica: i organize resist

spectra. i am here mostly to piggyback off of what they were discussing. algonquin, the appropriately named algonquin expansion project that spectra is running through connecticut, massachusetts. right now it sits in front of the department of environmental conversation -- conservation. they have to make their determination by monday on whether to grant a water certificate. as folks rapidly who have watched your show and paying attention now, your state has recently denied the permit for the constitution pipeline as well as the northern access pipeline. we're hoping the governor will do the same for this pipeline. it is the missing piece that specter is running.

they were bought by another company that has an interest in the dakota pipeline they are connected it would be amazing if people could call their governor to tell them we need them to contact the department of water conversation to deny the permit. amy: another friend i want to get to before he leaves. jessica: his number is 518 474 8390. it is important he knows the people are paying attention and we need to protect the water and people of new york to fight the pipeline. amy: let's see if we can get him back. you mention the dakota access pipeline. dallas, with the indigenous environment on network was one of the -- environmental network

was one of the native american leaders at standing rock. though, not of the reservation. dallas: it looks like we are being moved. amy, i am so happy you are here. it is so beautiful to see the thousands upon thousands. i'm excited to be a part of this march. indigenous peoples are on the forefront of climate change. whatever may be, it is our community they are often placing the threat of survival -- data to -- day today survival. it is vital to have a conversation about climate change. it is essential for us, when we talk about solutions, indigenous peoples, ocean dependent communities will set the path and give us solutions. amy: looking at your credentials. i see the people's climate

movement, april 29, 2017, all access. i tsipras, indigenous rising media, dallas gold tooth. what is that? dallas: it is a project of the indigenous environmental network. we get the content and stories of what is happening in our community for everyone to see. we tell stories from our perspective, we don't let others tell our story. that became essential in the fight for the dakota access pipeline. there was not mainstream media. amy, you were there. before that it was independent journalists. us with our phones, documenting it. i credit the exposure of that fight to all of those people that were taking it upon themselves to document what was happening. telling the world what we're facing. indigent is rising media was one of the groups there. -- indigenous rising media was

one of the groups there. amy: we're hoping to speak to ladonna, who started the first resistance camp at standing route -- rock. she opened her land along the river as a sacred resistance can't. -- camp. -- you talk about the latest the executive order granting a permit for dakota pipeline and to revive the keystone xl. thehe dakota pipeline, pipeline has been built under the missouri river? dallas: it has been completed under the river but at this point oil has not flown. we strongly credit that to all of the organizers and activism around the world, the ongoing divestment campaigns. they have divested over $1 billion for the dakota pipeline. people are still standing well -- strong. there is an ongoing lawsuit with

landowners against eminent domain. amy: meaning that the pipeline -- dallas: they are still trying to negotiate whether they can pass oil under landowner's land in iowa. the critique is they cannot do anything until that lawsuit is settled. . we are waiting to see. it is a delayed process. meanwhile, dakota access is losing millions every day because of community activism and people standing up and asserting their economic power, as people. amy: exley also the issue of economic power when talking about divestment. in new york in the last few weeks people are camped out in front of a wells fargo. explain the national campaign. fight: dakota access, the ignited a passion that has been brewing for years. we are seeing a divestment campaign in seattle, over $1

billion. there is an ongoing campaign in new york, san francisco, l.a.. people are realizing the connection of where they put their money and how that contribute to not only the threat of life against indigenous people but all of our lives against climate change. the banks are investing in fossil fuel industries. they're crating a future that is unsustainable for all of the generations. we have to assert our rights. we have to say, we cannot invest. amy: what banks are you targeting? dallas: wells fargo, citibank, bank of america. i am drawing a blank. wells fargo, pd bank. this is to gofor and call outof it energy transfer partners, the parent company of the dakota access pipeline.

they also have a bayou bridge pipeline, the next big fight in louisiana. people are rising up there. we have the diamond pipeline and oklahoma. we have one in florida. standing rock has inspired millions across the land. that is what we need to do. when he to nationalize standing rock. we need to nationalize that fight and take it to the next level. amy: we are standing in front of the capital, what does that mean? dallas: this is the place of power, supposedly, that is what they say. in my experience, especially, being on the ground, fighting against the state of north dakota and other companies, i know the power is within us, as a people. it is essential for us to take the streets and remind those, and whatever seats they inhabit, the power is here and they have to listen to us and be accountable. amy: thank you for being here. this is democracy now! our live coverage of the

people's climate march. thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, may be over 100,000 people gathered here on this day, april 29. it is expected to be one of the hottest days in washington dc history for the date, able to unite. -- april 29. for five hours, 10:00 eastern until 3:00 in the afternoon. this is democracy now! democracy now.org, your global grassroots, tv, radio, and internet b broadcast. i amam amy goodman. ♪ ♪ amy: we are broadcasting from the people's climate march in washington dc. we are going to turn to winona, thewas in new york, giving seventh annual judith davidson women's of spirit award.

she is a longtime indigenous rights activists from the northern minnesota. we have -- she has written the militarization of the country and winona leduc chronicles. prophecy we are told that there is a choice between two paths. this is known as the time of the seventh fire. and the time of the seventh fire we are told that we, would have a choice betetween two pads. one would be well-worn, but scorched. the other they say would be not well-worn, but green. it would be our choice upon which one to embark. this is the scorched cap. -- path. mrs. known as extreme extraction. this is what occurs when -- this is known as extreme extraction.

this occurs when we have consumed as many fossil fuels as we have. we have e consumed aboutut halff ththe world's resources. did you have a good time? it has been a blast. i have had a good time consuming at this level. did you get your flowers from columbia? sometimes i like to order the fiji water. i feel like i should have water from the furthest part of the planet. [laughter] is absurd, the level of the fossil fuel economomy and or level of consumption and entitlement. we are complacent. that is the fact. at the same time, what i want -- i am looking out there and the last remainingng resourceses th. ththe last remaining fosossil fs their,r, are not easy to get. ththe time of those gushing oill fifields in oklalahoma is gone. now what you have is, you can drill 20,000 0 feet underer the ocean and hope that will work,

right? you get something like a deep water horirizon. i i will say,eling, only mermaids should be 20,000 feet under the ocean. we should not be there. some places we should not go. that is what i feel like. extreme behavior is when you blblow off the top of 500 mountains and ship the cool -- cold to china or india. not hear, they don't even burn them in coal p plants. extreme behavior. that is when you put 600 chemicalss undnder the ground ad blowup t the bedrock of mother earth h and act like t that will work b because dick cheney got e halliburton amended past. passed. is the taravior sands. they are doioing this to benefit oil companies.

this is the era we are in. the end of the fossil fuel economy. in those e extreme l last minut, where there is so little left, so little left that is easy to get, we become a littltle bit like, i don't know if you have addict that we are actiting like a big junkie. sometimes they get to the place with they do bad stuffff to get their fix, that is us. we pretend we didn't do it. that is what they do, they say, i did d not do that. someone else madade me do it. all l of that stuff. we got to this place where that is the kind of people we are. wewe are engaging inin extrememe behavior, whether it is destroroying, declaring war on such aes, or declaring war on the environment. extreme behavior to get the last parts.

whwhat i w want, is probably wht you want. an elegant transition out of this. and elegant transition out of the fossil fuel economy. on the last throes of that, this is where we are. this is my territory. these are some of our spiritual beings. half man, half spirit. man and his mother. they are in the rice fields. this is an artist named rabbit strickland. this is my battle. this is what judith discussed for years ago. the enbridge company announced they wanted a pipeline through the wild rice territory. cacanadian corporations, single largesest pipeleline company in north america gave us a pipeline out of north dakota, the essential route was the one they propose. they had to have it, they said there was no other. they said it was essential. we fought them. we prayed.

we had ceremonies. we had feasts. i dreamed we should write our horses against the current. we took the horse and rode them and prayed the oil would not come through that type, and not come away. -- our way. we intervened the rent -- regulatory process. the friends of the heaeadwaterss colleagues filed a lawsuit, foforcing an enviroronmental l t statement on the pipeline. statementsal impact are expensive for corporations and time is expensive for corporations hanging on by a thread to all of their holdings in grade. -- and greed. for years then, after citizens, people turned out by the hundreds to oppose. one day after our fourth ride along the proposed pipeline the fourthday after ride on august 2 of this last

year the enbridge corporation announced they would not continue with the plan to forward the sandpiper across the land. [applause] >> but what i will say is that it is a bit of a bittersweet victory because that same day the enbridge corporation announced they were going to invest and become 28% owner of the dakota access pipeline. the company moved west to a place were they did not see the same strength. they had what is called regulatory capture which is when oil companies write all of your policies for the state of north dakota. it is a state which has been disempowered and run today by oil companies. they went there. it is also a state that we refer to as the deep north. that is what north dakota looks like. if anybody saw the footage of standing rock you s saw what bul connor looks like a north dakota

. that is sheriff kyle kurtzman. that is what you look like, bull connor. are people have been treated a s third class c citizenens. every ststatistic you do not wa, we continue toto have in n north kotata. standing rock and every other reseservation. infrastructure that is third world could be first world. we are a first t world country. most of the structure on the reservations is so far behind, whether it isis the road or the 50-y-year-old hospital that sers the community. they did not care. what they did d was move out there. thisis is whwhat we saw. a lot of you saw this, but i know for a long time the media in new york did not cover this. i think the first media that came from new york was amy goodman. thank you for coming, amy. [applause] >> as you may also know, amy was arrested and chargrged with

writingg -- rioting. ththis is what cilil society los like when the rules of engagement have been violated. that is to say that all of us here would believe that we have a first amendment right in the united states. what iss clear is that in north dakota you do not have a first amendment right. the rights of corporations supersede the rights of individualals. that is whwhat we nonow. -- know. we are not protesters, we are protectors. we are water protectors. i am very, very proud to know so many and to call myself a water protector. we are the people who believe that our water is worth more than their oil. are water that gives us life is our life. [applause] we stood and face things that you should not face. we faced this equipment.

this equipment, the piece on a a armed-- the right is an personnel carrier. north dakota has no landmines, to the best of my knowledge. they have a lot of nuclear missiles. i'm not sure how that will work out with a fraracking. note to self. no landmines. -- the placet where the equivalent comes from might have 2000 people. nothing warrant that equipment. the agreement has been surplus to civilian police. there is no need for civilians to be facing equipment like this. the piece to the left is a long-range acoustic device. that was what north dakota decided to use on people trying to protect the water.

to me, that is what is wrong with civil society -- when civil society has gone awry. to those of you here, i have to make a plea. north dakota was abandoned i everyone. -- by everyone. the population has continued to decline. out985, the poppers came from rutgers university -- a couple of demographers did a report saying, so many have e lt nortrth dakota, you u might as l retuturn it to the buffalo commons. they were c chased out t of norh dadakota as heretics. in 2000, i saw them invited back by they north dakota farm bureau to talk about the possibility of maybe doing that. everyone left north dakota. the passage of the halliburton amendment, it reopened the bottom of the mining and oil development, the bottom, they could use fracking

with -- dodo whatevever you wan. that changed everything in north dakota. the boom came in with the ugliness. the sexualal assaults, the contamination of everything, and the loss of common sense and decency, frankly.. in the meantime, no one was there. no one has been up there for a long time. civil society abandoned north dakota. the american civil liberties -- liberties union, which i am a fan, hadad one pern n covengng north d sosouth dakota.. let me know w how that works ou. the sierra club had one personn. that is not good. that is when you have been abandoned by civil society. a lot of people didn't want to live t there becausese it is co. you can n get your starbucks or your cool s stuff. there is not all of the cool organic places. they said, i want to live somewhere cool like new york city o or madison, wisconsin. they left.

you have older white people. things went bad. our people were treated pretty badly in north dakota. that is why we call it the deep north. part of all of us is there. if you think what happens in north dakota does not affect year, what happened and standing rock affects us all. whether it is the criminalization of dissent. the criminalization of first amendment rights. there are 840 people that were chargrged. a lot of them looked like you. a hundred 40 people were charged. every one of them -- 840 0 peope were chargrged. they w were stripped and cavity search. they were overcharged with all kinds of things whether rioting or felony offenses. many people were e put in. kenns because they did not have room in dodogunty jails -- kennels because they did not have room in the county jails. the numbers on their hands to keep track of them.

that is what civil society looks like when it goes awry and the rules of engagement go wrong. it is more than that because many were hurt. this is when they tear gassed you and for you and you are in the water. you wore water protector andnd e hit you wiwith it. they hit you right in the face. that is what they do. they shoot rubber bullets. they take out your eye. arm to ast most of her compression grenade. what happened at the hospital is the fbi anti-terrorism squad came and took her belongings. she is the subject of a grand jury investigation because in north dakota, they want to act as if she blew off her own arm. they want t to pretend the rubbr bullets did not fly at our people. they want to pretend the tear gas did not come at our people. they want t to pretend this did not happen to our people. leduchat was winona speaking in new york.

she is the author of the winona leduc chronicles. this is democracy now! we are broadcasting from the people's climate march in washington dc. ♪ ♪ amy: this is democracy now! we are broadcasting live from the people's climate march. i'm amy goodman. we are in the nation's capital, it is expected to be one of the hottest april 29 in history in d.c. right now i am joined by maura, the -- attorney general of massachusetts. -- : it is great to be here >> it is great to be here. amy: why are you here? >> climate change is the most important issue of our time. i think about the work that we're doing is a state on the front lines to o hold the trump administration accountable.

i mentioned today in -- to anyone in the administration, we have come too far. this is about a president who seems set on dismantling protections put in place. we're on the right road, we have but as theo do, state attorney general i will do what i can to protect our state. in the northeast, in massachusetts in particular, we have seen the benefits of lowering carbon emissions. we have seen the benefits of growing a clean environment will economy. this is not just about protecting the planet, but the economy. that is why i am here. amy: along with eric schneiderman, the attorney general of new york state, you are one of the pioneers in taking on the largest private oil corporation in the world, former ceowho's ceo, happens to be the secretary of state. can you tell us about what

you're doing with exxonmobil. maura: just one year ago we sent subpoenas to exxon to tell us what they knew about climate change and the impact that burning fossil -- fossil fuels would have on the environment. based on widely reported, publicly available information we had concerns that exxon may not have told the truth to the public, to consumers, to their shoulder that shareholders. we sent the subpoenas, they turned around and to dust to try to stop us from investigating. so far we have been fighting it out in court. we have been winning. i hope that soon we will get the documents from exxon so we can have our questions answered. that as we are at. we won in n massachusetts and nw york courts. recently the court in texas dismiss the case and moved it back to new york. we had a good hearing the other day. we are awaiting a decision from

the court. hopefully we will be at a positions in to go forward with the investigation so exxon will finally have to answer the questions. amy: explain what was the smoking gun? why did you get involved? maura: there wawas publicly reported information the detailed some of what the exxon executives and scientists knew decades ago -- about the effect of burning fossil fuels on the environment. based on that information and other information about oil executives lying in regularly to meet and talk about hohow they would handle it as a public relations matter and concern there was a cover-up about information. we were then led to do what we always do, which is, when you're faced with that kind of information you ask questions as the state attorney general. this is a question about -- was there fraud perpetrated?

did they fail to disclose things they should have disclosed because they knew certain things. that is what the investigation has been abobout. unfortunately, exxon has taken the path to try to stop thee state ag is from investigating. amy: how? say when we asked suedions, instead, they us, claiming that our investigation interfered with exxon's corporate free speech rights. i don't understand or credit that theory, but that is the theory. they also have tried to use congress to shut us down as state ag's. the house committee has been led by lamarr smith. they have been aggressive in attempting to subpoena me and attending to bully us into stopping us from doing our work.

these are questions that need to be asked. they need to be answered. we will continue and press forward. we will continue to do the work we do as state ag's. years ago, we10 saw the major decision out of the supreme court. we just celebrated the anniversary, massachusetts versus epa. that is when the state of massachusetts sued george bush's epa for their failure to do their job in regulating greenhouse gases. the case went to the supreme court, the supreme court ruled against the epa. states have acted before. we will be prepared to act again. we're standing up for the claim power plants, fuel efficiency standards, and other efficiency standards. important measures we have taken as a country, we cannot afford to go backwards. amy: on that issue with the epa, now crowd climate change denier is in charge.

the former oklahoma ag had your job, scott pruitt. what does that mean for you? policy and the plan to slash the epa mean for you in massachusetts? maura: it is a catastrophe for the country and world. i served with scott pruitt and while he was state ag he sued the epa of no less than 14 times. one prerogative he had was about tried to dismantle the story of the epa. it is very troubling for more recent. that is why we will -- from where we sit. hold themy we will accountable to enforce laws that are in place for good reason, to protect the air and water. to do their job and force them to do their job. they cannot simply abdicate responsibility. we wille a job to do -- continue as state ag is to be on the front line, pushing forward

with the fight. amy: i want to go back to the exxon issue. rex tillerson, the former ceo of exxon, now the current secretary of state has not had much to say. as you recall from the senate confirmation hearing, he essentially refuse to answer questions on the topic. i think that everyone in government, the state department, we know that i'm a change is an issue of global importance. it should be an issue for the state department. we will have to wait and see where secretary tillerson is on the issue. we have not heard much of late. we did not hear much from the senate confirmation hearing. amy: on the issue of the exxon cover up, what rolled it he play as the longtime ceo? maura: we don't know yet. from my perspective, this is about allowing us to go forward with the investigation. we need to see the documents. we need to have questions answered. that is what i am looking to do.

i hope that exxon stock to be continued effort to resist our investigation and will start answering questions. amy: the issue of the paris climate accord -- the trump administration has threatened to pull out of that. what would that mean to you, as attorney general? what would that mean for massachusetts? maura: it is very serious. that would be an abdication of our responsibility in the world. america should be a world leader, the global leader when it comes to taking steps to address climimate change. pulling out of paris is directly counter to that. it would send a terrible signal to the world if the -- we were to pull out. as importantly, not only do we need to stay in paris, we also need to make sure that we implement measures here. that is the whole point of joining paris and having other countries join, to get them to stake steps -- take steps in

their countries to lower admissions and carbon pollution -- emissions and carbon pollution. that is why staying with the clean power plant is important. that is why all of the various measures and regulations put in place are important. it is also why you see something corporate america speaking out. the market has moved in this direction anyway. the trump administration does not seem to pay too much mind to research, to science. it is in -- it is unfortunate because if they did, they would have a sense of where this needs to go. as a state ag i will keep pushing in that direction. amy: maura healy is the massachusetts attorney general. she is here at the people's climate march in the. -- in washington dc. where between the capital and the washington monument. this is democracy now! tell your friends to tune in,

democracy now!.org, we are with you for five hours. 10 a clockck in the morning titl 3:00 easastern standndard time.. this is democracy now! >> i am here in washington dc. we are going out to the press conference live, going on now in washington, ahead of the people's climate march. expososure to other carcinonogs that could cause cancer. today, i march divorce my concern for my community, communities across the country exposed to the effects of climate change, and for other children and other mothers to not suffer the way that the in my mother did. i will continue to wowo on this issue for as long as it takes as long after the cameras have gone. i hope you all do as well. thank you. [applause] morning.

reverently -- reverend lee. i am from florence, south carolina. it is so good to have all of you here. i came to share a message with people of faith. when i say people of faith, i am not only talking about people who attend historical black churches. i am not talking only about people who attend mosques. i am not only talking about people who attend temples. in my faith tradition, faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. a better hoping for planet, if you can see a better world, then you are a person of faith. i want to thank you for rising up early this morning and coming from all over the country. i want to thank you for rising -- inly this morning and the heat, and call out for the

justice and equity they are trying to deny. i want you to realize right now, this is not a game. the earth is the lord and the fullness thereof. it is about people as well as the planet. we want you to rise up with us and the spirit of power. we want you to rise up with a fire so deep in iran's that you deep in yourire so bones that you cannot stand still, you have to tell somebody be victory will be ours. we will rise up and return to our homes. we will rise up and let them know that we are sick and tired of seeing our children die of asthma. we are sick and tired of seeing people with cancer because of coal. we are sick and tired of seeing levels rise. we will not stand for it anymore. we will rise up, go back home, say to the politicians, no budget cuts.

if you vote for a budget cut we will vote you out. we will rise up. we will rise up. we will do away with the culture that gives us energy from dinosaurs that are dead in the ground and coal. we need life-giving energy from the sun. we need the energy from the wind. ♪ ♪ democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. email your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to: democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, ny 10013.

amy: this is democracy now! democracy now!.org. the people's climate march is where we are, broadcasting from washington dc. moment, it is not clear how many people descended on washington. 10,000? we know it is more. tens of thousands, perhaps 100,000. we are broadcasting from 10:00 eastern time to 3:00 in the afternoon -- 5:00 in the afternoon.

i am amy goodman, joined right now by two indigenous leaders. we are joined by tom bolton, one of the founders of the indigenous environmental network -- the lastffett were on a her, we sacred burial ground in north dakota.. were trying to excavate it. hundreds of native americans came up on that property and demanded the bulldozers pulled back. candy, that was quite a scene. quite a horrific scene. he nativet day, americans who were out there did stop the bulldozers from excavating. candy: that's right. it was really women who broke that down. who jumped in front of the

bulldozers. we saw the machines digging. they did destroy three gravesites, but we stopped them destroying more. they had damage occur when they dropped their own equipment into the trench. they damaged their own pipeline. i've a feeling the spirits pushed the equipment into the trench. amy: you were there in north dakota. now you are in d.c. why? kandi: this is a good way to come together and say we are not alone in this movement, for jobs, for climate justice, so we need to do these things to show, number 45, we do not agree with your policies. we will be in your face until you listen to the people. the people want a different way. which is renewable energy. listen to be people. amy: where are you from?

i am from north dakota. our babies are sick. are sick.as we are not going to take it anymore. i last saw you before dakota i -- well, actually i saw you in paris after north dakota. kandi: and i told you about the abuses occurring to our women. in inextricable link between the abuse of the earth and the abuse of women as well. it is important that people know we do not speak for the north. we speak for our brothers and sisters in the south. look what happened to our sister bertha. it is not ok for our women to die simply because they want to protect water.

amy: you are holding up the sign for a honduran environmental leader who knew she was on a death list, but continued her work until she was gunned down in her own home. berta that's right, for to do these things and for her spirit to live on, there is no reason we cannot do this. amy: had you ever met berta? kandi: i never had the pleasure. wewas not until her death got to go to honduras and meet her family and friends. her spirit lives on and create strength for all us women. amy: you are wearing a t-shirt that says defend the sacred. kandi: defend the sacred. the air, the water, the soil, which we cannot live without.

common sense dictates defend the sacred. amy: who will you be marching with today? will be marching with my ancestors today and my three-year-old daughter, who is here, not understanding what it is all about, but it is really all about her. kandiom standing beside right now. talk about your activism that has led to this day, april 29. it looks like it will be one of in hottest april 29s washington, d.c. history. yes, it is part of a prophecy, people i have worked with, people able to communicate with the spirits of mother earth and father sky, and both my navajo, the dakota people, and, you know, we have been part of

this, building up a movement of resistance. and it is a spiritual resistance. i have been at the united nations climate negotiation and the world social forum and local communities, really building a movement, a consciousness, and this is where we are coming to, breaking down the silos that basically capitalism, the industrial mindset has created to divide people from mother earth. we have to break that to be able to talk to humanity, that we need to come back to understanding where we are at right now. and this president right now represents tyranny. this president represents a system that is old. it has to change. as indigenous people, you know, we have been talking about this moment. maybe we, as the original people of the united states, and our people in canada and alaska, maybe it is really time to exercise our sovereignty and

self-determination and serve papers on this president to deport him, to deport him from this country, because the laws he is representing are not the natural laws that we are taught as native people, to have respect for the sacredness of water. that is why we are here. we are bringing frontline communitities who are fighting o keep oil in the ground. that is part of our campaign. but not just our indigenous -- it is for all people to come to a consciousness we have to change the system. we have to move to a new reality and that reality is part of mother earth. what are the lessons you have learned from the dakota access pipeline question mark the struggle is not over. there is a national and global divestmentnt -- campaign. the pipeline is not flowing with oil. m: right, and part of that -- we have been able to ring that message, and i have --

bring that message, and i apologize, i will have to leave in a couple seconds. but part of that is showing people of america and around the world have gravitated to the seven consulates to nation, and that message is a understandingage, water is life. the woman carrying that life, passing that water, that is what it symbolizes in the translation that really misses its point in english. water is life. the passing of the water is what that process is about, and that is a profound spiritual relationship people are starting to gravitate to throughout the world. again, the message coming there we can do this, do this through peace and prayer. amy: tom, where were you born and what nation are you with? om: i am navajo.

my mother is navajo. my father, they say he was dakota. i have embraced both cultures. amy: and finally the significance of this march -- right.at's and my son right now, dallas -- amy: dallas, are you trying to interrupt this interview? >> we have another meeting. .my: you guys look alike >> i look older. [laughter] >> that's what i will look like in 15, 20 years. handsome, stunning. our brothers from alaska, where the ice is literally melting. he cannot deny the reality. his environment is melting right now. -- thank youe is so much, goldteeth! in theall you goldteeth,

plural? [laughter] i am from alaska. we have seen the ice that is not there, not present. we do not have descriptions in our language, which is thousands of years old. i'm not sure what we can say to suit the nature of thiss climate catastrophe. the arctic is compromised, and we have no real recourse we can follow or see in our culture that shows we are on the right trajectory. because we cannot hunt, we cannot fish, we cannot see the things that are needed to live and survive off the land. amy: this is donald trump's 100th day to read your thoughts? >> i do not have any thoughts about him. i have thoughts about what is happening at home with my culture, our food, our land. the foods that we eat are being cannot --at a rate we

we cannot match up. amy: thank you so much. we are at the people's climate march in washington, d.c. thisis is the people's climate news, and there is a conference going on right now of elected leaders we are going to join. this is senator carper of delaware. year,r carper: last 70,000 energy and conservation jobs were created in america. 70,000 in one year alone. lastr, almost 3 million -- year, almost 3 million sustainable energy jobs were created. whenever anybody says to you we can have both, i want you to say -- hogwash. >> hogwash! hogwash!arper: >> hogwash!

center carper: all right -- inator carper: all right, asked to revise and extend my remarks -- >> we are going to have a tolerable planet. are we going to have a tolerable planet? we have partners in this battle. thank you, maria. [applause] >> thank you, jeff. it is great to be here with all of my colleagues to fight to make a point to this administration. we are here in washington, d.c., and the climate for climate change could not be more challenging. after decades of making progress on more fuel-efficient airplanes, higher mileage per gallon standards for automobiles , millions of new renewable energy jobs and biofuels and solar, in wins, now this

administration is trying to roll now thiscy -- in wind, is ministry shows trying to roll back policy that will save the future. they removed the one piece of climate education data from the is helping toat educate millions of americans about how we can make progress in dealing with this. so, i have a question for mr. trump. president trump, are you afraid of science? the science has helped us in these shellfish industry in the oceanc northwest fight acidification. it has helped us win our farmers are facing drought and need new toence on crops resistant drought. and it has helped our coastal communities figure out where they need to move to a higher plan. i know you, mr. president, and your cabinet want to hold onto the past, but i would rate to you, hire a futurist, because we

are going to innovate our way out of this problem and we are going to have a cleaner, greener planet and millions more jobs in the united states of america. thank you all very much. [applause] know, the president also just said we needed to gut the safety regulations on oil rigs like deepwater horizon. are we going to let that happen? >> no -- >> no! i amxt we have an expert going to introduce who has gone to the senate floor to speak every single week, week after week. intonk about 100 speeches it, sheldon whitehouse of the state of rhode island. thank you,tehouse: jeff. it is so rate to be here with senator jeff merkley, senator ed

me give a bigt shout out to maura healy here, because i will tell you, the courts are a good place to talk about climate change. when lawyers like to judges, they get punished. you can get in front of a courtroom and you can get discovery and you can get the other side's documents. glad that our attorney on thisis standing up issue, that children are standing up on this issue, and we will discover more that be shareholders and these companies across the country will have to stand upon these issues, because they have not been telling the truth about what the reserves are all about. need to stay in the ground. so, we have three forms of pollution we need to worry about. we have got the pollution of our

atmosphere and oceans from carbon dioxide, and we are going to stand up and make sure that .e keep a survivable planet we have got the pollution of our spin and liesby and calculated disinformation from a whole enterprise of science denial, and we need to stand up to that science denial enterprise. got the third pollution, which is the pollution of that building behind us with dark money, with unlimited citizens united money, with the spending the fossil fuels industry is doing to protecect a $700 billion a yearr subsidy. we owe the people of the world not -- wea that is owe the people the world an america that is not for sale to

be fossil fuels industry. are we going to stand up for science? are we going to stand up to keep the effects on our planet so our children and grandchildren have an earth that is habitable and hospitable to humankind? [cheering] senator whitehouse: all right! amy: that was senator whitehouse. back to -- senator whitehouse -- >> how much clean and renewable energy do we need? how much do we need? >> 100! >> the next speaker is a by 150.r of 100 he is a force in the house. he is a force in the senate. ed markey of massachusetts. >> thank you, jeff merkley, sheldon whitehouse.

thearia cantwell and ranking member on the environment committee -- maria is the ranking member on the energy committee, a great york, andman from new our great attorney general from massachusetts, maura healy, who is here as well, who you will be hearing in just a minute. thank you all so much for being here. were unhappy with slavery, the abolitionist movement came here and stood here to say no, that they wanted a revolution. when women wanted to have the right to vote, the suffragettes came here, where we are standing .o say that must change when the civil rights movement, martin luther king, wanted a change in the laws so that african and all minorities have

the same rights as white people in our country, they came here and stood here, and they all were saying the same thing. free at last, free at last. thank god almighty, free at last. and that, ladies and german, is what the green revolution is now saying about -- ladies and gentlemen, is what the green revolution is now saying about fossil fuels. free at last, free at last. think got a mighty, free at last. all will not stop the electric vehicle revolution. they will not stop this energy efficiency revolution. they will not tell the green generation any longer that they are not owing to have a planets that is safe and clean and nonpolluting. the planet is running a fever. there are no emergency rooms for planets. the only way to do this

correctly is to put the preventative programs in place with the renewable energy revolution that will save the planet from the worst of catastrophic effects. and you know what? the green movement does not agonize. the green movement organizes, and that is what is happening here today. not just here in washington, but all across the country. because there is one thing that is separating the oil and coal industry on every one of these issues from the green movement on every single issue. we are right and they are wrong. as the koch brothers must be sent a message that their science, which donald trump has adopted, is just as bogus as a degree from trump university. we have to make sure that they is what thisence

country is all about and we're going to fight for science every single day until donald trump is theonger the president of united states. thank you. let's go out and do the job! >> five years ago, the atlantic ocean was 10 degrees warmer than it should have been, and the following week, hurricane sandy devastated a new york district, and the congresswoman from that district has been a champion taking on climate change. welcome. >> thank you, senator. thank you so much. you know, coming from new york -- being on the waterfront in new york and manhattan, my community

, our communities were devastated. it is shameful that the president, who comes from new york, could deny that climate change is an environmental issue. we know. we saw it. today. why i am here it is an inspiration to see so many young people, native americans, black, latino, women, sending the message that we reject the policies coming out of this administration. it is shameful what we see -- of pointing to -- of pointings to federal agencies according to

how much of that person hates the federal agency they are going to oversee. it will not stand. it will not stand. to all of you, we must organize. we must resist, and today, we march. god bless you. thank you. [applause] have you heard of a former attorney general from oklahoma named scott pruitt? [booing] >> some attorneys are using their partnership with the fossil fuel cartel to destroy the planet. in some are using their position to save the planet, and maura healy is one of the strongest voices taking on groups like exxon. a real voice for change, attorney general maura healy.

>> thank you, senator. we are standing in solidarity with all of you. as a state attorney general, my message is simple. this administration has engaged in all-out assault on the environment, client -- climate, and science. my message to the president and to scott pruitt is this is not going to happen on our watch. we will resist. we will stand up. and we will not allow you to dismantle the important progress that has been made and the work we need to do as we go forward. as states, we know how important this is. we have done this before. we will do it again. two weeks ago, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of massachusetts versus epa. massachusetts sued george bush for out epa for its failure to deal with greenhouse gases. we went to the supreme court, and we won. we have done it before and we will do it again. because to be clear, federal law requires those in power to

protect our residents, to protect our environment, to assure clean air and clean water. that is what this is about. we have sued in the administration already. we will be suing them again. we will be challenging them to make sure they do not abandon tariffs. that they do not abdicate their responsibilities when it comes to fuel efficiency standards in all of the important work that has been done. this is the most important issue of our time right now, folks, and i am here to say as the people's lawyer for the people's marchers, let's get out there, let's raise our voices, and let's send a message to washington that no one is above our law, and this is about our planet, our future, and humankind. in will of you -- i am with you and so proud to be one of you. [applause] , thank you, thank you.

who is above the law? no one. who is above the law? >> no one. >> who is above the law? >> no one. >> thank you so much. we're going to have a couple questions from the press. >> [indiscernible] >> as from today, what is the effort forant climate change question mark we need to take this energy and go back to our communities, and say we need 100% by 2050 resolution, and an action plan for what we're doing this year, next year and the hereafter and we need to continue to build -- two filled -- to fill the streets, and run for office, please. run for office. let's take the people's power. until we fill the building behind us.

[applause] >> [indiscernible] alamo?r the well, remember standing rock! this corporate government needs to be put to a stop because water is life to the people of the wildlife and the environment everywhere! rock!ember standing remember standing rock! thank you. amy: yes, right here. how do you challenge the trump administration with so many climate deniers in positions of power from scott pruitt to the secretary of state, rex tillerson, former head of exxonmobil? senator carper? i think most of the people in the senate are not climate deniers.

most of the folks on the other side of the aisle are not climate deniers. we have an obligation to our people. a lot of people are hurting. they have given their life's work to protect our air, our water, our health. what happened last night is just despicable and awful. let's make sure the folks at epa know we have to back. let me your you say, we've got your back. >> we've got your back. senator carper: till the folks at nasa, we've got your back. >> we've got your back. youtor carper: let me hear tell the folks that noaa, we've got your back. >> we've got your back. >> we are not going to back down. thank you. >> [indiscernible] >> thank you so much, everyone. let's go and change the world and save the planet.

thank you! amy: those were the senators. senator merkley, senator carper, senator whitehouse, senator markey, congresswoman velazquez, and maria cantwell, and also healey, attorney general of massachusetts. can i ask you a question from democracy now!? your name? >> my name is aaron. amy: and you are? >> president of the washington sierra club. amy: what you think their job is and what you think your job is? error camera is right over here. -- our camera is right over here. >> the most important thing we support our senators.

the president talked about american carnage. the carnage he met was corporate carnage. right now, he is pushing for a $10 million financing of -- $10 billion financing of a border wall. he is putting a tax break on the credit card of the american public. all of this could be going into clean energy and clean jobs right now. the issue is not praying on the -- preying on the needs of unemployed coal miners, but how we put them back to work with clean technology. we should not be opening up the continental shelf of the atlantic coast for more offshore drilling. in fact, we should be swapping out every single offshore oil drilling rig for clean power. rhode island, the first installation of offshore wind. right now our congress can push for the swap out a clean energy energy.nergy -- dirty

we probably can shut down nuclear on the eastern seaboard. in order to do that, we need a functioning democracy, and a functioning democracy means we need to have those who are not pushing for borders oppressions are of the south and reapportion the maps as the keep in power who are beholden to the carbon industry. these congressmen right now can put a true america first, but the america first is not about foreign entities. it's about domestic enemies and domestic oil in -- oil industry enemies who are basically circumventing our democracy and unleashing corporate carnage. you are and at the gemological, spatial analyst, current president of the seer club, founded by a famous environmentalist in california. what would he be commanding today? he would be demanding in his saying, his prophetic words

it is all connected. you cannot pull out one segment of the environment, one segment of society and think it will have no impact on the whole. he would be right here, standing by martin luther king, standing with all of the leaders of justice and saying we have one humanity and all humanity must come together to save the planet . this is no longer an outing to youryou sanity -- to save 70. he would be on this great outing, on this great trek, leaving this resistance. are much. you senator markey, i just want to ask you a quick question. i'm amy goodman from democracy now!, public television and radio program. massachusetts, how is it affected by climate change and what you say to president trump about them? senator markey: the most important environmental decision in the history of the united states was made by the supreme court in a 5-4 decision in april

-- amy: that's ok. there's lots of people talking. keep going. senator markey: yeah. sued the epa, and in april 2007, the supreme court ruled that massachusetts was writes, that the epa had to make a determination as to whether or not greenhouse gases were endangering the coastline of massachusetts, eroding the coastline. and they ruled that the epa had a responsibility to make an endangerment finding of whether that was happening and if it is, they had to begin to put rules in place to protect against that damage. amy: so, what you say to president trump today? uh --r markey: donald, i guess, donald trump should worry about what his

obituary says. we have or 25 years catastrophic storms, icecaps melting, millions of people endangered all across this planet, and he stood on the sidelines and made that kind of a catastrophe possible, but that is all he is going to be remembered for. if he wants to g go down as a great man, he has to take on the greatest challenge of our generation, and right now he is just walking away from that fight. days, the last0 two days, he has issued a number includingve orders opening up public lands for drilling, offshore drilling, to the arctic, do these executive orders have power? is he dismantling the regulatory state? is he succeeding? senator markey: each one of those executive orders will be

taken to the court by the attorneys general, the sierra club, the in rdc. they are up for a huge, historic battle up to the supreme court. ultimately, i think we will prevail most cases, especially when it comes to drilling off the coastline of new england. we wanted it to be george's bank, not shelf royal bank. we do not want this to be another drilling opportunity that could result in a bp oil spill. trump does not seem to care, but i think the people in new england and all across the country are not going to run that environmental risk. they're going to fight every single day. amy: before you head off to the people's climate march right now, certainly nuclear war is a threat to the environment, so i want to ask you about the increasing tensions with -- well, everywhere from iran, but specifically this week, to north korea. did you go to the white house to get briefed by president trump?

what did he say? why did you go? what do you feel needs too happen? senator markey: president trump did not really give us his plan in the white house when we went down to meet with him, and in truth, his plan is incoherent. one day, his secretary of state to movell, we want towards negotiation, but on the very next day, the president says we can actually be moving more towards a great, great crisis with north korea that could involve -- he doesn't say it -- but in exchange of nuclear weapons. so, we want to walk away from that kind of conflict. we want to be talking to o the north korereans. we talked to the soviet union. we avoided a nuclear catastrophe. we have to be talking to the north koreans. the president is refusing to do that. we need to put tough sanctions on the chinese and the chinese put the sanctions on the north koreans, ring the north koreans

to the table with president trump and that is the only way to avoid an accidental nuclear breakout, because right now, but sides have military maneuvers taking place that could wind up in a catastrophe because a tripwire got crossed the neither side new they were passing -- neither side knew they were passing. amy: before you go -- not the the taxof today, but plan. what is your opinion? senator markey: -- it is more like a request for an extension. he gave us a single sheet of paper with no details except he wants huge tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, drain $7 trillion out of the federal treasury and that would be tremendous pressure on social security, education, headstart, which is really their plan. to get the revenues out, if the tax breaks to the wealthy, and

take away the programs for the poor in our society. amy: and finally, i'm looking at your attorney general behind you. we just interviewed her, and she is suing exxonmobil. the secretary of state is the former ceo of exxonmobil. senator markey: i voted against rex tillerson becoming the secretary of state. exxonmobil controls and area inside of russia -- an area inside of russia which is the size of wyoming for drilling in natural gas and oil. it's a fundamental conflict of interest. rex tillerson should not have the job. i rex tillerson in the confirmation hearing if he would recuse himself -- i asked rex tillerson in the confirmation hearing if you would recuse himself on any action involving exxonmobil during the time he was secretary of state, and rex tillerson refused to recuse himself. amy: senator markey, i want to thank you for being with us. senator ed markey is the massachusetts senator, from the

great state of massachusetts, as we turn out to the oregon senator, senator jeff merkley, who we interviewed just before this news conference. this is democracy now! we are broadcasting from the people's climate march, a historic five-hour broadcast going on around the world. i am amy goodman. this is democracy now! we are standing with senator jeff merkley, the senator from oregon, a democrat, standing in front of, i guess you could call it your second home, the capitol? weator merkley: it is where have to go every week to fight the battle. issuehere are you on the of climate change? senator merkley: yesterday, i introduced 100 by 50. it is a brand i want everybody to hear multitudinous times.

100 by 50. 100 percent renewable energy by 2050. it is a goal to get completely off fossil fuels. it is a timeline. to get there, we have to move urgently, passionately, quickly. time is not on our side. amy: you introduced this with senator sanders? yes, senatorey: -- ers, senator m markey, and right now the oil and -- and senator booker. right now the oil and gas industry is blocking this. this is a call to action. paintal point is, let's the picture national, but let's take action at the grassroots level and that is what this march is about today. it is grassroots action, people local government,

going to be sick council, their club, their neighbors, so forth. what exactly does that mean? what would 100% renewables by 2050 mean? anator merkley: it would be complete of hurting any fossil fuels -- coal, natural gas, oil. amy: how would you achieve this? senator merkley: in the bill, we lay out every sector of the energy economy, because each one is a little different. one of the big strategies is to make sure every electron on the grid is a green electron. second of all, move as much of the energy economy onto the grid as possible. there will be other areas like commercial airplanes, so we probably will have to go to some form of title fuels. we've got to work on every sector. amy: you mentioned the koch brothers cartel. what do you mean by that? there are very: rich people who own a lot of fossil fuels. they want to keep extracting it

and burning it. they have no concern for what it is doing to the planet. climate distraction is affecting us everywhere. it is affecting our farmers. a huge impact. amy: you, to say the least, were very critical of rex tillerson in his confirmation process as secretary of state. rex tillerson, the former ceo of exxonmobil, the largest right oil corporation in the world. your concerns then and the fact that he is the secretary of state. has spentrkley: he his life traveling the world negotiating deals to pull feels out of the ground and to burn them. that is not the leadership we need to address the biggest threat facing our planet.

in his confirmation hearings, we were pressing him on his understanding of the threat of climate disruption. he basically gave platitudes like, well, we need to think about and perhaps we need to be of the table, but no sense of the understanding of the damage, no sense of the urgency, no sense of the impact on human health. it's not the leadership we need in order to address this grave threat to the planet. you also question scott pruitt, the oh, attorney general who has become the head of the epa. you said you did not want the epa to become the polluter protection agency. senator merkley: yes, unfortunately, scott pruitt has spent his career working with the fossil fuel cartel to take down environmental reguulations which contributes to particulates in the air, contributes to lung cancer and asthma, taking down the standards on mercury, and mercury is a neurotoxin that affects the developing brains of

our children. he is doing everything he can, this individual, scott pruitt, use doing everything he can to make americans sicker, less healthy, and more damaging to the environment. amy: we are here on the 100th day of the trump presidency. your evaluation? -- 100 merkley: 100th disastrous days. terrible days. the one thing that occurred was the confirmation of president trump's nominee for the supreme court. this is a stolen supreme court seat. it is the first time in u.s. history a seat has been stolen from one administration and delivered to another and it was done to pack the court on behalf of the fossil fuel cartel. that is going to be a huge damage for decades to come. amy: explain what you mean, how that is related, how the supreme court is related to climate change? senator merkley: there is a court decision called citizens united. and ita 5-4 decision

allows dark money to be spent in unlimited numbers and campaigns around the nation. control ofepublicans the u.s. senate and ever since then, the republican majority have been the puppets and the koch brothers have been the puppeteers. it's very important to this industry, this coal, oil, natural gas industry they keep this dark money flowing, which means keeping a supreme court that does not understand we, the people. we, the people, this is the foundation of our government. it is the vision that the founders laid out. when you look at the constitution, that is the sensible. they are all about this 5-4 decision of citizens united, government for the powerful, the privileged, and the polluters. what do you make of marches

like this, starting with the women's march, the protest against muslim ban 1 and muslim ban 2, the spontaneous outpouring of the will to the airports, the tax rights protest, the march for science. what difference does it make? you lost the hallowed halls of the senate. do you fear people? it has made an enormous difference. people's action has saved health care for 24 million americans, which is a huge, huge victory. it has maderkley: an enormous difference. people's action has saved health care for 24 million americans, which is a huge, huge victory. amy: how? they've filled: mailboxes and were on the streets. and they said, they would be with trump because he said he everyoneer every --

and the bill does not cover everyone. it throws party for million people off of health care. it's not less cost. it is at more cost. the republicans are driving up the cost of health care on the exchanges, and it certainly is not better coverage. they are trained to gut the essential benefits provision of the affordable care act. it is re-strikes and you are out. the people responding are saying, what you are planning to do is just wrong on every one of those issues. you are going to hurt the quality of life for my family. my loved one gets sick, they will not get care. if we do get care, we will be bankrupt. how dare you, congress, do this to americaca question mark their voices were heard. that is why they have not been able to pass a bill. amy: i republican senators speaking quietly about their our public and senator quietly about their concerns about president trump? senator merkrkley: they are

speaking way to quietly. anyone should be speaking loudly and bully right now. amy: he just said a day ago, after saying no one thought health care would be so difficult, he just said the presidency was harder than he expected. senator merkley: i think what he said with regard to health care, he said "who knew health care was so complicated?" we have a president with very little understanding of core issues. he was a cheerleader for development projects. spendingen all about is like saying this will be wonderful and bold and beautiful and a wonderful success and handing over to others. he has no understanding of the complexities of the challenges we face, and quite friendly, no curiosity, does quite friendly, no curiosity, intellectual curiosity, no compassion for making the world a different -- a better place. it is unfortunate he is there.

we've got to take him out in four years, and meanwhile, we've got to have people's action like the march today. amy: an issue connected to the environment is nuclear war, to put it mildly. right now, as we stand here, the revving up of tensions with north korea and iran, the dropping of the largest ,onnuclear bomb ever dropped developed by president bush, he did not drop it, president obama did not drop it, president trump did in the first three weeks of his presidency. ?re you concerned senatotor merkley: very concernd about my three appear at t you have a country that already has nuclear weapons. the president and secretary of state has said the mission is to remove those nuclear weapons from north korea and there's only two ways to do that. one way is for china to apply enouough pressure they voluntary give up their nuclear program. there is virtually no one in the national security world who thinks china can pressure them to much.

even if they cut off north korea completely, the regime in north korea still wants to hold on to those weapons for the others military action. we have a tremendous space for misdemeanor case and that leads to a disastrous war, and you could have, you could have a ballistic missile test. you could have the united states responded by attacking the missile launch site, then you could have north korea responded by attacking soul, tens s of thousands dead in -- attacking dead inens of thousands a few hours. we will not be able to take out their nuclear bombs -- they are hidden -- to make sure that they can get them. then you have the risk of a nuclear bomb going off somewhere in the world. it could be in a cargo container, in a boat. need very serious individuals understanding the implication of pressure has to have an off branch, a goal that can be accomplished, and make the world more stable. i'm hoping, i'm praying that wise and thoughtful minds in the

military world will be in control of this policy and not donald trump. were you one of the senators who got on the bus and was briefed? i know senator sanders did not go. senator merkley: yes, i did go. this is a very important issue. i wanted to share what the administration had to say. president trump came out from behind a curtain, spoke for a few minutes, and disappeared. we learn nothing you could not learn in the newspapers. amy: why did they do it? senator merkley: i think it was all theater. all theater. thank you so much. amy: thank you, senator merkley. that was senator jeff merkley from oregon. in his on rex tillerson confirmation hearing for secretary of state, who took on scott pruitt for his confirmation hearing to be the head of the epa. he is here at the people's climate march. this is democracy now!

democracy now is here, 10:00 until 3:00, nonstop rock casast. -- nonstop broadcast. i ma'am amy goodman. nermeen shaikh in washington, d.c. i am joined by my guest from the organization africans rising. explain why it is important to be here at the people's climate march. new social movement is extremely concerned that we are the impacteriencing of climate change. we think it is a terrible injustice. we the ones who have contributed the least two emissions. we are the ones paying the most and most brutal fines. ad this is creating quite catastrophic situation. we feel extremely hurt that in

fact the country that has carried the biggest responsibility continues to deny responsibility, but also continues to deny the science is absolutely clear we have to get off 30 energy. -- get off dirty energy. we are here to encourage the people of the united states to theinue to put pressure on united states. the united states will go down in history as the country that had the greatest power to avert climate change, but abuse that power and carries immense response ability for the crisis we're heading toward. people must be clear. we are five minutes to midnight in terms of the time we need to reverse things. it still can be done, but we need political will. theeen: can you talk about concerns you have about the trump administration and the

number of climate deniers in his white house? changeirstly, climate offers us an opportunity. climate change should bring us rich and poorhat countries can act together and we can secure the future for all our children. right now, you know, when trump talks about the wall, for example, we would like to remind him that if you put a wall around africa, people will not be able to use cell phones and so on. we need to break away from an idea that addressing climate change should be about advances in competition. we have to have a greater sense of common, shared purpose, and if you look at the appointments he is made in terms of the kinds of people and their track records, the huge investments in

the fossil fuel industry, it is clear that like president george appointed people advocating for the fossil fuel industry, trump has done even more. has seen to got the environ mental protection thecy the way he has -- marmot production agency, the way he has is an extremely worrying sign, not only for the people of the united states, but the people of the world as a whole. must recognize and the republicans who support him must recognize, it is not only a groundswell and increasing numbers of american people who are resisting. they are actually the ones now who are the best and most eloquent supporters of terrorism. they are actually the ones supporting anti-americanism, and that is something they need to revisit and change the policies. otherwise united states will become more and more isolate from global public opinion, as is the case at the moment. nermeen: what you think the

impact of this march is likely to be? you were there for the 2014 march in new york city. how do you think that climate march is likely to compared to this one? kumi: the fact that is happening capitol, that it is happening on the 100th day of the disastrous presidency of isald trump, i think important. it's in for message we will not stand by and let him get away with it. we do not have exactly the same numbers we had in new york. but this is a very good show of strength, and what is most important about this gathering for me is the fact that frontline communities from the united states are on the front line -- indigenous peoples from various parts of the u.s. and canada that are very important, the fact that trade unions are there. you know, 10 years ago when one was marching, you would not have the, for example, trade union

movement. i'm very pleased to see no one can say this is just people who care about forest and animals. these are people who care about the broad spectrum of issues, including caring about nature. i think it is very important that people realize, you know, environmentalists like me say things like save the planet. if we realize that continue on the path we are, we will be gone as a species. the planet will still be here. as a become extinct species, the oceans will recover, the forest will replenish, and so on. it is whether humanity can fashion a way to coexist with nature for centuries to come. the struggle is fundamentally about securing our children's future. opportunities like this for to comeand grandparents

out and say, not in my name is important, but let's be very honest. we are going to need about a thousand of these kinds of marches on an ongoing basis if we are going to be able to wrestle power from, and to have the kind of policy -- enough, trump must recognize that the nihilism is not a policy, right? you cannot have -- the nihilism -- denialism is not a policy, right? we have said we must protect the paris decoration. let me say this very clearly. from an african perspective, the paris declaration simply gave us a chance to live to fight another day. it is far from a perfect solution to the problem. it is still not as ambitious as it needs to be. to have now the white house and the president say they will mess with even the best agreement

that the politics allowed us to get it so irresponsible, and people like donald trump must understand they have blood on their hands now. as long as they drag taking action, they are responsible for the murder of people around the world. nermeen: thank you so much, kumi naidoo. i am nermeen -- i am nermeen shaikh, speaking to kumi i naid, former president of greenpeace. [♪] [music break] ♪

amy: this is democracy now, democracynow.org. we are at the people's climate march in washington, d.c. i am amy goodman. we are with you for this five-hour broadcast, from 10:00 until 3:00 easternrn standard time. people are lining up for the march. a lot have been at the rereflecting pool, where i am n. grassroots leaders who are part of this march and elected leaders. later in the day, peoplele will

surround the white house for one of the largest citizens -- sit-ins ever. , wholl turn to naomi klein spoke last night at an environmental justice and action climate. she is the best-selling author, environmental activists,s, and e wrwrote "this changes everythin" h honored to be includeded in this historic eve. to be here in particular witith the people who invented the field of environmental justice,, thankust wananted too deeply you. it is such an honor to be here with you at howard university. i want to thank the hbcu climate change initiative for

making this possible, and all of you will have traveled so long in sweaty buses without air-conditioning and came here anyway. it is incredible to be here. tomorrow at the march, we're going to see leadership at the front of the march from the peopople who are most impacted y climate change, who have borne the toxic burden of our addiction to fossil fuels. the reason it is happening is because of the work here. it has been a long struggle. it shoululd not have been. byhave to acknowledge that that led to thatat historic breakthrough. i want to thank dr. patterson. i'm excited to be here with my friend reverend yearwood. acknowledge that what

is happening right now, yes -- [applause] naomi: what is happening right ,ow with the attacks on the epa the cut of 30% of the staff, and taking aim at the environmental justice program at the epa is part of this broader war on communities of color that this administration is waging. it is racism in action. we have to name it as such. i am here from canada. i live in toronto. i am going to be sharing with you and experience that we have had in canada, called the leap manifesto, which is inspired by the work that has come out of howard, inspired by the environmental justice work in this country, and we have been

able to build a broad coalition to come up with what we call a people's platform. i will go into that in some detail. i want to tell you a little about what brought me to this issue. i'm not a climate change person. i have spent my life more around economic justice, human rights, fighting war. i thought climate change was the one issue i did not have to care about. it is not like i denied it, but there are all those well-funded green ngo's taking care of the climate thing. i am more focused on more important issues. that was the story i told myself. that was my form of climate denial. in 2003, 2004, i started working on a book that ended up being called "the shock doctrine."

is started with reporting from baghdad right after the u.s. invasion. it was about how the bush administration was trying to take advantage of the shock of the war, which they called shock and awe to push through economic shock therapy. loot iraq. privatize the economy area 15% flat tax. remind you of anyone? they tried to do what they could not do in the united states. now the trump administration is taking care of that. they are bringing shock doctrine to the united states now. i was working on the shock doctrine, and the photographer i have been in baghdad with called me, and he said i and in new orleans. you have to get here. it is happening again. i went to new orleans when it

was still flooded. 10 days after the levees broke. when i was writing about and reporting on was the way in which all of these corporate forces were trying to take advantage of the fact that people were forced out of their city, evacuated at gunpoint to create their own dream utopia. get rid of public housing, public education. you know the story better than me. we cannot outsource climate change. it has everything to do with economic and racial justice and human rights. right? one thing that scared me when i was writing this was there was a meeting held in this city two weeks after the levees broke at the heritage foundation, which is a right-wing think tank. it was convened by all the think tanks and the republican study committee.

they had this meeting to come up with what they called free market solutions to hurricane katrina. the minutes from that meeting were leaked. if you read the minutes, there are 32 ideas, solutions. privatized the school system, have vouchers, who is in favor of that? betsy devos. get rid of public housing. create a tax-free free enterprise zone. build more oil refineries and drill for oil in the arctic national wildlife refuge. what does that have to do with katrina? you have this catastrophe that is born of the collision between heavy weather linked to climate change, the kind we will see colliding oceans warm with weak and neglected public

infrastructure. fema could not find new orleans for five days. the levees should never have collapsed in the face of what was then a tropical storm. they did not hold because of the neglect of public infrastructure. on top of all this was the ugliest systemic racism. blaming them for being abandoned. what was there a solution? dig up more fossil fuels and get rid of the public sphere altogether. the person who chaired that meeting was mike pence. this is who we are dealing with. i am in the final stages of writing a book, and the title is "no is not enough." it is not enough to just say no,

don't do it. there has to be another vision. these crises are messages. they are telling us there is something wrong with the system. climate change is a message we are getting from the earth telling us that our entire model is sick, this model based on endless consumption, more and more. system collapsing in 2008 was a message. if, in those moments, we don't what the worldoff should look like instead, our solutions, then we are going to get more e shock doctrine. we are going to get more disastster opportunism and privatization and attempts to drive us apart. climate change is not just about the storm, things g getting hotr and wetter and storm year, it is

also about things getting nastier. in our current system that is all our system knows how to do. gathering in canada catalyzed by the fact that oil prices had just collapsed. those of you from the gold coast know-how dramatic -- gulf coast know how dramatic this has been. workers are losing their jobs in droves. families are decimated. we have been told for so long the fossil fuel industry is the only one that can create jobs. there e have been attempts to sy we need green jobs. the problem is if you are having a dedebate between a real job tt is on the table and the fossil fuel sector that pays real wages, and these are the only blue-collar jobs better paying good wages today -- that are

paying good wages today, well, in the real world real jobs beat notional jobs. these oil companies that had positioned themselves as the great job creators were throwing their workers under the bus. we came together, labor leaders, racial justice leaders, indigenous leadersrs, climate change organizers. we created a space to dream together. how do we get out of our silos? how do we set aside this idea that it is about saying my crisis i is bigger than your crisis? there are no jobs on a dedead planet. none of that. we want better jobs on an alive planet. ge want to stop pittin are issues against each other.

to fight economic inequality and begin to heal the wounds that date back to our country's founding. we want to be ambitious. we want to raise the middle finger at this idea of cautiouss centrism. what it positions itselflf as serious and cautious is exquisitely dangerous in the face of a climate crisis. what we need are transformational change, and we need it fast. we live in this time of overlapping crises. we are not going to solve them one at a time. we need this integrated approach. just a few examples, and none of it is anything that pepeople hee have not thought about. a shift principle is from a logic of an list taking and extraction from the earth and communities and workers'

bodies, treating their bodies as if they are machines, as if there is no limit of what we can extract from cutbacks and social services, and we just throw them away, when we are done with the earth, throw it away. in a mining sector they have this ugly word, overburden. that is what they call whatever gets in the way of their bulldozers, forests, trees, soil. that is all overburden. they leave it in these great slag heaps. people are also treated as overburden in the system to be wawarehoused in prisons because they get in the way of money. moving away from that logic of endless extraction, disposing peoplele, to a a system that is based on deep care and consent where everyone is valued,

begiginning with thehe original caretakers of the land, water, and air. that starts with fully implement inc. the human declaration on the rights ---- and lamenting -- implementing the u.n. declararation on the rights of indigenous people. we were inspired by what is called energy democracy, particularly in europe. as we shift to 100% renewable energy as quickly as possible, which we must do, why do we want to get our solar panels and turbines from exxon and shell?? the beautiful thing about renewable energy is it is everywhere. it is not like fossil fuels where it is concentrated in specific places where you need all of this expensive infrastructure to dig it up. morends itself to a

inclclusive economy. in germany, there has been this deliberate process of making sure that as they shift to , and they aregy not getting 30% of their energy from renewables, it created 400,000 jobs. they're taking back their control of energy g grids from private companies. in 200 cities and towns, have reversed privatization of energy grids. income stays in the communities. they are using it to pay for the services. we said that is great. we want energygy democracy. we want more than that. we want energy justice a and energy reparation. the communities that have borne that toxic must be first in line to own and control their own renewable energy. this shift from extraction to care, and this is related to the incredible work that the

national nurses united have been doing g is that we really wanted to redefine what a green job is. you think of a guy with a hard hat putting up a solar panel. that is great. so is energy efficiency and public transit. we can create millions of jobs this way. teaching is low carbon. caring for the elderly is low carbon. making art is low carbon. which these fields, overwhelmingly are done byby women, many immigrant women, the most devalued work in our economy, much of it not paid at all, all of it under relentless attacks by the logic of austerity, we say these are climate jobs. that was part of it. the other thing that happens when you start aching this way and dreaming together, you realize we have got to get the money for this. we worked with a team of

progressive economists on a companion document called we can afford to leap. it lays out all the tax measures we would need for this transition. it is feasible. a financial transaction tax, cuts to military spending, and so on. the money is out there. we live in a time of unprecedented private wealth, where people who already have way too much are determined to grab more. that is what the trump administration is all about. it reminds us there is no way to deal with the crisis of climate change without the mentallyy challenging the logic of neoliberal capitalism. maybe capitalism itself. denial why i'm a change -- climate change denial is so prevalent. why do they work so hard to deny something that 97% of scientists is true?

are they just trying to protect the oil money? that is part of it. that doesn't explain how many people have bought into it. the deeper thing is if it is true, it requires these huge investments in the public sphere. it requires that we act collectively. it requires that we tax the rich. it requires that we regulate multinational corporations, and take on the logic at the heart of their project. that is why they had that meeting at the heritage foundation. they are afraid of moments of crisis. they are afraid we will act together. that is what we have to do. [applause] naomi: in closing, this work we did coming together and doing this work of developing a platform, it is not perfect.

i am excited to hear from students who have read rignet and made it better -- have re written it and made it better. young people in prisons have fixed it, done a better job of linking it to mass incarceration. postal workers have taken it and written their own leap manifesto invisions a new post office. postalle fleet of delivery trucks are electric. they are not just delivering the mail, they are also delivering fresh fruits and vegetables and checking in on the elderly and part of the care economy. this dreaming big out-of-the-box, there is space for this. when trump was first elected, i

had this thought, does this mean the door slams on all of our attempts to o lead forward and here on in we will be fighting defensivive battles? we have to fight those. there is no choice. the risks are so huge. there are real bodies and communities on the line. there has to be a defensive battle. it is not an option to say i don't want to fight. if that is all we do, repel those blows, then where we are is wherere we were beforere dond trump arrived. that was very unsafe indeed. it is really hard work to come together. we h had to embrace e the fact t if you are not arguing, itit mes your coalition is not wide enough. there were some painful moments. there were moments of joy. if we look at what the trump administration is doing, we can

see they are moving ahead on all fronts. they see the connections. they don't choose. we are going to attack women's reproductive freedom, give police a free hand without federal oversight, which is what jeff sessions is working on now, and we are going to drop really big bombs in afghanistan for no apparent reason. we are going to set off a fossil fuel frenzy. they are doing it all at once because itit is part of a cohert plan for them. it is part of a coherent vision. we need to look at ourselves and make sure we have one, too. only a competing vision that is pushing forward on multiple fronts has a chahance against a force like that. we called it the leap. we called it the leap because where we are and where w we need toto go, the chasm between those

things is huge. we are always told, it is a step in the right direction. if you are on the edge of a canyon, and you take a step in the right direction, you are still going to fall in. there is so far -- we have to go so far on so many different fronts that little stepsps in te right direction follolowed by a few steps b backward are not gog to get u us there anymore. time is so short. urgentour crises are so that w we need to leap. amy: that was naomi klein, the author of "this changes everything: capitalism versus the climate." writing a booky about donald trump. she was speaking last night at the environmental justice and action conference taking place at the hbcu, historically black

college university, howard university. was the father of the environmental justice movement. i i know it has been a long day. i think you have heard a lot of good words. now it is time to put it into action. for those of you who may not know, i am a graduate of two hbcu's. clclimate justitice is abobout survival and beyeyond. work,e startrt doing this if you are not familiar withh climate e change, and if y you t to know more about envnvironmenl learnice, we say read d and

and read and learn. there are a lot of young people out here who are emerging leaders in this field. those of us who have been doing this a long time want to pass the baton. we want you to run that 26 mile runthon and pass it off to that next 26 miles.. this is not a sprint. the race for justice is no spread. it is a marathon -- no sprint. it is a marathon. the things you are doing todada, don'n't people, in terms of york univiversity and community, thee things were done years ago, and we are still fighting. when you march tomorrow, you are marcrching in a long historical legacy. you are marching for selma. a a are still tt

free. there are still very years that ers thatp us -- barri will keep us from moving to the next levelel. it is more than symbolism. the communities that are hit the hardest, worst, worst, and longesest have contributed l let to this problem. we are not talking 50 years from now. we are talking communities that are hurting right now, that are sinking. .hildren are dying from asthma old people dying from heat waves and living in heat irons. if you're are a scientist, you understand the sciencece. if you deal with political science, you understand it i is alall about power.r. we must takake power. nobody is going to give it to us. frederick douglas said ththat 10 years ago.

when we are marching to mark, we are marching for our communities who cannot mararch for us.s. you represent a lot of folks. being a black student in collegege, you represent a lot f folks as you are privileged. you understand that, right? you take this very seriously. , and when yourch go back home to your communities, they are frontline on a lot of issues in termsms of lead poisoning, water that is not safe to drink, air quality problems, in terms of not having access to grocery stores, living , not havingrts transportation to get to a health care facility, or you live in a low-lying area where your area is flooding even when the sun is shining. understand that we arere in this

together. middle income, low income, and no income. we are in this together. we must fight for those who are less fortunate in terms s of usg our science and education for liberation. that is the last thing i have to say. i will be marching. i have done a lot of marches in my day. march is just the beginning. the work starts after the march is over. [applause] amy: you have been listening to bob bullard, a professor of environmental justice at texas southern university, speaking last night at the environmental justice in action conference that took place at howard university. this is democracy now. we are broadcasting live from the people's climate summit.

they are about to take off. we were at the pool in front of the capital. we bumped into sheldon whitehouse. sheldon of rhode island, the senator. this is what he had to say. we are broadcasting from the people's climate march. senator sheldon whitehouse is with us, the senator from rhode island known to take on those in power. welcome to democracy now. se: it is au great day. amy: talk about what are the stakes in the senate, and what you can do? mr. whitehouse: the stakes are incredibly high. we can keep talklking about this issue and force the republicans to address or deny the issue. a bigld really make difference if the house of

representatives went democrat in the 2018 elections, and the democratic chairman were able to push subpoenas and legislation. don't forgetet the politics s of this. amy: what about who has been appointed? oiligarchy. you have rex tillerson, the former head of exxonmobil. you have governor perry was on the board of energy transfer partners. your thoughts on that? mr. whitehouse: all of that hurts and sends the message that the climate denial operation they have been involved in is actually legitimate. who would have imagined the fossil fuel industry calculated this information, would now have

outlets in the official united states. it is provocative. people across america are seeing that and getting mad and standing up. the importance of environmental issues is soaring in the polls. huge crowds are coming out here. you cannot get through a town hall any longer without people coming out. it makes a big difference. it lets people in washington no that the public is -- know that the public is thing attention. -- paying attention. if everyone out there is asleep, watching other things on the couch, they will follow dark money and special interests.. when the public is engaged, they have to pay attention. amy: your thoughts on president trump saying this week that being present was harder than he thought? mr. whitehouse: who knew?

health care e is propagated. russia is our arrival and our enemy. watching this guy get educated is sad. amy: on the issue of russia, wouldn't it be helpful to communicate with them? mr. whitehouse: absolutely. it would be helpful to know if they have something on mr. trump that is a failsafe if it comes to real conflict that they can all because of some business deal or other transaction that putin is aware of and where not. that is why we are working hard in the house intelligence committee to figure out what took place. amy: do you have republican senators working with you as well? my chairman is lindsey graham, republican of south carolina. we have one hearing already. we have another one schedule. we a are going to keep going. amy: what about the supreme

court and what is at stake and how it relates to the environment and how it relates to big-money and politics? mr. whitehouse: the stakes are huge. the five republican justices on the supreme court brought us citizens united. that brought death to o climate action in the senate. when i got to the senate in 2007, there were bipartisan climate bills everywhere. since then, there has not been a single bipartisan climate bill to regulate carbon dioxide em issions. they used that new political weaponry to shut down this debate. the supreme court that will continue to propagate unlimited corporate money and dark money in politics is going to continue to degrade american democracy and make it more important for people to come to places like ththis and make sure they are heard. amy: northth k korea, certainly

nuclear war threatens the climate and the enentire enenvironment. what do you think of the ramping up of the rhetoric, a also the increasingombing from afghanistan, dropping the togest nonnuclear bomb ever what is happening in iran and syria? mr. whitehouse: i wish that i felt that the multiple conflicting messages coming out of the trumpmp administration or the twitter account of the present were part of a well thought through strategy for dealing with the dangerous and unpredictable enemy. if that is not part of a thought through strategy, they need to boot.ck and reare

you cannot take on an issue like this random multiple strategies. if it is, i would like to understand what they're doing. amy: the role of dark money in politics? mr. whitehouse: it is brutal and politics. tv screenpears on the behind phony organizations with names like rhode islanders for copies and prosperity, which everyone watching the ad knows don't exist. but worse in the threats that unlimited spending allows people with money to make. it is not so much that exxonmobil might spend unlimited money, but they can now go to a congressman or senator and say, now we can spend unlimited money in politics, and if you don't line up, we are coming after you. that threat is dangerous and corrupting. amy: your evaluation of the first 100 days? mr. whitehouse: horrible.

disgraceful. amy: do you think he will make it to the end? mr. whitehouse: i don't. amy: senator sheldon whitehouse. i am amy goodman. keep watching. that was senator sheldon whitehouse of rhode island speaking at the reflecting all in front of congress -- pool in front of congress. many of the elected leaders and indigenous leaders gathered for news conferences and talking. now they are here. six and pennsylvania. this is the beginning of the march. we are covering the people's climate march. tens of thousands of people have come out. they are now standing behind their banners, about to begin the march behind us. we thought we would start out with a young person who has come

to washington, d.c. tell us your name. >> my name is austin. i am representing -- amy: where is that? >> indianapolis, indiana. nermeen: why do you think it is important to be here? >> change is not going to happen if we are sitting around a desk all day. we should do action. amy: why are you involved with environmental issues? >> it is close to my heart. we live in a food desert. we don't have access to food. amy: display and what you mean by that term. >> there are no grocery stores within the vicinity, within a mile. the closest we have our dollar general and family dollar. we don't have access to healthy food. because of climate change and this terrain that we cannot grow plants on, we have to go to other places. we are left with nothing. amy: how many people are there

like you here? >> there are a lot of young people here. there are over 100 different young people representing their organizations at the front of the march. amy: we hear that behind us. oh my gosh. let's see if we can see. we have signs like message from my mama. protect our planet. this land is our land. as people begin to march, how do you feel? >> i have to get in mind. amy: thank you for joining us. if we can send that camera to look right here, you see the camera, and people are lining up. they are taking over the street. we are right across from the museum. i have to make a comment. that is the museum or local news organizations -- for news

organizations. primary debates -- general election debates, not one of the gentlemen moderating the debates asked the question about climate change. people deeply concerned about the fate of the planet. will pointhe newseum that out one day, with the corporate media did and did not do. nermeen: not only during the primary debates, as we have talked about on this show, climate change whenever there is an extreme climate event, mainstream networks will cover it but never talk about the connections between extremely hot, extremely cold weather and storms that happen in the united states. amy: that is critical. you have the networks always turning to weather. they have severe weather centers, extreme weather centers. they would talk about the drought, the hurricane, the

unseasonable cold. today is a hot day in washington. making these connections is critical. people are excited. we have a guest right here. why don't you introduce yourself. >> i am chris, and i am with kentuckians for the commonwealth. amy: where are you from? >> lexington. kftc.ere to represent we are a number of the climate justice alliance. we are here to get beyond this of a newd become part majority. amy: you have a tremendous power base in kentucky. u.s. senator mitch mcconnell. where do you stand when it comes to his policies? >> i don't agree with most of mitch mcconnell's policies. kentuckians are speaking with mitch mcconnell every day.

we're working to pass the reclaim act. he is working with congressman rogers. we're going to introduce the same version of the reclaim act to the house and senate, which backbring abandoned mines to kentucky to do reclamation projects. a communityring in engagement part as a requirement and require that it has economic development as well. nermeen: what is the climate justice alliance? is it a u.s. network, international, and what are the principal concerns? >> the climate justice alliance is a huge group of environmental networks that is led by people of color, people on the front is part of that alliance because kentucky is on the front lines of the transition away from fossil

fuel. we see people in kentucky that are harmed by the loss of cold jobs. -- coal. jobs. we agree we need to take a hold of this transition and shape it in a way that does not leave workers and communities find, in ways that -- behind, in ways that bring jobs back. opportunity is an for kentuckians. it is not a burden. kftc is trying to help that process happen. amy: we're going to look behind us. we see little windmills. we see people caring signs. -- carrying signs. let me ask you about senator mcconnell and his position on coal. >> he thinks we can bring back coal jobs and so does donald trump. i don't think that is likely to

happen. i read the ceo of duke energy was asked about the future of coal in america, and he said there is no future. we need to bring about a different future for appalachia. the benefits will literally pay for themselves. for energyhomes adjustments, and we finance them on the bill with the electric company. amy: thank you for joining us. what is your website? >> kftc.org. kentuckiansforthe commonwealth.org. amy: thank you. people are holding up signs. protect our planet. i am with her with an arrow to mother earth. thousands of people have begun to march. they are coming down pennsylvania avenue. then they are going to split and

form a ring around the white house. it will be the largest encirclement of the white house has ever sit in that been seen, they are claiming. an interesting, not exactly civil disobedience, but people engaging and putting their bodies on the line. nermeen: that is right. it is amazing it comes on a day in washington, d.c., where temperatures are expected to rise to 93 degrees, which exceeds the record ever since temperatures were kepth here. april is already the warmest month on record. amy: that follows the warmest year, 2016, surpassing only 2015. i think i smelled the smoke before you came. tell us your name. >> i am from san antonio texas. amy: tell us what you're

holding. >> this is a sacred fire. amy: why the sacred fire? >> it represents the fire we hold within, and it is a form of protection. it helps us with our prayers and intentions on this day that we are standing up for mother earth and future generations. nermeen: explain what you think the connections are between indigenous rights and climate change. >> i think for a long time indigenous sovereignty and voices have been marginalized as communities that have never had a voice in climate justice, but we have always had a connection with mother nature. we have always had a connection with our waters, with the intention of preserving this planet for future generations. those are traditions that indigenous people all the way from alaska to chile we have

always preserved no matter what nation. amy: talk about the environmental struggles you have been involved with and where those struggles have taken place. >> as a water protector of texas, we have been fighting as part of movements against pipelines, innst the central texas region where oil rigging is common, fracking is prominent, and it disturbs our communities. there is a lot of cancer, asthma, illness caused by environmental damage to our communities. amy: what is your message to president trump? >> our message is to recognize that climate change is very much needed. indigenous voices need to be heard. we have always been here protecting those rights. we will continue fighting for those rights as long as we have our the grounded, we are part of

the take roots coalition, a network of environmental organizations, particularly in texas, southwest workers union that we work with, in addition to the society of native nations and a lot of other movements committed to making a voice and taking a stand against this administration that is trampling our earth, and as it is doing that, it is trampling our kids and future generations. amy: thank you for joining us. nermeen: thank you. amy: this is the people's climate march. we're bringing you the voices from the march. people are chanting. people are holding up signs. it began at the reflecting pull down by the capitol. our next guest, joining us now, is wearing a black lives matter t-shirt. >> my name is jasmine. amy: talk about where you are

from and why you're here. d.c.am here from in amy: then you can ask us why we are here. >> i hope i know why you're here. it is a good cause. we are on the same page. we realize people of color are disproportionately affected by climate change. it is time to end the war on black america in all the ways that happens. that includes chemical warfare in the form of land, air, and water pollution. we are marching and standing up for that and demanding everyone take action on that today. nermeen: explain why you think african-americans are more affected by climate change, minority communities are more affected? >> i believe it happens because it is easier to target the most disenfranchised and impoverished.

so many black and brown people are busy fighting the massive amounts of fights we have, police brutality, housing, the vegan and homelessness, -- eviction and homelessness, hunger, and we are not always to to fight long-term issues. nermeen: how do you see that layout in washington, d.c.? levels, the school lead are high. the national average for asthma is 9%. 12% because ofs the amount of pollution. ward seven and ward eight are the lowest incomes and the most disenfranchised, the most poc in d.c., and we are the lowest level, the most vulnerable to sea level rises.

amy: talk about the organizations you are involved with. are ack lives matter d.c. collective that enjoys resistance. we are in this fight. amy: the you have a website? >> check out blacklivesmatter dc.org. check us out on facebook as well. amy: thank you. the people are marching behind us. we are going to speak with yet another person. one of the tens of thousands of people. i look forward to hearing an estimate of how many people have come out. i am amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. we are here on broadcast, radio, and television, the only news organization doing this five hour broadcast. behind us are people marching

with incredibly creative signs. one of us is going to wade in with a camera and read some of the signs and talk to people. we have a guest joining us. >> i'm a member of iraq veterans against the war. amy: from where? >> new york city. amy: what are you doing here? >> we are participating with the it takes roots organization. we are one of the coalitions with them as well as the indigenous environmental network and climate justice alliance. nermeen: what is the link between war and climate change? >> from my own experience, inerstanding the communities iraq, seeing the similarities between indigenous communities, the continued investment in the divesting froms

our communities to have better education and health care. nermeen: the it takes roots coalition, what is that? >> there are four main coalitions, but it is looking at the three giants mlk mentioned. looking at capitalism, racism, and militarism. u.s. military is the largest polluter in the world, and the way it operates is just an extractive industry. it is able to bring capitalist interests in a country to take away their resources and take away resources from our own country, not just natural resources but human resources. not being able to have people who have opportunities that could be provided to them if there were deeper investments.

looking at the military as an option when it says it wants to be as part of of other countries to have their own freedoms. nermeen: how long were you in iraq? >> 15 months. amy: you were -- you are quite critical. why did you choose to go? >> why did i choose to go to iraq? those were my orders. not having at first the words or understanding the history. now a group is passing us that says, we are the creators of sanctuary. climate destruction ahead. she is 100% clean energy. there is no planet b. nice to, it is not frack with the earth. we love the earth, we vote.

wildlife cannot march. ruledn: a nation of sheep by wolves, won by pigs. something like that. amy: coming soon, glacier free national park. real fact, glaciers are 80% smaller. that is from 1940 two 2017. #fixthepipes. impeach putin's pinocchio. science is not in alternative fact. change the politicians, not the climate. the threat is real. as you read these signs, talk about your thoughts. >> they are great signs.

with the military, you know, the u.s. military understands climate change is real, and that helps to influence how it operates in the world. wanting to take access to resources from other countries. amy: are you concerned about speaking out? are you still in the military? >> i am not currently in the military. i don't think it is anything wrong speaking out. just understanding that we should be supporting each other in our collective freedom. we have veterans that want to support frontline impacted communities and able to grow and be invested in, and find the best possible futures for themselves. amy: thank you for being with us. iraq veterans against the war.

this is democracy now. we are broadcasting live from the people's climate summit. what is your name? >> monique. amy: talk about where you're from. >> i am from new orleans, louisiana. i'm here with a large delegation of african-americans, environment of justice activists. we have over 300 students from historically black colleges and universities. in of power plants are african-american communities across the united states. what we do to make energy from oil, gas, and coal is devastating communities of color and poor white communities. demonstrating against climate change means making sure people have justice and a safe place to call home. amy: what is your assessment of the trump administration? oppositethe absolute

of everything we fight for, from civil rights and human rights to environmental quality. all of these things are on the chopping block with this administration. it is an administration about human rights abuses and violations. amy: talk about your work in the south. >> my work focuses on fighting dirty polluting industries. from the bedroom windows of many of the people i work with, you see smokestacks. the pollution that began with skin rashes, nosebleeds, asthma, cancer is now warming our planet. we are not just seeing that on the front-end in terms of the causes of climate change them but also the backend with the effects. are inels rising your we an endangered area of the united states because of coastal destruction brought on by the oil and gas industry.

this is a time to unite with people around this country and around the world. amy: what does it mean to you to have a republican administration, republican control congress? is it much different from when democrats had control of one body of the congress or when president obama was in office? >> it is a big difference. becomeublican party have bought and owned by the oil and gas district. with democratic leadership, we have seen more openness and accessibility to fighting and enforcing existing laws and improving them with environmental justice policies and dealing with the help burdens on our communities. with the republican leadership now, especially scott pruitt, who has made it his mission to destroy the agency has been appointed to run, it is a huge problem. it is making us focus inward.

what can we do at the city level, state level, regionally? folks from florida, alabama, texas, louisiana working together to make the change we need to see. not relying on this administration, but trying to defend what we have right now. amy: monique, we thank you for being here for all of your great work. her hat says hbcu consortium. historically black colleges and universities. >> over 300 students from southeast united states, where much of our hbcu's are located. they're working on their campuses on climate justice. incredible talent and leadership. vote for the future. amy: we will be at the senate congregational church tonight talking about all of these issues and what it means to cover the movement over the last 21 years that democracy now has

been broadcasting. with democracy now, i'm amy goodman. i'm with nermeen shaikh. i'm getting some signal that i have a limited amount of time in this last piece. let's see the time right now. ok, it looks like we have to break for a minute. we coming back at the top of the hour. this is the people''s climate summmmit from washington, d.c. ♪ [♪] [music break]

>> [indiscernible] this is democracy now!, democracynow.org. we are at the people's climate march in washington, d.c. the weather, about 90 degrees. it is about -- it is supposed to be one of the hottest april 29 in history. that is part of why people have come not only from around the country, but around the globe. are has happened, we

undeserving avenue, thousands of people have begun to march and they're going to encircle the white house and it down. im amy goodman with nermeen shaikh, -- i am amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. here withnd we are two guests. can you introduce yourselves? very happy to be here with you and tell you about our sister. say, berta, the honduran environmental leader, she was a goldman environmental prize winner for her community. where do you live? live in virginia. i came here in 1972. it hurts that my sister was killed and the only thing i can ask you is to tell the to do the of honduras

right thing and find the killer of my sister. they had eight people in jail. but i asked the government of honduras to do something about and find the people who are responsible for her death. the president should know about this. the president of honduras. nermeen: and why don't you introduce yourself? you have been working on what is happening in honduras. >> hi, i am melissa cox. i am a let american solidarity worker and we are calling for justice in the case of berta, which means the berta caceres act, which is legislation in the house of representatives right now. it is calling for the suspension of security aid to honduras.

$18 billion of security aid. we have 51 cosponsors currently. we are asking that people call their representatives and urge them to sponsor the bill. suspensionll cover until which time the honduran can bring thes perpetrators to justice, of human rights violations, including the intellectual authors behind the assassination of berta caceres. , her family,eres human rights organizations across honduras, the organization she cofounded, including all of the honduran human rights organizations, they are all urging support of the bill. we have over 100 organizations in the u.s., including the sierra club, the environmental network, including afl-cio, all

endorsing and calling for this legislation to pass. norma torres is not calling for the passage of this bill, given that she is from quite a mullah. the security aid that we guatemala. -- from the security aid that we continue to send legitimizes the relationships that historically have ravaged the country. berta caceres and her sister had because of violence. we have not had policy shifts for decades. that is why we see so many people coming your. that is why we are asking for people to support this bill. at hundreds of organizations in the u.s. and latin america are calling for an independent organization into the murder of berta caceres.

why can you tell us about berta got so interested in the environment? old,nce she was 17 years she used to speak, and she was only 17 years old when she learned of the misery be people were going through. -- and so,eported she got involved in that. that she was 17 years old and she was a founder. who can not have a voice into the government of honduras. was verya caceres critical of hillary clinton, who was secretary of state. understood, berta

she was number one on a death list in honduras. >> exactly. thatrobably had decided berta was going to be killed, the people who killed her were claiming -- [indiscernible] so, yes. nermeen: what is the situation now of environmental activists in honduras? been a lot of killing, you know, of people who try to defend the land, the , the things that they are trying to destroy. and everyone who was involved in that gets killed. nermeen: honduras is one of the most -- >> honduras is one of the most dangerous places in the world

for a journalist to work. it is still one of the most dangerous places to be an environmental offender. over 100 people have been murdered, assassinated since 2010, and standing rock is an example of what our police and the militarization of our police have done here. the same money we are sending to the police in standing rock to militarize them, to criminalize a peaceful protest and organizing, that is the same money we are sending to honduras for the police and the military to do the same thing, so the president is criminalizing people's protest and activist problematic is very , so we are working for a shift in relationships. we want to thank you very much for joining us. you have a website you would like to share? >> yes, people can go to

otherworl dsarepossible.org/justiceforbert a. that is the landing page where people can endorse the organization, find information on how to call the representatives on behalf of the bill. where also starting a social media campaign, trying to get people to take pictures with the sign and tweaked it out to their social media networks. much.hank you so my condolences to your family. >> i am very happy to be with you. i admire all the work you have done. amy: thank you so much. i will say one sign in capsule leigh did this -- the oceans are rising, and so are we -- encapsulated this. the oceans are rising and so our way. it is wonderful to have spoken to you. we are going to turn to our , somewhere in the

crowd. >> we are here in the middle of the climate march year on pennsylvania avenue. i am here with melinda of lancaster against pipelines. melinda, tell me what you are here for today and why you are here. >> we have been fighting the lancaster pipeline project, a proposed pipeline that takes gas from the marcellus shale region to export. we have been fighting it because we think it is a violation of our rights and destruction of the land. we have learned much destruction it does to the environment and the community is dead set against it. has been created by someone in our community who has said, i do not agree with this pipeline and i am making a statement. we decided we wanted to make something beautiful, but this is what lancaster does.

no, you cannot bring this to our community and we have almost 900 people who have signed pledges to come out and do nonviolent mass action to stop it. that is what we are looking for to stop it. carla: talk about how damaging fracking has been to your community question mark >> the thing about fracking mostly is the damage to water. so much freshwater is used and there is so much wastewater. the wastewater goes into the wells to threaten earthquakes and also people's drinking water. that is one of the big things against it. it in they, keep ground. we have more ways to get energy. that is what we are trying to do. and the industry, where do they stand? >> they have not been helping us at all. besides of the aisle, democrats and republicans, have not been helping us.

probably thousands are standing up to do just that. carla: we are marching toward the white house now. white will surround this house. again, carla williams of people's climate watch here in washington, d.c. >> thank you so much for being yeyear. i apappreciate it. > thank you. -- >> thank you so much for being here. amy: this is the people's climate march. thank you so much to carla is out there. our whole team is out there. there is a team with us right now. i am amy goodman, host of democracy now! is talking to people. i see someone i saw last week at the march for science.

clearly, she is relentless. julia olson, what are you doing back? amy, we have been here all week. we did a speak out with u.s. senators, young people suing the trouble administration for violating their rights to life, liberty, and property under the u.s. constitution. amy: i see your sticker. what does that mean? >> that is the #, people trying to secure their rights. amy: you started with the obama administration. >> that's right. for over five decades the u.s. government has been taking action to embed a fossil peel system that is creating climate change. amy: what is your name? >> i am ajit and i am actually

from washington. amy: why are you involved with the power of the people can only go so far. amy: why do you care about the environment so much? drinking i care about freshwater and breathing clean air and living a future? my life is out there. and we talk about climate change, we are talking about saving people's lives, and not really the planet. be future generations will impacted by this. it's the future generations lives that are at stake here. amy: can you tell me your name? >> my name is levi. amy: how old are you? >> i'm nine years old. amy: what are you doing here? >> i am here for the people's climate watch. amy: are you part of the lawsuit? >> yes, i am the youngest

plaintiff in this lawsuit. amy: so, why, why are you part of a lawsuit at nine years old? lawsuitpart of this because i want to have a stable environment for my future and future generations' future. amy: where do you live? >> i live in florida. amy: where? >> in the atlantic. it is a barrier island. amy: how is it affected by climate change? a we are having erosion and giant drought in florida and there has been way more wildfires than their normally is. and also, i am on a barrier island, so if climate change continues, then sea level rise will be worse than it already is, and florida could be underwater and i would not have a home. can i ask where you are from, how old you are? >> i am 15. i am from the navajo reservation

in arizona. amy: talk about how climate change affects you. >> climate change is affect things my -- affecting my reservation -- my reservation. we already only have a good amount of drinking water to live on. i am trying to preserve everything that my culture has. water, wet have any will not preserve anything. amy: do you have a message for president trump? >> don't mess up too much. amy: don't mess up too much. how about you guys? >> i think my messages, we will see you in court. amy: levi? earth.t frack our amy: don't frack hours.

thank you for being with us as we speak over the din of protest. let me read you some of the signs as nermeen shaikh rejoins us. i hope will never be silent. be kind to your mother, with a picture of planet earth. ols.il fo inquisitor.grand prewitt.ce, trump or there is no planet b. sustainable energy now. renewable energy is where the money is, stupid. can you tell us why you are carrying that sign and what your name is? there. in am grace from new hampshire. i am a priest and the opposable church. my sign is kind of cheeky today. on one side is says i am in 90

,egree heat and it sucks because my collar is made of plastic and the other side says, because trump is a businessman, renewable energy is where the money is, stupid. kind of cheeky today. heart of our job is standing up for justice and getting across the information that there is a religious progressive movement in this country, and i think that jesus would be out in the streets with the people, asking for justice. amy: tell us your name again? >> [indiscernible] amy: thank you for joining us. eight your sticker says "no! drive out trump/pence fascist regime." to beould like him impeached so i could have my weakens free again.

amy: we will turn out to democracy now!'s carla wills. with: i am standing here our guest now of the hip-hop caucus. this is right across the street from trump international hotel. so, talk about why you are here. you were here last week. >> the climate march is so important because it represents communities who have been affected bynately toxins. we are making our voices are heard. energy back tois our community and make sure that we get in gauged in the political process, make sure we

elect individuals who care about and if we choose to make legislation that is not helpful to our community, folks are ready, folks are mobilized, happening.ange is communitye manchester in texas, primarily a latino community. when you take a breath of air, your breathing and gasoline fumes. we have a community in louisiana that has been exposed to dioxins, cancer-causing chemicals, which are created havoc inside that community. you have african towns where the pipe lines are happening in communities. .ou have flint, michigan you have chicago. we have the brothers and sisters at standing rock, our indigenous

brothers and sisters standing up for a water rights in making sure we have those, and you have the west coast dealing with diesel omissions. we have communities that are appalachian, dealing with mountaintop mining, but also chemicals in the rivers. many people remember the elk river exposure situation not too long ago and of course, the storms and the impacts from sandy. bridgeville, and african-american community found floodingslavery, had a event. we know what happened after katrina. that is why we are standing and we will march and move forward to make positive change in all of our communities across america. carla: and of course, the communities you just talked blackare primarily communities. have you reach out to make them more involved? >> this march is

very diverse. it is driven by the people and for the people. it is amazing once you start to that our and make sure indigenous communities, our communities of color, and our lower income communities, give them the voice, but also open up the space for them to be the leaders, it changes the dynamic. real change comes from that. ali, formerly with -- no with the hip-hop caucus. you heard the crowd booing because they are rutgers the street from trump international hotel right here behind me, and of course, people are blowing because of that. we are now marching toward trump's residence, the white house, where people will surround the white house with banners and signs, sitting into road test the demonstration.

again, this is carla wills, p pt of the people's climate march here on democracy now! amy: that is carla wills, speaking to us from somewhere in the middle of the march, and that march is very big. there are tens of thousands of people here in washington at the climate march. here covering this with nermeen shaikh. --ht now we just bumped into , the cofounder of codepink, who is actually headed to guantanamo, the prison, tomorrow. edea: actually, i am going to the city of guantanamo. it is very apropos of the climate march because u.s.

occupation has destroyed the livelihood for the fishermen, destroyed the coral reef, and it is just one example of over 800 u.s. military bases around the coralthat have destroyed reef, farmland, fisheries, and forest. i think it is really important to be bringing in the issue, to really understand how the money that is being sucked up by the pentagon and these military bases overseas and the wars that we are waging is money that should be going to address the climate crisis. amy: what is the sign that you are holding? ea: it says war is the number one polluter. it could have said pentagon is the number one polluter. and also to recognize how wars are now being fought for resources, and war destroys the

planet. there is a vicious circle. is one of our messages calling for divestment from fossil fuels. we also have a call for divestment from the weapons industry to show how these two are so intertwined. nermeen: tell us about the proposed increases for the military budget under the trump administration. the military budget was already so bloated. and now people can see because he is directly connecting it -- we are going to take it out of the epa, preschool programs, meals on wheels, climate protection. so, i think it's a good opportunity for people who have not paid attention to the issues of pentagon and the wars to now recognize that all the things we , we have to take it

out of the pentagon and put it into life-affirming activities, putting into programs that are going to save this planet. you have-- nermeen: been antiwar activist for many, many years. there is all of this rhetoric with north korea, the trump administration making many claims about what the north korean regime is doing and how they respond. medea: the two existential to the planet are nuclear war and the clinical and now we have a guy in the white house making prints to north korea and he is making -- making threats to north korea, and he is scaring me to death. acrosspart of a group from north korea to south korea. we are working with 40 different women from 40 different countries to really get out

there and say to all of our governments, we must stop this madness. there are political solutions to the crisis in korea, but south korean women are the ones most distressed, because they know the response from north korea could wipe out the south immediately. thes important time to make connection between climate catastrophe and nuclear war, but to really say right now to our senators, please do not let president trump take us into a nuclear war with north korea. nermeen: what you think -- can you explain trump's escalation of words and threats with north korea right now? medea: well, i think he is an macho man and when he sees that north korea will do a test of a missile, trump says we will up do a test, and this

is why the people that are involved are so dangerous. this would be an absolute devastation of our planet. i am afraid these two could take us into a nuclear war. nermeen: medea, talk about -- the medea, talk about bombing of afghanistan with the largest nonnuclear bomb ever developed. developed by bush, he did not drop it. president obama did not drop it. within weeks, president trump dropped that bomb with a mild bomb blast radius. can you talk about this progression? that weourse, saying could come into conflict in north korea, at the same time saying, oh, being president is harder than i expect it -- i expected? medea: i think people have the

illusion because he said things during the campaign that these wars have not gotten as anything he would be more rational. it turns out that donald trump loves war. he has escalated every single conflict. he escalated conflict in syria. he escalated the conflict in iraq. he does not care about killing civilians. he has indicated to the military they should not release figures on how many civilian casualties they are -- amy: how do you know that? because the pentagon is now releasing those figures. we are seeing an escalation in every single category and i thesewe should make climate collection -- connections as well, just going back to the way the war in syria started. there is a drought that caused cities.o flood into the we know that there are wars for

resources. we really have to make these connections. the peace movement has been tough since the time of obama. it has been hard to get people , saying war is the number one devastator of the planet. donald trump loves war. we better get out and stop donald trump from dragging us into a war. -- cando have to ask you you explain your getup? medea: my getup is my imagination of mother earth. i am holding a balloon, and -- amy: you're wearing your signature pink. on.a: i have my toga and we have our tablets.

each of them have a different message on them. it's really to connect the issues of war and the climate and also the pink and the flowers is to say, even though is -- we want to show the kind of world we want to live in which is one with flowers and beauty and compassion. amy: a major blackboard is going by that says "climate change affects us all. stand up for science. our health and safety depends on it." just some of the creative signs that are right now passing by us in this march. keepers of the faith are standing up. they are ready to go. are we resist, we build, we rise. so, you are headed to cuba tomorrow?

most people may not realize that guantanamo is anything but a prison. medea: that is why we are meeting with the community. we are proposing to them that they do a referendum whether they want the u.s. base to be there or not and we send it to thatnal observers to show the people of guantanamo should have a say in how their land is used. we live where there are 800 military bases, and they should have a say for how their land is used. using our military to defend us at home and stop active buying other people's land. amy: i want to ask you about your report card for grassroots resistance. in terms of the

resistance, i live in washington, d.c. not a day goes by that i do not go to protest. there's something happening every signal day. last night we were on the streets with resist ants, a mournful dance that ended up at from power. resist dance, a wonderful dance that ended up at trump tower. amy: you have the white house and you have trump international hotel. people may have heard about this , his family trump rents the old post office from the government, although it has a least that says you cannot be a public official and run this place. medea: that's right, and it's a wonderful location for us because it is oh convenient. we have protests every single week. last night we went to the epa and the justice department. we went to the white house. this is a "target rich city in terms of her test, and we really

feel like the resistance is getting an a and we should move to an a plus, because we can always step it up a little more. amy: it is hot here. is this unusual? medea: this is amazing for this time of year. we have never had it in the 90's. i dread to think what it is going to be like in july and august. amy: medea benjamin, cofounder of codepink. interestingly, even as you are being dragged out of national defense university while president obama was giving a speech explaining his from worse, he said, you should listen to that woman, as you are being dragged out by his security. interrupted trump wants. he did not say that woman should be listened to. he said get her out of here. [laughter] amy: this is democracy now! i am here with nermeen shaikh.

is in the crowd. our entire team is here bringing you the voice of this mass protest. is oneelieved that this of the hottest days this city has seen. i can be a testament to this. but we are going to be joined by another guest, and she is -- >> thank you for speaking with me. my name is sera. we are here at trump tower, a group of more than 20 animal protection organizations with the message that everybody can can a difference today, make a change by adding more plant-based foods to their diet. singleagriculture is the biggest cause of climate change, more than all planes, trains, and cars but together.

we are here in the u.s. we are international. and through outreach, we are saying to people, why not stop your meat consumption? maybe go veg? for their health, for animals, and for the planet. think, has the movement for animal inequality as you define it, has it been growing in the u.s.? absolutely. it's amazing how many innovators are out there creating amazing plant-based products. you do not have to go without anything. you can get phenomenal vegan cheeses and ice creams. there are websites helping you to go vegan, supporting it, encouraging you, telling you how it will improve your health. amy: what are some of those websites? is an amazing website. you have five minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, you have a

small budget, bigger budget. nermeen: where are you from? >> i'm from england originally. my organization has had evidence here, and i am based in boston today. amy: how did you become vegan? >> it was a long journey for me. i was a journalist for the first six years of my career. and then i wanted to have a more positive, powerful effect. and so i transitioned into the nonprofit sector. and then i worked in human rights. i worked as the communications the climate council. some of the people that were here -- outdoor is here today and he was there then. for me, it is about people, animals, and environments being in harmony.

i am really, really pleased that we are invited to talk to the coalition of organizations. we have a gigantic cow over our section of the parade, which, you know, is giving everyone a thrill. we are happy to be part of this. thank you so much. we are going to be coming back wiwills, somewhere hee in thehe middle ofof the massese at the people's time of march. -- the people's climate march. carla: this is carla wills. we are about a block away from the white house. i am here with laura from rockaway youth task force, and what made you come all the way

down from new york? >> we are from far rockaway. we are on the beach. it is also a federally labeled food desert, which means there's not a lot of access to healthy, organic produce. happens, ae change lot of the communities affect it first our community is of color and communities struggling with things like being a food desert. that is why we are here, not just to represent new york, but the rockaways. were hite rockaways hard by hurricane sandy. ura: they were extremely hard-hit. part of the problems of being a food desert, they are still recovering from sandy. the infrastructure is still damaged, so that is why we are here. talk about the group you

have here and how they are affected. laura: sure. we look at issues like to justice. we have a community art and where over 70 families are able to grow their own fresh and organic road is. and we work on issues like racial equality, accountability, changing the public education system, and getting young people to be more civic leading gauged, because that is really our only hope at this point, especially under trump. and the climate justice movement has been very inclusive of these issues like to justice, racial issue. why is that so important? fundamentally connected. communities of color are limit change. by we saw that with sandy. there are communities where they have not finished repairing damages -- carla: the public houses --

laura: the public houses for new york city, exactly. all of these are intersected. if we do not have the means to grow our food properly, we are in huge trouble, especially in communities where there is already a lack. carla: of course, we are in the middle of the people's climate march walking to the white house. what is going to happen, people atl sit down and take a shot creating one human heartbeat to send this message about climate justice and the need for it and stand together with one roar to send this message to this administration about the need for policies that will support our communities. again, carla wills here with the people's clime march. ,my: thatt was carla wills speaking from somewhere within this massive people's climate here in washington, d.c.,

the nation's capitol. it started here, at pennsylvania and 6th. it is making its way to the white house. we have gotten estimates on how many people are here. we believe it must be along the lines of -- well, deftly tens of thousands of evil. who knows if it is 100,000 more. i am amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. nermeen: we are here with pooja. can you tell us who you are? i am here because i want communities, refugees, folks of color, especially from the bay area because those are the people that we work with, and i am from california. nermeen: talk about the issues

that you confront in the bay area. yeah, the refineries in california, five of them are of the bay area, and you can imagine how they are affected by climate change. in 2012, when the chevron explosion happen, a lot of my families were affected and a lot of community members i grew up with, i have worked with, were affected and what did chevron do to compensate her that? they decided to get a $1000 .cholarship i'm very passionate about this issue. nermeen: do you see in the bay area minorities are impacted more by climate change than others? puja: definitely. nermeen: what you think that is? we are on the frontlines of the environment of crisis, social dishes, other issues that are happening that i can connect with. yeah, definitely frontline

communities, minority communities are being affected most. amy: i wanted to ask you about chevron. they have a major refinery in richmond. according to history, when it comes to fires, pollution, explain how you have organized? puja: we have been going to city hall's. we recognize that not everyone is aware of the issue. are not awaree that climate change exists. we have something called the transition principle, one of our solutions where we organize local people to showcase whatever clean energy experiments they have to show to the community. that is one of the solutions. amy: i want to thank you so much for being here and talking to us.

i don't think anything you have said is anything to sneeze at. [laughter] amy: do you have a website? puja: yes, the pacific environment network. amy: it looks like the crowd is coming through of the last contingent right now. i see a man -- sir, sir. i see you are carrying a sign that says i march for staying in the climate convention. i march for staying in the climate convention. what is your name? where are you from? from if thedennis good, new york. that is upstate new york. amy: what people are saying behind you -- when the winds of change blow, some build walls. some build windmills. down, down with the pipeline, up, up with the

people, that is what they are chanting. amy: talk more about why you are here. leadingnk scott pruitt the epa as a disaster for our nation and the planet. it's very critical we stay in the climate change agreement. we worked hard to get there finally. and locally, i think it is critically important that people begin to organize at the local level and enforce laws at the local level. in our case, we have one of new york's largest freshwater lakes, cayuga lake, and right now we have the largest private organization the country, cargo, and we are very worried about the future of the lake. enforcing at to the state level now that the epa may or less be out of action. nermeen: tell us about cargo. what did they do and how have they been involved in the harms

of climate change? >> they are in 70 countries. they said unless you give us $640,000 in tax credits, we will pull our 80 jobs and leave and go somewhere else. they do not recognize the authority of new york state to enforce underground mining regulations, which is extraordinary in the state and age. for thank you so much joining us. i just want to get an ok that you can hear our mics loud and clear. we are on the road working with all sorts of technology. we are here with the people's climate march. there are a lot of people who have lined up to speak, and we are going to talk to the next person now. leslie, can you talk about why you are here? wharton, with

elders climate action. we are a national rebuff elders who came together to basically protect children and .randchildren most of us are not working. we are not trying to get jobs. we are not trying to get a promotion. we have the moral authority because what we are looking out for is not our personal interest, our investment, but the legacy we leave behind -- our families, our children, people who will carry our dna into the future. so, we have been pushing congress to put a tax on carbon, , andthe externalities pay to support federal action and we are doing a lot of eight and local action. we have chapters in michigan, in massachusetts, forming in the east bay area, san francisco, here in the d.c. area, all over the country. asare elders working

volunteers, and we were basically a volunteer organization. nermeen: how did you yourself become involved in climate change? >> i was concerned about climate change. i have read i pcc reports -- ipcc reports, the sermon view, and i got a notice about a climate action day when they were going to lobby congress and i was scared out of my mind. can i -- i don't think i can do that. but i decided to step out of my comfort zone. sheldon whitehouse spoke to us. and it was very exciting and we got trained by the climate lobby folks and i went into the halls of congress and felt, oh, my god, it is really like a strip mall. you can go in and knock on doors and it is not frightening and

people are there. i signed up afterwards to volunteer and i got a phone call and i have now been very active for the last year and a half. as a matter of fact, i was part of the committee that put the elders action conference together that we held thursday and friday of this week leading into the climate change. amy: i was wondering if this person could come out -- could you get -- excuse me. excuse me. i just saw a sign that said -- , anda martial islander seeing if it is possible she could come and speak with us. we would like to talk to you. we would like to talk to you -- i am a martial islander --

marshall islander. leslie, if you can come back and join us. that's ok. i thought it was interesting to bring two different communities together, and also for you to share your website. >> yes, eldersclimateactio n.org. take a, facebook page, look. from elders leslie clement action. thank you so much, leslie. if you could come over -- i am a marshall islander. can you tell us where you come from? marshallrom -- islands. amy: why are you here today? >> because my home is threatened.

the water is rising. the water washes our beach. amy: and so, you thought it was important enough to come here today? >> yes. amy: i thank you so much. you so much. we have a long line of people. tristan from alaska. tell us your name and where you're from. i am tristan from fairfax, alaska. i do a lot of work organizing for climate justice, organizing to acknowledge the impact of climate change and also recognizing we are the cause of it, right? fossil fuel extraction economy, all about oil. we are addressing those aspects. >> are there a lot of youth there? >> a lot of our youth around the state are very concerned with the impacts of climate change

we're seeing. it is hard to go outside because the smoke is so thick. you can be sick just to go outside. other communities, on the coast ,re facing such coastal erosion especially in our alaskan native communities. they are eroding. so, we are very much in crisis. everyone impacts that has to see. i think part of the message from the arctic is we really need to take action, yeah. amy: thank you for joining us. i see behind us some beautiful artwork on these posters and it is a glacier. the people who are marching have magnificent signs. "keep it clean." "keep it in the ground." "ban toxic emissions

." "have you seen me?" and it is a picture of a glacier. >> i am laura from baltimore and washington. this is a photo of an iceberg in greenland. these are sculptures and they are the recordings of icebergs melting. this may be hard to convey on television. if you could come over a little bit -- tell us your name. in divine. amy: what are you wearing? sculpture.a sound in essence it is two speakers that are amplified. amy: and the sound we are hearing is? >> it is recordings of icebergs melting. amy: this is seismic --

these are the seismic recordings of icebergs melting. i will put my microphone inside the funnel. where did you get these recordings? >> do you want to answer this? amy: where did you get the recording? things offed some the internet and i also recorded the wind in my house and a colleague helped me mix it together so we have a six-minute loop we can play over and over again, and basically, you probably can understand the concept, this is an amplification device, and we are looking at several different occasions for social justice and the climate.

amy: the marchers are going to continue to the white house to sit and encircled the white house. this is one of the warmest if in the warmest april 29s washington is three. the last time we were here, april 22 birthday, for the march for science and some have stayed throughout the week. nermeen: please introduce yourself. kitty and i am a member of the community of living traditions in stony port stony point center. we are an intentional multifaith do hospitalitywe for faith traditions where muslims, christians, and choose -- and jews are living together

and we also do social activism. >> my name is america, and i'm also part of the community of living traditions. nermeen: talk about that. talk about what you see is the link between living traditions in the climate. tradition as a close and andrew goal link to the planet. as a muslim, -- a close and it entered role link to the plant appeared as a muslim, i believe that the earth will stand at the end of time and she will say whether i did right or wrong to her, and i think that is integral to my tradition in the work i do is a farmer specifically. nermeen: do you see more and more muslims becoming involved in social climate justice? >> i do. i am hoping we can educate our

communities. that is my hope. i think everyone is finally waking up and realizing we have a part to play. talk about your t-shirt as you stand here. what does your t-shirt say? >> my t-shirt says stand with standing rock. some members of our community have been at standing rock and with theeen partnering local native americans in northern new jersey who also are a prayer camp, and they exciting. we have been standing in solidarity with them as well as standing rock. nermeen: are there many other people with standing rock here at the march? >> yes, i believe they are here. they have a prayer camp. we support them. they have challenges in their local communities and allowing

them to be there, so we are supporting them and supporting the work against pipelines, because we do not believe pipelines are part of the future and it will just do more damage to the planet. with the womanke who started the first resistance camp. and the father and son, tom and who are veryoth active around that. donna is the on official historian of the dakota access pipeline struggle, a member of standing rock, too. we want to thank you for being here. we are reaching the top of the hour. so, we're going to go to a music rate. this is democracy now! we are broadcasting live here in washington, d.c. for the people's climate march. we don't have an official number yet, but clearly tens of thousands of people have been

marching and they are marching toward the white house which they will encircle. the estimates are maybe 150,000 people have come out on this extremely hot washington, d.c. day. president trump, i understand, inside the white house is meeting with the cia director pompeo. this is democracy nonow! we will be back at the top of the hour. keep tuning in and tell your friends. [♪] [music break]

amy: thihis is "democracy now!." we are bringing you a five hour broadcast of the people's climate march. we are at the claimant margin washington, d.c. must ending on the corner of pennsylvania and sixth. we've watched thousands, tens of thousands of people. they are going to the white house. amy: the organizers say there are 150,000 people here right now. mother was arning

water ceremony. then, people were at the reflecting pool in front of the capital. the rich and of indigenous people, people were organizing. were indigenous people. there was senator markey of massachusetts and senator whitehouse of rhode island. also, senator merkley of oregon. you've heard of many of these people because you are watching "democracy now!." you can go back to our website -- it is there for you to watch for eternity. we are here with scott parkins. tell us what group you are with and what is this sign you are holding? tide northith rising

america, and all volunteer direct action climate group. i've been organizing with a group called flood trump. we will rally at 15th and 5:00 p.m. andt march to the trump hotel where we will be taking direct action at the hotel. amy: the action at the white house is happening. stay here. carla wills is at the white house. carla: the a action is starting right now. .eople are seated on the ground they are about to do their actions here in front of the white house. they will have this harmonious heartbeat to send this message to this administration about climate change. you can hear it now.

[clapping in unison while cheering] carla: we are in front of the white house with one heartbeat to send this message to the white house. tell me your name and where you are from. >> genetic my from portland, oregonon. from portland, oregon. there's no social justice if you care about people coming you should care about the planet. nermeen: talk about this administration's response to climate issues. 97% of scientists say climate

change is real and is threatening our country. like 97% of engineers sang the bridge is going to collapse and people continue to drive over it. talk about the climate issues in portland. >> i live here now. --the pacific northwest [cheers] carla: we are all standing with one heartbeat. a roar across the area and around the white house. about theis message importance of climate change. , we are talking 10,000 people here in front of the white house. at the people's climate march here in washington, d.c. , wrapapping upills

inin front of f the white e hou. we will have a couple other people here talking. tell me your name and why you are here. >> jennifer. i'm from hyattsville, maryland. assistance.r carla: talk about the message to this administration in particular. why it is so important. >> climate change is real and the science is real. we need to rise up together as one. carla: thank you. again, you can see, so much art in front of the white house. they are talking about welcome to your 100th day. today is the 100th day donald trump has been in the white house. of anythe hallmarks

presidency is the first 100 days. it is marked by this people's climate march. surrounding the white house, people surrounding the white house, they were sitting on the ground. send one harmonious heartbeat and then stood with a roar to send this message to the white house. then, people will walk to the washington monument. count. have a i would guess about 10,000 people around the white house. outside the white house, which is across from lafayette park from of the scene of so many protests here in washington, d.c. we are also walking around, looking at the signs.

all too donald trump, his being against any climate justice issues. amy: as people begin to engage in a massive sit in, making a circle around the white house -- nermeen shaikh.rla will scott parkins can talk about some of the direct action. the march is wrapping up here. you can see some of the people behind us. people with their colorful signs. scott, talk more about what's happening today. >> as we just saw the mother was

a massive sit in around the , they were rising up against the trump administration. there's evidence for the rest of evideents for -- the rest of the afternoon. at 5:00 p.m., we will take direct action at the trump hotel. will send a message to the trump administration around their environmental and climate policies. there's fossil fuel resistance going on all over the country. taking on pipelines and coal mines and policies. this is just an embodiment of the resistance we've seen happening in the gulf of mexico and utah and texas and north dakota at standing rock. it's a powerful moment. the estimates are 150,000

people. that's amazing. more than the organizers thought they were going to get. outrage and the resistance building to this administration and its corrupt policies. crony policies with the oil industry's. best oil industry -- with the oil industry. thathoping to have action we are hoping -- we are hoping to have action and cause serious disruption at the trump hotel. trump tower is here. there must be heavy security -- >> i do expect there will be much more security today with all the people in town. amy: what do you think the role is of direct action and civil disobedience under the trump administration? >> the role of the direct action

most of the time is to create a crisis and build and push towards some sort of meaningful change. we've been doing direct action for the last 10 or 15 years. engageeen big green under direct action. we team cooperation, banks coming up with policies on coal. shiftsseeing serious from corporate america. amy: what kind of hope does this march give you? who are a lot of people wanting to engage. we have gone from zero to 60 since the inauguration. people are taking action on climate and environmental issues. nermeen: what about obama's climate legacy? he actually believed in

climate change versus the current administration. there was still a lot of -- aroundith that be for the pipeline -- amy: i just saw an interesting poster that said "just say n know." on't bext flood wan biblical." >> we are in a pretty powerful

moment. it's a shame that we have such a head in the sand sort of administration that doesn't want to talk about climate and human rights. nermeen: will you be going now to the white house? >> i will be heading that way. also getting ready for flood trump at 5:00 p.m. amy: we want to thank you for being with us. there's all sorts of interesting people here. on, soplanet is dumped are you. resist bigly. can you tell us about your sign? what is yours say? >> we have to use the language he understands. we will make up words to simplify it for him. amy: what's your name? >> audrey. i'm from d.c. amy: what is your sign say? >> i wouldn't mess with mother

nature, if i were you. we have a little fun but care. -- phonebook here. these are the climate chinese change denying senators. now is a busisus that says bus for progress. from the sierra club. they are saying "don't frack it up." another person holding a sign ties,ays "unlike your climate change was not made in china." nermeen: can you introduce yourself and tell us why you are here? >> my name is elliott. i work with maryland working families.

we are a local chapter in maryland. we are here marching because we understand social justice is linked to climate justice. racial and economic justice as well. that's why we are marching. that's why we are out here. we are working on the flight for 15 campaign in baltimore city. has some of the lowest air quality in the nation. that's why we are out here fighting because we understand that poverty and economic justice cannot be separated from the fight for climate and in my mental justice. -- environmental justice. amy: we want to go to the protest in chicago. i understand it is a little rainy there. let's take a listen.

[♪] [cheering] >> make some noise! [cheering]

>> hey hey, ho ho, false appeals have got to go. ho, fossil fuels have got to go. hey, ho ho, fossil fuels have got to go. ho ho, fossil fuels have got to go.

hey hey, ho ho, fossil fuels have got to go. watchingve been , butgo, a very rainy day the people are still protesting. we are still here with elliott swain of working families in maryland. about climate change and structural inequality. >> it's very obvious when you look at who is actually impacted by climate change the most. it's going to be, for the most colorpoorer people of living in low-lying coastal areas. in baltimore, where we live and where we work, there's horrendous air-quality.

system an oil train routed through our city that is riddled with failures. oil trains are constantly vulnerable to explosion. these are routed through the poorest neighborhoods that are predominantly people of color. youu can see how climate change and environmental issues cannot justice,ed from social racial justice and economic justice. amy: thank you for being here. the market has just wrapped up here. the police are just coming by with flashing lights. we will end up at the white house where the sit in is just taking place. first, we want to bring you the people's climate march brought to you by "democracy now!" i will be at the pilgrim community church tonight -- the plymouth community church tonight at 7:00.

i hope to see folks they are talking about these issues. for now, we are turning to gnome chomski.- noam he was speaking at the university of massachusetts amherst. in this part of the speech, he talks about climate change. >> t three events took place lat nonovember 8. one was extremely important. the third was s utterly astonishing. the least of the three middle the leasese important was the elelection in ththe united stat. -- the least important of the three. the more important of the three took place in morocco. 200 nations were

participating in a un-sponsored , whichtional conference was an attempt to put some teeth in the paris negotiations on climate change of the preceding year. they hoped they could reach a treaty.le that couldn't be done bebecausef a sisingle barrier called the republblican party. the republican congress in the united states would not accept any verifiable agreements must of paris negotiations ended with just verbal commitments. the morocco conference was an attempt to go beyond thahat. , it was moving in that direction. on november 8 mother was a report by the world meteorological organization

confnfirming that 2016 was the warmest year on record. a remarkable 1.1 degrees centigrade above the previous record. approaching the desired upper limit set in paris it goes on with other dire reports. that was november 8. at that point, the deliberations ended. the electoral results came in from the united states. the meeting shifted to another question. when theorld survive richest, most powerful country in the world history with incomparable advantages not only is withdrawing from the effort to try to save the world from undertaking at is toicated commitment to race

the precipice as quickly as possible? countries of the world were looking for a savior. -- looking toto china to save the woworld fromoe disaster being led by the united states. that was the most important event that took place on november 8. there was also an astonishing event that wasn't discussed. silencnce. the leader of the free world iss leading the woworld to disaster. the world is looking to china of all places to save it. the reaction here -- take a look back. total silence. utterly astonishing. can't find words to describe it. that's november 8.

let's go on to march 1. his height fix that he was released showing tens of thousands of miles of permafrost in northwest canada are rapidly accelerating with decline of permafrost in alaska and scandinavia -- that could lead to a massive release of greenhouse gases. co2 and methane being accelerated by an unprecedented arctic heat wave. what happened in the united states on march 1? the trump administration decided to help the process along by rescinding the methane rule which limits the release of methane from oil and gas trilling sites -- drilling sites on federal lands.

they also announced sharp cuts in epa staff and programs and a ban on research. we received more good news this morning. the rate of melting of permafrost has been underestimated by 20%. already nearly full consequences are worse than we thouought. -- lethal consequences. let's go on to march 16. the world and the united states. the world, a new study appeared -- scientific study on damage to the great barrier reef of australia. one of the world's largest living structures. it i is being severely damaged. damagingwidespread and of recent mass bleaching of coral reefs since 1998 with

wide-ranging disastrous inlogical resorts -- results the u.s. on the same day, the president possible to was released. the epa was v virtually dismantled. president's budget was released. his position is that if god is warming the earth, so be it. itit would be sacrilegious to interfere with god's will. most of the attention has been focused on the epa. for action and research on climate, epa is a small acactor. the far more important is the department of energy. it's office of science e under e budget is scheduled to lose $900 million.

20% ofof its budget. million energy program and limited completely. eliminateted completely. there are deep cuts in the .esearch programs at the epa also if i percent cut in nasa's earth science budget. -- 5% cut. it's remarkable, the administration's hatred of unwanted fax. -- facts. cuts call fofor closing down nasa's missions that monitor the global climate. it is a pittance in the budget. a statistical error, practically. but, it has a major impact on

understanding of what's happening to the world.. it's best not to know what we do not want. that is a guiding principle of the administration and indeed to the republblican party. the budget itself is of unusual savagegery committed even for te paul ryan wing of the repupublin establishment. it is a bitter attack -- if you look at the details, it is a bitter attack k on the working class and the poor, while lavishing even more gets on the wealthy and the corporate sector. -- gifts on the wealthy and the corporate sectoror. ofroject of talibanization america in accordance with ,bandon, sessions -- bannon

sessions society. society based on judeo-christian whwhite supremacy -- destruction of the arts and public schooling. even medical research. practically every issue of the science journals providides more grim forecasts. there's one recent paper in the journal of atmospheric that compares today's climate with that of 120,000 years ago when temperatures were only slightly warmer than today. at that time, there was a sea level rise of 20-30 feet when much of the polar ice disintegrated. the paper predicts not only that

, but in the near future, the , disintegration of large parts of the polarized sheets, leading to the melting of huge glaciers, and a rise in the sea sufficient to begin drowning the world's coastal cities before the end of the century. we are in danger of having people in a situation that is out of their control with precipitous rises into level not far down the road -- in sea level. there are other studies that indicate that climate change is occurring faster than at any time in the past 100 million years. by some estimates, far faster. co2 past, atmospheric the symbolic level of 400 particles per million. considered a crucial danger

point. it is possibly reversible. that is only a small sample of many such reports. they appear regularly in the science journals and sometimes make it to the major media. meanwhile, the republican wrecking ball is systematically dismantling the structures that offer any y hope for decent survival. it is not just trump. ththe whole republicican party leadership at the national level and indeed at much of the local level. in north carolina a couple of years ago, a scientific study was commissioned by the coastal resources commission which estimated that the sea level in north carolina will ririse by 40 inches by the end d of the century. the republican run legislature had a response. barreded a law that

state and local agencies from developingng regulations or planning documents anticipating a rise in sea level. the best comment on this that i saw was by stephen colbert. he said this is a brilliant solution. if your science gives you a result you don't like, pass a lossing the result is a legal. problem solved. unfortunately come of that is not a joke. it captures the mentality of the republican party leadership. a couple of years ago, bobby jindal, the republican governor inlouisiana, who succeeded sinking it even deeper into the abyss, he warned republicans that they would be were becoming the stupid party. the respected conservative described theysts

party as a radical insurgency that has abandoned parliamentary democracy and rationality. perhaps a simpler characterization is the utterly outrageous charge that they have become the most dangerous organization in world history. dedicated to destrtruction of te prospects of decent survival. , and outrageous charge, but is it wrong? i already mentioned paris and morocco. let's go back to the 2016 primary campaign. was pretty surprising, in many respects. primarily y because of t the atattitude the candidates -- of the candidates to climate change. every single republican candndidate either denenied that

what is happening is happening or the sensible moderates lilike jeb b bush said it is all uncertain bubut we don''t hahavo do a anything about it. we are producing more natural gas thanks to fracking. john kasich was supposedly the , did at leastoom agree that it is taking place, but he says we will burn coal in ohio and notot apologize for it. the media ignored it. after all commands only the most important issue in human history. amy: thatt was noam chomsky speaking earlier this month at the university of massachusetts amherst. i'm standing in the middle of the people's climate march. standing in front of the white house, right across the street from lafayette park. just earlier today, the march started on the other side of

d.c. it made its way to the white house where people sat and beat on their chests, to send a human, harmonious heartbeat. and then a roar to send a signal to donald trump's administration. talk about the policies of this white house and why climate change is important. i'm standing with a family of women who came from across the duntry, converged here in .c. tell me your names and why you came here today. >> i'm from atlanta, georgia. i came here to show my unity to fight for social justice. i brought my girls with me. my name is diana.

i'm from denver, colorado. i came for the same reason. know is for what we right and fight for our climate and our earth and our rights and everything that falls under that . >> jean from boston, massachusetts. i came to be with them and also, i believe in science and facts. colorado.m denver, i came here so that we can fight to leave the planet for my granddaughter an grandchildren. carla: talk about the issues of climate change in the south. >> it has gotten hotter and hotter and stormy air and stormy or. r and stormier.

there's a lot of chaos after a storm. today is the 100th day of donald trump's administration. what message do you have to send to him? >> i think these first 100 days have been agony. i expect the next 100 to be agony. we should keep protesting. we are free people and we have to remain free. we have to send a message to our congressmen and congresswomen. carla: talk about how important protest is. why this action is important. main this point, it is our means of being able to put forth what we believe in and do what we know is right. we owe it to our earth and our children and our children's children to fight and stand up.

carla: you are wearing a sticker -- tell us what it says. >> i work in the labor movement. climate is jobs. the environment affects a whole range of issues for the whole earth. it's all connected. we are connected. we need to stand up and protect this earth of ours. carla: talk about the labor movement in boston. >> we are very lucky. we are a blue state with strong labor rights. we are really strong in social justice and health care. it's a great state. the labor movement matters. all these issues are connected. carla: donald trump is saying there is jobs in pipelines. >> i don't know there's that many jobs in pipelines.

this construction jobs. there's jobs in other places. our infrastructure. how about that? build our bridges and roads. let's do it. carla: denver -- talk about what is going on there. >> we've been having quite a bit of fracking. that concerns me. some neighboring cities are witnessing earthquakes and things like that. that is a little worrisome. we have a huge snow industry with skiing. we depend on that economy, that industry for our economy. carla: i'm standing here in front of the white house with a and the who've converged from all around the country for people's climate march.

's": this is "democracy now! coverage of the people's climate march. we are at the reflecting pool between the capital and the washington monument. i'm joined by one of the women who began the standoff at standing rock. historicall her an troublemaker. she is with the standing rock sioux. she opened her property, invited people to come along thepererty cannonball river in north dakota toto resist the $3.8 billion dakota access pipeline. she's here in washington. great to have you with us on "democracy now!" >> i'm so honored to be here at this march, to continue to stand

up for the -- we continue to stand. even though things transpired on , we moved to another location and we continue. time, thisent in became bigger than standing rock. it became the world. this is the theme for the world. to stand up everywhere. amy: april 1, you started the sacred stone resistance camp. that blossomed into many other resistance camps. thousands came to standing rock. ,he dakota access pipeline while initially stopped by president obama, was given the go-ahead by the new president. your massive resistance against building the pipeline under the

missouri come in the end, that pipeline did get built. where does it all stand today? >> at this moment, there is no oil in the pipeline. theontinue to stand against energy transfer. we continue to stand in prayer and nonviolent direct action to make sure that no oil ever flows in the pipe. amy: why hasn't the oil flown yet? >> i believe there's a lot of issues that energy transference -- we have a huge program on divesting. we are asking the world to from energy transfer -- amy: what does that mean? what does it look like? >> we've asked people who have fund money in banks that

energy transfer, dakota access to remove their money and put it in capital credit unions. use their money for community development rather than banks who endorse these industries . we have a billboard on times square. the world is also divesting. you, as a woman, you began this by -- you didn't know what would happen april 1 when you did this. >> i had no idea any of this would happen. i knew i had to stand up. . how do you feel today? is it still a resistance camp? >> no. the chairman of the standing

rock sioux tribe has issued an order to close the camp. we sat down and said, what do we do? go in peace and prayer. we moved the camp. we will continue to stand. amy: and, your plans today? >> to stand up and fight back. to spread the word that we can live a better life with green energy. we can live a better life honoring the earth and the water. we can live. if we continue to do extract of energy, we will die. -- extractive energy, we will die. amy: this is "democracy now!" she is a member of the standing rock sioux tribe. property along the cannonball river to the resistance to resist the dakota access

pipeline. that began over a year ago on april 1. i'm amy goodman. this is "democracy n now!"" from the dakota access pipeline to washington, d.c. from florida to maine to texas to tennessee my are coming out all over the country. best people are coming out from all over the country. 150,000 people. this is the people's climate march. carla wills is at the white house were a mass sit in is going on. is carla wills. i'm standing here outside the white house, here at the people's climate march. i'm standing here with another activist. i go tome is rachel -- school in williamsburg, virginia.

part of a contingent of 35 students at the college of william and mary. we are here with our environmental group and the sierra club. called the clinic coast -- atlantic coast pipeline is a huge issue. they are bad for local communities. the ecb has a compressor station slated to be at buckingham we have committees of color that are intentionally does proportionally impacted. -- disproportionately impacted. we think we have to talk about those intersections between in my mental problems and social justice issues. i'm here with a fantastic group of fellow students. my friend can talk more about

issues of environmental justice. carla: talk about that. the issues facing committees of color. -- communities of color. >> i'm from the tidewater area of virginia. as the planet warms up -- those communities are vulnerable. you will have another katrina right here in virginia. is relatedaid, this to some of people come including people of color. i'm happy to be here. >> we don't have any infrastructure needed for the next katrina. in theanaged shelters region -- we have to evacuate 500,000 people from the area.

we would need 50,000 to go to shelters. we only have the capacity for 20,000 people. there is a huge gap in the emergency preparedness. it's already affecting people's lives. i really hope -- we have seen already that the issue is being talked about more. i hope that will be embraced a lot more. >> we think of environmentalism as a really abstract issue. it's affecting people right now. look at your local communities and your own backyard and see how you can be involved in these issues. there's more awareness of these issues. we can help the people who are being affected right now. carla: you guys are students. talk about the importance of the youth movement. >> i have such faith in that.

thanks to the help of the student in my mental coalition weenvironmental coalition -- are seeing that all around the country right now. young activists banding together. we don't have the institutional constraints of larger nonprofits. we can be more progressive. i really see these movements moving us forward. it's great to see the intergenerational aspect. i was here with my parents earlier. saw a signirees -- i for an elderly organization around these issues. it needs to span from young children to the utterly -- elderly and retired. >> i know the environment will al movement has been largely white -- we are intersecting all these issues.

just like immigrant rights and women's rights. it is morehappy that inclusive to everybody. ultimately, this touches so many aspects of our life. again, here we are in lafayette park, across from the white house, in the middle of the people's climate march. the march will move from here to the washington monument. carla wills, here at the people's climate march in washington, d.c. amy: thank you so much. i'm amy goodman, here with nermeen shaikh. the march started this morning, 6:00 a.m. with a water ceremony led by native american women. then, they moved on to the reflecting pool and people organized. they prepared for a press conference, local grassroots activists. very powerful.

people around the country being involved in the issue of climate change. elected folks in the senators and congressmen were is and the attorney general of massachusetts all spoke about the importance of the issue. we will turn right now back to the white house. nermeen: we will be joined by one of our producers and correspondence who is at the sit in in front of the white house. : we are standing outside the white house where thousands of people have converged for the people's climate march on washington, d.c. telling donald trump he must take climate change seriously now. family, threeby a

generations, all here together for the people's climate march. let's start with the grandmother. >> my name is alan. -- ellen. i'm here from wisconsin to be with my daughter and granddaughter. the president doesn't take climate change seriously. but, we do. we are here to let him know and to stand with all the other people that want to save our planet for future generations. >> what is your name and what brought you out here today? >> i'm kim from philadelphia, pennsylvania. we are here marching for our future. we have to invest not an false appeals but in green energy to protect our planet. -- not in fossil fuels but in green energy. >> i'm naomi. i'm seven years old. i made this sign to show that i

care about climate change. describe your sign for our audience? >> the colors are a rainbow and blue and green. it shows that i care about the earth. her"d, it says "i'm with with an arrow pointing to mother. -- mother earth.. amy: thousands of people are 150,000 people marching today. the hottest april 29 in washington, d.c. nermeen: a large part of the reason, much like we've seen over the years, we can attest to the changes in climate. it's 93 degrees in washington,

d.c. today. already come april was the warmest month since temperatures started being recorded in washington, d.c. we've been here to see our full coverage, five hours. we have been here as tens of thousands of people marched behind us here my down pennsylvania avenue and are now doing a sit in at the white house. amy: this is a massive sit in. they have divided the white house so they can encircle the whole thing. we are standing at the newseum. is backw, carla wills at the sit in at the white house. carla: this is carla wills, here at the people's climate march in

washington, d.c. i'm here with randy. tell me where you are from and what your sign is. >> i'm from you on, north carolina. , north carolina. this is about what it means to be the church. we think protecting the environment is one of the top things we need to do. we are carrying this sign in honor of that today. there's a lot of intersection ality, working to help and forgive. we are here, we are proud to be here and glad to be able to stand and witness. carla: why is resistance important? >> there's so much happening right now. we were making some progress and then the progress was slowing down politically we don't want to let it slow down. we have to keep talking.

we are working in our church in a very big way to try to bring solar power to our church. to try to do things, to recycle, composting. we work with our sister elon university right across the street. we have a farmers market to buy local. we feel like we are doing our part and we want to continue to see others doing their part. carla: today is the 100th day of donald trump's presidency. what is your message to him? what do you think of his first 100 days? beas a pastor, i try not to candidate driven. unfortunately, there's so many negative signs. we are trying to allow people to see that the kinds of decisions being made right now are not helpful for this environment, for our government, for any of

the people in our community. we will continue to resist and bring a positive message and try bles and get thea particle count down to 350 or below. we are at 400 now. we were at a climate conference yesterday with our sisters and brothers from united methodist church. it's just not right. carla: talk about what's going on in the north carolina legislature. -- allowing climate change >> we are really impaired there. we are working hard to deal with state people and local governments, trying to get some change to take place. it will be an uphill battle. we are thankful to have a governor who seems to be on board. ,e will continue to chip away

to try to get back some semblance of sanity. all we are getting now is a lot -- not a lot of takeaways. this into votes. we are working hard to get people registered to vote, especially around the college community. we are working hard to bring renewables, to introduce the eddie of renewables. that's the idea of renewables. we have a green shirts committee in our church. we are working hard to advocate. we will continue to work and study and advocate. carla: thank you. carla wills here at the people's climate march.

we are standing outside of the white house, across from lafayette park. it is winding down now. people are walking to the washington monument, finishing up the march over

in and of itself. >> neonicotinoids are among the most widely used pesticides in the world. they bring in billions in profits for the companies that make them. but now, growing evidence shows