Between March 1st and November 1st, I will be a Climate Marcher with the Great March for Climate Action. Along with hundreds of others, I will be walking across the United States to motivate citizens and lawmakers to take climate action now. To cover my expenses over the 2,980 miles, I will need to raise $5,000. This will give me about $20 a day for the duration of the March, helping to provide food, water, energy, and shelter. Please consider being one of 35 sponsors to donate $150, but any donation, however large or small, will be greatly appreciated. A $20 donation will support me for one day, $140 a whole week, and $560 an entire month.

For me, the climate crisis isn't primarily an issue of science, engineering, justice, or politics. The science of climate change is sound, and I hope people wake up to reality before it's too late. I march to give weight to the science and its urgency, but only partly. The world's reliance on fossil fuels is harmful, and I hope we build a clean energy infrastructure. I march as a testament to the viability of renewables to provide us with energy, but only partly. The rich are the greatest polluters and the poor suffer the greatest consequences of climate change, and I hope true justice can be realized. I march to tell people that climate change is a social justice issue, but only partly. A corrupt and broken political system continues to work outside the interests of the people, and I hope people demand change. I march to build momentum behind such calls for systemic change, but only partly.

I believe that at its root, though, the climate crisis is primarily a matter of the heart. For too long, our society has drawn us further and further away from our humanity, from each other, and from the world around us. We use gas and oil without thinking about how emissions cause suffering not only to ourselves and future generations, but also to the other living beings we share the planet with. Just as we realized the Earth wasn't at the center of the universe, we need, each of us, to realize that we are not the pinnacle of life. We each have to realize and actualize this as individuals, at levels deep in the heart.

I have come to a point in my understanding as an individual that if I am going to be a good son, brother, grandson, great grandson, nephew, cousin, uncle, friend, teacher, citizen, and human being, I'm going to have to make life choices that drastically reduce my dependence on fossil fuels. I join this march to help change my own heart, to break down the barriers that make me a fragmented person, to hear, see, and appreciate life, to be happy, to live without harm, and to live in a way that recognizes those I care deeply about.

I know most people aren't able to participate in a march like this. Please consider taking part in a small way by donating a little money. And may your donation serve as a symbol of the soul-force you contribute to this call for a better world, externally in the form of the Great March for Climate Action, but also internally in your own mind, body, and spirit!

Peace, love, and truth,

Jerry