The Perfect Blue-sky Day In New York City That Ruined Everything

September 21, 2014: it was so beautiful. No one expected that blazing, orange skies might say more

Photo by The Climate Reality Project on Unsplash

Roaring Rivers

Torrents, currents, and ripples by Christyl Rivers, PhD

A perfect day to change the world

It was September 21, 2014. The People’s Climate March. In more than 150 countries, protests and demonstrations arose. Millions marched.

I was there, in New York City, at one of the largest marches in all of history.

Few things in my life have ever been so exhilarating, so meaningful. So full of hope.

We were grateful that it was a brilliant and beautiful blue-sky day.

This would change EVERYTHING!! (to paraphrase Naomi Klein.)

But, this week, almost a decade later, it would seem that news outlets are proclaiming that it is choking and burnt skies that wake more people up.

Across the northeast, millions of people this week inhaled air that was dark, disturbing, and dangerous.

The numbers and sizes of fires in Canada (400+) are at record highs. People who can’t breathe suddenly seem to…