2 Saturdays, 2 Marches; March for Science AND Climate Change March

The March for Science is this Saturday, April 22, 2017 in 428 spots around the world. UPDC member Louise Doskow is one of the speakers scheduled for The Philadelphia March for Science,which starts at City Hall and ends at Penns Landing;

We will assemble at 10:00am on the south side of City Hall (Juniper Street). The March will kick-off promptly at 11:00am and will go down Market Street to Front Street, Front Street to Chestnut Street and then over Chestnut Street to Penn’s Landing – Great Plaza.

Entertainment will begin at 11:30am featuring local band, The Really Cooks, and the March for Science PHL speakers will begin at 12noon. The event will end by 2pm.

March locations include Bethlehem (1 p.m. – 3 p.m. Payrow Plaza), Doylestown (noon – 2 p.m. starting at Starbucks, 10 N. Main Street),  Philadelphia, New York City, and Washington, D.C.

The People’s Climate March is next Saturday, April 29, 2017. In addition to Washington, D.C., sister marches will be held in Pottstown, PA, starting at 1 p.m. on High Street in front of The Hill School (801 E. High Street), and in Philadelphia, PA, also starting at 1 p.m. at Thomas Paine Plaza (1401 John F Kennedy Boulevard).

People are marching for Jobs, Justice, and the Climate all around the country:

On the 100th Day of the Trump Administration, we will be in the streets of Washington D.C. to show the world and our leaders that we will resist attacks on our people, our communities and our planet.

Posters and flyers for The People’s Climate March can be found and downloaded here.

UPDC Member, Louise Doskow, will speak at Philadelphia March for Science!

Louise Doskow, a local member of the Upper Perkiomen Democratic Club, and active member of the Democratic Party, has been invited to be a speaker at the April 22nd, 2017 March for Science in Philadelphia! She has been told that she has 2-3 minutes to talk (must be a lot of speakers planned for the day – up to 2 hours worth, according to their Facebook page!).

The Philadelphia March for Science starts at City Hall and ends at Penns Landing.

We will assemble at 10:00am on the south side of City Hall (Juniper Street). The March will kick-off promptly at 11:00am and will go down Market Street to Front Street, Front Street to Chestnut Street and then over Chestnut Street to Penn’s Landing – Great Plaza.

Entertainment will begin at 11:30am featuring local band, The Really Cooks, and the March for Science PHL speakers will begin at 12noon. The event will end by 2pm.

Confirmed speakers at the Saturday event include Dr. Paul Offit, Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Derrik Pitts, Chief Astronomer and Director of the Fels Planetarium at The Franklin Institute, Beth Goldstein-Huxen, Math Teacher, Gerrymandering Educator, and Voting Rights Activist, and our own Louise Doskow, Public Education Advocate and Defender of Science Education and former chemist and medical researcher.

Sounds like a great way to spend Earth Day to me!

2 Major Marches in April

The March for Science will be held on Saturday, April 22, 2017 (Earth Day) in 428 spots around the world.

The goal of the march itself is to highlight the valuable public service role science plays in society and policy and demonstrate the deep public support for science. The March for Science movement has goals that extend long past gathering a crowd on April 22.  As a lasting national organization, we will encourage marchers to uphold our shared values and take specific actions, including strengthening the bonds between scientists and the public, engaging in ongoing science education, fighting discrimination in our own institutions and our communities, and insisting their legislators propose and enact evidence based policies.

March locations include Bethlehem (1 p.m. – 3 p.m. Payrow Plaza), Doylestown (noon – 2 p.m. starting at Starbucks, 10 N. Main Street),  Philadelphia, New York City, and Washington, D.C.

In Philadelphia:

Folks will assemble at 10:00 a.m. on the south side of City Hall (Juniper Street). The March will kick-off promptly at 11:00 a.m. and will go down Market street to Front street, Front street to Chestnut street and then over Chestnut street to Penn’s Landing – Great Plaza Entertainment will begin at 11:30 a.m. and the March for Science PHL speakers will begin at 12 noon. The event will end by 2 p.m.),

In Washington DC :

Participants can begin congregating at the National Mall at 8 AM. Our event will kick off at 9 AM with a teach-in and rally and end with a march through the streets of DC. Co-hosted with the Earth Day Network, the rally will be a call for politicians to implement science based policies, as well as a public celebration of science and the enormous public service it provides in our democracy, our economy, and in all our daily lives.

The rally will feature main stage speakers and several large teach-in tents around the Mall where scientists, educators, and leaders from a wide variety of disciplines will discuss their work, effective science communication strategies, and training in public advocacy.

The following week, on Saturday, April 29, 2017, the People’s Climate Movement is organizing to March for climate, jobs, and justice to mark the first 100 days of the Trump Administration, focused on standing up for social, economic, and climate justice to be held in Washington, D.C.

On the 100th Day of the Trump Administration, we will be in the streets of Washington D.C. to show the world and our leaders that we will resist attacks on our people, our communities and our planet.

(They) are still confirming final details on exact march route and meeting locations, but it will be in the vicinity of the White House, Mall, and Capital — all highly accessible areas of Washington D.C.

I have heard of at least one bus trip going from our area down to the D.C. March on April 29th – Call Joan Rosiak at 215 234 9138 ASAP if you want to find out if there are any $40 seats left – there MAY still be room.

Documentary Movies – this week only!

Two documentary movies that might be of special interest are showing in our area this week- but only for one night each;

Tonight, Tuesday, October 20th, the documentary This Changes Everything is playing at Civic’s 19th Street Theater in Allentown at 7 p.m.  (527 N. 19th Street, Allentown). There will be a panel discussion following the film. Karen Feridun of Berks Gas Truth (who has been a guest speaker at UPDC, talking about the impact of fracking) is one of the panelists.

Filmed over 211 shoot days in nine countries and five continents over four years, This Changes Everything is an epic attempt to re-imagine the vast challenge of climate change.

Directed by Avi Lewis, and inspired by Naomi Klein’s international non-fiction bestseller This Changes Everything, the film presents seven powerful portraits of communities on the front lines, from Montana’s Powder River Basin to the Alberta Tar Sands, from the coast of South India to Beijing and beyond.

And on this Friday, October 23,  the movie Living Downstream is being shown by the Fourth Friday Film Series at the UU Church of the Lehigh Valley, 424 Center St., Bethlehem at 7:15 PM.

The film is based on the acclaimed book by ecologist and cancer survivor Sandra Steingraber, Ph.D., Living Downstream is an eloquent and cinematic documentary film which follows Sandra during one pivotal year as she travels across North America, working to break the silence about cancer and its environmental links.

Also, you might be interested in the GMO Free PA Lehigh Valley Chapter 45 minute presentation at 6 PM, just before the film event on Friday, at the same location. The speaker will be Kathy Harrington from the Bethlehem Nutrition Center who has a Masters in Nutrition and Functional Medicine. She will speak on ‘What GMO’s are, their potential effects on our health, and how to eat a non-GMO diet.’  Free and Open to the public.