Groups in Iowa City will spend today advocating for climate change.

The People’s Climate Movement is a national day for climate-change awareness and includes hundreds of communities across the country. The concept blossomed from last year’s People’s Climate March in New York City.
This year, communities were encouraged to have their own events.

Linda Quinn, planning coordinator for Iowa City’s People’s Climate Movement, said the hope is people will voice their concerns about climate change to their elected officials.

“It’s the most important issue of our time,” Quinn said. “We need to take action — everybody, everywhere.”

Quinn said even a small action like a phone call or signing a petition can help the cause.

The all-day activities include a film screening, a lecture, and opportunities to call or write representatives. Seven different environmentally focused groups in Iowa City sponsor the event.

Tom Carsner, the group head for the sponsor Iowa City Group of the Sierra Club, said the idea is to inform people about climate issues, such as renewable energy, and find solutions for those problems.

“Here in Iowa we can think about floods and droughts we’ve had in the past 10 years,” Carsner said. “People can relate to that and understand that.”

Miriam Kashia, a member of sponsor 100grannies, said she would walk around town all day wearing a sandwich board addressing the day of action as well as the Bakken pipeline, a proposed crude oil pipeline that would cross through Iowa and has generated controversy.

“It’s going to be a great opportunity for people to let their voices be heard,” Kashia said. “People are coming to realize this is a critical issue.”

Those fighting for change now are looking towards the end of the year, when countries will meet in Paris to negotiate a United Nations agreement that addresses climate change. Climate advocates are also focusing on next year’s elections.

Kashia said she and the 100grannies are committed to the climate change issue and hope to bring more public awareness with the day’s events.

“It looks pretty cool in Iowa now. It’s warm. It’s beautiful,” Kashia said. “But it’s the hottest year on record. We need to address this now.”

Scientists recorded the highest global land and ocean surface average temperatures since record keeping began in 1880, about 1.24 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information.

Quinn said the day’s intention is to encourage people to take action about climate change, and urge those in power to move forward with a plan for clean power plan on a state and national level.