CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LONG BEACH
VOL. LXVIII, ISSUE 99 | MAY 1, 2017 ACTIVISM
Climate activists march on Trump’s 100th day Thousands of demonstrators across the country rallied against President Trump’s environmental policies. By Taylor Williams Contributing Writer
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WILMINGTON – Hundreds from all over Los Angeles County gathered Saturday afternoon to protest President Donald Trump’s environmental policies and agenda. “[The Trump administration] thought we wouldn’t put up a fight and they were wrong,” said Jane Fonda, an actress and political activist, who spoke at the event before the march. “For the first time in human history we face an existential threat to our planet and to our democracy.” Demonstrators across the country also gathered for the “People’s Climate March” to protest the Trump administration’s denials of environmental issues and various science-based claims. His recent policies and calls to eliminate environmental regulations, passed by former President Barack Obama, were also objected. Protesters marched on his 100th day in office. “Fight like your life depends on it. Because it does,” California Sen. Kevin De Leon said to the protestors in Banning Park in Wilmington. The L.A. group marched from the park, where there was a festival and panel discussion, through surrounding
see CLIMATE, page 2
ENVIRONMENT
Clean me a river Students and community members unite to clean up L.A. River. By Doyle McKinney Staff Writer
An army of plastic bag-toting volunteers wearing gloves filled the Los Angeles River basin in Long Beach on Saturday during the 28th annual cleanup of the environmentally troubled concrete channel. Some rappelled down a concrete channel to get to the lower part of the channel, which is normally off-limits to hikers and residents. They walked around rocks and plants and homeless encampments and picked up trash that included shopping carts, rags, bed frames and all sorts of ancient river debris. Friends of Los Angeles River, in operation for 28
years and a major sponsor of the event, drew volunteers, students and older local participants committed to the environmental cause. Shelly Backlar, vice president of Friends of L.A. River and resident of the San Fernando Valley, felt emotional about her first time at the wetlands in Long Beach. “It is humbling to see people giving selflessly of their time and our focus is on finding the nexus between humans and habitat,” she said. “If people are aware and participate, we win.” Southern California Edison, sponsor of education and cleanup for many years, also plays a major role in the annual event by funding education initiatives and providing resources for cleanups. Los Angeles 2024, a sponsor of getting the Olympics back to Los Angeles, also participated. “The river brings people and wildlife together,” said Omes Delcampo, a Friends of Los Angeles River member. “We build awareness through conPhoto courtesy of Barbara Kingsley-Wilson
see RIVER, page 2
A worker walks by piles of trash collected by volunteers on the banks of the L.A. River channel near Willow Street Saturday.