Erik Assadourian: tea parties for the climate?

• Position: WORLDWATCH FIRST PERSON - Essay

On March 2nd, I and about 2,500 other people showed up at the Spirit of Justice Park, just south of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., in order to march around the coal- and gas-fired Capitol Power Plant and blockade the entrances. The police were out in force, and we were risking arrest for trespassing, unlawful assembly, and disorderly conduct.

It was a bitterly cold and snowy day, so raising a crowd of 2,500 felt like a success. As a group, we drew attention to this polluting power plant just blocks away from the Capitol. A few brave journalists defied the elements to report the events, and organizers worked to expand the ranks of the climate movement. And just days before the protest (after months of protest organizing), Congressional leaders agreed to phase out coal at the plant.

Now it's late April and I'm less confident with the results--particularly when I compare them with the "Tea Party" protests that occurred across the United States around April 15th (taxes-due day). Over 300,000 people in 346 cities gathered, garbed in tea bags, to hold Boston Tea Party reenactments in order to protest tax proposals.

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These demonstrations opposed a future of increased government services and more tax responsibilities for the rich. Our power plant rally fought a future of increased temperatures and more extreme weather events. Unlike the climate change protest, the "tea parties" received vast media attention across the political spectrum. I'd also wager that they helped mobilize the conservative base against the Democratic agenda in both the White House and the Congress. Many have criticized the movement as an "Astroturf" (fake grassroots) operation, but regardless of its roots over 300,000 people seem to believe that freedom means lower taxes, fewer services, less social safety net. When...