‘Sound the alarm’: Earth Day festival in Kansas City brings awareness to climate change
Stephen Melton worries for the future of his three grandchildren — and for the future of everyone else.
Melton, the chapter leader of Citizens’ Climate Lobby in Kansas City, was among the two dozen vendors Saturday at Unity Temple, where the Climate Council of Greater Kansas City organized the daylong Earth Festival.
The goal of the event was to bring Kansas Citians together to learn more about the ongoing climate crisis and the dangers of global warming to the planet. The festival featured different panels throughout the day — one with community faith leaders and the other with local elected officials — aimed at discussing solutions.
On Saturday afternoon, Melton talked with attendees about what needs to be done at a local, national and international level. Sitting with him was Frank Zilm, the dean of the Institute for Health and Wellness Design at the University of Kansas.
Melton and Zilm both wanted to speak with people and provide them with steps that can be taken to help solve the problem slowly.
“It’s such an overwhelming problem to the average citizen,” Melton said. “But they shouldn’t have to feel they have to solve the problems themselves. They didn’t make the whole problems themselves, they can’t solve the whole problems themselves but they can solve some part of it.”
Saturday’s festival comes just weeks after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report saying societies across the world have to take immediate action to stave off the most serious consequences of climate change. The scientific consensus says climate change poses a serious threat to human life on Earth.
Melton and Zilm want the general public to be aware of how elected officials across the political spectrum view climate change and what policies they support to minimize the threat. It’s important for people to vote, they said.
Victor Dougherty, the director of the Temple Buddhist Center which is located within Unity Temple, helped organize Saturday’s festival. He believes that people are more compelled now to help counteract the impacts of climate change.
“This is a day when people can really sound the alarm and really put out the red flares and say, ‘Guys, we really need to take a look at how we’re impacting the planet and what we can do individually,’” Dougherty said.
People should recognized that Earth Day is every day, not just one day a year, he added.
Kriss Avery was among the Kansas City residents who went to the event. She said her book club recently read the book “Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation.” Avery said she wants to learn more about the climate crisis and what she can do herself.
“This is something we should be focusing on every day for the next few years,” she said.
