Ah, September. The month that marks the start of back-to-school season, football season, pumpkin spice season … and this year, massive national climate action. 

On September 17, Food & Water Watch is joining thousands in New York for the March to End Fossil Fuels. It’ll be days before a major United Nations Climate Summit calling on world leaders to show their work toward a fossil-free future. 

The UN knows how important this is to making real progress on climate. It doesn’t matter how many renewables we build or trees we plant if we aren’t also phasing out fossil fuels. 

So in September, we’re gathering to demand that President Biden heed the UN and take bold action to end fossil fuels. Our planet depends on it. Here are four more reasons to join us:

1. The Climate Crisis Is Knocking at Our Doorstep

This July marked the hottest month in recorded history, and the planet is throwing up alarm signals. For those of us lucky to have not experienced disasters first-hand, our feeds have overflowed with apocalyptic headlines. 

From wildfires tearing through Eastern Canada and blanketing our skies with air pollution to thousand-year floods in Vermont; from catastrophic fires consuming Maui, one of Hawaii’s biggest islands to Hurricane Hilary’s record-breaking rain and flooding in the Southwest — and that’s just the United States and Canada.

People around the world are suffering, and things will only get worse from here. But we have a huge opportunity to change course. We can slow down these catastrophes and prevent even worse ones, which are guaranteed if we continue drilling and burning fossil fuels. 

Our best hope to stem this rising tide is to move off fossil fuels now.

2. Biden is Failing Us on Fossil Fuels

As the world’s largest producer of oil and gas, the United States has a huge role to play in the fight against climate change. And President Biden is in a singular position to lead a global transition off fossil fuels and toward clean energy.

Biden talks a big game on this — but his actions speak louder. 

The president’s failures on climate are well documented, and Food & Water Watch is keeping all the receipts. While loudly touting the Inflation Reduction Act as a huge climate win, his administration is approving disastrous climate bomb projects (we call out five big ones here). 

From the Mountain Valley Pipeline to the Willow Project, President Biden’s all-of-the-above energy strategy is not only setting us up for more than a billion tons of new emissions — he’s locking us into decades more air, water, and climate pollution.

But it’s not too late to change course. With bold action against fossil fuels, Biden can protect our health, boost our economy, and tackle the climate crisis head-on.  

3. There Are So Many Ways for You to Get Involved!

Food & Water Watch is working with our allies to make sure as many folks as possible can join us in New York City. Besides marching with us on September 17, there are lots of ways to get involved:

• Join an organizing hub or make phone calls from home to invite more people to the March.  
• Hop on a bus or train from your area.
• Join a volunteer team on the day of the March to help everything go smoothly. We’re arranging buses and transport to get people there.

But if you can’t make it to New York, there are so many other ways for you to join our efforts. You can also volunteer to help us with planning and supporting the event, including:

• translation and interpretation;
• housing, transportation, and legal assistance; and
• spreading the word through phone banking and social media.

4. Action is the Best Antidote to Despair

We know the outlook is grim. Reading about climate change may make you feel angry, frustrated, and even hopeless. We feel like that sometimes, too. 

These kinds of feelings can be devastatingly lonely. It’s easy to wonder, “I’m just one person. What can I do?” But when we have each other, anything is possible. 

The truth is, the fight is far from over. And by building grassroots power, we can take on the corporations that have gotten us into this mess. 

Imagine it: thousands of people from across the country, all walks of life, gathering in one place. We’ll be united by our deep love for the planet, for our families and friends, for our communities, and for future generations. 

We’ll make new friends and meet up with old ones, create posters and art, chant our demands for change, sing songs, and walk through the streets together — all to show those in power that we will keep fighting until we finally have a livable future for everyone.

Join Us at the March to End Fossil Fuels

The planet can’t take much more. Every additional well drilled and barrel burned pulls us further into crisis. For too long, greedy CEOs and their allies in office have traded our future for skyrocketing profits. 

With the current state of things, President Biden has a choice: he can choose the business-as-usual that benefits the fossil fuel industry and sends us hurtling toward greater climate chaos, or he can stand up for our families, our future, and a livable climate. 

President Biden must choose us. He must choose clean air, good jobs, and thriving lands and waters. And that means ending fossil fuels and moving a just transition to clean energy.