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ENVIRONMENT | Sat Apr 29, 2017 | 8:04pm EDT

Environmental protesters swarm

outside White House as Trump hits
milestone

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By Lacey Johnson and Ian Simpson | WASHINGTON

A sea of protesters swarmed in front of the White House on Saturday to voice

displeasure with President Donald Trump's stance on the environment and demand
that he rethink plans to reverse the climate change policies backed by his predecessor.

The Peoples Climate March, the culmination of a string of Earth Week protests that
began with last Saturday's March for Science, coincides with Trump's 100th day in
ofce, the end of the traditional "honeymoon" period for a new president.

As temperatures rose above 90 degrees Fahrenheit under hazy skies in the nation's
capital, tens of thousands of people marched from the grounds of the U.S. Capitol and
passed the White House en route to the Washington Monument for a rally.

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Many of the protesters carried signs with slogans such as "The seas are rising and so are
we" and "Don't be a fossil fool." As the procession passed the Trump International Hotel
on Pennsylvania Avenue, marchers booed and chanted "shame."

Enjoy the day, enjoy the weather, Trump, speaking to reporters ahead of a rally in
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania commemorating his 100th day in ofce said when asked what
he would tell those rallying on climate change.

While a good-natured mood prevailed and there were no signs of violence, many
demonstrators said they were angered by the prospect of Trump carrying through on his
vow to roll back protections put in place by his predecessor, Democrat Barack Obama.

"We're going to rise up and let them know that we're sick and tired of seeing our
children die of asthma," said Rev. Leo Woodberry of Florence, South Carolina, who
spoke during a press conference before the march. "We're sick and tired of seeing
people with cancer because of coal ash ponds. We're sick and tired of seeing sea-level
rise."

Trump's administration is considering withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, which PICTURES
more than 190 countries including the United States signed in hopes of curbing global
warming. Trump has also proposed deep cuts for the Environmental Protection Agency
and the elimination of many environmental regulations.
 Photos of the day

31Demonstrators walk on the Pacic Coast highway during People's Climate March protest for the 1/31
environment in the Wilmington neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, U.S. April 29, 2017.
REUTERS/Andrew Cullen

In his campaign, Trump called climate change a hoax. Last month he kept a promise to
the coal industry by undoing climate-change rules put in place by Obama.

Tom McGettrick, 57, an electrical engineer who drove up from the Florida Keys to attend
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the march, said his main concern is the weakening of the EPA.

"Forty years of environmental protection has done wonders for the environment,
especially in the Midwest," said McGettrick, who spent most of his life in Michigan.

"When I was a teenager and went to Lake Erie, it was one of the most polluted bodies of
water in the country," he said. "Now when you go to Lake Erie it's really beautiful."

The Washington event, which coincided with Trump's 100-day milestone, followed an
exclusive interview with Reuters in which the president reected wistfully on his life as a
billionaire real estate developer that he left behind after his Jan. 20 inauguration.

"This is more work than in my previous life," Trump told Reuters. "I thought it would be
easier."

Saturday's march was part of an effort to build support for candidates with strong
environmental records in the run-up to next year's midterm elections and the 2020
presidential race, organizers said.

"We're using this as a tactic to advance the strategy of building enough power to win on
climate over the course of the long haul," said Paul Getsos, national coordinator for the
Peoples Climate Movement. Sponsors of Saturday's events include labor unions, the
Sierra Club and civil rights groups.

As a side theme,
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Since Trump's inauguration, there have been national

protests focused on issues ranging from abortion
rights to immigration and science policy.

Myron Ebell, a climate change skeptic at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a

libertarian think tank, said the march would have little impact on the administration.

"The real decisions are made in this country in elections, and we have now a president
and a House and a Senate that are determined to pursue a pro-energy agenda," he said
by telephone.

Environmental activists believe public opinion is on their side. A Gallup poll this month
showed 59 percent of Americans agreed environmental protection should take priority
over increased U.S. energy production.

Dozens of "sister" marches are planned for other North America locales, from Annapolis
Royal, Nova Scotia, to Dutch Harbor in Alaska's Aleutian Islands. Overseas, about three
dozen events range from a protest in Vienna to a tree-planting event in Zambia.

(Additional reporting by Patrick Rucker in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Writing by Frank

McGurty; Editing by Franklin Paul, Bernard Orr)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles

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