"Great March for Climate Action" focus of lecture April 10

Ed Fallon, a former member of the Iowa House of Representatives who founded and directed the Great March for Climate Action, will discuss and sign his book 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 10, as part of the Youngstown State University Lecture Series on Energy and the Environment.

The free talk is in Room B100 of Cushwa Hall on the YSU campus.

Fallon’s memoir, titled Marcher, Walker, Pilgrim, chronicles the 3,100-mile, eight month walk in 2014 from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. by a core of 35 marchers. The march came through eastern Ohio and Youngstown in early October 2014. Fallon was one of five marchers to walk every step of the way.

In addition to reading excerpts from his book, Fallon will take questions and discuss how the story of the march makes clear the urgency of climate change. Fallon will also discuss the Green New Deal, the Iowa Caucuses and the importance of local self-reliance in the New Climate Era.

“My primary motive in writing the book was to chronicle history’s longest climate march and fire-up people to take action against the existential threat of climate change,” Fallon said. “The urgency I felt during the march is now greater than ever, especially in light of last fall’s UN report and the National Climate Assessment. I hope the story of the march inspires people to mobilize to fight climate change immediately, before it’s too late.”