National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration meteorologists reported last week that the world just experienced the hottest summer on record and that 2014 is on track to be the hottest year yet. Billions of people around the world are already being affected and are greatly concerned for their future.

How disappointing, then, that Monday’s Portland Press Herald gave such short shrift to the People’s Climate March in New York on Sunday.

Your Associated Press report said merely that “thousands of demonstrators” participated in New York City and that the largest rally involved 10,000 people in Melbourne, Australia (“In New York, around globe, rallies urge action on climate,” Page A2).

In fact, as The New York Times correctly reported, an astonishing 311,000 concerned citizens marched in New York, making it the largest climate rally in history.

Equally egregious, the Press Herald neither mentioned nor interviewed any of the 400 Mainers on buses as well as the hundreds of other Mainers who went to New York. This was disappointing, since the Press Herald usually does an excellent job of covering local news and issues.

Sadly, all four major network Sunday news talk shows were even worse. They failed to mention, let alone discuss, either the U.N. climate conference or the massive march happening just outside their studios.

The nations and our leaders have failed to deal with the growing crisis of global warming for decades. As is usually the case, the citizens are now forced to take the lead in this matter.

We know we have to act now, not next year or next decade, in order to save our planet. There is no Planet B to save us. It is your responsibility as the press to cover these local, national and international movements and to do so in a fair, accurate and comprehensive way.

Kris Clark

Portland

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