Organizers for the People’s Climate March last month in New York had hoped for 100,000; instead 400,000 people of all ages, colors and backgrounds showed up.

It seems that many Americans are learning that if we are to address climate change in time to avoid the worst of it, we can’t depend on politicians in D.C. to lead.

The 400,000 obviously agree with the editorial board of the New York Times, which opined that our best and perhaps only solution to our present ineffectual national stance is for citizens to demand immediate action loudly and visibly.

Fortunately in this area and in our state, we have a unique opportunity to begin implementing real solutions to our climate crisis. We have a governor who has been labeled the greenest governor in the country. We are part of the Pacific Coast Collaborative which includes Oregon, California and British Columbia — an area which represents the fifth largest economy in the world. Last year the Collaborative agreed on a climate action plan which promotes the accelerated development of green energy and other steps to greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Numerous studies have clearly proven that clean energy such as wind and solar provide many more jobs — good paying, safe jobs — than fossil fuels. We have the potential to serve as a model for a green energy revolution that could dispel all the naysayers and the fossil fuels industry propaganda, a model that could be adopted by the rest of the country and other nations.

Unfortunately we also have ample barriers. Our local utility, Puget Sound Energy, seems to spend more time defending its highly polluting coal-burning policy than it does on taking the next steps on its wind and solar development programs. We have coal and oil trains whizzing through our state, endangering lives, the health of Puget Sound and — with the eventual burning of their cargo on our shores and overseas — increasing greenhouse gas emission to new levels. We have a state senate controlled by a few puppets of the fossil fuels industry who stand in the way of the governor’s agenda.

So how do we couple our vast opportunities with our obvious problems?  That’s exactly the lesson of the People’s Climate March — a gathering of concerned citizens so large that it simply couldn’t be ignored. A few days later the president pointedly referred to it in a major speech. The following week several major corporations and mayors of large cities announced new and bold climate policies.

In September I went to New York along with my niece, Kirsten Hytopoulos, a busy, single working mother of three and her 13-year-old son, Ethan, to join the march. Along with thousands of others we chanted, “This is what democracy looks like” because this is, especially at this point, what our democracy was meant to look like.

It’s time for more people to show up. It’s time for those people who say they are too busy to make time. It’s time for those who are uncomfortable clearly exhibiting their concern to push aside their reluctance. It’s time for people who think simply worrying about environmental degradation, recycling and driving a fuel-efficient car are enough at this point. If just the people who accept the science acted on it, we’d have such a groundswell of demand that government and corporations could no longer ignore.

Of course it will take more than marching. There are, however, numerous opportunities in our area where what is most needed is concerned people in numbers ­— events where the difference between real success or failure is determined by thousands showing up rather than the usual hundred.  The hearing in Olympia on oil trains on Oct. 30 is certainly one of those.

One thing is guaranteed: showing up when it counts just plain feels good. It reminds you that this is exactly what responsible, patriotic citizens are supposed to do and, when the stake are this high, must do.

For more information on how you can get involved, contact Climate Action Bainbridge at climateactionbainbridge@gmail.com or call 206-201-3420.

Erika Shriner has spent the last 20 years working and frequently writing on environmental issues. She is co-chair of Climate Action Bainbridge.