The People’s Climate March — We Were There

There may have been gray skies above Manhattan on Sunday, but more than 300,000 people gathered to call for action on climate change. The crowd stretched for blocks with sounds of chanting, clapping, dancing, and drumming drowning out the city's usual car horns and sirens. People of all races, ages, abilities, and affiliations, representing labor unions, scientists, religious groups, politicians, students, and more, joined together at the People's Climate March for one purpose: to stop the destruction of our planet.

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators, which included everyone from United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, and Edward Norton, waved flags, held signs, and cheered, all in the name of helping the earth —for not just our generation but those to follow as well. Ahead of the climate change summit occurring this week at the UN, it certainly made a statement; according to organizers, it was the largest climate rally in history.

At 12:58 p.m. in New York City, the demonstrators grew quiet and slowed to a stop for a moment of silence, before the clamor of horns and shouting horns rippled through the streets to "sound the alarm on climate change." Across the world, events in 166 countries echoed the anti-fracking sentiments.

Ahead, check out a selection of photos from the inspiring event, and meet a few of the young women who marched for their children, for those who lost everything in Hurricane Sandy, and for everyone whose lives have been impacted by climate change but can't speak up.