On Saturday, November 3rd, San Francisco hosted one of over 1,400 rallies across the country to call on political leaders to "Step It Up" by strengthening policies to cut carbon emissions. San Francisco was part what the Step It Up campaign called "the largest coordinated climate change event in U.S. history." Step It Up San Francisco featured a carnival-like atmosphere complete with a Toss Out Fossil Fuel sock toss, sidewalk chalk, electric cars, and solar-powered smoothies. The crowd, which was eager for more government action around climate change, gave City Hall the "green finger" by stamping their fingers with green ink and symbolically pointing at City Hall.

The rally kicked off with a parade of bicycles, electric cars from the San Francisco Electric Vehicle Association and a carbon-negative car that runs on coffee grinds. The plaza featured a group of League of Pissed Off Voters artists painting a biofuel bus, a massive solar panel from Greenpeace that powered the event, and a carbon-eating mobile algae farm.

Step It Up San Francisco organizer Jerry Stone said, “It takes the momentum of a grassroots movement paired with effective policy to generate real change.” Cindy Sheehan spoke about the need to reduce U.S. oil dependency to prevent climate change and stop wars waged for oil. Supervisor Aaron Peskin urged the crowd to vote "Yes on A, No on H" in this Tuesday's election to support public transit investments. Other local politicians spoke about the importance of fulfilling San Francisco's Climate Action Plan and implementing an energy policy called Community Choice Aggregation. They also addressed the toxic pollution in the Bayview Hunters Point that has been caused by Lennar Corp and by PG&E's toxic legacy. Issues such as dirty coal were also highlighted at the rally.

On Monday, November 5th, more than 3,000 young people will visit the offices of Representatives and Senators. They will tell the legislators that the entire nation cares deeply about climate change, and they will deliver photos from Step it Up events around the country.

Read More and View Photos: 1 | 2 | Let's Greenwash This City | Step it Up 2007