Climate activists gather in New York for ‘Sun Day’ solar energy and anti-billionaire rallies

Groups of climate activists walk through the street of New York City for the ‘Make Billionaires Pay’ march on 20 September. Photograph: Emily Cotler/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

Hundreds of environmentalists gathered in New York City’s Stuyvesant Square Park and a nearby Quaker meeting house on Sunday to rally in support of solar power and other forms of renewable energy. The event was part of a national “day of action” billed Sun Day, founded by veteran environmental activist Bill McKibben and first Earth Day coordinator Denis Hayes.

“It’s so sad to watch the sun going to waste,” McKibben said at a press conference, standing beside environmentalists and their children. “Every single day, energy from heaven going to waste while we drill down to hell for another dose of the stuff that is wrecking this planet.”