On April 14, 2007, gaggles of enthusiastic Americans gathered at more than 1,400 spots around the U.S. to demand action against climate change, part of a coordinated Step It Up campaign launched by author Bill McKibben. At all the rallies, marches, parties, and other hullabaloos, the message was the same: Step it up, Congress! Enact immediate cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions, and pledge an 80 percent reduction by 2050.

See and hear highlights from the Seattle event (where Grist staff and readers came out in full force) and other gatherings around the country.