Sporting large, brown ‘oily hands,’ and carrying signs reading “Fight  Climate Change Now,” a dedicated group of climate activists spent nearly two hours ‘shadowing’ US Senator Scott Brown at fundraising events in Boston on Wednesday evening.

Four groups were involved in planning and carrying out the shadow event:  1Sky, 350.org, the Global Warming Education Network, and Paint Brown Green.  Supporters of the groups first gathered outside of a fundraiser for MA treasurer candidate Karyn Polito, held at the Liberty Hotel, a former prison in Boston.  Among other taunts, three of the activists chanted, “Climate change victims, hear them wail; climate change deniers belong in jail!”  Senator Brown was not seen entering or leaving the event.

After 45 minutes of demonstrating outside the first fundraiser, the protesters marched past the offices of both US senators Kerry and Brown on their way to a second fundraiser, held for Brad Marston, republican candidate for US Congress, held at the Kinsale restaurant, on Cambridge Street in Boston.  Commenting on Boston’s weird recent weather, the activists chanted, “Six weeks of drought, then four inches of rain; how do you like your climate change?”

Then, just as the demonstrators were told that “security had been notified,” the impossible happened:  Senator Brown approached the restaurant on foot. Seeing her chance, activist Susan Shamel immediately went to the senator’s side to voice her request for strong US climate legislation.  Shamel and Brown spoke for nearly a minute before the senator waved to the other

activists and disappeared inside.

“He was supportive of my request for legislation, but blamed democrats for not bringing appropriate legislation to the senate for a vote,” said Shamel. “He also said that he could not support a tax on energy,” she went on.  “I told him that revenues collected could be returned to the taxpayers, but he was skeptical of this approach,” Shamel said.