The March to ReEnergize Iowa, which kicks off at 9:30 a.m. Thursday at Reiman Gardens, is designed to raise awareness about global warming.

Marchers will journey on foot from Ames to Des Moines over the course of four days, enjoying evening events and entertainment scheduled along the way.

The march will end with a rally at Nollen Plaza in Des Moines. James Hansen, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, will be the keynote speaker at the final rally.

“He’s become a major spokesperson on the issue [of global warming],” said Kim Teplitzky, ReEnergizeUS media coordinator.

The student-organized march aspires to pressure legislators to create a clean-energy economy, with the goal of reducing pollution and creating jobs for American workers.

Organizers point to biofuels and wind energy as examples of possible solutions to global warming.

This is the first march of its kind in the Ames area, and, according to a press release, the event is expected to be the largest global warming rally held yet, in Iowa.

“This is totally new,” said Joe Richie, project manager for ReEnergize Iowa.

A similar march began in New Hampshire on Tuesday and will end Sunday. Richie said the locations for these marches are not without meaning.

“The nation’s eyes are on Iowa,” he said, referring to Iowa’s influence in the presidential campaigns.

He also said it made sense to march from Iowa State’s campus, an important site of research, to the capitol, where, he said, most of the action must be taken.

Richie also said that he hopes similar events will spring up throughout the United States, attempting to raise awareness concerning the threat of global warming before the damage becomes irreversible.

“We need to keep a steady drumbeat of events like this,” Richie said, calling global warming a “growing problem.”

Richie said organizers expect approximately 35 people to be present for the kickoff at Reiman Gardens.

However, he said he expects the number to swell to about 1,000 for the final rally in Des Moines.

Teplitzky said the evenings’ events will feature relevant speakers and live music, among other things.

“Another day they’re going to stop on a farm for hayrides,” she said.

Richie said people are not required to participate in the entire march.

“They are welcome to show up to anything we’re doing,” he said.

Richie said he would refer anyone interested in the march and its affiliated events to the organization’s Web site, www.climatesummer.org, for further information and a detailed schedule.