Nearly a month after planting banners and dangling -- or trying to dangle -- from bridges as part of a G-20 demonstration, Ben Smith and Chelsea Ritter-Soronen say they got their message out.

All it cost was 50 hours of community service for the two Greenpeace activists who were part of a series of mid-morning raids that ended with a huge banner warning of "climate destruction" stretched across the West End Bridge.

The action, one of the most visible and dramatic protests as world leaders gathered in Pittsburgh for the G-20 summit, drew attention on Sept. 23, a day before the summit began.

A cadre of trained climbers rappeled down the side of the West End Bridge and swung above the Ohio River. A second squad that included Mr. Smith was nabbed seconds before they could carry out a similar stunt on the Fort Pitt Bridge.

Yesterday, an hour after they joined others in agreeing to 50 hours of service in their respective communities in return for dropped charges, the duo explained their actions -- mainly to bring attention to global warming. They offered few details, however, of how Greenpeace managed to elude the 6,000 law enforcement officers that blanketed the city to stave off disruptions.

"There was a good amount of support and a lot of good impressions and a lot of police were actually impressed with what we were doing up there," said Ms. Ritter-Soronen, 23, of St. Louis. She strapped herself to the outside railing of the West End Bridge to anchor the huge banner.

Her spot, facing toward the sidewalk on the other side of the rail, allowed for some chatter with the police and paramedics who closed off the bridge and tried to figure out what to do.

"Actually lots of conversation about why we were there. About why we were there spreading our message about climate change," Ms. Ritter-Soronen said. "The majority of it was very positive."

Mr. Smith, 29, of San Francisco, said it was the first time he had to call his mom to tell her he was under arrest.

"It's not easy to make the phone call, absolutely. And this was the first time I ever had to talk to my mother about this, and it was hard. It's not necessarily the approach she takes when she thinks about something like stopping climate change," he said.

Ultimately, both families rallied around their bridge danglers.

"It was definitely the talk of the family at my cousin's wedding last week," said Ms. Ritter-Soronen.

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