Following national trend, Tufts students take on climate change

To combat the Bush administration's energy policy, Tufts Eco Club created the Renewable Energy Committee (REC). The group will work to bring awareness about human-induced climate change.

"We created REC to promote awareness of climate change and to gain political recognition," REC coordinator and junior Jennifer Baldwin said. "We want [Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney] to initiate a climate action plan."

Two years ago when the U.S. withdrew from the Kyoto Treaty (an international agreement limiting greenhouse gas emissions from country to country), Tufts Institute of the Environment pledged to adhere to the goals laid out by the Treaty, even if the federal government withdrew. REC will continue to work toward the goals of Kyoto.

The precedent for the REC's convening on April 1 was set on Nov. 13, 2003, when 65 youth and student-run organizations and environmental groups across the country discussed and promoted the use of clean energy.

"The purpose of April 1 was to show solidarity and show that [renewable energy] is important," REC co-coordinator and freshman Aditya Nochur said.

REC's short-term goal is to help Tufts get 20 percent of its energy from renewable energy sources. REC will also support a state-wide letter-writing drive to Romney, asking him to support renewable energy solutions.

Other schools across the nation have also initiated creative campaigns, activities, and groups to support renewable energy.

The California Student Sustainability Coalition, based at University of California at Berkeley (UC Berkley), aims to bring about positive environmental change by combining activism and education. A fully accredited UC Berkeley course conducted by scientists, authors, activists and scholars intends to educate and inspire students through service-learning programs that make the campus more sustainable.

Students for Renewable Energy at Western Washington University conducted a campus education initiative on April 1 and encouraged students to vote for a $19 activity fee increase to purchase 100 percent renewable electricity on campus.

Though some Tufts students feel that paying extra money for increased renewable energy use is unnecessary, others would be willing.

Sophomore Liz Halperin wouldn't mind paying the full $20. "We're already paying $40,000, so $20 extra is pretty insignificant," she said.

According to energyaction.net, over 150 U.S. cities have pledged to voluntarily reduce carbon emissions through "conservation, energy efficiency, and the use of renewable energy." Wind energy has become the fastest growing renewable energy source on a global level.

Environmentalists support alternative energy sources because of the air pollution caused by burning coal, as well as the fact that coal mining can result in environmental disasters like flash floods and ruined water supplies.

Advocates of America's continued reliance on coal and oil are less supportive of the development of alternative energy sources, largely because of the resulting economic damage to the coal and oil industries and those who work in them: in early April, President Bush proposed lessening coal mining regulations in order to create more job opportunities and strengthen the economy.