Newberg Graphic Online

Educating on climate change

University — Group tries to raise awareness on reducing carbon footprint in anticipation of summit

• By: Laurent Bonczijk  
• Published: 11/20/2009 1:15:59 PM

Visible statement
Students and professors took the streets to bring awareness to climate change during the International Day of Climate Action.

   With some polls suggesting that most Americans do not find climate change a pressing issue, George Fox University students tried to raise the awareness of their peers in anticipation of a worldwide climate conference.
   To draw attention to the Dec. 8-17 conference on climate change in Copenhagen, a group of students from the school’s sociology department organized a local awareness event as part of a worldwide drive to generate attention.
   The organizers were students of Lisa McMinn’s class on worldwide sociological movements. McMinn said she decided to ask her class to organize an event instead of each completing the more traditional individual project. She said she found that participating in the International Day of Climate Action, as its official name is, would provide her students with firsthand experience on what a social movement is and does.
   While some students were ambivalent about climate change, there weren’t any who were deadly opposed to the project and she did offer the possibility to do a personal project. None opted for that option.
   The students said that the reactions they received represented a mixed bag, the most antagonistic coming from their parents or school alumni. Scott Bay, a senior, said that one of the points the group made, to try and reach out to skeptics, is that whether they believe in climate change or not “saving energy was more productive than not.”
   Alli Walker said that at first this didn’t generate much excitement among her classmates, but the energy grew because it allowed them to “participate in something much bigger than ourselves,” she said.
   Liz Mitchell said that while the group operated an information table on campus, students came and challenged them but “I think people were generally open minded about it,” she said.
   Walker said that another point the group made was that whether people agreed or disagreed with climate change, taking steps toward a smaller carbon footprint was easy and could be considered an insurance policy. Some of the simple steps they advocated were to take shorter showers, eat less meat, and be mindful of energy consumption.

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