Tropical Storm Noel brought rain and wind to New England this weekend, but the storm didn't prevent students interested in combating climate change from gathering on and off campus. Some students rallied in Providence for environmental activism, and others attended a weekend-long summit on global warming in Maryland.
A subdued rally was held Sunday morning in front of Faunce House. Approximately 40 students gathered to listen to speeches and raise awareness about environmental issues. Around half of those students then boarded a RIPTA trolley - rented by the group for the afternoon with the help of President Ruth Simmons, according to Shane Easter '10 who helped organize the event. The group headed for a rally to fight climate change in Rhode Island at the Roger Williams Park Zoo.
Easter, who helped organize the rally at Brown, said he was happy with the turnout. "Because it was more intimate," he said, "it made the messages go deeper." Easter said it was more important for the rally to make a big impact on fewer people than to have a larger number of passive participants.
The speeches at the rally mainly focused on concrete actions students can take to help reduce their impact on the environment. Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Steven Hamburg suggested students apply pressure to Thayer Street restaurants to cut back on energy consumption. Hamburg said he believed that most Thayer Street restaurants could cut their energy use in half and that students could help bring about this reduction by voicing their concerns to restaurant owners.
State Rep. David Segal, D-Dist. 2, urged students to campaign for Frank Ferri, a Democrat running in a special election for state representative in Warwick to be held Nov. 27. According to his Web site, Ferri supports investing in business practices that encourage environmentally-friendly behavior. "If you get an activist (like Ferri) elected ... he can apply pressure and point out hypocrisies," Segal told The Herald. "It can be really powerful."
Current and former Brown students also spoke. Jon Magaziner '07, who now works for the Clinton Climate Initiative, talked about fighting climate change on a global level. Speaking on behalf of emPOWER, Mollie West '09 discussed what is currently being done around campus to reduce carbon emissions. Specifically, West mentioned the University's $350,000 allocation for community environmental initiatives that could encourage students to come up with ideas to improve Brown's impact on the environment.
Despite the small number of people who turned out for the Faunce House rally, student attendees generally agreed that the rally was a success in terms educating campus about climate change issues. Danielle Dahan '11 said it's important to "keep reminding people and educating people" about energy consumption.
But Nida Abdulla '11 was disappointed that the rally didn't draw more attention. "I was hoping to make other students - those walking by - aware," she said. "I don't think we did that enough."
Twenty of Brown's environmental activists missed the rally on campus to join thousands of other students from around the country at Power Shift 2007, a conference that offered a series of workshops on environmental activism. Today, the Brown contingent will be in Washington, D.C., lobbying members of Congress to support legislation on climate change.
The rally on the Main Green, which had been scheduled for Saturday but was moved to Sunday because of the inclement weather, was part of a national day of climate action organized by Step It Up, a national organization that supports reducing carbon emissions.
Following the gathering at Faunce, students traveled to the zoo for "GO BIG, little rhody!" a rally organized by several environmental organizations in Rhode Island in coordination with Step It Up.
Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., and Providence Mayor David Cicilline '83 spoke to an energetic crowd of around 200 people from across the state. The campaign, launched at the zoo, seeks "to slash global warming pollution in the Ocean State 80 percent (of 1990 levels) by 2050," according to a Nov. 4 press release.
"We can't wait around for the federal government," said Denise Parrillo, who works with the Rhode Island Climate Coalition. "We're in line with Step It Up. But this is definitely Rhode Island-specific."
Unlike the events at Brown, the zoo rally was relatively devoid of specific recommendations for reducing the state's impact on the environment.
Segal called himself a "cynic." He said he felt the politicians and organizers of the event at the zoo were "not focused enough on specific action that will achieve concrete goals. ... Some stuff is happening, but it's not nearly as substantive as it sounds."
