This week, young people at high-school and college campuses across the nation will be getting action. No, just kidding (?), they’ll be taking action — to raise awareness about climate change during the Week of Action sponsored by Campus Climate Challenge and Truth on Campus.
As I mentioned earlier this month, student groups were encouraged to register their actions and start sending photos of their efforts (at right, Elon students spreading the word back in December). The latest news from the folks at Campus Climate Challenge is that more than 575 student actions and events are planned across the U.S. and Canada. Their press release calls it “the largest mobilization in the history of the youth global warming movement.”
Events this week include:
- All week: Screenings of An Inconvenient Truth will take place at hundreds of locations. The groups estimate that 50,000-75,000 young people will see the film this week, many for the first time.
- Jan. 30: Billionaires for Coal will rally outside the New York headquarters of Merrill Lynch to protest its investment in TXU, a company planning to build 11 new coal power plants in Texas. The group will be dressed in business suits with smokestack hats and will greet employees with coal, banners, and placards. (Should be a sight!)
- January 31: West Virginia elementary-school students will present letters to the governor urging him to build them a new school away from the coal silo now 150 feet from their building.
- All week: Students at Rutgers University will be sending invitations to Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) asking him to speak at a future screening of An Inconvenient Truth. They’ll also be kicking off a campus-wide energy-saving dorm competition.
To find an action near you, check out the Week of Action website.
