GREENCASTLE —
Wearing green hard hats and shirts, a group of college students issued a request to Indiana legislators Thursday for clean energy and climate in Indiana as a prelude to Earth Day 2010.
“We hope this year will not just be a celebration of Earth Day, but a start of energy conservation efforts,” DePauw University senior Anthony Barrette said.
“Let’s seize this moment, create thousands of jobs, protect our environment and boost our nation’s safety,” said Barratta, a member of the DePauw Environmental Policy Project. He and other project students have spent the past semester at the Indiana Statehouse advocating for legislation that will improve the environment and economy.
Thursday morning, the students were joined on the steps of the Putnam County Courthouse by state Rep. Nancy Michael, D-Greencastle, whose District 44 includes Clay County.
“We have to ask ourselves if we are doing enough personally, professionally and politically,” Michael said. “The dependence on oil in this country is really affecting our national defense. We need congressmen who understand how energy dependence affects our nation, and we need to make people aware of how we can conserve and look at alternative energy sources.”
Michael also pointed out that Benton County has benefited from development of a wind farm, which harnesses natural energy and sells the power back to local utility companies in an attempt to lower energy costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Greencastle Mayor Sue Murray agreed, noting that local government has a responsibility to protect the environment and not just waiting on the federal government to make that move. In that local effort, Murray said, her Putnam County city has joined a rural transit system to provide public transportation, and has seen the local farmers market blossom into a two-day-per-week event that boosts the local economy.
The city has also received a state grant to replace its automatic stoplights with energy-efficient LED lights as part of an energy conservation effort.
Such moves are also possible on a statewide level, said Barratta, who attended the worldwide Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, last December.
As part of DePauw’s Environmental Policy Project, students have researched how other states have made progress toward earth-friendly practices, and the students have testified before the Indiana legislature with relevant facts and innovative proposals.
“These students are well-respected in the Statehouse,” Michael said. “They come with knowledge, and the legislators are convinced by knowledge and facts.”
Barratta said Illinois legislators have taken action such as the Farm Fresh Schools Program Act, which links schools with local and regional farmers to provide schools with fresh and minimally processed food for school meals, as well as the Illinois Food, Farms and Jobs Act to facilitate the growth of an Illinois-based local farm and food economy. Another Illinois law allows composting facilities to use food scraps in commercial composting facilities, rather than send that waste out-of-state.
Innovative energy technology can create new jobs, and Clean Energy Works Campaign reports that 45,000 new jobs are possible in Indiana with federal climate and energy legislation.
The campaign participants issued a call Thursday morning to Sens. Evan Bayh and Richard Lugar as part of Earth Day Revolution, a statewide campaign leading up to Earth Day on April 22.
Forty years after the first Earth Day, campaign leaders urged the Senate to stop delaying and start moving to clean energy and cut the carbon pollution that threatens America’s economy, security and climate.
Indiana’s Earth Day Revolution campaign plans to visit several communities prior to April 22, the day on which Earth Day falls this year. In recent weeks, the campaign has stopped in Vincennes and Lafayette; South Bend and Michigan City are also currently on the organizers’ agenda.
Lisa Trigg can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or lisa.trigg@tribstar.com.
Man Falls Off Crane, Dies After Police Standoff
Witness Describes Fla. Face-chewing Attack
Raw Video: Cop Shoots Man Eating Another's Face
Man in Crane at Texas College Says He's Armed
Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks
Obama Honors Fallen Troops at Arlington Cemetery
Raw Video: Deadly Explosion at Minn. Paper Mill
Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows
Romney Promises World's Strongest Military
Russia Condemns Ally Syria Over Massacre of 108
Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing
Raw Video: Earthquake Shakes Evacuees in Italy
Obama Pays Tribute to Vietnam Veterans
Beryl Knocks Out Power in Florida
Raw Video: 19 Dead in Qatar Shopping Mall Fire
15 Dead in Northern Italy's 5.8-magnitude Quake
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Memorial Day Aboard Intrepid
New Ticks Spread Across Southeast, Diseases Rise
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
Hamster Plays Dead
Beyonce Shows Off 60 Pound Weight Loss at Concert
Drunk Women Breaking Into Houses: A New Trend?
LeAnn Rimes Rocks Short Shorts
Gordon Ramsay Carried Off Field
Man Dies Getting Lap Dance
Kim Kardashian Claims Items Stolen from Her Luggage
Bear cools off in Calif. family's pool
Ep. 3: Chopped Desserts
Air Force dad surprises family at baseball game
Justin Bieber Wanted for Questioning for L.A. Scuffle
J.Lo and Marc's Friendly Reunion
Jet makes emergency landing after debris falls off
Cynthia Nixon Ties the Knot
Woman, 80, Falls Out of Skydive Harness Mid-Jump
Keira Reveals Engagement Ring
Dog runs alonside cyclists for 1,100 miles
