|
|
| December 2006
|
ALUMNI NEWS |
|||
|
The Kennedy Political Union responded to AU students’ concerns over global warming and other environmental issues by hosting the first-ever Environmental Summit on campus. Early November welcomed a week-long list of events including a screening of “An Inconvenient Truth,” a documentary on Al Gore’s campaign to help people understand global warming; a symposium on the effects of mountaintop removal; a parody about climate change; and more. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., whose family KPU was named in honor of for their service to America, gave the keynote address on Nov. 8. Kennedy’s speech on environmental destiny caught the attention of a crowd of more than 600 people in Bender Arena. His nearly hour-long speech focused on his personal contributions to environmental protection and the who, what, when, why, and how of increasingly worsening environmental problems. One topic he discussed, also highlighted during the week of the summit, was the effects of mountaintop removal for the benefit of the coal industry. Kennedy was introduced to the harmful affects of this process—clear-cutting the land of trees and using explosives to remove the rock and soil above the coal, which is then dumped into valleys and waterways—two years ago when he flew over the Appalachian Mountains. “They’re not just destroying the environment, but they’re permanently impoverishing these communities because there’s no way they can regenerate the economy in the American landscapes that are left behind,” Kennedy recalled his father telling him as a 14-year-old. "They’ve already buried 1,200 miles of America’s rivers, creeks, and streams," he said. "By the time this president leaves office they will have flattened an area of the Appalachians the size of Delaware." A majority of freshwater fish in America are unsafe to eat because of mercury contamination from coal-burning power plants, Kennedy continued. He cited a statistic from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that “one out of every six American women now has so much mercury in her womb that her children are at risk for a random inventory of diseases” including autism, blindness, mental retardation, and others. “Our children are going to pay for our joy ride,” said Kennedy. “And they’re going to pay for it with diluted landscapes, poor health, and huge clean-up costs that are going to amplify over time that they will never be able to pay.” The real problem America faces, he said, is that too many citizens are uninformed about the negative changes the environment is going through. The news media isn’t showing the flattening of the Appalachians or the ships that are dumping tons of waste into the oceans. Instead, Americans are being entertained with celebrity gossip and other topics that aren’t bringing attention to “the things we really need to [know] to make rational decisions in a democracy,” Kennedy said. “Today, Americans know more about Tom Cruise than they do about global warming.” Kennedy has been involved with environmental issues for the past 23 years, mainly as an environmental lawyer, and has written a book on the subject called Crimes Against Nature: How George W. Bush and His Corporate Pals Are Plundering the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy. He also coauthored The Riverkeepers: Two Activists Fight to Reclaim Our Environment as a Basic Human Right. AU’s campus is becoming increasingly environmentally friendly as it continues to recycle waste, use washing machines that require less water, and import food from local sustainable farmers. The Environmental Studies program offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and a certificate in environmental assessment. Students in and outside of the program are involved in environmental clubs like Eco-Sense, which promotes environmental service and activism on campus and in D.C., and the Wilderness Appreciation Society, which fosters appreciation for the environment through trips and activities. -Tara Shlimowitz '08 |
|||
