Greenpeace

On September 21, 2009 over 1 million people across the world were called to action after seeing the global premiere of ‘The Age of Stupid.’ Weeks later, hundreds of Greenpeace activists signed up to host their own showing of the film in their community or on their campus.

While the film has captured audiences of all ages and interests, young people and students have been overwhelmingly impacted and motivated by the honesty and urgency of the film’s message. During October 11th-23rd over sixty showings of ‘The Age of Stupid’ will take place on college and university campuses.  These film showing will bring attention to the most pressing issue of our generation: global warming. It is an opportunity to educate the student body on the global effects of the climate crisis, raise money for sustainable projects on campus and recruit new environmental leaders to get involved locally.

So far over 1,000 people have attended the campus film showings and there are still plenty more showings taking place this week.

Here are a few highlights from last week:

 At Michigan State University, over 150 people attended the showing hosted by MSU Greenpeace and the ECO club.  Afterward two MSU professors, one an ecological economist and the other an ecologist, facilitated a Q&A that verified the scientific content of the film and that now is the time to take action. The film had a huge impact on the audience and many were eager to find out how they can get involved in the fight against climate change.  Everyone was invited to attend the MSU event on October 24th, which will be taking place in front of the campus coal plant during a home football game.

Students at Northern Arizona University gathered before the film for a critical mass bike ride around Flagstaff. Everyone was decorated with signs encouraging people to ride bicycles and attend the film showing. After the bike ride, the cyclists joined the rest of the viewers on campus for an outdoor bike-in viewing of 'The Age of Stupid.' The event was complete with popcorn and cotton candy!The Campus Climate Challenge club hosted a fun and engaging event and recruited many people to attend their October 24th event where they will be participating in the Homecoming parade.

 Miami University of Ohio hosted an exciting film showing that brought together numerous campus and local organizations including Miami University Copenhagen Committee and Green Oxford. Everyone at the showing signed 'The Age of Stupid' banner and they will continue to collect signatures leading up to the UN Climate Change Conference in December. The film helped recruit new environmental leaders to get involved in the fight against the Miami University campus coal plant. Many of the students will be attending the Greenpeace October 24th event in Columbus.

 

At Rowan University, film viewers were motivated to take action immediately. Armed with "Stupid" and "Not Stupid" signs, students highlighted the environmentally friendly initiatives of their campus, such as bike racks, and the not-so-sustainable aspects, such as the large amount of waste produced.  

After numerous successful film showings and tons of students eager to take action, now it’s time to make history on October 24th for the International Day on Climate Action. Where will you be on October 24th? I know that Greenpeace students will be mobilizing on their campuses and calling on our world leaders for a fair, ambitious and binding treaty in Copenhagen this December.

Today leaders from the world's top 20 richest nations are at the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, PA, discussing a range of global issues—global warming being a priority on the agenda. 

The world is ready for climate leadership. That's why we're continuing to put pressure on our elected officials to prevent catastrophic events of global warming by implementing science based solutions.
 
While we wait for our leaders to answer the urgent call to action, more and more young people are stepping up to the challenge. All across the U.S. and Canada Greenpeace campus coordinators and on-call activists are mobilizing youth to tackle global warming on a local and national level.

Six students in particular have shown that they are committed to the fight for climate justice. Aleah Loney of McGill University, Jess Serrante of the University of Vermont, Max Bartholomai of Southeast Community College, Audry Mills of Old Dominion University, Max Blaushild of Miami University of Ohio and Connor Gibson of the University of Vermont make up the Greenpeace Student Board for the 2009-2010 school year.  The Student Board is a team of experienced student leaders who work with the Greenpeace staff team to coordinate the Student Network. Their work includes training and mentoring other students, coordinating days of action, providing updates to Greenpeace Organizing Term alum and students in the Network, and more.

Meet the Student Board!

Aleah Loney, Trainings Coordinator

Originally hailing from Canada's West Coast, Aleah is now in her final year at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. She is completing a double major in Political Science and International Development Studies with a minor in Sociology. Aleah spent a semester in San Francisco participating in the Fall 2008 Greenpeace Organizing Term. She also attended Activist Camp 2009, Greenpeace’s summer training program for young people. Aleah is also involved in animal rights activism and loves music, dancing and traveling.

Jess Serrante, Trainings Coordinator

Jess is originally from New Jersey and now lives in Burlington, VT as a student at the University of Vermont. She worked on the Kleercut campaign in 2008 and participated in the GOT program in the summer in San Francisco. This year she helped recruit over 200 UVM students to attend Power Shift2009 in Washington DC. Currently, Jess is working on a campaign to shut down the Vermont Yankee, a nuclear plant whose permit is about to expire. She also enjoys yoga, hiking and reading.

Max Bartholomai, GOT Alum Coordinator

Max is a student at Southeast Community College in Lincoln, Nebraska. He is looking to study Environmental Sociology at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln next year.  In the Fall if 2008 he attended the Greenpeace Organizing Term in San Francisco—his first experience with environmental activism. In the past he has  worked with the Gay-Straight Alliance and helped organize rallies/marches.  Max’s hobbies include bicycling, hiking, camping, and listening to music.

Audry Mills, GOT Alum Coordinator

Audry attends Old Dominion University majoring in political science. She began her environmental activism by volunteering with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Surfrider Foundation organizing beach clean-ups, protesting developers, power plants and over fishing. She attended the GOT in DC in the Fall of 2007 and since then has attended two summer trainings with the Greenpeace Student Network and has volunteered with the Greenpeace Rolling Sunlight tour in the fall of 2008. She was the GOT Alum Coordinator for the Student Board last year, the first year of the Board. Outside of school and activism she enjoys surfing, yoga, painting and photography.

Max Blaushild , Days of Action Coordinator

Max attends the Miami University of Ohio where he has been active since his first semester. Last year he was the event coordinator for the Power Vote campaign and has taken on other roles with his campus environmental club such as media officer and volunteer for Sustainability Day. He attended the GOT in San Francisco in the spring of 2009. Over the summer he was the GOT intern in San Francisco. Max also enjoys reading, writing, and backpacking.

Connor Gibson, Days of Action Coordinator

Connor is an Environmental Studies student at the University of Vermont. He joined the UVM Forest Crimes unit, which worked on a successful Kleercut campaign. In the summer of 2008, he helped train students at Greenpeace’s summer training program. He served as a Student Board member last year and attended the GOT in DC last spring.  In the summer, Connor was the GOT intern in DC. Connor also has a passion for playing the drums, skateboarding and stargazing.

If you’re looking to develop your leadership skills join us on our monthly conference call trainings. To find out more about the Greenpeace Student Network visit us online.