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.