Greenpeace

    It seems to me that we don’t hear enough about young environmental leaders. People are doing great work all over, and yet, we hardly ever know their names (or even their actions). This was made clear to me when an ex-boyfriend who works in publishing started ticking off the names of “famous” people he had seen at his bosses’ (two of his bosses were getting married) wedding. After excitedly listing all the young writers/publishing people he had seen at this event, I started thinking about the people in my field who I’d be excited to see at an event. And though I’ve been a committed environmentalist since before I can remember, I couldn’t come up with a single name. Rachel Carson? Dead. John Muir? No longer with us. Edward Abbey? Departed. I thought hard, and I was still at zero.
    Well, not quite. I spent yesterday morning talking with Mark, who is in Greenpeace’s GOT (Greenpeace Organizing Term) program. Mark spoke quickly in a friendly Midwestern manner that reminds me of my Ohio college days. Excitedly, he told me about someone he met over the phone—a committed college activist who is vigorously trying to change her world.
    Minneapolis-born Kate Hunt’s favorite quote is from George Adams: “. . .but if your mind is imaginative, if your heart seeks the unexplored, the setting does not matter. Your life will be an adventure.” She arrived on the Wartburg Campus in small-town Waverly, Iowa ready for action. Before she got there, Wartburg was very quiet. The 1,200-student campus was conservative, with little political activity going on.
    Growing up with an activist mother who was the executive director at the Voyageurs Region National Park Association, Kate's activism roots started early. She continues to grow these roots at Wartburg, establishing a politically active base at school. She is known around campus for always talking to people about how they can become involved—whether she is at parties, or getting a meal in the dining hall. Despite that Wartburg’s administration remains slow to implement change, hesitant even to establish a school-wide recycling policy, she manages to stay positive and actively engaged.
    When Mark contacted Kate about partaking in the K-C Student Day of Action on April 5, she was excited to be involved as ever. But when Mark mentioned that the goal of the Day of Action was to get 20 phone calls from students on each campus in to the K-C headquarters, Kate’s end of the phone fell silent. Mark grew worried. “Is this going to be a problem?” he wondered. Then Kate spoke. “This campus is going to get 100 phone calls in. We can do it,” she said.

To learn more about how you can become involved in the K-C campaign, visit www.kleercut.net and if you want to attend a K-C Day of Action, check out www.stopkleenex.com/april5.