We just got back from Powershift 09, the largest youth summit on climate change in history. After attending various workshops and lectures, it became very clear to me that we are in more trouble than we have been reacting to. We have the tools in Slippery Rock, in each of you, and in our need for a clean climate future to make a huge difference, and I know that we can do it.

Currently, with the help of former organizer Dan Cannon, we are drafting up our new campaign. We will be asking Slippery Rock University and President Smith to do the following things:
* Eradicate the use of Bituminous coal in the central boiler plant. This is DIRTY coal. The black stuff you see spewing out of the coal plant leads to localized pollution. We are talking about our health here-you don’t want coal in your stocking, why would we want it in our lungs?

*Take accountablilty for our carbon emmissions by designating a permenent on-campus carbon sink. Think trees! Think forests!

*Have President Smith sign the Presidents Climate Commitment. He has previously said that this is too much to commit to, and while we disagree, we have a compromise. We will help President Smith draft his own version. We want to know that we can count on the administration to back us while we do the right thing.

The important thing to realize is that we can’t do this on our own. We need to all work together. When the people lead, the leaders follow. These are big plans we have, but I have every confidence in each and every one of us that we can do it. Keep checking back for updates, and invite your friends to the facebook group. I will be blogging every step of the way, and we will be organizing a meeting for after spring break. As always, contact me with any questions at rachel {at} leaveitgreen(.)org.

The time for Change is NOW!!!
Rachel