Tufts' Environmental Consciousness Outreach (ECO) organized a rally on Saturday as part of the nationwide Step It Up 2007 campaign, which aims to reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050.
The Tufts rally, which took place on the Res Quad, was one of over 1,300 throughout the country and featured a speech by senior Eric Misbach, a performance by Tufts student band The House of Representatives, and free Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Approximately 100 people attended, according to senior and ECO officer Amanda Fencl.
The goal of the rallies was to encourage members of Congress to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Step It Up's leaders will inform politicians of the rallies through a report that will contain information about all of the local efforts.
"The Step It Up campaign was basically trying to show Congress that it has to be accountable to its constituents," Fencl said.
The Kyoto Protocol, which came into force in 2005, asked industrialized countries to reduce their emission of greenhouse gases by 5.2 percent compared to the year 1990. They have until between 2008 and 2012 to do so.
According to Fencl, this would amount to a 29 percent reduction in greenhouse gas levels by 2010 compared to what would be expected without the Protocol. The United States is a signatory to the Protocol, but has not yet ratified it.
People involved in the Step It Up campaign feel that the Protocol does not do enough to reduce environmental problems resulting from global warming.
"What we are asking as a Step It Up movement is that Congress cut [emissions] by 80 percent. We feel that a [29] percent cut isn't going to do anything," she said.
Fencl said that Congress can help make a bigger cut by putting laws into place that hold businesses accountable for their emissions.
She said that spreading awareness, a goal of ECO, is instrumental in making change. The Step It Up rally was one of multiple ECO events this month aimed informing students about climate change. ECO also hosted an Energy Conference on April 6, which featured a panel discussion of clean energy options. "You need top down and bottom up approaches to fix problems like this," she said.
Freshman Martina Santarsieri said that while she originally attended the rally to see her friends' band perform, she was motivated by the efforts of her peers.
"[I] heard [a] speech about the reasons they were doing it, and it was really motivating," she said. "It's a great way to get the word out to Congress to show that this is an issue people care about. It's encouraging to see that students at Tufts are putting forth an effort too because we can really make a difference."
-by Jenna Nissan
