UMD students join fight against global warming

Rally promotes other sources of energy use

Many students dressed in green to carry out the theme that the earth needs to be protected from harmful carbon emissions.

They wanted to get students to sign a statewide petition urging that the state university system adopt a system-wide carbon neutrality policy. Carbon neutrality is when people offset their carbon footprint, such as driving a car that spews carbon dioxide, by supporting projects that cancel out their car’s emissions. That could include contributing money to support a wind farm that offsets driving a car and polluting the air.

The students have collected 3,800 signatures so far. There are 25,857 undergraduate students at the school.

The policy would require universities in the Maryland area to purchase clean energy from solar and wind companies, construct buildings according to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards, offer better and more efficient transit, and include sustainability in the core curriculum.

Bergstein said the students wanted to demonstrate their support for a statewide clean energy policy.

UMD students are part of a larger group called the Maryland Student Climate Coalition, which is mobilizing students at other universities in Maryland, including Coppin State, Frostburg State and Towson, to push the statewide university system to implement more forceful environmental polices.

The students plan to present their petition to the Board of Regents on Feb. 15, she said.

‘‘The environment and climate change is a social issue that is going to affect our jobs and communities,” Bergstein said. ‘‘For example, Maryland has miles of coast line and sea level rise is one prediction of climate change so there’s enormous risks for people to lose their homes.”

She said she is also concerned that the university buys electricity supplied by fossil fuel, which is getting more expensive and could raise the cost of tuition. It would be much better for the university to purchase energy from clean sources like wind and solar energy, she said.

Student Government President Andrew Friedson said it’s time for students to turn words into actions.

‘‘I’m thrilled that the University of Maryland has become a national leader on environmental sustainability,” Friedson said. ‘‘This campus continues to tackle the issue on many levels.”

Friedson said the university has a bio diesel bus system that uses used kitchen oil to fuel many university shuttles and students voted 91 percent in favor of increasing their student fees to pay for clean energy.

‘‘We are here today, braving the elements because we cannot afford to wait and let matters worsen,” Friedson said. ‘‘If our elders have the authority to discuss the past, then we have the authority to discuss the future...We have the responsibility to pave the path in the direction we want to move it.”

E-mail Deborah Stoudt at dstoudt@gazette.net.