More than 100 college and high school students gathered at Power Shift Missouri ’09 to enunciate a clear message to Senator Claire McCaskill: support strong clean energy legislation. The summit at Saint Louis University, one of 11 regional summits aimed at pushing clean energy through Congress, ended with a rally Sunday in front of St. Louis City Hall. The event came together through efforts by the Student Sierra Coalition, the student chapter of Missouri PIRG (MOPIRG), student group Green Action at Washington University, One Sky, Greenpeace, and Repower America.
“We won’t be fooled by fossil fuels. Don’t buy it, don’t try it,” chanted students, along with “stop coal and oil, start wind and sun. This power shift has begun.”
Students made 111 video petitions before and at the event to be sent to Senator McCaskill and President Obama, said Jess Ward, a student at St. Louis Community College-Meramec. Ward helped organize the event through the MOPIRG chapter on his campus.
Adam Hasz, a sophomore at Wash. U. and their Power shift campus coordinator, gave the rally’s first speech.
“On this issue, when you vote, you represent more than just Missouri. Your constituency is the entire world,” Hasz said. “We will hold you accountable.”
Members of Green Action at Washington University were among the students who called on McCaskill to pass the bill to reduce carbon emissions nationally by 20 percent by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050.
Wash. U. sophomore Arielle Klagsbrun worked on recruitment for Power Shift on campus. “This is something that needs action now,” said Klagsbrun, “and that’s what I want to see come out of Power Shift.”
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