The Sierra Club is holding its first major event of the season,
a town-hall meeting featuring guest speakers addressing global climate change, Monday Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Science Museum of Virginia.
The organization hopes to draw a large number of students
ready to assume responsibility for their constantly changing
environment, said Glenn Besa, regional director for the Sierra
Student Coalition at VCU. Heavy issues like global warming
are at the forefront of the Sierra Club’s efforts, Besa said.
“It’s unfortunate that students at VCU will be the citizens
who will bear the brunt of global warming,” Besa said.
According to Claire Schoen, a junior double majoring in
painting and printmaking, and international studies, it takes
small steps, like handing out fliers, talking to people in classrooms and spreading the club’s message through e-mails and phone trees, to let the community know what to expect from environmentalists.
“A major problem with people who want to take action is that
they don’t have the resources to link up with other like-minded
individuals,” Schoen said. “We help environmentalists meet
other environmentalists.”
Besa recognizes the importance of the task the coalition has
undertaken. He stresses the weight that citizens bear to keep
political powers up to speed on issues like climate change.
“It’s up to us to fix this problem,” Besa said. “This meeting
is all about getting awareness to convince Gov. Tim Kaine to
take action.”
This year, the coalition’s goal is to focus on Virginia’s energy
economy and outline steps through which it can be transformed, Besa said. The Sierra Coalition hopes to introduce renewable energy and a citizen’s energy plan to raise efficiency, thus impeding climate change.
Michael Town, Virginia Sierra Club Chapter director, and
Stewart Schwartz, executive director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, are among those speaking on matters of climate change at the town meeting. Both have long-lasting ties to environmental efforts in Virginia.
“I think these speakers are perfect for getting people excited
about getting involved,” Schoen said.
Besa said citizens are very aware of the impact of global
warming.
“Unfortunately, it’s the lawmakers who really need to become
educated on the matter,” he said.