Members of AU's Eco-Sense club attended the "Step It Up" rally Saturday to call Congress to action on carbon emissions. The D.C. rally was part of a nation-wide group of simultaneous rallies designed to bring attention to the issue. The highlight of the rally was the creation of a human postcard showing rally attendees forming "80 percent by 2050," a specific call to reduce carbon emissions.
Although attendance at the rally was low compared to other big rallies (like the fall 2005 anti-war rally or spring 2006 call to end the crisis in Darfur), this can be explained by the national simultaneous rallies, weather and fact that it's difficult to get college students to do anything at this point in the year. However, those who did participate should be commended for their action.
Similarly, AU's Eco-Sense is also a small but deeply committed group. It has already succeeded in passing the pro-wind energy initiative in last year's elections and are working with university administrators to pass a Bikes and Biodiesel initiative, which would provide more places to park bikes on campus, make the university more friendly to public transportation and require all university-owned transportation to run on biodiesel.
The club is run more like a professional nonprofit than a student club. Its committed officers and outstanding organization should ensure that the club continues to win victories for the environment.
