Community Involvement, Advocacy Characterize Student Environmental Group at Holy Cross

It was another active semester for Eco-Action. Maria de la Motte ’10, co-chair, runs us through the student-driven group’s accomplishments during the fall semester.

• Sponsored clean up of neighboring Cookson Park.

• Registered more than 200 Holy Cross students to vote in Worcester throughout October, along with Student Programs for Urban Development, the College Democrats, and College Republicans. Eco-Action also co-sponsored the first-ever Candidates’ Night on campus, contributing questions on local environmental justice issues.

• Helped organize an Energy Barn-Raising at the Genesis Club to celebrate 350, the International Day of Climate Action, one of hundreds of actions in hundreds of countries. Around 100 people, including several from Holy Cross, showed up to make the building more efficient.

• Co-sponsored “Reduce, Reuse, Participate” with the Student Government Association, in which more than 100 students pledged to help Holy Cross achieve carbon neutrality through lifestyle changes or signed a petition for the Stop Spewing Carbon campaign.

• Collected more than 200 signatures for the Stop Spewing Carbon Campaign to help get a question on the Massachusetts ballot in 2010 where voters can decide to limit pollution from biomass incinerators.

• Raised approximately $500 for Rural Water Ventures by selling fair-trade chocolate with the help of Latin American Student Organization, Oxfam, Peace Around the World, SGA, and Women’s Forum at their “Fair Trade 10-Spot” event.

• Participated in the “It’s Game Time, Obama!” national campaign, calling on the president to go to Copenhagen in December.

• Helped organize and participated in a pre-Copenhagen Energy-Barn Raising at the Woo Church on Main Street in December.

• Hosted a “Countdown to Copenhagen” lobby table in the Hogan Campus Center where members of Eco-Action gave out information about the UN Climate Conference and on current climate legislation at home, including contacts for leaders. The group collected letters for Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick about clean electricity legislation in the Bay State, and to State Rep. John P. Fresolo, D-Worcester, about a bill to protect the state’s parks and playgrounds, the Public Lands Preservation Act.

Students interested in getting involved can e-mail Eco-Action@holycross.edu.

Related Information:

• Sustainability at Holy Cross • Environmental Studies

January 5, 2010|nm