Director of the Center for Environmental Policy at Bard College and Power Dialog national coordinator Eban Goodstein said this event is very relevant to the present issues, which the current generation and those after will be facing.

“This is a unique opportunity to meet with the people who are actually driving the change in Michigan,” Goodstein said. “People get discouraged when they talk about global warming because they feel sort of hopeless, but the fact is that there is a lot going on and there is a lot we can do. Most people don’t realize that in every state, there are folks who are working to make progress to build this renewable energy revolution.”

During the event, many professional representatives and energy policy experts from the state of Michigan had the opportunity to speak about climate and energy plans that are relevant to the community.

“The idea for the event is for students from all over Michigan to hear and give their opinions on federal and state-level energy plans about climate,” MSU dialog coordinator Ann Erhardt said. “It’s about students asking questions, not just talking heads talking at students.”

Topics discussed during the event included energy policies, especially regarding renewable energy and carbon emissions, and the global commitment to reduce emissions by 2030.

Environmental studies and sustainability senior and emcee of the dialog Allison Montambeau said the students’ roles in the event are very important.

“I think this is a great opportunity for us students to have a direct conversation with some of the people that are impacting our energy policy in Michigan,” Montambeau said.“It’s easy for us to feel like there is nothing we can do to impact these decisions because we are just college students, but this is a way for us to voice our views directly so that no one can ignore us. I think it’s a really unique experience to have these discussions with such important and influential people.”