Students heading to class Thursday might have seen “Mother Earth” walking around campus.
She was marching with about 15 ECO students from the Union to the International Center to spread the word about global warming.
The marchers also participated in street theater, performing a skit that featured Mother Earth tied up and gagged. The acting showed how detrimental global warming is to the earth.
“The purpose showed the earth’s lack of voice or means of action with pollution,” said Liisa Bergmann, co-coordinator of ECO, the university’s student environmental group.
Bergmann, an environmental policy sophomore who played the role of Mother Earth, said she thought the march had a good turnout.
“A number of people watched us,” she said. “I only would have changed the weather.”
Members performed one skit that criticized President Clinton for exploiting large loopholes in the Kyoto Protocol, said journalism sophomore Emily Friedman, co-coordinator for the student group.
The Kyoto Protocol is a climate-change treaty that requires a worldwide reduction in carbon dioxide pollution. Loopholes in the treaty allow the United States and industrialized countries to substantially increase its emissions.
“The main purpose (Thursday) was to raise awareness of the global warming issue and of the conference in The Hague,” Friedman said.
The upcoming November conference, slated to take place in the Netherlands, will finalize rules of the Kyoto Protocol. The major points currently being negotiated include how much of a country’s reduction commitments can be met.
And performing at the International Center on Thursday was not an accident, Friedman said.
“Today was the International Day of Action, and campuses all over the country were doing stuff today,” Friedman said.
Natural science freshman Alison Brucks said events like Thursday’s march are crucial for the ECO group to raise awareness of its goal.
“Events like today are very important for our global warming campaign because we are trying to get as much support as we can before the Summit,” Brucks said.
“The actions taken by the U.S. delegation in The Hague will make or break the treaty, and right now it looks like they are set on breaking the treaty.”
