In contrast to the global warming a small group of students was warning against Monday afternoon, East Lansing offered a brisk 41 degrees to ECO members as they walked from the Union to the Administration Building.

With signs reading “Green is great” and “Love your mother,” the group of about six people sang, “Happy Earth Day to You,” on its route while trying to raise awareness about global warming. Although members expected more people to come to the rally, several members had just returned from Washington, D.C., where they were demonstrating for other causes.

“We’re trying to encourage our administration,” said interdisciplinary studies in social science freshman Tessa Kwant at Monday’s rally on campus. “This is not a protest, this is an encouragement.”

The march was part of a movement to showcase Earth Day, but the MSU march had an added agenda - raising support for the group’s negotiations with administrators to bring the university in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol - an international attempt to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

On their route, ECO members distributed pamphlets and encouraged people to sign petitions in support of the cause.

“Other universities like Cornell are implementing it,” Lyman Briggs freshman Lee Mueller said. “It’s practical in the long run to save energy and one of the best ways to save money is to reduce energy usage.”

Members of the group met with administrators April 8 to discuss the proposal, which includes a $5 per semester tax to support renewable energy sources and a reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases.

The group is meeting again Friday, but members hoped to bring attention to the issue with the rally.

One observer, Kirk Burkhart, said he normally doesn’t think about Earth Day, but thought there should be more attention on the issues.

“It’s important for a cause,” the no-preference freshman said as he watched the rally move toward the Administration Building. “It’s too bad it’s not as big a deal as it should be.”