This past weekend, an estimated 10,000 young men and women from campuses nationwide attended the third biennial Power Shift conference. It was the biggest movement building training and strategy session ever, according to Ethan Nuss, co-field director for the Energy Action Coalition, and 42 of the attendees were our very own MSU Spartans.
Held in our nation’s capital, the weekend started with clean energy advocates training our youth how to bring the fight back to their local governments and campuses, emphasizing the urgency of change — if we are to save our planet, we must pursue a change in legislation regarding energy consumption now.
The weekend ended with 5,000 students marching through the streets of Washington, D.C. demanding climate justice.
Frankly, time is running out; the bottom half of the hourglass is nearly filled and essentially nothing has been done. This Earth Week, two major events are being held on campus by the MSU Beyond Coal Campaign, MSU Greenpeace and Greenation to seek a commitment from the MSU administration to transition the T.B. Simon Power Plant — the largest on-campus coal-burning plant in the nation — to renewable energy sources.
The power plant burns more than 300 tons of coal per day; its pollutant-heavy emissions not only affect MSU students but also the surrounding Lansing area communities.
I urge the MSU community to take some time to learn about this pressing global issue and then act locally. I cannot emphasize this enough, but time is running out!
Ibrahem G. Wasti, English sophomore and member of MSU Beyond Coal
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