Iowa State Daily

Media Credit: Tim Young/Iowa State Daily Participants in a global warming rally march Saturday from the ISU Power Plant to the Ames Power Plant to raise awareness about global warming. The rally is part of a campaign to persuade Congress to pass laws that would reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent before 2050.

Approximately 300 students and community members took part in a march and rally Saturday afternoon to show local support for an international commitment to controlling global climate change as part of a national "Day of Action" that mobilized thousands of supporters across the country.

A throng of 150 activists, some carrying signs and banners, marched from the ISU Power Plant to the Ames Power Plant before joining the crowd gathered at adjacent Bandshell Park for the local installment of a national global warming event Step It Up 2007.

Through the event Web site, www.stepitup2007.org, environmentalist author Bill McKibben organized volunteers to host rallies across the country discussing global warming and gathering signatures for an official petition to reduce carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050. In Ames, volunteers collected 230 signatures to send to Congress along with pictures from rallies around the country.

Julia Olmstead, graduate assistant in agronomy and organizer of the Ames rally, underscored the significance and mission of the national effort.

"You are a part of something historic," Olmstead said. "Tens of thousands of people are doing the same thing today. The debate about global warming is over. Today, a movement has begun to halt the most serious threat our planet has ever faced."

Richard Leopold, director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources spoke about Iowa's potential leadership role in diversifying methods of energy production. He said because climate change has already taken effect, people must think in terms of adaptation to changes as well as opportunities to mitigate further changes in global climate.

He praised the work being done to develop ethanol and other biorenewable energy sources, but pointed out that ethanol production still has two steps in production that cause carbon emissions.

"This is a good thing, but it is not ecologically inert for our environment," Leopold said.

Ames Mayor Ann Campbell spoke about the efforts Ames has already made to reduce its ecological impact, including reducing its coal use by 10 percent, achieved by investing in a facility to burn flammable trash as fuel. The city is also considering making an agreement to hold itself accountable to the environmental standards of the Kyoto treaty.

"All of these things we have done, we continue to do and need to do more of in the future," Campbell said.

Local accountability for the global problem was a theme that ran throughout the rally. Carolyn Raffensperger, executive director of the Sciences and Environmental Health Organization challenged the crowd to take an active role in answering the question, "How are we going to love all beings of all species for all time?" She suggested a first step would be making environmental issues a primary consideration in individuals' voting decisions.

"Fellow earthlings, we can start right here in Ames, because we are the center of the political environment at least for the next two years," Raffensperger said.

Most importantly, he said, people need to think about how their decisions will impact the world in the future.

"We need to look at the long haul, at 200 years, at seven generations down the road," Raffensperger said.

Raffensperger's message resonated with Ames resident Heather Penney, who said she took part in the march because she believes in global warming and wanted to show her support for the mission of Step it Up 2007.

"I am also a grandmother, so that is one of my main reasons to want to preserve the planet - for my grandson and future generations," Penney said.

Iowa's greatest contribution to future generations may be power from its near perpetual winds, said Iver Anderson, adjunct professor in materials science and engineering. Anderson encouraged energy-progressive communities, such as Ames, to find ways to reduce its coal use even further. He said eventually, research like his could find ways to realize Iowa's potential as the "Saudi Arabia of wind power" by turning its localized wind into a transportable form of energy. Controlling the effects of global warming, he said, needs to be a primary and shared goal of society.

"This is not a partisan issue," Anderson said. "This is something everyone can get behind."

At-Large Ames City Councilman Jim Popken reiterated the call for setting a local example in controlling carbon emissions. He challenged community members to keep the issue on leaders' minds and to push for action on all levels of government.

"I implore you to contact your state, federal and especially city leaders," Popken said. "Push us out of our comfort zone."

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