College Students Amped Up the Eco-Activism on Earth Day

The Earth Day Network accomplished one big goal last Tuesday: flooding the congressional switchboard with calls from people who wanted to encourage lawmakers to enact eco-friendly measures. With the help of 1,000 college students at 1,000 campuses nationwide, the Earth Day Network made sure that our nation’s leaders heard the voices of people who care about the planet. From the Washington Times:

“We’re really excited about this because Congress keeps saying they don’t hear from the American public on climate change,” said Kathleen Rogers, president of Earth Day Network, which bills itself as an eco-activism group connecting some 17,000 organizations in 174 countries. “The [presidential] candidates are not being asked about climate change. Climate change is the biggest threat to humanity that we’ve ever faced.” Rogers said she wasn’t worried about the switchboard being overwhelmed by the calls. She said she was assured by the office handling congressional calls that staff could handle 1.3 million calls during a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. period. “They’re very, very competent, and they’re ready. We’re gong to help them as much as we can in advance,” Rogers said. “Our intention is really, really not to shut them down. If things went nuts, which we don’t expect them to, their operators are dreamboats. They consider their jobs part of the democratic process. If there’d be any problems, it’d be with the phone lines, not with the switchboard.”

Historically, college students have always been known for doing everything a little more vibrantly than the rest of the population, from activism to drunken debauchery, but lately it seems like more and more people are working hard to instigate change, and are more dedicated than ever. Keep it up, college students! God knows America needs your enthusiasm. Link [Washington Times] Photo credit: Flickr user GirlReporter