Spring Break
Climate change summit draws 6,000 students
Issue date: 11/8/07
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Roughly 6,000 college students from across the United States converged upon the University of Maryland at College Park this weekend to attend Power Shift 2007, a national youth summit aimed at confronting a wide variety of environmental problems, focusing primarily on climate change.
The conference, which took place over four days, was by far the largest conference on climate change ever held by college students, and one of the largest conferences for students in recent American history.
Roughly 20 students from Hopkins attended the conference through means provided by the Hopkins Energy Action Team (HEAT), a coalition of student organizations on campus dedicated to the prevention of climate change and other significant environmental problems. At the conference, a series of panel seminars and workshops allowed these Hopkins students to learn and ask questions about issues related to the environment, as well as explore various means through which they could attempt to implement solutions effectively here on campus.
"The Conference was a great success - 6000 students registered, and our Hopkins group learned a lot. I think that Hopkins students can look forward to seeing even more involvement on campus this year," said Julia Blocher, Assistant Director of HEAT and the organizer of Hopkins's involvement in Power Shift. The 2006-2007 school year marked HEAT's inaugural year as an organization on campus.
"And Pelosi was fantastic," Blocher said, referring to the fact that Nancy Pelosi, the current Speaker of the House of Representatives, headlined the event.
The Conference was organized by members of the Energy Action Coalition, a coalition of 40 different student-led environmental groups across the country. The nationwide Energy Action Coalition aims to catalyze interest and knowledge about the climate change crisis in order to work for a transition toward solutions such as clean energy alternatives.
In terms of registered participants and media coverage, Power Shift 2007 was the Coalition's greatest success thus far. The staff and student organizers, who consisted of recent college graduates as well as current college underclassmen, including Hopkins's own sophomore Kevin Pai, outlined three main goals for the Conference: "1) Make U.S. presidential candidates and Congress take global warming seriously; 2) Empower a diverse network of young leaders and 3) Achieve broad geographic diversity."
The conference, which took place over four days, was by far the largest conference on climate change ever held by college students, and one of the largest conferences for students in recent American history.
Roughly 20 students from Hopkins attended the conference through means provided by the Hopkins Energy Action Team (HEAT), a coalition of student organizations on campus dedicated to the prevention of climate change and other significant environmental problems. At the conference, a series of panel seminars and workshops allowed these Hopkins students to learn and ask questions about issues related to the environment, as well as explore various means through which they could attempt to implement solutions effectively here on campus.
"The Conference was a great success - 6000 students registered, and our Hopkins group learned a lot. I think that Hopkins students can look forward to seeing even more involvement on campus this year," said Julia Blocher, Assistant Director of HEAT and the organizer of Hopkins's involvement in Power Shift. The 2006-2007 school year marked HEAT's inaugural year as an organization on campus.
"And Pelosi was fantastic," Blocher said, referring to the fact that Nancy Pelosi, the current Speaker of the House of Representatives, headlined the event.
The Conference was organized by members of the Energy Action Coalition, a coalition of 40 different student-led environmental groups across the country. The nationwide Energy Action Coalition aims to catalyze interest and knowledge about the climate change crisis in order to work for a transition toward solutions such as clean energy alternatives.
In terms of registered participants and media coverage, Power Shift 2007 was the Coalition's greatest success thus far. The staff and student organizers, who consisted of recent college graduates as well as current college underclassmen, including Hopkins's own sophomore Kevin Pai, outlined three main goals for the Conference: "1) Make U.S. presidential candidates and Congress take global warming seriously; 2) Empower a diverse network of young leaders and 3) Achieve broad geographic diversity."
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