Braving the cold with patterned sweaters and cups of coffee, members of the MSU community gathered Saturday at Walter Adams Memorial Field, urging the U.S. government to take stronger action against climate change.
Roughly 100 people participated in the rally, but they were not alone in their cause.
In more than 1,300 different locations throughout the country, thousands of people participated in "Step It Up 2007," a protest asking Congress to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 80 percent by 2050. The local event was organized by parks, recreation and tourism resources senior Jessica Pociask, and English senior Molly Benningfield. The two students worked with campus groups to promote the rally and spread awareness of the issue.
Pociask said Congress was in need of a brash message.
"The bottom line is climate change is real," she said. "We can remain apathetic, or we can do something about it."
And that's what they did.
The MSU Land Policy Institute provided a lightbulb exchange, which allowed people to turn in their old incandescent bulbs for more energy-efficient ones.
Local music entertained the crowd before East Lansing Mayor Sam Singh and Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero delivered speeches.
Singh said East Lansing has been making an effort to become more environmentally friendly, and other cities should join the environmental movement against climate change.
"It's such a significant issue, and there is such a lack of movement at the federal level," he said. "There are things we can do to affect our own policies."
The rally at MSU was only a small piece of a larger protest.
Photos were taken at various rallies across the country and strung together in a presentation that was sent to Congress.
From Key West to the Colorado Rockies, the end result was a coordinated protest staged in every corner of the country.
Singh will follow through on his promise by signing the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement on Tuesday, an initiative to cut carbon dioxide emissions throughout the country on local levels.
"It adds a point of visibility to the issue," Singh said. "Over the past few years, it has become apparent to our policymakers that something needs to be done."
Bernero signed the agreement earlier this year and said he hopes the two cities can work together.
"One way we can step it up is to work on things locally," he said. "This kind of action makes a difference."
Alex Champagne, an environmental biology senior, said the MSU community should have been more prevalent considering the importance of the issue.
"It's important that people become aware of this problem," he said.
