Climate teach-in draws 3,200
College event - Students question the governor and other officials about policies to deal with global warming
February 01, 2008
The Oregonian
About 3,200 people turned out Thursday night at the University of Portland to show lawmakers that voters, especially young voters, want action to curb global warming.
College students passionate about the issue produced the event, broadcast live on Oregon Public Broadcasting radio and moderated by Sandra Tsing Loh, a public radio personality.
The gathering was part of a nationwide teach-in on global warming called "Focus the Nation," which unfolded Thursday at more than 1,700 sites, mostly colleges and universities. Other students showed up at UP's Chiles Center with no environmental agenda but plenty of curiosity.
"It's more of a learning experience for us," said Meesa Otani. A junior from Hawaii studying civil engineering at UP, Otani was intrigued by a campus panel earlier in the day on sustainable design. After all, she said, "we are college students."
The heart of the night -- bookended by sustainability jokes from the Live Wire! comedy troupe and a concert by Stars of Track and Field -- was a question-and-answer session between students and elected officials. They included Gov. Ted Kulongoski, state Rep. Jackie Dingfelder of Portland, state Sen. Ben Westlund of Bend and U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, all Democrats.
The questions were generally friendly, the politicians like-minded.
Kulongoski extolled Oregon's tax credits and other incentives to promote renewable energy. He touted his plan to create a cap-and-trade system that would limit emissions by power plants and other greenhouse gas emitters.
Blumenauer, who appeared via Web cam, said the climate change legislation Congress is considering is "better than most people think" but doesn't go far enough to reduce emissions.
Jesse Hough from the University of Oregon shook things up a bit, asking Kulongoski whether the state "would take a critical look" at a proposed Columbia River terminal for liquefied natural gas.
Kulongoski replied that until renewable energy technologies such as wind, solar and geothermal mature, Oregon must consider all existing options. "And LNG is an option on the table," he said, drawing rare boos.
Recent UO graduate Jesse Jenkins, co-founder of the Cascade Climate Network, issued a forceful call to action.
"The climate crisis is my generation's greatest challenge, but solving it will be our greatest opportunity," Jenkins said. "Who will join us? Who will join with us to focus the nation?"
The event capped a day of lectures, performances and sustainability fairs at UP and several dozen campuses across Oregon and Washington, including the University of Oregon, Portland State University, Oregon State University, Reed College, Lewis & Clark College, Willamette University, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland Community College and Linfield College.
Eban Goodstein, a Lewis & Clark professor, conceived the national teach-in and began 18 months ago to recruit faculty and students to host events on their campuses.
UP freshmen Jeff Hundahl and Ricardo Lopez said they wanted to hear lawmakers in part to figure out whether global warming deserves more attention than, say, the war in Iraq or other issues facing the United States.
"I really want to see what they have to say, especially about the solutions," said Lopez, from Mexico City.
Katie Elze, a UP freshman from Olympia, attended five climate change sessions earlier in the day, soaking up all she could learn.
"The U.S. is such an influential country," she said. "I think it's only fair and right that we lead the way in changing the way we live our lives."
Tsing Loh, the moderator, ended OPB's broadcast: "Good night. Go forth and conquer!"
Shelby Wood: 503-221-5368; shelbywood@news.oregonian.com For environment news, go to http://blog.oregonlive.com/pdxgreen/
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