Spring Break
Lawmaker urges care for environment
by Joshua Adland
News | 4/17/07
Posted online at 10:26 PM EST on 4/16/07
/ Last updated at 6:03 AM EST on 4/16/07
There aren't many who can attract a crowd of 150 to talk about the environment on only a few days' notice, but U.S. Representative Edward Markey (D-Mass.) proved he is one of them when he spoke before a crowd in the World Court in Lemberg Friday.
Markey, whose district includes Waltham, called on students to take on environmental issues, saying they will affect young people and this planet for years to come.
"We will need your energy, we will need your imagination, we will need your commitment in this effort," Markey said.
Students should be thinking about how they can "reverse the policies of the United States in regard to our contribution to the catastrophe which is unfolding not just for us but for the entire planet," he said.
The event, which was only announced days before, aimed to raise awareness about global climate change. After Markey's speech, participants were invited to eat "eco-friendly" snacks and sit for a screening of Al Gore's award winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth.
"There is no greater environmental champion in congress than Ed Markey," Prof. Dan Perlman (BIOL) said in his introduction of Markey, who was recently appointed chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. Markey spent much of his time Friday discussing some of the issues he hopes the committee will tackle in the next two years.
The Congressman, who drives a Toyota Camry hybrid that averages 40 miles per gallon, spoke about the steps the United States can take to reduce its use of energy and its environmental impact. He said that until this country takes such measures, however, we cannot expect others to make changes.
"You cannot preach temperance from a barstool," Markey said.
Markey said that when President Bush mentioned the words "climate change" in his State of the Union address, many people wondered what he actually meant by that in light of his administration's inaction in the area of global warming.
Markey, whose district includes Waltham, called on students to take on environmental issues, saying they will affect young people and this planet for years to come.
"We will need your energy, we will need your imagination, we will need your commitment in this effort," Markey said.
Students should be thinking about how they can "reverse the policies of the United States in regard to our contribution to the catastrophe which is unfolding not just for us but for the entire planet," he said.
The event, which was only announced days before, aimed to raise awareness about global climate change. After Markey's speech, participants were invited to eat "eco-friendly" snacks and sit for a screening of Al Gore's award winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth.
"There is no greater environmental champion in congress than Ed Markey," Prof. Dan Perlman (BIOL) said in his introduction of Markey, who was recently appointed chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. Markey spent much of his time Friday discussing some of the issues he hopes the committee will tackle in the next two years.
The Congressman, who drives a Toyota Camry hybrid that averages 40 miles per gallon, spoke about the steps the United States can take to reduce its use of energy and its environmental impact. He said that until this country takes such measures, however, we cannot expect others to make changes.
"You cannot preach temperance from a barstool," Markey said.
Markey said that when President Bush mentioned the words "climate change" in his State of the Union address, many people wondered what he actually meant by that in light of his administration's inaction in the area of global warming.
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