The Post SLU Step It UP Report! Depsite the apparent lack of solar energy outside, inside the St. Lawrence Student Center the energy and enthusiasm of SLU Steps It Up participants was in abundance! Our first event focused on the presentaion of the SLU Environmental Action Plan (a comprehensive set of objectives for environmental sustainability at St. Lawrence. A lively discussion ensued with questions from the audience about the environmental future at St. Lawrence. The room filled with people as 11:45 approached and SLU President Dan Sullivan took the stage to speak. The president publicly announced for the first time his signing of the American College and University President's Climate Committment. The audience enthusiastically responded to his announcement that SLU will build all new buildings to LEED Silver status and that the University will "adopt an energy-efficient appliance purchasing policy requiring purchase of Energy Star certified products in all areas for which such ratings exist."

At noon all of the participants were collected in the Student Center atrium for several brief speeches by some of the SLU Steps It UP organizers. A group photo was taken from the second floor looking down. A 'Heritage' kayak was raffled off with all proceed going towards environmental action in the NY North Country. The lucky recipient was a custodian here at St. Lawrence and was esctatic to have won. The 120+ people that attended then mingled with SLU and community organizations as well as taking in live music provided by Voss Fernandes and John Collins. Organizations explaining their link to climate change included: Democracy Matters, The Hub, Community Energy Services, EAO, Bird's Foot, Multi-Faith Community, Oxfam, the Greenhouse, SLU Geology Club, Thelmo (Student Government), and the Coalition on Climate Change.

A cosmic walk (a spiritually based journey through the cosmos and Earth's history) and a free showing of Al Gore's global warming documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" were also included in the event. Nature walks through the Kip Tract (a local trail) were also hosted by one of the SLU Step It Up organizers. Perhaps the greatest success of the day was the planting of 50 white pine saplings on a small plot of SLU-owned land by a gathering of 20 organizations. The success of this 6 hour long event was testimony to the committment of climate action in the NY North Country. Two media outlets (The Watertown Times and North Country Public Radio) covered the event.

Sound bytes taken by David Sommerstein of NCPR

SLU Steps It Up: On April 14th, from 10:30 am to 4:30 pm the Coalition on Climate Change (C3) staged a Step It Up rally at SLU aimed at pushing Congress to address issues of global warming, specifically to cut carbon emissions (one of the leading causes for global warming) by 80% by the year 2050. There were over 1000 different actions in all 50 states scheduled on April 14th, 2007, a day that was the largest Day of National Climate Change to date.The schedule for the rally at SLU included:

10:30am-Noon:A presentation of the SLU Environmental Resolution and the Environmental Action Plan will take place in the Winston Room. A discussion will follow this presentation. President Sullivan will speak on a recent commitment St. Lawrence has made on climate change.

Noon: At noon all present participants will gather in the Student Center atrium to hear an explanation of what Step It Up is all about, take a group photo (which will be posted after the rally on the Step It Up website: www.stepitup2007.org), and take part in a raffle for a kayak (with proceeds supporting Green Energy at SLU; tickets will be sold in advance). Participants and event organizers will also work together in making a banner for the Step It Up movement.

12:00-2:30pm: St. Lawrence and community-based groups will have tables set up explaining what their groups are all about, how they are linked to global warming, and how individuals can help combat global climate change.

12:30-2:30pm: Music in the Winston Room (Voss Fernandes).

1:00-3:30: A cosmic walk charting the formation and growth of the Earth through time (Mulitpurpose room in the Newell building)

1:30-2:30: Nature walks will be led by SLU students through the Kip Tract where natural processes will be explained and how they would be affected by global climate change.

1:30: A showing of Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth in (Bloomer Auditorium in Brown Hall)

2:30: Tree planting!