In spite of the rain, GAP’s candlelight vigil was successful, with a turnout of approximately 150 people. “Our aim was to show the world that Amherst College feels very strongly about climate change, and to empower students to join the world in demanding real solutions to the climate crisis at COP15, the UN Climate Change Conference,” explained David Emmerman ’11, co-chair of GAP.
Members of GAP chose to hold a candlelight vigil as they believed it would be an effective visual. “Candlelight vigils are often held as peaceful ways to memorialize people or call for peace — in a way, we were doing this prematurely,” said Alex Propp ’13, organizer of GAP’s chapter of 350. “If we don’t lower our carbon emissions, the changing climate and rising sea levels will marginalize entire populations and possibly endanger critical shared natural resources … Growing tensions could easily escalate into conflicts.”
GAP’s 350 event was part of a worldwide initiative, as over 5,200 events were hosted in 181 countries on Saturday, according to 350.org. The organizers’ stated mission is “to inspire the world to rise to the challenge of the climate crisis — to create a new sense of urgency and of possibility for our planet.” Though 350.org was the central organizing entity, 350 was very much a grassroots movement. Events ranged from a parade of hundreds of one and two-wheeled bicycles in Beijing to 2,000 climate change activists forming the figure 350 with blue umbrellas at the iconic Sydney Opera House. Participating groups were encouraged to incorporate the number 350 into their events and to upload photos to the 350.org Web site. The movement garnered extensive press coverage, and over 19,000 photos have been submitted to organizers.
In the upcoming weeks, GAP will hold regular sleep-outs in order to protest electricity produced from dirty energy. This will be done in conjunction with The Leadership Campaign, a Massachusetts-based network of student activists concerned with climate change. The Campaign plans to camp out on the Boston Common each Sunday until the Copenhagen summit on climate change on Dec. 7. “Our goal is to enact a bill in the Massachusetts State Legislature for 100 percent clean electricity in 10 years,” explained Emmerman. In addition to participating in Boston camp-outs, GAP will join the Five Colleges and surrounding community in weekly sleep-outs every Saturday on the Amherst town common.
In an effort to use greener electricity, the College recently renewed a three-month agreement to bring power from Canada. Fifty percent of the electricity TransCanada produces uses renewable resources instead of the traditional coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear at a comparable price. The College was also recently appointed a Green Power Partner by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program comprised of organizations willing to buy green power to reduce the impact of electricity use on the environment. The College was selected for membership because of its willingness to purchase Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) to fund renewable energy projects and offset carbon emissions produced by traditional means.