EcoHusky looks for student support for the Climate Action Plan

EcoHusky is looking to UConn students, clubs and organizations for support of their Climate Action Plan in hopes that a strong student backing will lead to administrative action.

"We want to show that there is a strong sense of student support for the Climate Action Plan so that it's either approved by the upper administration or that they start to carry out some of the recommendations of the plan," Vice President of EcoHusky Catherine Pomposi said. "Right now, it's just a document sitting there."

The Climate Action Plan is a document that lists recommendations and ways for UConn to become carbon neutral. The plan was drafted after UConn President Mike Hogan signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, which required him to create a specific course of action for UConn to take to gain carbon neutrality.

But, since the plan was finalized on August 31, 2009, neither Hogan nor the Board of Trustees have officially approved it, according to Pomposi.

"We think that if students show support then the upper administration will make sure the recommendations happen more quickly than if it's just sitting in this document," Pomposi said.

In the next few weeks, EcoHusky will go to different campus organizations to get students to sign a petition saying that they support the Climate Action Plan.

EcoHusky has already met with student groups including USG, the College Democrats and Engineers Without Borders and they plan to meet with other groups this week such as SUBOG and some fraternities and sororities.

Pomposi said that once they gain enough support, they will show the petitions to the Board of Trustees and President Hogan.

"We just hope they make fulfillment of the plan a priority and start working on it now," Pomposi said.

As EcoHusky meets with student organizations, they will highlight the recommendations that would affect students the most, such as building reforms that include dorms and academic buildings and shuttle and bus services. The petitions that will be presented to the upper administration will reflect these issues. EcoHusky has determined some specifics as to the recommendations they would like to see happen first.

"EcoHusky is basically just working towards funding a Sustainability Program, which is one of the major recommendations of the Climate Action Plan," said Emily Galanto, EcoHusky president. "By having this sustainability program that is fully funded and has a full time sustainability coordinator, environmental initiatives from the plan can be completed more efficiently. In order to fund the office, we're pushing for a sustainability fee that would be added onto tuition."

Galanto said that Pomposi's visits to student groups will help to "spread awareness and gain support for the plan, so all the recommendations within it can be accomplished."

"In the beginning, students asked President Hogan to sign the President's ClimateCommitment and he did it because students wanted to make sure UConn was a leader in sustainability. Now that we have the plan we want to again show that students want to see these recommendations taken seriously and we want to see them fulfilled in a timely fashion," Pomposi said, "So hopefully once he sees that student driven support he'll start taking a few steps one at a time."

EcoHusky and Pomposi plan to visit student groups throughout February. There is no definite date set to send the petitions to President Hogan, but they hope to have them ready by the beginning of March.