To the Daily:
I am proud to know that my fellow University students, faculty and alumni are in Copenhagen at this moment for the United Nations COP15 Climate Change Conference (University group headed to Copenhagen for Climate Change Conference, 12/07/2009). Students on campus in a wide range of groups have been deeply involved in the youth climate movement this year, and the large youth presence in Copenhagen is a testament to our strength and commitment.
While a legally binding treaty is very unlikely to come out of the conference, I am excited about the progress made today by the United Sates. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson released her agency’s long-awaited Endangerment Finding, officially declaring global warming pollution a threat to public health. It places the EPA in a position to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and gives President Barack Obama the ammunition he needs to promise real emissions reductions while he is at the UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen. I earnestly hope that Obama will show true leadership and announce his support for science-based global warming pollution cuts. We have a long way to go, but this is a start and I am optimistic.
Hannah Clark
Public Policy senior