Environmentalists and concerned citizens gathered at the Amphitheater to kick off the national "Step It Up" rally against global warming Saturday. Other communities across the country will join in to ask their political leaders to step it up to fight greenhouse gases Nov. 3.
"Step It Up" is part of a national movement to encourage leaders at the local, state and national levels to make environmental changes. The "Step It Up" rally at the University is the first in the nation, according to Cal Trepagnier, a member of Student Council's Environmental Sustainability Committee.
The rally followed a conference in Clark Hall hosted by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, which is petitioning to stop Dominion Power from building a coal plant in Wise County, Va. Speakers particularly focused on how the local environment could be damaged if Dominon Power is successful. According to Kathy Selvage of Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, the proposed plant will engage the harmful strategy of mountain top removal, which involves the demolition of peaks to extract the valuable coal underneath.
"In order to save this planet we have to have a lot of major changes on the local, state and national level," said Glen Besa, director of the Sierra Club Virginia chapter. "The bottom line is that there are some leaders getting out there now."
Several presidential candidates are involved with "Step It Up," including John McCain, John Edwards and Dennis Kucinich.
Charlottesville Mayor David Brown encouraged those present to "come regularly" to Charlottesville City Council meetings held Monday nights, because "elected officials respond to people's energies."
All the speakers urged citizens to speak out.
"It doesn't take a majority to cause a revolution to happen, but an enraged minority to stop global warming," CCAN founder Mike Tidwell said. "We need to start brushfires in people's minds."
Many of the speakers discussed the fact that cleaner fuels benefit both the environment and the checkbook.
"It makes good financial sense to do things to reduce greenhouse emissions," said Paul Ferguson, chairman of the Arlington County Board of Supervisors.
Ferguson added that while Charlottesville and Albermarle County are doing some things to improve the environment, he believes more could be done.
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