Earth Day Comes to Tappan Square

Saturday's Earth Day celebration in Tappan Square will give Obies the chance to learn about environmental issues, organize efforts to make changes, or just enjoy the festivities. Earth Day festivities, organized mainly by OPIRG with help from the recycling assistants and the Environmental Studies Department, will feature a bicycle tour, activist trainings, children's activities, and several bands.

However, events are not confined to Saturday; guest lecturer Ross Gelbspan spoke Wednesday on the sociopolitical issues of global warming. Berta Hernandez from San Francisco will speak Friday on environmental justice. The Environmental Studies Department will also bring four other speakers to campus this month.

The actual Earth day proceedings will start with a four-mile bicycle tour of the Oberlin environment, stopping at sites including but not limited to OSAP, the straw bale tool shed, and the reservoir. "The tour is to teach people about the environment they live in, so they can see where the food comes from and where the water goes," said first-year Winston Vaughan, vice-chair of OPIRG.

"Our purpose is to bring the community and the College together, so they both can be informed and educated about what is going on in regards to the environment not only on a national scale but also right here in Oberlin," said first-year Jennifer Poore, co-coordinator Earth Day 2000 campaign. Earth day will host events for a variety of interests. At 11 a.m., the town will hold an Easter egg hunt in Tappan Square. There will also childrens' events as part of Earth Day such as storybook reading and "eco-games."

To further bring the College and community together speakers Brad Masi and Stephen Douglas will lecture on local issues. Masi will discuss OSAP and local agriculture; Douglas will discuss land use in general but will also address the specific issues of current proposals to enlarge the airport and to put a mini-mall in new Russia Township.

Earth Day will also feature events to promote organization and activism. "This the 30th anniversary of Earth Day, and Earth Day was originally organized by students across the country. It's great to continue in that path of student action and the effects of it," Poore said. Throughout the afternoon there will be activist training sessions on such subjects as "How to lobby your local representatives and how to work with you local government to get things done."

Another session dealing with activist action will be taught by students who recently went to the protest in Washington D.C.. Hernandez will draw from her experience fighting against the placement of a waste dump in a residential area in San Francisco to teach about community organizing.

Another event designed to promote student activism will be the press conference where people can learn about and sign the eco-pledge. Eco-pledge is a nationwide student campaign organized by groups such as OPIRG and Sierra Student Coalition. There are currently about 150 schools involved. "The purpose of the campaign is to use the power that we have as students entering the workplace to really get some concrete environmental changes done," Vaughan said.

Saturday, five new companies will be added to the Eco-Pledge campaign boycott list. Eco-Pledge has had success in forcing the world's three largest automakers pull out of the global climate coalition. These companies lobbied against environmental issues such as emissions regulations. Furthermore, the pledge will expand to a consumer boycott and a divestment campaign.

"Earth Day was started to give people the tools to create real action, but it has since been adopted by the people we were fighting against," Vaughan said. "Earth Day 2000 is students reclaiming the environmental movement." Earth Day festivities will focus on community organizing and working with the local government with the intent of celebrating what Oberlin offers in terms of environmental awareness and programs. "Earth Days have become an opportunity for companies to make up environmental records and basically lie to the public," Vaughan said. The Oberlin Earth Day celebration was constructed as an alternative to corporate campaigns such as Earthfest in Cleveland, sponsored by a company called First Energy, which uses nuclear power for their plants.

"We are in the developmental stages of having an environmental policy, but the problems are fairly obvious," Vaughan said, referring to Campus Dining Service, which uses coal for power during the winter. "It would of course be great to see the College expand what they have done with the Environmental Studies building," Vaughan said. "With Earth Day we are looking at providing solutions, and we can point to the things we done and say 'look this is the solution.'"