Posted by Ani Lordkipanidze
Members of the Environmental Action Club (EAC) met to discuss the upcoming protest against hydrofracking and Keystone XL that will take place in Washington, D.C.
The protests are against hydrofracking, a form of drilling that, while financially beneficial, threatens to pollute drinking water and endanger public safety.
Thousands of people will likely protest against hydrofracking and the Keystone XL Pipeline Project outside of the White House from Nov. 5 to Nov. 6 as part of a series of protests that have occurred in the past few months.
The Keystone XL Pipeline Project is a proposed system to transport petroleum from the Athabascan oil sands of Alberta to refineries in Texas. This pipeline would pass through the Sand Hills of Nebraska, a Great Plains prairie ecosystem.
At the meeting, the EAC proposed traveling to Washington, D.C, to join the protests. Students are welcome to attend this event through buses provided by the EAC. Participants will stay at St. Stephen's Church overnight.
Transportation and housing will be free, although a $5 donation to the church is encouraged. Students will leave on Saturday, Nov. 5 and return on Sunday.
The EAC also discussed future lectures and debates on campus that will be hosted by guest speakers and will focus mainly on sustainability.
From 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 20 in Gannett Auditorium, Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Paul Steely White and author James Howard Kunstler will invite the public to debate the need for a sustainable future, and whether change is possible in light of modern conditions.
Jeff Olson of Alta Planning & Design will moderate the debate, and there will be a meet-and-greet session an hour before the lecture.
The Environmental Studies Program is sponsoring this debate.
From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22, EAC will meet in Falstaff's to clean up compost buckets from every apartment in Northwoods. Volunteers are welcome.
The Environmental Action Club meets at 9 p.m. every Monday in Ladd Hall 207.