Ritter adresses CU during “Focus the Nation” events
A small crowd of students, faculty and community members gathered at Old Main auditorium Thursday morning to hear Gov. Bill Ritter and CU Chancellor G.P. “Bud” Peterson speak about the commitment of the state and the university to environmental issues and sustainability.
“We’re an institute where faculty and students alike have a vision for the future of the environment,” Peterson said.
Peterson said that CU was one of the first universities to sign the Climate Action Change Commitment plan. He also announced that UCSU has pledged to contribute $50,000 a year in student funding for Gov. Ritter’s new wind energy program. These funds will help support campus and community-based clean energy and climate efficiency projects in Colorado.
Governor Bill Ritter emerged from the front row after Peterson’s announcement.
“There are 43 Focus the Nation events across the state of Colorado today and 1,700 events nation wide,” Ritter said. “We, as a country and a state, are moving in the right direction.”
Ritter said that climate change and global warming are especially big issues for Colorado because our second and third largest forms of economic security are from agriculture and tourism from ski resorts.
“We need to be concerned about economic security for Colorado,” Ritter said.
Ritter said that in one year alone, the state of Colorado has opened up enough wind farms to power 250,000 homes. He said it is one way Colorado is moving toward becoming a greener and more economically powerful state.
“While it’s good to focus on renewable energy, it’s even better because there is an economic benefit,” Ritter said. “Why can Colorado do this so well? We are a windy state. We are a sunny state. We have gas, oil, and clean coal production. We are situated differently than other states because we have intellectual, research collaborators such as CU-Boulder, Colorado State University, and the Colorado School of Mines.”
The Climate Action Change Program has set two goals for Colorado’s greenhouse gas emissions- a 20 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and an 80 percent reduction by 2050. An effort to reduce vehicle emissions is also in line.
“An environmentally conscious Colorado needs the innovation and creativity that comes off of research campuses like CU-Boulder,” Ritter said.
Ritter concluded his speech by presenting four undergraduate students with $1,000 scholarships for their winning pieces in the Focus the Nation essay contest.
Junior Emily Schosid, a 20-year-old environmental studies major, was the winner of the creative and cultural expression category for her poem titled “This Is Happening Now.”
“So many young people are so apathetic these days,” Schosid said. “Apathy is going to get us nowhere. It’s up to our generation to make a difference. Global warming is happening now and it is up to us to change that.”
Schosid said she might use the money for a Spring Break trip.
“I feel pretty awesome today,” Schosid said.
Freshman McKenzie Rieder, an 18-year-old environmental studies major, said she feels similarly as a volunteer for the Focus the Nation events.
“Small changes from individuals are good, but campus efforts are even better,” Rieder said.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Heather Koski at heather.koski@colorado.edu
