For months, students from Maryland universities and high schools have gathered petition signatures, written letters to the editor in their local and school papers, met with their college administrators, and educated their fellow students on offshore wind legislation. And yesterday, all their hard work culminated in a Student Rally and Lobby Day for Offshore Wind.
Students from Prince George’s County, Montgomery County, and the Eastern Shore arrived in Annapolis yesterday morning to sit down with their legislators and talk to them about passing the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2012.
At noon, students from the Maryland Student Climate Coalition (MSCC), representing 12 campuses and 4 high schools, converged onto Lawyer’s Mall to send a message to the Maryland General Assembly that students and universities support offshore wind legislation and want it passed this session. This rally was one of the largest student demonstrations in recent history in Annapolis.
Sporting “Offshore Wind Works for Our Future” t shirts and wielding mini cardboard wind mills (that actually spun!), nearly 70 students and young people gathered to deliver 3400 petition signatures and several letters of support from their universities. This mass show of support came the day before a scheduled House Economic Matters Committee hearing on the bill.
Chants of “Win with Wind” and “Wind Means Jobs” rebounded off the state house and students yelled their approval as speakers proclaimed the many benefits that the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2012 would bring to Maryland.
Student speakers from Johns Hopkins, UMD-College Park, and Jewish Day School urged lawmakers to consider the long-term benefits of offshore wind, which many say has been oft-neglected in dialogue around the issue.
Student member of the Maryland Board of Regents, Collin Wojciechowski, graciously accepted petition signatures from USM schools and said. “We recognize the significant, positive, and lasting impact this legislation would have on Maryland’s environment, economy, and public health. […]Together with the O’Malley administration, we stand prepared to invest in that future.”
Senators Garagiola and Pinsky and Delegates Mizeur and Barnes addressed the crowd and thanked students for their work and dedication to clean energy. Greg Farley, Director of the Center for Leadership in Environmental Education, spoke about Chesapeake College’s dedication to green jobs training and how the jobs created by the offshore wind industry will be Maryland jobs, immune to outsourcing.
Finally, we were honored to have Governor Martin O’Malley, a champion for this legislation, address the crowd. He stressed the importance of their leadership and activism on this issue and pinpointed how wind works for our environment, our health, and our economy. He lead students in a few rousing choruses of “Wind Means Jobs,” and then went into the crowd for conversation and picture taking.
Here’s a video of the event: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgEBPPx7_R4
It was certainly a day to remember for student environmental activism in Maryland. To learn more about the Maryland Student Climate Coalition and how you can get involved, go to http://www.facebook.com/MDClimate.
