Earth Day activities aim at 'Greening the Blue and White'

University Park, Pa. -- Students in Penn State's EcoAction group have planned speakers, exhibits and activities focused on how to reduce personal environmental impact and how to "green" Penn State for the Earth Day celebration to take place Sunday, April 25, from noon to 9 p.m. on the HUB lawn on the University Park campus. The event is free and open to the public.

This year's event includes a presentation by a well-known environmental activist and professor at Oberlin College, David Orr, and the headlining band from Ithaca, N.Y., Sunny Weather.

Orr, a native of Pennsylvania, has written several books, including his newest, "The Last Refuge: the Corruption of Patriotism and Environment in the Age of Terror," and has led the fight to make Oberlin College a leading example for developmental sustainability.

Sunny Weather has performed in State College a few times before and is a local favorite punk band. Also, former EcoAction member Brooke Smokelin will bring her eclectic style of music to the Earth Day stage for the first time.

"EcoAction's Earth Day Festival is a long standing tradition and is the only annual event on campus with an environmental focus," says Suzy Wittman, president of EcoAction. "It is unique in that the issues discussed there truly affect each and every member of the student body, faculty, staff and community and provide a rare opportunity to bring all of these different folks together for one common cause. For many students not studying environmental topics, Earth Day is their only source for this type of learning and many students find the information very eye-opening."

As part of the theme, "Greening the Blue and White," the Earth Day committee has arranged to have both the PSU PowerLion and Greenpeace's Rolling Sunshine solar generators to provide the clean energy necessary to host the showing of the student documentary film on the Kyoto Now! project at Penn State all afternoon long, as well as a portion of the energy necessary to power the speaker's stage.

"Many people don't realize that solar power technology is very feasible and pretty easily accessible, even here in central Pennsylvania," Wittman says. "It's very exciting to have people see this up-close and imagine it being used all over, especially on campus since this and other renewable energy sources would make not only for cleaner air, but also a drastically reduced electric bill and ultimately lower costs for students."

The Earth Day committee has prepared activities for students and community members to take part in, such as information booths set up by student and local non-profit organizations. Children's activities will be hosted by Penn State's Educational Theory and Policy 400 classes, and the Center for Sustainability will host hands-on activities and demonstrations.

Schedule:
Noon-12:15 p.m. -- Opening Welcome, Eco-Action
12:15-1:15 p.m. -- Musical Act, Corduroy Bridge Session
1:15-1:45 p.m. -- Speaker, Chris Russill and Kyoto Now! Team
1:45-2:15 p.m. -- Community Open Mic featuring Travis Peterson of Our Local Renaissance
2:15-3:15 p.m. -- Musical Act TBA
3:15-3:45 p.m. -- Speaker Andy Lau
4-5 p.m. -- Keynote Address, David Orr
5-6:30 p.m. -- Musical Act, Brooke Smokelin
6:30-7 p.m. -- Speaker Linda Perrine
7-9 p.m. (?) -- Headliner Sunny Weather

For more information regarding Earth Day, contact Mary Peterson at mep171@psu.edu.